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"Pacific Northwest church affiliation is so low that scholars of religion have dubbed the region, "The None Zone," meaning that on questionnaires the largest religious affiliation is "none." We are less churched than any part of the nation."
If we decide to move to Portland we will be sending our children to Catholic Schools. I'm sure the public schools are great, but my husband went to Catholic school and he is a firm believer in the schools mostly because of the sense of community. So anyone out there with some good information on the Catholic schools in Portland I would appreciate your input. Especially if you know any with the Blue Ribbon standards.
Thanks
There are Good Catholic schools in the Portland area. I personally love Sherwood, Orgeon. It's a great town to live in! We just built a new Catholic school for St. Francis. Our town was voted the best in Oregon!!! I live in the Woodhaven community known as pleasantville!!! If you need any more help please let me know!!!
Originally from the S.F. Bay Area, moved to Flagstaff, AZ to attend college and said I would never live in Phoenix, Az. Here I am 11 years later and living in Phoenix, Az. My husband and I both from originally from S.F. have never really loved Phoenix and this passed summer about did it for us. The heat was unbearable. We decided then that we needed to get out.
We have been looking into the Portland area. We have 2 children ages 4 and 7. We are looking for a family neighborhood. Where there are lots of kids playing outside, block parties and lots of kid friendly activities. Both of my children are active in sports soccer, basketball, baseball, dance, gymnastics and swimming. Schools are important also. Mostly the Catholic school system.
I need your help with the best areas and neighborhoods for us to live. Please be very candid about the Portland area and your thoughts on were we might fit in best.
Thanks
Hi! I have the perfect neighborhood for your family! Sherwood, Oregon. My neighborhood is Woodhaven. It's a very family oriented town. There are lots of children - we have paths to ride your bike! We have a new catholic school - St. Francis. The Family YMCA borders the Woodhaven Community with lots of activites available. Sherwood was voted the best city in Oregon!!! Check us out!! Please contact me if you need any more help!
I love old in type. Always puts a positive swing on the negative comments.
I have a question. Tell me where are the most conservative neighborhoods in the Portland area. I wouldn't say I'm totally conservative, but not totally left either. Also not a Clinton fan.
My husand and I are thinking about Portland. We have three children and they go to Catholic School. We have lived mostly in the Western States: Nevada, California, and Arizona.
Love the out doors, love the city life especially the culture.
Looking forward to hearing comments.
Thanks
Portland is a great city! There are several catholic schools to choose from. I personally leave in Sherwood, Oregon. About 15-20 minutes from downtown Portland. I believe Portland is very liberal and mostly democratic too! Sherwood has a new Catholic school -St. Francis. We are a family oriented town. Woodhaven neighborhood is great. We have bike paths and a community YMCA located in our neighorhood. Sherwood was voted the #1 city in Portland. Lots of kids. Check us out. If you need more information let me know! Good luck!
Look at Camas or Vancouver if you want family friendly
Please consider Camas, Washington or Vancouver, Washington if you want your children to be safe and succeed as Oregon historically does not help it's children succeed. Oregon is horrendously drug ridden and you will more than likely be a victim of a drug addict. We absolutely would not live there after experiencing a two year stint in Oregon and are now happily snuggled into Vancouver where life is great and the people even better! We are above average income earners and after much research, could not bring ourselves to remain in Oregon due to it's outright abuse of children. A former governor, Goldschmidt, is a pedophile and if you google his name you will read the history and massive coverup.
Portland and it's host state has a very bad history for children Oregon is ranked 5th in the nation for pedophiles-made the national news last week and many children are not graduating from highschool. Portland is expensive and very crime ridden and we will not even go downtown because last time we went our car was being scoped out again by a thief on a bike. Traffic congestion is also terrible due to inadequate systems and no financial means to fix the problem. Portland is probably a great place to live if you call yourself an intellectual as an excuse to use drugs. If you love the great outdoors, move to Bellingham or Seattle-far superior cities in every way because Washington has actually worked out most of the bad issues that Oregon cannot and will not due to the type of people who live there.
