Starting a Family in Portland?

[Brandon26pdx]

Portland is mostly a young couple/young familiy paradise from what I can tell, so you're interest in the area is pretty much on the money. My father and step mother have an older (1960's) ~2000 sqft ranch house in NW Portland/Washington county with a huge, enormous backyard...I would be suprised if it was worth $350k. Property taxes in Washington county are also much lower than Multnomah Co, but they live very close to Multnomah and so very close to downtown.

If you're a sun worshipper or a clean car freak, you won't be delighted. Rain comes down in buckets during a typical springtime in Portland, which is exactly what it's doing now. Personally I'm indifferent to the weather here most of the time...you get used to it, but you'd find it chilly and wet most of the year compared to what you're used to.

Best idea is just to come for a short visit and see what you think. It's a small enough area to hit the highlights in a couple days of driving around town.

[subsound]

Oregon is a good place to start, I do worry about having kids in the area sometimes. I have many coworkers with kids, they are well educated and smart but I wonder about the school year. I would have loved it as a kid, but it seems so much shorter then what I am used to and each kid is in after school programs to supplement their education.

[EnricoV]

Originally Posted by Laney Wilson

Jan, I don't agree about the religious quotient of Clark County. If you go to places like Battle Ground or Hazel Dell, or the non-rich areas of Vancouver, there are a lot of religious young families. Seattle and the wealthy parts of King County are much less religious. I don't understand the "churched" information you're referring to, because on the ground you sure see a lot of small evangelical churches and a few huge churches.

Just don't expect the culture of Clark County and vancouver to be anything like the liberal areas of California, Portland or Seattle.

I think Jan is right about the San Juans, if you could find work there. You could work in Anacortes maybe.

Probably a tough concept, but the "churched" information is factual. Not just someone's opinion. They're referring to the American Religious Identification Survey. A scholarly survey that regarding religion in America. Washington for years has been #1 (with Oregon right behind) in the largest population who identify with no religion. The recent study, just out, had Vermont surpassing them.

And sure, Washington schools are just so much better than Oregon's. Yet another factual study, Report Card on American Education, ranks Washington at #12 and Oregon lagging so far behind at #15.

[ucbedge]

OP here -

First of all, thank you for your suggestions! It's proving immensely helpful for us....

So from what I gather, the places we should start looking are Beaverton, Milwaukie, North Clackamas, and Woodstock. Any other suggestions?

Somebody asked about our political/religious ideologies - I hate to say it, but we're probably as boring and normal as it gets. We hardly ever go to church, and we both consider ourselves Republican even though we're both Berkeley grads. Most importantly though, I dont want our religion/political affiliation to determine where we live. So unless some areas in Portland are run by religious sects, we're more concerned with other factors (i.e. distance from work, good schools, nice open spaces, etc etc) than religion.

Always looking for more feedback. We're leaving Friday morning!!!!

[izziya]

one good thing is you don't have to send your kid to the neighborhood school; they have the option of attending whichever one in the district they want.
Beaverton? ehhh... if you like a lot of anonymous suburbs and big box stores, chains and strip malls, then yeah go for it. I like a more villagey-neighborhood feel myself (i.e. woodstock, sellwood- both good places for young families by the way). And in terms of the whole religious thing, pdx has a very do-your-own-thing vibe.
If you can afford it, the Bridlemile/Vista Springs area has some lovely bigger, older houses that feel secluded but are actually about 10 min. to downtown, 10 min. to beaverton (for work?)- sort of tucked away on the cusp of both cities.

