Portland Or Bust

Violet and I are back on the list of folks out looking for a new place to call home. We have been talking about it for quite some time, but we keep falling back on the fact that we freaking love the house we're in. Sure, it's in Vancouver, but it's in a really great part of the 'Couve. We have access to excellent schools, we have great neighbors, awesome local parks, and we're really comfortable there. We've been living there for 6 years now, and we have done an enormous amount of work to get the house updated and to fit our style.

Why are we considering the move? Well, let me count the reasons...

1) Commuting in to Portland every day is a bitch. We're a solid 25 minutes (when there's no traffic) in to downtown PDX. The time spent in the truck (when I drive in) usually comes out to just over 1 hour every day. Going to the pump every week to fill up sucks too. In the times I get to take the bus in, the time spent commuting is a bit longer, but the book reading is worth it. The bus costs $3 each way. Parking near where I work is $6/day. All of these things add up quickly, and I'm sick of it.

2) All of our damn friends (except for Pete & Christie) have already made the move to Portland. We would love to have the possibility of more social interaction with these people. As Vi put it, there's nothing that says we'll actually get more socializing in, since moving to Portland won't change the fact that we have 2 kids, 2 dogs, and tons of work to keep up with. However, it should provide some slim additional possibility of seeing these friends.

3) The business will be in Portland. It's well in the future, but we plan to own and operate a public house type of establishment. We don't want the business to be in Vancouver. It should be in Portland. That's where it belongs. It's just a personal preference.

4) We want to be rooted in our kid's school for the long-term. Violet wants the girls to be able to go to the same school(s) for their education. Sure, Portland schools aren't in the best state of affairs right now, but not all Portland schools are affected. There is a growing awareness that parents need to be heavily involved and committed to their local schools in order for them to thrive. We are going to hunt for the right neighborhood which will encourage that involvement. Basically, if we're going to move in to Portland (or anywhere else), we should do it before the girls start normal schooling.

5) The majority of good beer is in Portland.

So, that pretty much covers it. There's some other additional stuff in there, but 5 things makes it seem like I at least tried. Sure, there's some drawbacks I failed to mention (Multnomah County taxes, higher-priced houses, can't pump your own damn gas, etc.), but that's the price you pay.

We are on the schedule to have an Oregon-side residence by the end of this summer. It'll probably take a miracle.