Please consider Camas, Washington or Vancouver, Washington if you want your children to be safe and succeed as Oregon historically does not help it's children succeed. Oregon is horrendously drug ridden and you will more than likely be a victim of a drug addict. We absolutely would not live there after experiencing a two year stint in Oregon and are now happily snuggled into Vancouver where life is great and the people even better! We are above average income earners and after much research, could not bring ourselves to remain in Oregon due to it's outright abuse of children. A former governor, Goldschmidt, is a pedophile and if you google his name you will read the history and massive coverup.
Portland and it's host state has a very bad history for children Oregon is ranked 5th in the nation for pedophiles-made the national news last week and many children are not graduating from highschool. Portland is expensive and very crime ridden and we will not even go downtown because last time we went our car was being scoped out again by a thief on a bike. Traffic congestion is also terrible due to inadequate systems and no financial means to fix the problem. Portland is probably a great place to live if you call yourself an intellectual as an excuse to use drugs. If you love the great outdoors, move to Bellingham or Seattle-far superior cities in every way because Washington has actually worked out most of the bad issues that Oregon cannot and will not due to the type of people who live there.
Now that I've stopped laughing I'll suprise a few of you out there and actually come to Portland's defense. Try to keep you posts at least a little objective! Portland actually has lower per capita crime rates than most larger metro areas/cities. According to city data's numbers it ranks about dead even with Seattle as a matter of fact. I've lived in Portland 21+ years and have never been the victim of a drug addict, have never felt unsafe walking downtown, have never had my car broken into, and have never felt my kids were not safe (my daughter goes to school downtown). In my experience traffic has always been worse in Seattle. Children are failing to graduate highschool at record numbers all across this nation. And while I do like to think I operate on a fairly high intellectual level, I don't use that as an excuse to use drugs - well, other than good beer or singlemalt scotch!
I love old in type. Always put a positive spin on the negative comments. Yes, I wish I had that talent!!!
Love the out doors, love the city life especially the culture.
Looking forward to hearing comments.
Thanks
Hi, fam421,
I'll throw in another school here, Central Catholic, on Stark in Portland. My former lieutenant taught the girls' champion volleyball team, and may still!
You may try this website: reunion dot com. It lists schools, with addresses and phone numbers. Could be a more efficient way for you to check schools out.
Not sure if I can add anything with the most conservative neighborhoods. Beaverton seems to me to be pretty conservative, but it kind of reminds me of every other town in California, minus the hilly parts. I'd have to agree that Sherwood is wonderfully new, and has everything you could want in terms of shopping, recreation, etc. They have a wonderful YMCA; neighborhoods are clean, walkable, and well-laid out. And both are relatively close to all the cultural activities in Portland.
That's about it! I actually love older neighborhoods, and I seem to always be surrounded by conservatives! Love Portland. Sellwood (lots of kids and families), and Brooklyn areas, but they might be too liberal for you.
You'll find what you're looking for in the Portland area, even if we haven't touched on everything! Ah, don't forget, the University of Portland, when it's time for your kids to go to univesity. It's part of the Univesity of Notre Dame.