[LewisMel]

1) Is Portland a nice area to raise children? As in, are there good schools, not serious drug problems, etc etc?
Answer: Yes I think so. Every place has its positives and negatives but i think Portland brings a little less slower pace than california. Nothing compares to when we were kids though and you could leave your doors unlocked and roam the neighborhood all day and come home when it was time to eat. :-)
2) Any recommendations on which neighborhoods we should look? Our budget is about $350K. We're looking for some place to eventually raise a family, so while schools are important for resale value, they arent important to us near-term. We like farmer's markets and hiking/biking trails, and the idea of having more than a 0.1 acre plot is just music to my ears.
Answer: Right now in todays market you can and will find something nice. Prices have dropped which were sometimes unaffordable for some. So that is the good news. Portland is a large town and you have many options. There is a lot of hiking and outdoor sports in and around Portland. You may like to look further into the following areas, Happy Valley, Clackamas, Mt Tabor, Damascus.
3) Probably more important than #2, is there any areas we should avoid??
Answer: Yes but I's rather not say on a forum at risk of offending anyone

4) Whats the worst commute(s) to/from downtown Portland? Ideally, I would not like to be more than a 30-minute drive (one way, including traffic) from in downtown Portland.
Worst commute by far is travelling west bound from downtown to the west side of portland at peak hours. I would also say I-84 can get quite congested heading east bound but is quick to get going. I-205 also gets quite congested heading north bound at afternoon peak times.

I hope this information helps and i hope you have a great trip next weekend.

Melissa

[StealthRabbit]

Originally Posted by ucbedge

OP here -

...
So from what I gather, the places we should start looking are Beaverton, Milwaukie, North Clackamas, and Woodstock. Any other suggestions?
...

These are all quite different areas from each other (from suburbia / tract homes to 'old craftsman' style.). The draw of Beaverton would be schools and Washington Cty regs. There are some older areas in the 'west hills', near Alpenrose Dairy that are nice.

For east side, Mt Tabor is good.

I would still save time for a swing through Vancouver and Camas, (just for perspective) as I frequently do the trip to downtown in 30 min, but I avoid rush hr if possible (or take the Express bus).

As with most moves, it would be best to rent first (month to month) Buy later (after you scope out the nice spots).

Swing by the Rhodie gardens (Near Reed College / Woodstock) There will be a few flowers out. Nice place to 'collect-your-thoughts'
Portland Parks & Recreation :: Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden

Leave your McCain / Palin sticker at home, or your car might get bashed in Portland. You may note some extreme social dynamics in OR. WA is far more generic / less passionate / less demanding of 'group-think'.

Have a great trip (sunbreaks on Saturday!!)
Spend a lot of time talking to locals (stores / cafes/ parks), and attend some public events / forums in your interest group. We try to stay in private guest homes when we visit new locales (not B&B... $20 instead of $100) , as I like to get a feel for local issues, and different perspectives.

[hml1976]

I have to laugh at the Clark County is really conservative stuff

We live in Camas and I've never lived in such a liberal area (and I lived in NYC!) really, Obama signs a-plenty and we only know one other couple that attends church besides us and they're Catholic. Really, we're moderate Republicans (kinda like the OP) and are alone in a sea of crunch here. We love the area though and would highly recommend it.

[nmsegal]

We moved here from SoCal and think Portland is a fabulous place to have a family. Super family friendly, alot of recreation options very close to the urban core, etc. This town is swimming with kids, I think in large part b/c people with little kids have heard the news and are moving to portland. All our friends are transplants. That being said, the public schools could be better (primarily b/c Oregon doesn't have a sales tax from which many states fund schools). There are some great ones (and great districts outside of Portland proper), but they should be better. For your budget you could live many places, just depends on how much house you want to have. The only places you're probably totally priced out of are the premium close-in neighborhoods like the west hills on the west side, Beaumont-Wilshire, Irvington, Laurelhurst, etc. on the east side. SE might be a good option if you're on the younger side, or N. Portland is up and coming.

I also recommend renting. We didn't know what neighborhood we wanted to buy in and were fortunate to find a really great house to rent in NE. 3 yrs later, we're still here. Time is one your side in this market is how we see it. Portland has so many great neighborhoods you should take your time to find the right one.

I love Portland, but if you haven't checked it out another really cool town (much smaller and N. of Seattle) is Bellingham, Washington. College town, on the water, just gorgeous.

P.S. there are a million Californians up here.