Portland Neighborhood for Young Family (Tualatin: fit in, real estate, rentals) - Oregon (OR) - City-Data Forum

allnaturalmama · 09-05-2010, 07:55 AM

I hope there hasn't been tons of threads on this before, but I looked and I couldn't find any. My DP and I are thinking of moving to Portland soon he has some job offers and the one out there is the best and we think we will like the location. We have a 2 year old daughter and we just found out we are pregnant again! Which was a big surprise

Anyway he just finished his masters degree and I have been working too but I won't be working when we move. From poking around this site it seems like we will fit in well we just don't know an affordable, safe, and family friendly neighborhood to move too. We really want a place where we can walk to a park with our daughter and watch her play and not have to worry about it not being a safe park and hopefully find some like minded parents to chat with. We are kind of a "crunchy" family I guess you could say. We currently live with his parents in the Chicago suburbs and its very nice and safe, but we don't really want to live the conservative suburban life much longer.

We can probably spend max $1,200 a month on rent and we would like 2 bedrooms. We also want it to be kid friendly. We are also pretty progressive in most of the things we do and I really don't want rude comments form many people when I breastfeed the new baby in public like I did at the park near where we are now or everywhere else we went when she needed to eat. So hopefully we can find some like minded parents near us.

philwithbeard · 09-05-2010, 12:12 PM

Google: Moving to Portland.
a couple of web sites put up by real estate agents, with a lot of info on the Portland City Neighborhoods.

Search our the Multnomah Village in SW Portland, should be on the high side of your budget.
This neighborhood is rumored to be 1990's style of "crunchy", in a good way.

Yankeemama · 09-05-2010, 03:37 PM

I think you and your family will love most neighborhoods in Southeast and some in Northeast. Your budget makes me think Sellwood in Southeast or maybe Mt. tabor which is more NorthEast of that neighborhood but still in Southeast. Clinton neighborhood may work and those areas have good schools. My family and I moved about eight months ago but we bought so am not sure what rentals are like here. You could breastfeed anywhere in PDX. This is one of the most family friendly, cool places to live in the country. We are early 40's with young children and we can take them everywhere during the day/ early evening and feel comfortable. The suburbs are more conservative but we feel comfortable there, too. I would suggest coming for a visit. My hubby did the leg work for our family and I moved to PDX blind. It's a little scary to do it that way but since you are renting, not so bad. Thank goodness my hubby picked a great neighborhood for us and a house that I love!

Nell Plotts · 09-05-2010, 04:11 PM

Long term I would look for something in the Tualatin Hills Park & Recreation District .

allnaturalmama · 09-05-2010, 04:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by philwithbeard

Google: Moving to Portland.
a couple of web sites put up by real estate agents, with a lot of info on the Portland City Neighborhoods.

Search our the Multnomah Village in SW Portland, should be on the high side of your budget.
This neighborhood is rumored to be 1990's style of "crunchy", in a good way.

What's 1990's "crunchy" vs the term today? I have some friends that claim to be "crunchy" people but getting organic cheetos from Whole Foods doesn't really make it healthier.

I just hoping to find some other families that home birth, nurse, and use similar parenting styles so I don't have to seem like the weird one at the park with the baby nursing in the sling and our 2 year old talking about the birth at home after our second child is born. Anyway thank you all the for the recomendations! I am pretty much doing all the moving planning so they are all very helpful since we don't know the area at all. Keep em coming

Yankeemama · 09-05-2010, 04:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by allnaturalmama

What's 1990's "crunchy" vs the term today? I have some friends that claim to be "crunchy" people but getting organic cheetos from Whole Foods doesn't really make it healthier.

I just hoping to find some other families that home birth, nurse, and use similar parenting styles so I don't have to seem like the weird one at the park with the baby nursing in the sling and our 2 year old talking about the birth at home after our second child is born. Anyway thank you all the for the recomendations! I am pretty much doing all the moving planning so they are all very helpful since we don't know the area at all. Keep em coming

Seriously, PDX is probably the breast feeding Capitol of the country! This especially true East side of the river. NorthEast moms are the crunchiest I have seen but still cool. This area is a bit like Berkeley, CA. We are the stereotypical Liberal, green, Eco-conscious, Subaru driving, Dr. sears/ attachment style parenting, sustainable foodie, vegan welcome, public school loving, breast feeding kind of place. Come on by!

Nell Plotts · 09-05-2010, 04:29 PM

There is no one neighborhood where families with that lifestyle concentrate. Were I you I would seek out doulas and midwives, ask what geographic areas they serve.

I am beyond the having babies stage but if my daughter in law's experience is typical physicians and birth attendants STRONGLY advocate breast feeding and many advocate sticking with it for a year or more.

philwithbeard · 09-05-2010, 05:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by allnaturalmama

What's 1990's "crunchy" vs the term today.......

1- Clinton era Democrat, SUV, mini-van driving soccer Mom; Mom, or Dad, hauling car load of kids to all kinds of afterschool activities.

2 - Urban dictionary: Crunchy (definition #1)

3 - Urban Dictionary: Granola (all three definitions)

4 - Urban Dictionary: Neo-Hippie (definition #3)

Winter outerwear in Vest Style, (maybe I missed something, but I haven't noticed a big fashion push for the vested outerwear since maybe 2004. It's mostly aging young adults nearing 30 or much older that still cling to their sleeveless insulated coats.)

Many of the modern era "neo-crunchy" wear skinny, tight fitting pants in thighs and lower legs. Older "crunchy" are still in loose fitting cargo pants, or some such.

Fewer tattoos. Tattoos, and body art, are for social circle viewing or private viewing only. Displaying complex tattoos for just EVERYBODY on the street's viewing, regardless of viewer's social station, just isn't done. This is of course a very last century elitist attitude.

The above is only my opinion, and not reflective of the population of Portland at large, since I have no idea what the vast majority of Portlanders think.

Phil

allnaturalmama · 09-06-2010, 02:15 PM

We were playing around on realtor.com last night and we found some homes we could actually afford to buy in the 97203 zip code which was surprising I thought we would rent until our new baby is at least 11 lol. The neighborhood is Cathedral Park I think. From the googleing I've done it seems like a really nice place to live, but the home prices are so good it seems too good to be true. Is it?

philwithbeard · 09-06-2010, 04:22 PM

Cathedral Park.....
check out these facts on the links provided.
Friends of Cathedral Park

Notice from the 2000 census data, that only 12.9% were families with children. and 48% of the population is renters.

Long term, try this link for test scores for the schools up that way....
I think your public school area is the Roosevelt HS district.
Schools - Portland Public Schools

HTH
Phil