My husband & I chose to move to Portland over a year ago from San Diego. I had never been here before , but knew it didn't snow much or get too cold. I like the slower pace and we did not have difficulty finding jobs. We relocated without them since my husband's employer allowed him to telecommute to San Diego for three months until we got settled in jobs up here- it was a huge step of faith, but we couldn't stand San Diego much longer as far as quality of life. I am a teacher and my husband is in technology. We are in our late 30's. We are making the same wages as we did in San Diego and the cost of living for us is a lot better so we are doing better here. We did not own a house in San Diego, nor do we own one yet here as we aren't sure if we want to stay here permanently. The winter can be very gray which is really difficult when you are used to the sun all the time and the warmth. (I don't think the rain is really that bad and the scenery here is the most beautiful I have ever seen!) I have enjoyed seeing the snow fall when it does. Most employers close down or are understanding if you need to go in late as the roads get too icy to drive in the ealy am. It usually burns off by about 10:00am. Last year the snow did not stay at all for any length of time but I have heard sometimes it may be on the ground for up to 3-4 days, but that is rare. Fall is gorgeous! I love the crisp, clean air and the beautiful colors. Winter lasted a long time last year so we did not really have a spring, but summer is WONDERFUL! We did not have hardly any rain here this summer and it was sunny everyday up until October 27th. I became a bit vitamin D deficient (which is commmon) in the winter and had to get a light box which helps. Our employers treat us very well here and we both have the best working environments we have ever had. It IS very liberal here and we are conservative, born-again Christains, but the people are nice (even to previous Californians). People don't seem to be as stressed out here. The retail workers, even the teenage ones, are very friendly and well-mannered. I don't like that you can't make u-turns in most places and traffic isn't really that bad it is just the ridiculous two or three lane freeways and the people who do 45 miles an hour instead of 55. It takes longer to get places here that's for sure, but you get used to it. Even though I live in the city, there are rural farm areas all around. Lots of great fruit stands & wineries. It is easy to escape the city. I would suggest living in Lake Oswego as it is very family and community oriented. I have worked in the area since moving here and would like to move to that area or Tualatin. They are not too far from Portland or the "Silicon Forest" (Hillsboro & Beaverton)where a lot of the technical industry is & where we live. (We had a week to find a place to live so we could pack up and move in two weeks so we did not get to research a lot, but I thought my husband would have the best chance of finding a job in this area & I knew I could get a job anywhere.)There are gangs there and a lot of drug busts go on so it is not as safe as the areas I mentioned, but I have not felt unsafe at any time like I used to in San Diego even in the good areas. The hispanic population is also high in those areas and a lot of them do not speak English including the children who attend schools so your children may not be in the majority. I have noticed the children are not supervised by their parents and tend to get into mischief. There ARE a lot of homeless people here begging on the street especially northeast Portland. DO NOT move to Northeast Portland as I have come to see from the news it is where a lot of crime is as well. I do have a problem that Lake Oswego is mostly white and not very diverse and it is considered a "rich" community, however, I do not find the people overall to be "snooty" and there is nice, affordable housing in your price range. The children have moms or nannies that supervise them and they care a lot about the family unit and the children are mostly well-behaved because of this. The schools are also excellent in Wilsonville and West Linn school district. Those are also nice areas that we are considering moving to. As far as Catholic schools go Jesuit in Portland is supposed to be a really good one (and very expensive). Valley Catholic in Beaverton is another one, but haven't heard much about it. the only negatives are the ridiculous traffic infrastructure and the gray winter, but I would say it's similar to what S. F. is like except the summer is warmer than S.F. Last winter we were ready to leave as it lasted so long, but we really like the people here ,as they are "real", and our jobs and I would hate to give that up just for more sun & warmth. It really is beginning to feel like home. We'll see how this winter goes. Otherwise we are thinking about Tampa, Fl. I haven't been there either, but I am up for the adventure. I hope this helps! Good luck!
"Pacific Northwest church affiliation is so low that scholars of religion have dubbed the region, "The None Zone," meaning that on questionnaires the largest religious affiliation is "none." We are less churched than any part of the nation."
Very true. But just because someone doesn't belong to any specific church, doesn't mean a.) that they're not religious or b.) that they would denigrate anyone else's religous beliefs.
Oh, and walkerdawg ... gotta second roneb's laughing. And it's even funnier when you try to hold the 'Couve (where the criminals go to live) up as a bastion of crimelessness and safety. Kind of like naming Seattle as a bastion of smooth-flowing traffic.
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Looking to relocate
Looking to Relocate
Love Portland. Sellwood (lots of kids and families), and Brooklyn areas, but they might be too liberal for you. 
