Lake Oswego.

[Scotch99]

Originally Posted by JonathanLB

It's an upper middle class to upper class area, one of the nicer places in Portland but honestly my family always joked about Lake Oswego. I lived in an upper class family, and our observations were that Lake Oswego people for the most part are a prime example of the "nouveau rich," obsessed with self-image and showing off their wealth, when in fact they aren't that wealthy. They're wealthy compared to the lower and middle middle class, but compared to true wealth they have hardly anything. But the attitudes I encountered constantly were things like this: 1) Dress up for every occasion, or non-occasion, never let anyone think you don't have the best designer clothes, 2) Don't drink beer; beer is for poor people, only drink champagne or fine wine, even if you cannot pronounce the name of the wine, 3) Make fun of the "lawn people" (Mexicans) who do your landscaping and act like it's really quaint, like minorities were made to serve your needs or something, 4) Actively make fun of anyone who isn't in the "in crowd."

We used to call it "Fake Lost Ego" not Lake Oswego.

I went to a party with my first girlfriend, whose parents lived in Lake Oswego where she grew up, and they were pretty much a prime example of this. The party I went to was so funny because it was all early 20s like me at the time drinking wine, there was no beer available whatsoever, and it was a HOT summer day, I'm talking like for us in Portland as hot as it gets, about 101, and I showed up wearing a shorts and a tank top, because I assumed it was a casual gathering, no big deal. It was just too hot to wear much else. But some girl said some comment to me implying I was from the trailer park or low class or something, when in fact my family had more money than all of those people put together multiplied by 10 and then some. But what they don't realize is that people with money aren't obsessed with it as much, my dad wears casual clothes a lot, drinks Bud when watching sports or at a BBQ like normal people do. He doesn't have anyone to impress. Anyone who knows he is knows who he is, haha, 'nuff said. And in Lake Oswego it seems to be all about the superficial, it's like a poor man's Beverly Hills or something.

I'm sure they have great schools, and I'm sure it's a nice place to raise a family. As for the people I seemed to meet from L.O.? I could live without them, honestly. The real wealthy people, i.e. people who are rich but act like human beings of normal egos, are from the West Hills and Forest Heights areas, not from L.O. unless you're talking about like right next to the river or something.

Is this an accurate generalization of LO residents? If so, then we will have to rule LO out as we consider possible neighborhoods. We're considering a job offer in Portland and we plan to visit within the week to look at the housing situation. Based on my research of the areas with top schools and neighborhoods similar to what we have right now in the midwest, LO ranked on the top of the list (except for the $$$ part and the lack of diversity). But honestly we consider ourselves middle class with middle class mentality. We don't drink (because DH is allergic), we don't wear designer clothes, we'd definitely expect to have T-shirts and shorts for summer parties, and we're planning to mow our own lawn. What other comparable neighborhoods should we consider? We have a toddler and an almost kindergardener, and having excellent public schools is a priority. I also love established neighborhoods with a nice community feel. The ideal neighborhood would also be a bit more diverse than LO and within reasonable commute to my spouse's potential new office (which is just south of downtown and west of the river).

[Nell Plotts]

If you are retired, and want sun, consider the Bend area. Home prices are dropping like a stone.

OR retirees spending winter in HI, AZ, Baja or the sunny parts of CA are common. My parents would leave in mid Oct and return in April.

If you are looking for a home in LO look for lots of south facing windows.

[gc57]

Thanks, I will.