[Okstate]

Just curious if anyone on here has or is presently raising children in the downtown area of lets say....
South of NW Nicolai,
West of Willamette river,
East of Hills area,
North of somewhere near SoWa.
The reason i ask is b/c i will be moving to the downtown area with a wife & child from a small Oklahoma city. I know Portland was voted the most livable U.S. city but want to hear some personal opinions on raising a child downtown. In Oklahoma City or Tulsa, it is nearly unheard of.

[Okstate]

I forget this isn't an exclusively Portland area (Northwestern states). So if anyone else from Seattle or Vancouver wants to chime in be my guest.

[65MAX]

^^^^
You mean there are other cities in the NW besides Portland? :D

Seriously though, raising children in a downtown setting is perfectly fine. In fact, a lot of people argue that your children will be better suited to face the real world when they grow up than they would be if they were raised in the 'burbs. I would say that Portland's downtown is better than most for raising kids because it has a more pedestrian scale and multiple kid-friendly parks throughout that other cities don't have.

Welcome to Portland BTW.

[Okstate]

Thanks for the welcome 65Max, but it won't be until August 08' :( I did, however, visit Portland with my wife on December 26-29 & loved my time there.

[zilfondel]

I'd say that any of the close-in neighborhoods would be the most kid-friendly, as there are tons of parks... Northeast and Southeast specifically. Don't go south of Powell tho!
Northeast is rapidly changing too, anything south of, say, Alberta should be a pretty good 'hood, but it depends on how far east you trod.

[bvpcvm]

My wife and I are in NW, off Thurman. We actually don't have any kids (yet), but if/when we do, we have every intention of staying right here. There are always TONS of kids at Wallace Park. One of the best elementary schools in the city is right there. I don't think it would be a big deal at all, as long as you can find a place that's affordable.

[Rhome]

I live in Goose Hollow by the Vista Bridge with my wife and two small children. It is interesting and eclectic. Almost nightly, we walk along 23rd Ave in the double stroller (or single if my 3-year old is feeling strong), go to either of the two Washington Park playgrounds, walk to Wallace Park for outdoor activities, walk along the river, walk through the Pearl, etc. We also have the advantage of being MAC members, so it's a quick 5 blocks to everything our kids would need including swim lessons, gymnastics, etc. Our kids are better for it.

As an aside, my wife's family lives in OKC (Bethany area and Edmond) and I worked downtown there for 3 years. For all that Oklahoma City pretends is great with their Bricktown area -- and I admit it is a great improvement to a dead downtown -- there is NO comparison to Portland at all.

[PDX City-State]

And there are some deals to be had in Goose Hollow. It's a forested enlcave with lots of condos for less than 300 per sf.

[Okstate]

Rhome, if you are still looming around. Well i guess anyone could answer this. But does anyone know anything about the chapman elementary school? Is it nice?

[bvpcvm]

Rhome, if you are still looming around. Well i guess anyone could answer this. But does anyone know anything about the chapman elementary school? Is it nice?

it's supposed to be one of the best in portland.

[Okstate]

I honestly don't know how or why my fascination with Portland started. My intent on living there developed before i knew one single thing about the city (this was years ago by the way, thanks to emporis) Ever since then, it seems i can't find anything bad about the place. Is there something i'm missing. I know i'll end up there & be like... they never said anything about the dragons blowing fire on full moons :) I'm actually being serious... I want you all to list the cons to living in Portland. Trust me it won't persuade me otherwise, i just want to here what others dislike about stumptown.

[bvpcvm]

If you've been reading the other Portland threads, you'll probably have noticed that things are studied to death here and there's a vocal libertarian opposition to government projects/planning. Actually, I think I'm not alone here when I say Portland's reputation is to a great extent based on its reputation, which is a legacy of a brief moment in the 70's when a lot of visionary decisions were made. Right now we seem to have lost our way a bit; in fact, that libertarian backlash has had plenty of time to grow loud enough that local politicians seem intimidated into soft-pedaling any vision they might have.

[tworivers]

^^^ Well said.

[MitchE]

bvpcvm, I don't get that impression at all. I think stuff happens pretty quick here considering all the steps that must be completed to get a project done. As far as reputation, I completely disagree. We are reaping the dividends now that were planned in the 70's. The groundwork for our reputation in the next 30 years is being is going on all around us. There's all the neighborhood development (new and old), the pearl, sowa, and the big one that no one realizes yet is the all the work around bike planning and the Platinum Master Plan. I think these accomplishments are somewhat underrated because we are so used to them.

One thing that has always bugged me about Portland is its lack of ethnic diversity. It's very white compared to comparable size cities elsewhere.

