Moving to Oregon in June

[rickysmomm]

Originally Posted by ssmith2526

I have lived in Sw Pdx for 7 years and Corvallis for 3 years before that. Born and raised in WA so I am a native PNWesterner. I get that the cautionary posters on this thread just want to make sure that the OP goes into this eyes wide open but I am very embarrassed as a Portlander in the way that you are going about advising her. She simply asked for advise on areas to live. Can we not assume that she, like every other person on the planet, is aware that we are in the midst of a global recession. Consider her duly warned that she should have all her ducks in a row and try to just answer her original question without judging her and treating her like she doesn't have a clue.

rickysmomm - I understand that you probably don't want to come here now after the reception you got on this board but I want to say that if you have done your research and are still interested in Portland or the PNW (Western Washington state is also a nice place to live) you will find both Pdx and Western WA to be very kid friendly. There are many schools that offer on-site childcare. Although I'm mostly aware of the younger ages, K-5th grade and it sounds like your son is close to middle school. In Beaverton, the school district I am in, there is a community center, THPRD, that offers on-site after school care for kids through the 8th grade. I'm sure other community centers in Portland and Lake Oswego, etc probably offer something similar. The one near us is only blocks away from the middle school so kids can walk to the center and have a safe place to play and do homework during the hours after school. The westside generally reports less crime than the eastside. It's also a little more homogenous. But the eastside has a great feel to it that you don't get in the burbs so it's a trade off but either way, it's all accessible via car or max train, whether you live on the westside or the eastside. Greatschools.net is a great place to get info about the local schools. Because of the recession the public schools are hurting, although I can't imagine they are hurting financially anymore than CA. As far as cost of living goes I do not find Pdx to have an excessively high cost of living. It's certainly much lower than CA. We pay $1200/mo mortgage for a1800 sq ft 3 bdrm/2 ba house on 1/4 acre in Sw Pdx/Beaverton area. I imagine there are deals to be found for both apts and houses (renting and buying) so your price range would certainly get you a decent place to live, possibly even with a pool that your son could enjoy during the summer.

I realize that my comments may be moot to you at this point but just in case you were still looking for an answer to your OP and also to say that you may be able to find a lower stress life here in Pdx if you are still interested.

Thank you.....that's all I asked!