Portland, Oregon..Good place to live?

Travel Info
Around 2009 my family and I are thinking about moving to Oregon for a fresh start. I grew up in Grants Pass, and I've only been to Portland as a vistor a few times. I want to know if its a good place to live? Is it safe for children? What neighborhoods are the best? Whats the minium wage?

Travel Tips

If you're rich then Skyline, Bethany, Rock Creek etc are all very nice. Areas like Sexton and Cooper Mountain (in Aloha) are also nice. NW and SW Portland are good. NE and SE=not so good.

good luck.
Others

Well if your white Portland is a very friendly place to live with lots of great neighborhoods- if you are a person of color it's not so great. Although Portland is extremely liberal there is an unspoken negative vibe- look up Vanport if you get a chance
Been here for the last 15 years
Portland is very wet. It sometimes rains nine months out of the year. The minimum wage is over $8.oo an hour. On minimum wage, you'd have a very hard time finding anywhere you could afford to live.

Oregon is very progressive, but very poor. The state is always broke. Oregon used to do okay with it's share of the money the federal government gave it from timber companies cutting trees in the national forests. More than half of the state lands belong to the state or federal governments as wilderness or parks. (I think it's 2/3) There isn't a lot of industry here, so the state counted on that money. There is very little timber money now days and there isn't anything to replace it. There have been schools here that closed early because they didn't have enough money to keep the schools open.

There is very little in the way of a safety net if you should fall upon bad times. There aren't any general hospitals, or any medical care guaranteed for the poor. California and other states offer a lot more in that area. If you're poor and sick here, it can be a very bad situation.

There aren't many programs for children, due to lack of money. The schools have cut way back on music and other areas that they felt were optional.

Oregon does have a fairly low crime rate. Portland is a very interesting city if you're into the arts. It has something going on all the time.

If you're raising a family, you're probably better off in Grants Pass. Portland is expensive by comparison. In general, if you're blue collar, you're probably better off in Grants Pass, Medford or Roseburg.
retired nurse, raised six kids in Oregon
Look in to milwaukie , Oregon 10 mins away from portland!

Keep me updated.