Thoughts on North Deering? Nice enough for young family? (Portland: rentals, month to)

[reezley]

Hi, we may be moving to the Portland area soon and will be renting a place for awhile when we get up there. We would like a part of town that is affordable, has houses with yards (not right in the city), near things like a library and playgrounds, safe enough, quiet enough (not right near colleges?), with a quick commute into the city for my husband, either by car or possibly bus.

Does North Deering fit the bill? There seem to be some affordable house rentals there. Is it nicer there than in Deering? How are the schools there? How does it compare in general to South Portland - I get the feeling South Portland is more college-student-y? Which parts are and aren't?

Thanks for any info!!

[WhoFanMe]

North Deering, in many cases, is the newer part of Portland with much younger housing stock. It is more of a commute to downtown as Washington Avenue, Allen Avenue and Forest Avenue can get quite congested. Because the homes are newer you should be able to find more yard space, particularly in the sub-divisions built in the 1990s and newer. I'm not sure about the library situation, as I think the closest branch is in Deering Center, across from Deering High School.

South Portland has many different neighborhoods, some close to the water (Willard Beach) some upscale (Sylvan Sites) and many working class (Main Street, Broadway and others).

Many landlords will require a one year lease, particularly those with houses that have been on the market, but haven't sold. You should review all of the paperwork carefully if you are only looking on a month to month basis.

[MRVphotog]

The area called North Deering on the map we have always called Northport, my wife works at the big LL Bean call center next to the busy intersection of Washington Ave(Rt26) and Allen Ave.

The residential areas seem nice. If you go abit north on Washington Ave or Allen Ave you are in Falmouth. Falmouth HS is closer to most of North Deering than Deering HS. DHS is an old brick building while Falmouth is almost brand new. Deering HS does have some impressive speed bumps tho....

Downtown is only a few miles away but as mentioned Forest Ave(Rt302) is very congested. Washington Ave is busy but seems to move along abit better. I think if you lived in a neighborhood off the busy streets it would be a fine place to live. Great ice cream at Lil's.