What do you LIKE about Portland? (homes, neighborhoods, buy)

[belmont22]

I made a thread complaining about things I don't like. What are some things you do like?

I like:

*Forest Park
*The abundance of bars, even if they're all kinda clones of each other
*Food carts. A decent gyro is never far away!
*Relatively cheap groceries
*Ground Kontrol
*The fact Canada is only 6 hours away
*Lone Pine Cemetery
*Kolbeh's Persian buffet
*Hawthorne Boulevard, especially Dwaraka
*All the video poker machines
*Tolerance of people who aren't religious

[gypsydoc]

Weather,
close to nature
gardens
Powell's Books
Powell Butte Park
Joy Teriyaki
Coffee
cheap healthy food at Grocery Liquidator stores.

It's just a really good fit.

[Yankeemama]

Perfect Summer
Short plane ride to S.F.
Great airport that will take me to my fave cities
Nice drive to Seattle
Great teachers at kids' school
Good prices for organic foods
Farmer's markets
Funky neighborhoods
Downtown shopping
The Pearl
OMSI
Comfortable lifestyle( no stilettos required)
Powell's Book
Rose Garden
Japanese Garden
Oregon Zoo
OHSU fireplace
Portland Nursery
Elephant's Deli near NW 23rd
Beautiful tree lined streets

[midwest61021]

1. It's far better than Illinois, and 2. My destination sooner than later!

[dent_arthur_dent]

Yankeemama -- Just out of interest, which school(s) would you recommend?

[Haley James]

* Christmas in the city
* Driving over the Fremont at twilight
* Coffee/Food/Cocktail Culture
* Arts & Entertainment
* Uniqueness of the neighborhoods
* Natural Beauty
* Vintage Buildings and Craftsman Homes
* Powell's Books
* Human Scale

[oldtintype]

Originally Posted by dent_arthur_dent

Yankeemama -- Just out of interest, which school(s) would you recommend?

That's an unanswerable question because it depends on your child. My son went to the school where I believe her kids go for a year. It had 35 kids in the 3rd grade (large class sizes in general), was full of really high powered parents who raised tons of money for the school but expected top notch everything, etc. It was a fantastic school test score wise. HOWEVER, the class size thing was a big deal for my kid and for that reason despite the "fantastic test scores" it wasn't a good fit for us, plus I couldn't relate to the other parents.

Now he attends a MUCH lower performing school but he has 20 kids in his class instead of 35, they don't have as much money raised so they don't have as many fancy things but parents are still involved and I have made friends with other parents, who are a really mixed group. My son is doing well there and learning a lot.

So, while there are certain schools that have higher test scores than others, it doesn't mean it will be the best school for you. And lower performing schools tend to have more diversity both income wise, class wise, and racially. So again, depends what's important for you and what works for your child.

If you just want to go based on test scores, on the east side Alameda, Laurelhurst, Beverly Cleary/Fernwood, Buckman,
Abernathy, etc. all have great scores. You can view all the data on the PPS website.

I urge you to recognize though that test scores don't always tell the whole story. Another great school that has mediocre scores is Grout in SE. It's a fantastic school with an amazing principal but has a number of Somali Bantu and Burmese students who are refugees, ESL and whose parents may not be able to help with homework or have literacy issues themselves. That in turn affects test scores but that doesn't mean it's not a good school. Plus the diversity brings a lot to the school.

[Yankeemama]

Originally Posted by dent_arthur_dent

Yankeemama -- Just out of interest, which school(s) would you recommend?

Send me a PM and tell what your criteria is for kid's education and I will go from there. The schools vary quite a bit depending on neighborhood and on Special Education needs. There are contained classrooms for Spec Ed at only some schools so that is a consideration. You def. cannot go on test scores from the PPS website if your student has Spec. Ed needs.

[oldtintype]

What she says about SPED is VERY true.

[Yankeemama]

Originally Posted by oldtintype

That's an unanswerable question because it depends on your child. My son went to the school where I believe her kids go for a year. It had 35 kids in the 3rd grade (large class sizes in general), was full of really high powered parents who raised tons of money for the school but expected top notch everything, etc. It was a fantastic school test score wise. HOWEVER, the class size thing was a big deal for my kid and for that reason despite the "fantastic test scores" it wasn't a good fit for us, plus I couldn't relate to the other parents.

Now he attends a MUCH lower performing school but he has 20 kids in his class instead of 35, they don't have as much money raised so they don't have as many fancy things but parents are still involved and I have made friends with other parents, who are a really mixed group. My son is doing well there and learning a lot.

So, while there are certain schools that have higher test scores than others, it doesn't mean it will be the best school for you. And lower performing schools tend to have more diversity both income wise, class wise, and racially. So again, depends what's important for you and what works for your child.

Oldintype, I tried to rep you but had to spread love around! EVERYTHING she just said! I just read this after I posted my answer. YES, yes and yes. There are so many factors in considering a school appropriate for your child here in Portland. There is so much to consider in regards to public education. As Oldintype mentioned... having a foundation means parents raise money upwards to $200,000. annually here and that money is used to pay for art, P.E., math teachers, etc. It is wonderful that we have these extra classes for our kids but there can also be an extra element of entitlement on the parents' and the offspring's part. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree. I struggle with this daily as I want my kids to gave the values that I was reared with. Money cannot buy you class... or integrity and respect for others. Oldintype... we may actually know each other.