Raising kids in Portland or Eugene (Salem: how much, homes, established neighborhood)

[sandlinjames]

Current situation: I'm 36 & my wife is 34. We have 3 kids: 1, 3, 5 yrs old. I work in IT management. We live in Austin & are thinking of moving back to Oregon.

My wife & I lived in Portland from 2001 - 2005 and loved it. We lived about 3 blocks from Lloyd Center. We loved the scenery, the outdoor activity, the relaxed atmosphere (in the IT workforce, people place personal life as a priority), the transit, etc.

What we did not like: the homeless, the drugs, the fact that the hard core liberals were just as prejudice towards conservatives as the bible thumpers in Louisiana were towards hippies.

As we had our first child, we moved back to Austin, TX to be around the family. It is great here for young kids as they can play outside most of the year due to lack of rain. However, I hate it. It is hot & humid. It never rains so I can't grow the plants. There are no mountains, no Pacific ocean, no good deep sea fishing / crabbing, no hiking, etc. Also, here in TX the mentality @ the workforce seems to be "work first, family second"

So the point: I'm looking to move back to Portland or Eugene. Balancing out pros & cons, I really miss Portland. I want my kids to grow up doing outdoor activities & appreciating the mass transit / recycling / nature.

Seems to me the only 2 things keeping me in TX are raising the kids near the family & a higher income vs cost of living ratio.


PORTLAND:
Pros: Hippies, nature, mass transit, outdoor activities, walk everywhere, beauty due to rain, fishing, homes, temp

Cons: hippies, drugs, people who protest only because they have nothing better to do, lower pay, higher cost of living, kids inside during rainy season

AUSTIN:
Pros: hills, sunny, family in TX, lower cost of living, higher pay
Cons: Hippy wannabees, hot, no rain, homes, people are nice but not as hip


What do you think? Move back to Portland or stay in Austin?

[Silverfall]

If you head towards the west hills/west side of Portland you will get fewer hippies. I lived in the West Hills for 9 years before Salem. The max still runs out there, but there is less walking everywhere.

I had some friends that were from Texas, moved out here, then went back to Texas. They lasted one year before moving back here. I have been to Austin and it is beautiful there. I just couldn't stand the heat there.

[sandlinjames]

There are 2 main things I hate about Austin:
1) the heat
2) things are spread out so I have to drive on the hwy to get anywhere. i miss walking everywhere & taking mass transit

[Silverfall]

Well the west hills would lose the hippie/ultra liberal element that bothers you. The max is still there and I took it all the time downtown. If you want to live on the eastside, Belmonish type area, the liberal/hippie element is there but you get to walk to cafe's and such.

Can you afford the Pearl district?

[sandlinjames]

lived in the pearl when i first moved there.... it was too california for me... all about proving how much money someone had.

call it crazy but although rednecks & hippies annoy me, i like the laid back attitude of each group.

[sandlinjames]

btw... thanks for the info... i had thought about the west hills but was not sure.

[Silverfall]

Originally Posted by sandlinjames

lived in the pearl when i first moved there.... it was too california for me... all about proving how much money someone had.

call it crazy but although rednecks & hippies annoy me, i like the laid back attitude of each group.

Okay...Pearl to yuppie-ish...

In my experience, people in the older, more established neighborhoods, in general tend to be a more "laid back" group of neighbors.

[sandlinjames]

So is the Irvington or Almeda area good for kids? This is our dream area due to homes & attitude.... how are the schools in that area?