Where should my family and I live in Portland?

February 3, 2015 10:20 PM

My family and I are moving to Portland in two weeks. We've been a number of times, but are unsure of where we should live. To start off we're getting temporary housing, but we want to buy a house and are seeking advice from locals.

The constraints we're looking at are:

• Commute. I will be working downtown and want no more than a 30 minute bicycle ride to work.
• Walkability. We currently live in the Alamo Square neighbourhood in SF and want to continue walking everywhere.
• My wife is a stay-at-home mom. We have a 16 month old daughter with number two on the way. But we don't need a typical "family friendly" area--we're both still pretty young (24 & 29) and enjoy our current lifestyle where we can see some shows and go to bars and restaurants separately or when we get a sitter or for brunch or whatever.
• We have a dog and are aiming at getting a second. A nearby dogpark (within, say, 15 minutes of walking) would be ideal.
• We want a house with a back yard. We currently rent an apartment and it is very inconvenient for my wife to have to get herself and the baby ready to roll to get the dog out to the park first thing every weekday morning.

We think these are all entirely reasonable criteria. We put an offer in on a house this Sunday, almost sight unseen (my wife flew in Saturday afternoon because the listing agent insisted we see it before making an offer). It was in the Alphabet District/Nob Hill (not sure what locals actually call the different hoods), an area we both think is pretty awesome (and super-close to my work). Our budget's high-end is $900k. We could go higher, but it'd have to be really compelling. I'd personally be happier with something like 500k-700k, but that's what our budget looks like.

Portlanders, any advise? What neighbourhoods, if any, fit the bill?

posted by ugly to Grab Bag (8 answers total)

Portland, Oregon, right? (not Maine). It's been ten years since I lived there, in the Alberta neighborhood (NE Portland), and I know it's developed since, but it would have fit all your criteria. My guess is that it's less costly than "the Alphabet District," if by that you mean NW around 23d. I'm still in touch with a couple of neighbors, and I really miss it there.
posted by mmiddle at 7:18 AM on February 4, 2015

Given your open-space requirements, I'd advise against living on the west side of the river. Sure, it sounds like you can afford it, but you'd get more access to more open space on the east side, and more for your money to boot. I'd advise looking at Overlook, Mississippi, and in that general close-in North/Northeast area.
posted by BrunoLatourFanclub at 9:14 AM on February 4, 2015

mmiddle (and others) - the mention of Alphabet District/Nob Hill and the housing prices almost certainly put this in Portland, OR.
posted by anastasiav at 10:17 AM on February 4, 2015

Thirty minute bike ride to downtown, plus walkable neighborhood? With your budget, I think you would get something really sweet close-in east side; Buckman, Ladd's Addition, Irvington. Depending on where you're headed downtown, Division, Hawthorne, and Sunnyside might be nice, too, while still being a reasonable commute.

Personally, I find the area around the Alphabet District /NW 23rd to be a little too touristy/citylike for my tastes; the east side seems more relaxed, with more room to breathe and a little bit more quirkiness. I feel like there are a lot more interesting new things happening over here than in NW, as far as resturants and bars go. Also, living on the east side makes everything else feel more accessible, while NW is a bit more tucked away.

To be fair, as long as you're closer to the Forest Park area of NW Portland, and not in the thick of things down near NW 23rd, it can be cute and neighborhoody, too.

Also, you can't go wrong living anywhere close to a New Seasons, and I hear they're putting one in on NW 21st and Raleigh.
posted by redsparkler at 11:01 AM on February 4, 2015 [2 favorites]

I lived in Portland for a few years in the 90s and most of the 00s, around what you call the Alphabet/Nob Hill area (locally, people mostly just call it Northwest) and just across Burnside in the Goose Hollow area. I always found it the most walkable part of the city, particularly for walking downtown (you don't have to cross any bridges). I never owned a car. The neighborhood did gentrify to the point that I didn't really feel like I belonged there anymore, but that might just be because I was used to what it was like before.

I actually felt the opposite about the neighborhood from redsparkler above, who mentions it feels more citylike. To me it actually felt increasingly suburban (in a bad way), with more and more chains moving in and everything seeming more cookie-cutter. I also felt like the NW area was more, not less accessible, to various places, so, again, I think it's kind of what you're used to. It's true that the east side has a quirkier vibe these days.

I still like the area though and would consider living there again in the unlikely event that I ever moved back to Portland. Other things I liked better than the eastside were the hilliness (eastside can be very flat) and the proximity of Forest Park. If I could afford to buy a house in that area as you can, I'd probably live there. I love the houses in that neighborhood.
posted by tiger tiger at 12:32 PM on February 4, 2015

I'm not sure BrunoLatourFanclub's assessment of getting more open space on the east side is correct. The houses on the west side (as long as they're not downtown) definitely have more land from what I've seen. The houses on the east side, because they're older, are closer together and have smaller backyards.

I used to live in Ladd's Addition and I loved it. It is the most expensive neighborhood on the east side and available houses are sparse, but a lot are still under $900k. Walkable, close to bars, restaurants, stores, etc.

Seconding Buckman, which is the area just north of Ladd's Addition; also Sunnyside and Laurelhurst. Basically anywhere on the east side within the boundaries of the I-84 to the north, SE 45-50th to the east, Powell to the south, and about SE 7th to the west will be walkable, have easy access to downtown, and generally be a fun area for your family. Here is a poorly drawn map I did with an unnecessary extra tail on the I-84. Laurelhurst is a bit less walkable than the others, but still totally doable. Ladd's Addition is the weird little square with spokes sort of in the middle in Hosford-Abernethy.

As far as NE goes, Alberta, as someone mentioned above, is nice too but I think would be a bit of a farther bike ride for you to downtown. Irvington/Grant Park is a very nice residential area in NE. It is a bit more of a walk to bars and restaurants, however. If you ever read the Ramona books by Beverly Cleary, Grant Park is where they lived. Mississippi has some good bars, restaurants, and music venues but is pretty hipster-y and there is only a small stretch of area around there that would be nice to live (IMO).

As for the west side, if you live close to Forest Park but not actually in downtown (just immediately west of downtown), you'll get some open space and easy access to downtown. It has a more suburban, residential feel than the east side, but the NW area has some cool places to walk to. Definitely not as walkable as the east side though, unless you are living right in the downtown area which will not give you the open space you want.
posted by majesty_snowbird at 4:08 PM on February 4, 2015

Given your budget pretty much most of Portland is in your range. Since you want walkable, near a dog park and a house with a yard I would suggest Hillsdale, Lair Hill, Mt Tabor or the Goose Hollow area. In those areas you can generally walk to SOMETHING it just might not be downtown, you can find a house with a yard and there are decent parks with potential for dog walking.
posted by fiercekitten at 7:55 PM on February 4, 2015

The previous answers about the East Side (where we are) are good. I'd add Alameda, Beaumont, and Laurelhurst to the list of neighborhoods to check out. Also Rose City Park, most of which is considerably sub-$900k but is still very nice.

Normandale is an off-leash dog park in Rose City Park. Laurelhurst Park is unfenced, but has a really nice dog area and is also a great spot for kids to run around. Mount Tabor Park also has a great dog park and lovely walks for humans.
posted by treblemaker at 1:04 AM on February 5, 2015