are you from or do you live in PORTLAND, OREGON????? If so, help us...

[KimL]

Hey there Portland, OR!!!! So, I've never been to your corner of the world, but as a very liberal vegan... I think it's probably where I NEED to live! AND, luck would have it, that we need to make a major life change before we are in total financial and emotional ruin. SO, we're trying to figure out where to move to- sight unseen (as we cannot afford to "check out" an area before moving). 

Tell me what you love AND hate about the area?  What "neighborhoods" should I be looking at to buy or rent in? We would love to be able to walk our dogs in a convienant location near parks, coffee shops, etc. Where should I avoid? 

My husband is a builder. My son is 8. I am a jack of all office trades. Any suggestions on builders hiring? 

truly, ANY info and local tidbits that will help, would be so greatly appreciated! 

also, we have 3 pet hens... I'm not sure Portland's law on having them in an urban setting... do you know? 

[philomom]

Portland loves its urban hens. You may have three hens inside the city limits.

There's not much building going on in the city but lots of reno work for folks who can care for old houses.

Unemployment is high here ... even among the college educated unless you are a techie. There's a joke that we all make a living by selling coffee to each other. Even my floor guys had college degrees under their belts.

The intown neighborhoods are lovely to live in but the bad old secret is some of the intown schools are spotty. If you homeschool, you are going to be fine. if you don't ... you will want to pay attention to the school ratings.

http://www.greatschools.org/oregon/portland/

For the school reason, I live in the Southwest corner. I can't walk to much and have more hills to deal with on my bike but I can move after the kids finish school.

There are parks everywhere. Just use your pooper picker up manners, please.

I moved here from Atlanta six years ago. My hubby is a techie so he's very employable. I love how laid back folks are here and friendly and talkative and well-read. If you ride the bus... you'll see almost everyone reading a book or looking at a Kindle. You can ask any random stranger what they are reading and not get the "deer in the headlights" look. I don't miss the heat, politics or the racial tensions of the city I left.

[KimL]

thank you! NICE... 3 hen limit is PERFECT. ha!  I started with 9 ladies but a local coyote stocked up her freezer for winter... :(

[cyncyn]

We are Portland natives and love it here. My dd is 8 also. The schools are hit or miss around here so if that is a priority for you, you should research it. The best neighborhood schools tend to be in the pricier neighborhoods, although there are exceptions of course. Your child is supposed to attend the local school as designated by somewhat arbitrary borders (which sometimes change) unless the neighborhood school has failed to meet the NCLB rules. Then, in some cases, you can get a priority transfer to a different school. PPS  holds lotteries for placement in magnet schools and non neighborhood schools. Some schools are Title 1, which means a higher proportion of students receive free or reduced lunch. These schools receive extra gov. funding so there are sometimes extra funds for more classroom aides, cultural field trips and behavior specialists. There are quite a few free public charter schools in various styles: waldorf, montessori, democratic etc. These are very popular and entrance is by lottery. The charter school lotteries are held separately with their own application timelines, open houses, etc.  All of the lottery stuff takes place starting in winter with early spring assignments. Many people try for multiple schools and final decisions are often not made until right before school starts the following fall. So there are neighborhood schools, with some transfer options, magnet schools operated by the school district, charter schools run independently from the school district, private schools, online school, homeschool or unschool Crazy huh? Only your neighborhood school will provide school bus transportation, and only if you live over 1 mile away so keep your morning commute in mind. Public transportation is nearly everywhere, but adds time. When we walk/bus/train (takes all three to get to dd's school) it takes over an hour each way.

If you are looking for a walkable family neighborhood try inner N/NE/SE neighborhoods like Kenton, St. Johns, Woodstock, Belmont, Alberta, Mississippi, Beaumont, Alameda, Ladd's Addition. Good housing deals esp. on starter homes in Cully and Rose City, but not my favorite part of town. Irvington, Lake Oswego, and Eastmoreland have larger, traditional family homes in established neighborhoods. Avoid "downtown" proper for housing as that is not where most family activities are located. I would try to be near a major grocery store like Safeway or Fred Meyer; a New Seasons (local natural market) or Trader Joe's is a neighborhood bonus.

We have urban chickens too. Very popular pets and you can buy supplies at several local stores.

[MariaMadly]

A visitor's perspective here of two of the neighborhoods I've "met."  DS1 is a college student in SE living off campus, and the rest of the family has gone to see him over the years as well as hearing about his experiences and opinions.  Eastmoreland is a lovely, lovely neighborhood, but we found parts of it to be really quiet and empty during the day, a bit dark in places for walking and biking after sunset.  Sellwood (parts of it, anyway, I need to stress my limited exposure here!) seems to have more people out and about at different times of the days and evenings, has a really great mixed use feel, nicely compact.

What I would really stress, depending on what you have for household routines, is confirm location of things like a laundromat, and check the frequency and hours of the public transit service to the neighborhood you're considering.  Plug in an address you're considering, then mentally take yourself through a day of your doings while you "search nearby."

Here's a link to CrimeMapper http://www.gis.ci.portland.or.us/maps/police/

[cyncyn]

Lol, I lived in Eastmoreland for a year and yeah, it's pretty slow. Very beautiful though with all the street trees. It is also kind of a PITA to get to the freeway from there at rush hour. Laurelhurst is also full of lovely traditional family homes and has better freeway access, plus more neighborhood activity. Laurelhurst Elementary School is very good but the neighborhood is spendy.