[pdxstreetcar]

schools seem to be one of the biggest issues with kids in any city and so it usually depends on the quality of schools or whether the parents can afford private school. also the size of the housing stock is an issue, if all the residential units are studio or 1 bedroom sized that could be a problem and lastly i think it depends on critical mass of other child-raising couples, many of the advantages of raising a child in the city are lost if there are very few children around to socialize with. some of these are an issue now in downtown portland but i am noticing more kids in the city and I believe the issue of family-sized units is being addressed at least verbally in the pearl. that said i do think inner city portland would be a great place for kids and i think it is increasingly getting more attractive for child-raising.

okstate, check out portlandtransport.com and especially bojack.com (SmoCrack) to see what bvpcvm is talking about. you wouldnt believe the controversy over the tram and how it was being used to attack things completely unrelated to the tram. as edgepdx said in another thread portland has seen a lot of change recently and is sort of at a crossroads on its direction forward and in a state like Oregon with very different ideological viewpoints, theres a lot of views for how the state should go from here. also check out "measure 37" because this is the heart of the debate.

[MarkDaMan]

some of these are an issue now in downtown portland but i am noticing more kids in the city and I believe the issue of family-sized units is being addressed at least verbally in the pearl. that said i do think inner city portland would be a great place for kids and i think it is increasingly getting more attractive for child-raising.

kids...where the hell do all those little chitlins come from in Jamison Park? I must have counted about 300 kids in a two hour period. In fact, I've seen a lot of parents in the Pearl lately even outside of the park.

I want you all to list the cons to living in Portland. Trust me it won't persuade me otherwise, i just want to here what others dislike about stumptown.

Portland is switching from large town to major metro before my eyes. I think most people that have lived here, or been closely associated with this town for at least 10 years can attest that we're growing up fast. I fear some character will be lost in the transition, and our town will become more corporate and sterile.

I also have seen the neighborhood groups weaken considerably. The neighborhoods associations used to actually push Portland's policy, insure world class schools, and bring innovative ideas like farmers markets and community gardens to the table. Lately they've become set on preserving old Portland and alienated many of the younger populations that used to drive the association's base. Community involvement is important, especially when it isn't about opposing something or someone, but to build a stronger community...

[Rhome]

I want to get back to Okstate's question about raising a family in near NW Portland. While I agree many of the governance and planning issues raised above are important, and we are reaping the benefits (and to some extent the drawbacks) of these, they might be too abstract for this discussion.

Like Okstate, I grew up in a small town in Oklahoma (Bartlesville). I live in the approximate area where Okstate is looking. So with these similarities in mind, I will try to add to the list of comments on livibility that I posted above.

First, I miss thunder. In Oklahoma, it was house shaking. There's no getting around this issue unless you live next to a drummer in a rock band.

Second, I miss the small town feeling of where I grew up. There's just a friendliness in small town Oklahoma (and I'm sure other small towns) that just isn't duplicated in the big city -- even where people are as polite as they are in Portland. It seems like Wallace Park gives neighbors there plenty of opportunity to mix on multiple occassions so perhaps this aspect won't be too different if you move out in that neighborhood.

Third, I miss hearing echoes in the distance of weekend lawnmowing. Sounds strange, but the mix of birds and the soft wirr of a distant Craftsman engine seems very pastoral to me. Now I hear a lot more traffic which is a very grating sound to me. I can't waiting until electric cars become common and this noise is reduced by half.

I'm mostly neutral on the weather. Yes it rains alot, but that's the reason why there are 1000 shades of green in the spring. Plus, it's gentle rain and very few people carry umbrellas. Still, I have a feeling kids tend to spend more time indoors here.

Someone made the comment about the lack of ethnic diversity in Portland. While I agree, it is no different than in rural Oklahoma. Although my kids are too young to attend Chapman, we have heard that there is at least economic diversity there.

Bottom line is I'm glad I moved here from Oklahoma and look forward to many more decades here -- a reason why I read these forums, because there's just so much great stuff being planned for the future.

Finally, and to answer Mark's question, we are part of the crowd that takes their kids to Jamison Park to tromp around in the water. Just a quick 1.5 mile stroll from our house. My kid is the one screaming for joy when the water starts up again -- oh wait, that describes the other 200 kids there as well. I hear that some residents of the Pearl dislike the activity there and all I have to say is, "really? really?!?"

[zilfondel]

Portland is switching from large town to major metro before my eyes. I think most people that have lived here, or been closely associated with this town for at least 10 years can attest that we're growing up fast. I fear some character will be lost in the transition, and our town will become more corporate and sterile.

Interestingly, this is the reasoning behind the much-derided VisionPDX project. I just took their survey today, and I must say I found it very intriguing process and method to identify the current values that Portlanders hold, and to transfer these in a formally-recognized process to the politicians to use as a way of guiding policy in the face of the oncoming hordes (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Horde).