Pls help with possible relo to Portland area (Lake Oswego, Clackamas: equity, relocating)

[hts]

We currently live in the DC suburbs (N. Virginia) and are considering relocating to the Portland area.

Our first, second, and third priority is to find the highest quality public schools for our two young boys (currently 6 & 7) that we possibly can. For background, we moved away from DC in 2001 (when our boys were 6 & 18 months old) to Chapel Hill, primarily to get away from DC and to find the best place in the country to raise our family. For whatever reason, NC didn't work out, and we're back in DC, albeit temporarily, until we can afford to move away again.

I've read good things about the Camas school system, as well as Fisher's Landing elementary school (not sure about the respective middle/high schools it feeds in to), as well as Lake Oswego schools. We don't need to be in/around Portland, but it might be nice for the infrastructure/airport/etc if the best schools in the area are right there. We'd probably live in WA state for the state tax benefit (my employer is out of state), but once again, if we were convinced that the best public schools were in Portland or Oregon, we'd move there without missing a beat.

Are there any school systems in the Portland vicinity that assess special city taxes to supplement the county/state school funding? I'm not talking about bond referendums necessarily, but rather ongoing tax assessments (in Chapel Hill, it was assessed as part of our property tax, I believe).

[diggitydot]

Originally Posted by hts

I've read good things about the Camas school system, as well as Fisher's Landing elementary school (not sure about the respective middle/high schools it feeds in to)...

Both are excellent school districts. Camas only has 1 high school, whereas the Fisher's Landing area is a part of the behemoth Evergreen SD that has 4 high schools. Personally, I prefer the Camas SD, mainly because I prefer the town itself over the Fisher's Landing section of Vancouver.

Also, I have several family members teaching in many SW WA school districts. All of them have nothing but the highest regard for both Camas and the Evergreen SD's.

Originally Posted by hts

Are there any school systems in the Portland vicinity that assess special city taxes to supplement the county/state school funding? I'm not talking about bond referendums necessarily, but rather ongoing tax assessments (in Chapel Hill, it was assessed as part of our property tax, I believe).

School funding is a much larger issue when considering Oregon schools. Most WA school districts don't face nearly the funding shortfalls as their counterparts in OR encounter. Maybe hunt down Senior Member janb. He/she has excruciatingly accurate information on property taxes.

[aalverson]

I would say that based on your ideals, Camas fits the bill as far as I know. It is definitely a suburban community, but from what I understand has great schools and many people with families live there for that very reason. The tax benefits are another that often draw people there, rather than Portland. I don't know much about the schools because I don't have kids, but it seems that Camas schools get the funding they need, and Portland schools don't. People in Portland are generally not pleased with the astronomical level of taxation and so tend to vote down all tax increases (although we recently passed one which hurt like hell on property taxes this year). Many people who live just over the Washington border do so because they pay no state income tax; then they drive to Portland to shop where there is no sales tax. For an example of the property tax inequity, I live in Mulnomah County (city of Portland), and own a home with a market value of about $450-475,000. Latest property taxes were $7200. I have friends who live in Camas (Clark county) who own a home valued closer to $750,000 and their taxes are in the $6000 range. Yet Portland is always asking for more money. Camas isn't cheap though - it's probably the highest priced SW Washington community.

As a side note, it is also very closer to the Portland Int'l Airport - closer than my place in Portland.

[Mr. John Parkin]

Originally Posted by hts

We currently live in the DC suburbs (N. Virginia) and are considering relocating to the Portland area.

Our first, second, and third priority is to find the highest quality public schools for our two young boys (currently 6 & 7) that we possibly can. For background, we moved away from DC in 2001 (when our boys were 6 & 18 months old) to Chapel Hill, primarily to get away from DC and to find the best place in the country to raise our family. For whatever reason, NC didn't work out, and we're back in DC, albeit temporarily, until we can afford to move away again.

I've read good things about the Camas school system, as well as Fisher's Landing elementary school (not sure about the respective middle/high schools it feeds in to), as well as Lake Oswego schools. We don't need to be in/around Portland, but it might be nice for the infrastructure/airport/etc if the best schools in the area are right there. We'd probably live in WA state for the state tax benefit (my employer is out of state), but once again, if we were convinced that the best public schools were in Portland or Oregon, we'd move there without missing a beat.

Are there any school systems in the Portland vicinity that assess special city taxes to supplement the county/state school funding? I'm not talking about bond referendums necessarily, but rather ongoing tax assessments (in Chapel Hill, it was assessed as part of our property tax, I believe).

Hi, I'm John parkin, have lived in portland, oregon since 1997, and would be happy to help you find a safe area, housing, etc., i just need to know what and where you are looking for to live here. try Portland.com.:.Welcome to Portland Oregon, or portlandlive.com, both may help you. also craigslist.com has tons of apartments, houses for rent, sale, etc. best of luck,
Mod cut[/email]

[gypsydoc]

Originally Posted by hts

We currently live in the DC suburbs (N. Virginia) and are considering relocating to the Portland area.

Our first, second, and third priority is to find the highest quality public schools for our two young boys (currently 6 & 7) that we possibly can. For background, we moved away from DC in 2001 (when our boys were 6 & 18 months old) to Chapel Hill, primarily to get away from DC and to find the best place in the country to raise our family. For whatever reason, NC didn't work out, and we're back in DC, albeit temporarily, until we can afford to move away again.

I've read good things about the Camas school system, as well as Fisher's Landing elementary school (not sure about the respective middle/high schools it feeds in to), as well as Lake Oswego schools. We don't need to be in/around Portland, but it might be nice for the infrastructure/airport/etc if the best schools in the area are right there. We'd probably live in WA state for the state tax benefit (my employer is out of state), but once again, if we were convinced that the best public schools were in Portland or Oregon, we'd move there without missing a beat.

