Portland Neighborhoods - too tight on our criteria?

[jojo4]

I lived in the Envoy when it was an apartment and LOVED LOVED LOVED living there. It is great to be near Washington Park and NW23rd area. The neighborhood feels very safe and the the high school is Lincoln high, one of the best public HS in Portland (as I understand.)

[Brett]

I live in the south tabor neighborhood right around the corner from Fanklin HS. There are houses there in the low 200s right now. thats good for Portland these days.

I like the mid-southeast area (say east of 39th, I mean Chavez, south of Burnside and North of Woodstock) I have lived in this general area for quite awhile (20 years) and it has done well by me.

[Minervah]

Originally Posted by trailz

aarrggg....

My original post has been hijacked!
One of the primary pitfalls of discussion groups.
Hopefully someone can reel it back in to the original posts question?

Thanks all.

Ok I agree with the others about your housing price being a bit unrealistic for the kind of neighborhood you describe. I think your first concern would be schools. Unfortunatley, Portland schools are in a real state of change. What is a good one today may not be tomorrow and rezoning is constantly occuring.

Google Portland Schools and see what you can find. I don't have kids so I don't know a lot about individual schools but you can probably find infromation that way. There are many Portland neighborhoods with good bus service. What you need to do is determine which are the best to get you to your job.

There are walking neighborhoods like Buckman, Goose Hollow, Irvington, Sullivan's Gulch and others but some like Sellwood, which is a great area does not have good bus service.

I always think the best way to scope out a new place is to visit. I have been doing that now for a couple of years and have found that people like to talk about their town no matter where you go. And you can see for yourself if anything leaps out at you as to the best location for you.

[maxredline]

Originally Posted by Salal

Hi! I'm new to this process and can't figure out how to post my own question, so I thought I'd ask you since you appear in many of the messages and offer sage advice. I hope this reaches you & I can navigate any response you might provide. While we have no HS children to think of in terms of locations for real estate, we are hoping to find a small place that has many shops/public transport easy walking distance. I delivered a paper at PSU and love the city. We found a few small (very small) little condos in older buildings up through Goose Hollow and on up toward the park (top of Burnside by NW 23rd). They work for our budget, but I'm wondering what the reputation is of the area--super posh & snobby or down-to-earth. There are a few places on up around the bend by SW King and SW Cactus (kind of near the big Envoy building). Is that a good area and worth investigating, in your estimation? Any help is appreciated. Salal

Hi!

SW and NW Portland are probably the most expensive places you could find. I've lived for many years in both locations and have seen the prices shoot up. I've not lived in any of the condos above NW 23rd (clifftop) but the comfortable condo I rented for $340 a month on NW 23rd and Marshall is really unaffordable now. The old place behind the uptown shopping center - south, toward Washington Park - has been updated and is still more or less affordable. That's an excellent area, in terms of few problems and low crime, while close to shops. Its location, just across Burnside, puts it into SW Portland, but it has sort of a NW touch.

If I were you, I wouldn't consider the Goose Hollow area due to traffic, mugging, and other issues.

[Nell Plotts]

Mugging in Goose Hollow??? Never heard of it.

Traffic, what kind specifically? Parking can be a challange because of the popularity of Washington Park.

Other issues? Some of the streets are narrow and curvy, personally I wonder about the stability of the cliff-hanging houses but they may be just fine if engineered properly. What do you have in mind?