Is Portland right for My Family

[PeixeGato]

Thanks ricka. I definitely plan to spend a decent amount of time in the city (whichever it may be) before deciding to relocate there. No matter how many opinions and how much input you get from people, there's nothing that can beat first hand impressions and experiences.

[Durian Beach]

Originally Posted by PeixeGato

:

1. We want to live in a med-sized city (i.e. pop between 200K and 1 million). NYC was too big and Ann Arbor was too small (when you exclude the student population) and spread out. We are not interested in living in the suburbs or in a rural area. As such, I'd prefer NOT to hear from people who have decided that city living is not for them or people who prefer living in the suburbs. As I mentioned, we love SF and Berkeley and if money were no object, we'd be living in one of those places.

I'd like to point out that considering the kind of lifestyle you are looking for don't rule out some of the major college towns of say for instance 100K. The scenes and kind of amenities you are looking for exist WAY out of proportion for the seeming size of such a town and a place like Ann Arbor could often have a much larger such scene that a city of 1million elsewhere. For instance I knew a chick here in Champaign Illinois, a bunch of gay guys she knew came down to visit her and were amazed and said the gay scene in Champaign is much better than that in Milwaukee Wisconsin. I'm not gay myself and I'm sure what exists here pales to Chicago, but there are a lot of major cities in the US that are totally lacking in what you are looking for.

[MCmommy06]

I have lived in Denver and Portland. For a mixed couple Portland would be a better fit. We moved from Denver because our mixed family. there was alot of "clicks and interracial dating, marriages are very uncommon there. I do love the things to do in Colorado and the mountains are beautiful BUT Portland has all of that plus the beach within an hour and better weather. I can't tell you how many times in the 6 years we lived there we were snowed in. It once took us 8 hours to dig our car out of the parking lot. Also in Denver you can't live without a car, infact just 1 really won't do without inconvience.
Good luck !

[lasttimewemove]

ok...the whole "rain" thing. Since you have kids you have to think about it differently: it is WET half the year. Forget the part about it falling down, the actual precipitation, thats nothing a good umbrella wont solve. What ends up "getting you" is that everything is WET! So even if you have a brief 1 hour window of just light drizzle so that you can quickly get the kids ready and out the door for the park...you get there and its all mud, the swings are wet, the slide is wet, the benches are wet, the tables are wet. None of this will dry out till end of June! The inside playground at Burger King starts looking like the best invention on earth and youre a vegetarian. I strongly suggest renting during the wet season before you move for good. Rent a furnished place from a vacation rental website (should be cheap about now with the economy) and check it out. I find it was tough with kids. We are a family that loves to get the foul weather gear on and hike in the rain, and I come from the Midwest with sub zero temps in winter (and love it!)...but the constant, annoying, ever present drizzle and wet seat of my pants was too much. We still have a house there we are renting, and plan to sell soon. Too wet. Pretty much ALL the other things you mentioned were dead on though...so if you can get past the weather you will be a very happy family in Portland. Best of luck!

[LeftCoastee]

Originally Posted by lasttimewemove

ok...the whole "rain" thing. Since you have kids you have to think about it differently: it is WET half the year. Forget the part about it falling down, the actual precipitation, thats nothing a good umbrella wont solve. What ends up "getting you" is that everything is WET! So even if you have a brief 1 hour window of just light drizzle so that you can quickly get the kids ready and out the door for the park...you get there and its all mud, the swings are wet, the slide is wet, the benches are wet, the tables are wet. None of this will dry out till end of June! The inside playground at Burger King starts looking like the best invention on earth and youre a vegetarian. I strongly suggest renting during the wet season before you move for good. Rent a furnished place from a vacation rental website (should be cheap about now with the economy) and check it out. I find it was tough with kids. We are a family that loves to get the foul weather gear on and hike in the rain, and I come from the Midwest with sub zero temps in winter (and love it!)...but the constant, annoying, ever present drizzle and wet seat of my pants was too much. We still have a house there we are renting, and plan to sell soon. Too wet. Pretty much ALL the other things you mentioned were dead on though...so if you can get past the weather you will be a very happy family in Portland. Best of luck!

