Hills and the Family (Portland: day care, houses, neighborhoods)

[movermover]

am contemplating a move to portland. 2 questions:

common one....opinions on the most family friendly neighborhoods. walkability, stores nearby, parks, rec centers, schools, the works.

second question may be a bit weird, but with all the hills around portland....does anyone find it difficult to get around....walking-wise with children and all? do people/neighbors get to know one another because some of southwest portland seems like all these little houses tucked in groups of 2-3 or so. makes me wonder how easy it is to takes the kids out for a stroll in the neighborhood without having to load up in the car and drive to a park?

thanks.

[lucero32]

You've pretty much hit the nail on the head. The SW, and to lesser extent much of the NW, is much more suburban in the traditional sense. The SW does have Multonomah Village, a very quaint and walkable area, but otherwise is pretty limited in terms of walkability. The hilly part of the NW (Forest Heights), is full of new large constructions and no shopping options. Many of the other hilly areas are older and contain denser housing on smaller lots. Mt. Tabor, Laurelhurst and Alameda/Beaumont (near the ridge) are all great communities that are very walkable with shopping and parks nearby. The small hills here do not interfere with the sense of community or walkability at all.

As for neighborhoods that are family friendly. There are a lot of threads on here dealing with this subject, do a search and you'll find a lot of good recommendations. Otherwise, give us some info. regarding price range, housing requirements and likes, schools you are looking for, etc...

good luck

[oldtintype]

Keep in mind though that downtown is also SW and Nob Hill, The Pearl, etc. is NW. So what you're asking only generally applies to the SW and NW Hills, not the rest of the west side if that makes sense. Most of the particularly family friendy areas that aren't a zillion dollars are on the east side though, or in the suburbs, though I live downtown and a fair amount of kids live here too!

[suncat]

You want family friendly, look no further than Portland. The city has morphed itself into one gigantic day care center.

[Lillietta]

[QUOTE=suncat;1616639]You want family friendly, look no further than Portland. The city has morphed itself into one gigantic day care center.[/quote]

No kidding! My daughter noticed that when we were there. She said so MANY families with kids around!