Top Neighborhoods in Portland, Oregon

When I first sat down to write this article on the best neighborhoods in Portland, Oregon, I thought it was going to be a snap. I've lived in Portland for over forty years and made a good portion of my living buying, selling, and managing real estate in "The City Of Roses". However as I really tried to put my thumb on those neighborhoods that I would consider to be the best, I found that things have changed here over the last couple of years to the extent that I was had pressed to identify a neighborhood that I would consider less than good. I know that might sound strange, but there are very good reasons why Portland, Oregon has been consistently voted as America's most livable city in the United States, and why it has recently been voted as being the "Greenest" city in the United States in terms of the consistent environmentally thoughtful approach it takes when it comes to issues such as construction, transportation, waste management and other vitally important matters that affect the everyday life of a resident.

Another reason why it is hard to pinpoint the best neighborhoods in Portland, Oregon, has to do with the incredible amount of re-gentrification that has occurred throughout the city during the last few years and specifically during the amazing real estate boom that we have been fortunate enough to experience. Neighborhoods in northwest Portland, and on the inner southeast side of the Willamette River, warehouse districts just a few years ago, have had vibrant new life breathed into them by developers with vision and a love for the Pacific Northwest. This has created fantastic new enclaves of small, locally owned businesses interspersed with innovative residential conversions, and, as a result, a host of new or redefined micro communities within the larger burrows that make up the greater Portland Metropolitan area.

It is hard to live in any part of the City of Portland that isn't touched by our magnificent Forrest Park, which reaches from the heart of Portland all the way to the Pacific coast in an unbroken system of trails and natural pathways. It has recently come to pass that there are now more people who commute to and from work by bicycle than in any other city in the United States as well. The reason for this is because we have made an effort to give bicycle commuters a safe means of traversing the thoroughfares, highways, and byways of "Stumptown". It wasn't just something that came about by accident.

I can honestly say that none of the good things about Portland have come about accidentally, and that leads to an issue that is, perhaps, just as important for someone considering a move to Portland as which neighborhood would be best for them. The issue being - does a prospective new resident have a Portland, Oregon, type of mindset or the desire to adopt one?

Portland, Oregon has always been a frontier town. It has always been a place of "It is what you make of it". Even with progressive and environmentally conscious thinkers as its resident population, it has always been an extremely conservative market as well. So if a new resident has the idea that he or she will move in to any of our fair neighborhoods and begin introducing us to notions of city living that detract in any way from the good, healthy, environmentally conscious lifestyles we have worked so hard to cultivate and bring to fruition, that person might well be advised to seek refuge elsewhere, as we are a stubborn and protective bunch - especially when it comes to our neighborhoods. The neighborhoods in Portland, Oregon, are now, in fact, some of the best neighborhoods in the United States. It's a great place to visit, but you'll probably want to live here.

Then there is the rain, or rather, the lack of sunshine, I mean the liquid UV rays, um, uhhhh. Did I mention Forrest Park?