Wet also equals clean for the most part. Living in Southern California for three years makes me appreciate this more than you can imagine. In So Cal, your car would get dirty just sitting in your driveway from all the particulate matter in the air.

But the filthy benches were dry.

[roneb]

Originally Posted by roxmorg

If you like the moderate climate of the bay area or anywhere else, DO NOT move here!!! I cannot tell you how bad the rain is...honestly! I am from Denver, moved here about a year ago and cannot wait to go back. This is pure hell for those who like to get outdoors in the winter..or even summer. Trust me, I am no prissy girl when it comes to getting outdoors, but please trust me, you have no idea what you are in for. From July 4th - Sept.15, it is beautiful. So get a summer home ; ) My neighbor has 2 young kids and complains about portland not being family friendly. It may be a bit like San Fran in that regard. Remember rain in winter means that the ground does not freeze so when kids go out to play they are playing in mud pits at the park and in your yard. Sorry fellow Portlanders but I cannot lie. : ). You will thank me later.

Wow, I gripe about PDX winters all the time, and this seems harsh even to me. As a father of four I can say that PDX is VERY family friendly. Yes, they DO get muddy in the winter, but they're kids after all! Find a home/condo with something that can serve as a "mudroom" for when they come inside. And there is plenty to do outdoors in the winter. From what the OP described, Portland would be a great fit.

As far as weather, I think it may be more a concern for the grownups. It does stay VERY gray through the winter/spring months and SAD is a very real condition for some. I've also always been of the opinion that a somewhat smaller city (Spokane, WA, Boise, ID and Duluth, MN spring to mind) offers a better environment for raising a family - but that's just me and doesn't match what the OP requested.

[davefr]

Originally Posted by PeixeGato

I currently live in Northern California and love the Bay Area trio of cities (i.e. SF, Berkeley, Oakland). We moved here nearly 5 years ago and have loved every minute of it, however, now that we have kids and our priorities have changed, the reality of what it costs to live here is setting in. When I say the "cost of living here", I am referring to more than just the cost of housing. I am referring to the number of hours I and my wife will have to work in order to live the lifestyle we like. We value time with our family, time and money to vacation, etc. Living in the Bay Area is so expensive, that we just don't see having enough money to do all of that AND save money for our retirement.

Will your careers be significantly more marketable here then in the Bay Area? That's the only way you have a chance of being better off here.

Housing costs will be lower here but some costs are actually higher and wages are almost always lower. If you can transfer here and maintain the same salaries then I'd say go for it. If you can do that then the rest of your "wish list" should be do-able here with the exception of the weather. There is no comparing Bay Area weather with Portland in the winter. We have 4 months of real winter weather. (rain, gloom, cold with occasional ice and snow).

[pdxMIKEpdx]

I also have to chime in about "family friendly"!
I have raised a couple kids and have been very active with boy scouts here in Portland.
PORTLAND IS VERY FAMILY FRIENDLY!
Of course the trendy places everyone mentions like downtown, NW23, The Pearl, Hawthorne, etc, may be geared to twentysomethings and above, but neighborhoods like Woodstock, Sellwood, Westmoreland are VERY family oriented. I can only speak for the eastside though. I have never lived anywhere else.

As far as rain, the person that described it as "WET" was right on the money. If it ain't dark and rainy in the cold months, it's still gloomy and wet. Or sunny and drying out. But during the rainy season, everything is damp, and never really dries out until late spring. My kids would never jump in the leaf piles in the fall because the leaves are wet and full of slugs!

Something that my friends find funny is that I equate the chill in the air and the fall rains with camping! Because Boy Scouts picks up in the fall with the start of school, over the years that kind of weather has meant the start of camping season to me! Actually it's pretty cool. Campgrounds that are packed in the summer are virtually deserted because of a little drizzle! But with a good tent, quickshade and some tarps, you can have a pretty good time!
You can't be a scout in Oregon without learning to deal with rain, and learning how to properly dry your gear after your camp!

I think it may be time to start a thread with tips on how to deal with the rainy season for the new Portland residents.