Moving to Portland - seeking very friendly neighborhood with amazing schools (Lake Oswego: how much, house)

[karen16]

We are moving to Portland with our two school-aged (elementary) daughters before school starts. We don't have a lot of time! We'd like to find a very friendly, social neighborhood with great schools (through highschool). We want to live somewhere where our kids - and us - will quickly feel at home. I've looked at prices and it seems that you can get a nice house for under 600K. We would much prefer to buy, rather than rent, so we'd really appreciate some neighborhood tips before we head out to meet with a realtor.

At first glance, the NW and SW hills seem nice (Bridlemile, etc.) Any thoughts? We're also willing to move further out, but my husband will be working in Portland and we really don't want a long commute (so that might limit things).

Thanks!

[Nell Plotts]

I grew up in NW Portland, raised my family there, moved back in retirement to the city center. I think you would love NW. There are close by activities for children, committees by the dozen for parents who want to get involved. If you attend a church or synagogue most denominations are represented. Bus service is frequent in the 'flats', commute hours on the hill. The grade school is strong, the high school outstanding. There is a K-12 school public school as well as at least 2 private schools in the neighborhood.

Let me know if you have any questions.

[AztoORegon]

Although I do not live in PDX just yet, May I ask what schools are best in NW area? Is there a certain city that you prefer most for schools?

[karen16]

Nell, can you define the area to which you are referring? Is the school Chapman? We really like the feel of that area, but didn't have a sense of how friendly and neighborly it was. What are your thoughts on SW? Or NW Heights? That seems totally diffferent.

[Yankeemama]

We love NE- very Berkeley feeling.... Very community oriented. Check out Hollywood, Alameda, Laurelhurst, Grant, parts of Rose City Park as these have good elementary feeds and they feed into Grant High School. I have gotten very involved with our kids' neighborhood school and we are thriled! Our kids have made wonderful friends already.

[Nell Plotts]

I grew up and raised my family in NW -Chapman grade school, my husband grew up in the Alameda school enrollment area. Both are strong communities.

The difference between the SW hills neighborhoods and NW, IMHO, is that SW residents come home from work and close their doors. In NW residents are involved in community committees (God help you if you say you are available), they walk to restraunts or caffees. That is not a sit on your tush neighborhood if you have legs.

[Yankeemama]

I love that comparison between SW and NW, Nell. Your description of SW is why we didn't buy in that hood though they have great schools, beautiful homes and views. Just not our cup of tea.

[karen16]

I definitely like the idea of walkability. Where we live now, in Washington, DC, we can walk everywhere and the parents in the neighborhood all know one another. It's very much an area where you casually end up having neighbors over for dinner and where kids linger together - with their parents - afterschool. I would like to recreate that in Portland (but, I'd also like to ensure that our kids have excellent schools). NW does sound like a good fit. We've driven around the NE neighborhoods and also felt at home there, but I've had a harder time figuring out the schools. When we were out there last, we drove to several of the parks and they all seemed wonderful. Plus, we loved the homes.

[dejo44]

The first thing you have to figure out is...are you an east sider or west sider? Although I love both sides of the city and there great options for schools on both sides, in my opinion, there is a distinct difference and that could be a thread itself. We have come to the conclusion that we are west because of the green spaces, parks, hiking trails etc.

We also need to find a home before school starts this fall and are in a mad scramble. We love neighborhood around Chapman school. Chapman elementary was tops on our list of schools but unfortunately we are priced out (450,000 limit) of the area. There might be one house up there right now below 600,000 so if you are looking to find a home quickly it might be a little difficult because that area has low turnover. Chapman school was built in the last 1800's with tons of character and sits right on Wallace Park. The school looked like it needed some restoration and there were no bells and whistles but this was true about most of the schools we toured west side of Portland. Chapman has small class size of about 20 which we were very exited about. You can walk, walk, walk to everything and if we were fortunate enough to find a place in our price range we were going to be a one car family. Have you looked at Ainsworth school and Portland Heights-Council Crest area? The school has a great reputation and seems walkable with sidewalks. We looked at Rieke and it also has small class sizes and seems to have a good reputation. What worried me the most is the school looks very shabby and in need of possibly demolition. The grounds were unkept and had a very small play structure for the children. We are hoping Hillsdale will be an active community and our children will make friends quickly. Here is more info on Hillsdale and plans to rejuvenate the community. Hillsdale Main Street

Good luck with your move!

[karen16]

How much to homes near Chapman tend to run? I haven't quite figured which homes fall into the neighborhood boundaries. Would we have to spend more than 600K?

My husband was wondering about Lake Oswego as well. We know that we'd lose all of the walkability, etc., but the schools look outstanding? What is the culture like in Lake Oswego? How long of a commute is it?