Are there any school systems in the Portland vicinity that assess special city taxes to supplement the county/state school funding? I'm not talking about bond referendums necessarily, but rather ongoing tax assessments (in Chapel Hill, it was assessed as part of our property tax, I believe).

Here are some sites that might help sift through all the info:

GreatSchools.net

SchoolMatters - Home
a parent's guide to schools - critiqued by parents.

Home - Oregon Department of Education
Oregon Department of Education - main site

AYP and Report Card Download - Oregon Department of Education
report cards for the Oregon schools

There is an article saying that Portland schools are higher than the national average for SAT scores. Too long to post, but if you're interested, contact me directly and I'll send the attachment in a PDF format.

Re: taxes... Oregon has no sales tax and that helps quite a bit.

[hts]

Thanks! I was not familiar with the School Matters web site, and that one provides some pretty useful information, albeit at a very high level.

The problem is that I think we'd like the Camas community real well, and it certainly appears to be very family-oriented, and of course I love the idea of no state income tax (OR is 9%?!), but as I review/compare the Lake Oswego school reports, there really doesn't appear to be any comparison. The LO test scores are SO much better than Camas's, as an objective outsider, I don't even think that they're comparable. LO appears to be more comparable to Riverdale (which is exceptional) than to Camas.

So I'm guessing that if Portland is having funding issues for public education, it's a local thing (as opposed to a state funding issue), or else the results are not tied to financing, because LO's scores are very, very impressive. Unfortunately it appears that $750k goes a lot farther in terms of home buying in Vancouver/Camas than it will it LO.

[gypsydoc]

Originally Posted by hts

Thanks! I was not familiar with the School Matters web site, and that one provides some pretty useful information, albeit at a very high level.

The problem is that I think we'd like the Camas community real well, and it certainly appears to be very family-oriented, and of course I love the idea of no state income tax (OR is 9%?!), but as I review/compare the Lake Oswego school reports, there really doesn't appear to be any comparison. The LO test scores are SO much better than Camas's, as an objective outsider, I don't even think that they're comparable. LO appears to be more comparable to Riverdale (which is exceptional) than to Camas.

So I'm guessing that if Portland is having funding issues for public education, it's a local thing (as opposed to a state funding issue), or else the results are not tied to financing, because LO's scores are very, very impressive. Unfortunately it appears that $750k goes a lot farther in terms of home buying in Vancouver/Camas than it will it LO.

Lake Oswego is in Clackamas County, while much of Portland is in Multnomah County. That may help with the confusion...

If your price range is in the $750,000 range, then, yes, it can go quite a bit further in Camus. - if you are comparing it with homes listed in the $750,000 range in LO, you'd probably want to get a Comparative Market Analysis on some of the recently sold homes in that area. Homes over the $600,000 range are not selling well. Some owners end up reducing them $50,000 to $100,000 until they sell. Homes in the $750,000 range that have been sitting on the market for many months have owners that for the most part are very motivated or are pulling their homes off the market and waiting for it to go back up.

If you are looking in that price range, you might at least glance at homes around $800,000 to 900,000 in LO - Ask your Realtor to provide you with the comps of what these homes are actually selling FOR. Big difference between list and sold prices. You may be pleasantly surprised.

They're not giving them away, but it's nice to be able to find a seller willing to negotiate more than just $5,000 or $10,000 down.

If your price range is more in the $350,000 to $500,000... those homes have more activity in the buying and selling... It's the upper priced homes that are languishing.

Hope that helps... I'm pretty competent..

[seven of nine]

Originally Posted by hts

Thanks! I was not familiar with the School Matters web site, and that one provides some pretty useful information, albeit at a very high level.

The problem is that I think we'd like the Camas community real well, and it certainly appears to be very family-oriented, and of course I love the idea of no state income tax (OR is 9%?!), but as I review/compare the Lake Oswego school reports, there really doesn't appear to be any comparison. The LO test scores are SO much better than Camas's, as an objective outsider, I don't even think that they're comparable. LO appears to be more comparable to Riverdale (which is exceptional) than to Camas.

So I'm guessing that if Portland is having funding issues for public education, it's a local thing (as opposed to a state funding issue), or else the results are not tied to financing, because LO's scores are very, very impressive. Unfortunately it appears that $750k goes a lot farther in terms of home buying in Vancouver/Camas than it will it LO.

Qualifications, Parent, two in college, veteran of oregon schools, recommend:
If you can find a home to love in Lake O, take it, your home will hold value better, the schools are so heavy in tradition and parent participation, and I think your overall living will be more satisfactory, yes there is the stinky income tax but I would still take it over WA,! good luck

[gypsydoc]

Originally Posted by seven of nine

Qualifications, Parent, two in college, veteran of oregon schools, recommend:
If you can find a home to love in Lake O, take it, your home will hold value better, the schools are so heavy in tradition and parent participation, and I think your overall living will be more satisfactory, yes there is the stinky income tax but I would still take it over WA,! good luck

I absolutely agree!

[hts]

As I've said before, I've never been to Portland/Vancouver before, and there are obviously many intangibles tht will go into our relo decision, and as much as I might want to lean toward Vancouver (no state income tax is a biggie) and convince myself that the Camas schools are as good as one can do in the area, based upon the objective test data, I can only conclude that the LO school system is superior. If there is a better public school district (I think Riverdale may be, but its geographic boundaries are very small) in the Portland/Vancouver area, I'd be very interested in learning about it, as quality of public schools is our #1 priority.

It's nice to hear that several folks thing that home values may be more stable and overall quality of life might also be better in LO, but its the schools that will drive this decision.

Thanks for all your thoughts so far--keep 'em coming!