Moving to Portland - Need to know Best Portland Neighborhoods for Young Urban Family (for sale, apartment complexes)

[Daltonfamily]

We are a young family moving from VA to Portland, OR late this fall. We are trying to get some knowledge of what would be great places for us to live.

We want to be able to:

• Walk to get GREAT food
• Walk to parks and community markets
• Live in an Urban area
• be surrounded by a Great education culture
• be close to museums / art / local events
• make friends with people who don't suck

We will be renting at first and have a budget of $3000 / mo, although we would love to stay around $2,000 if possible.

Help?

[Daisy32673]

With that budget, you can pick and choose any house you want. Rental prices are pretty reasonable. How many in your family? Neighborhoods I would consider would be NW Portland up near Good Sam hospital, SE Portland/Sellwood area and even Laurelhurst/Alameda area.

[philwithbeard]

Or even the South Waterfront high rise condos with a fantastic view of Mt Hood, or in the Pearl at one of the very high end rentals with concierge service.

But downtown Portland, just north of the PSU campus is some high end apartment complexes in what is called the 'Cultural District'. From SW Clay to SW Alder, extending from about SW 6th over to the Goose Hollow neighborhood. Walking distance to Portland Center for the Performing Arts (PCPA), the Art Museum, the symphony hall, the Opera auditorium, a couple of old churches that are less church and more concert and lecture halls now, plus all kinds of other high end cultural events. The street car lines run right through the cultural district and can take you to Portland's pride and joy, Powell's book store which is a full city block, 3 stories tall, book store with more books for sale than many community libraries.

I have been told there is two draw backs to living in the 'Cultural District':
1- you may have a good chance of having a neighbor who owns and plays a baby grand piano all day long-- and gives lessons in the early evening.
2- you may have a neighbor who is an opera aficionado who likes to sing along... 'nuff said.

so I'm just saying... know why the apartment is vacant in the cultural district.

[Nell Plotts]

Look around Chapman Grade School in NW Portland. You will find a great park, strong grade school with lots parent support, nearby Friendly House has activities for the pre-school set (next year's pre-school is filling up so at least put your name on the wait list), if you choose to live on the hill check out Hillside Community Center.

NW 23rd is a boutique shopping street with a couple well known retailers on the south end. There is an abundance of decent restaurants and coffee/bakery shops in the neighborhood. There are a number of farmer's market events in the NW/SW core area on weekends in the summer. The core area has a large variety of cultural activities including a children's theater, "Play Date", and children's art studio.

I won't guarantee you won't find a stinker (or two) in the neighborhood but life-long friendly relationships abound.

The 'flat' area is very walkable, the hillside area has sidewalks (downhill is easy, uphill is a conditioning exercise).

FYI: In this neighborhood most of the single family dwellings are owner occupied and landlords of those offered for rent are very picky. For homes on the hillside check with executive leasing agencies. Some of these homes may in fact be owned by executives who are on extended assignment abroad.

[peaceloveandtattoos]

My family and i just moved into the NW district...its amazing! We can walk anywhere we need to go (restaurants, shopping, schools, parks, grocery stores), feels very safe and clean, and we love it so much! You will have no problem finding a place with that budget. There are a lot of apartments, as well as old homes....its truly beautiful up here Good luck!

[Daltonfamily]

Sorry, I forgot to mention that we have 4 kids.

[Yankeemama]

Check out the East side of Portland. We have good schools, great sense of community and many cool places to hang out. There are threads here on family friendly neighborhoods in the East side... Irvington, Alameda, Laurelhurst, Grant Park, Hollywood, Baumont Wilshire, Rose City Park, North Tabor, Kerns... just to name a few. You may be interested in North Portland as well.

[beaumecpdx]

Originally Posted by Yankeemama

Check out the East side of Portland. We have good schools, great sense of community and many cool places to hang out. There are threads here on family friendly neighborhoods in the East side... Irvington, Alameda, Laurelhurst, Grant Park, Hollywood, Baumont Wilshire, Rose City Park, North Tabor, Kerns... just to name a few. You may be interested in North Portland as well.

I agree 100%. With that budget you can live anywhere on the east side and have an awesome place to raise your kids and be close to all the things you mentioned. Welcome and good luck.

[nrv0us]

Found this thread and thought I'd revive it just to see if anyone else had any comments. Any families living in the city with any recommendations of areas to explore/avoid?

[sezzam]

I agree with the East-side recommendation, but with that budget, the NW district, the waterfront, and the Cultural District are all good candidates.