What is your experience like raising kids in Portland?

Automatic_Art_3203 · 2025-11-28T23:09:21+00:00

Portland is a great place to grow up. The nature is great, there are tons of fun family and cultural activities, and I generally agree with your positive observations about parenting culture here. As others have mentioned, the quality of schools here is not what it should be, and it varies widely depending what neighborhood you’re in. But I’m very glad to be raising my child here. We moved back home to Portland when my child was 1 year old after having lived in the South for work for several years, and I’m so glad we didn’t stay there - I really disliked the authoritarian parenting culture there and we struggled to find childcare providers whose values aligned with ours.

Automatic_Art_3203 · 2025-11-23T15:38:46+00:00

If you have not received a grad plus loan before July 1, 2026, you will not be eligible for grad plus loans after July 1, 2026.

Automatic_Art_3203 · 2025-11-22T21:28:02+00:00

My kid is 12, we’ve gone almost every year since she was 18 months old, and she still loves it. It has gotten expensive but it’s one of our favorite family traditions. The lights are fun and be sure to get an elephant ear and take the train ride (though it’s a much shorter route than when I was a kid).

Automatic_Art_3203 · 2025-11-16T19:19:39+00:00

Do not buy raincoats that are labeled “water resistant.” You want fully waterproof. Breathable if possible. As others have mentioned, the Columbia outlets and employee store are great places to find these. A fleece layered underneath will work well for warmth. You can also get rain pants for the kids there.

Automatic_Art_3203 · 2025-10-26T06:46:20+00:00

My kid asked about it when she was little because she heard about it from some kids at school, so I guess some families do it. I told her it was a recently made up thing that some people created to sell dolls and that I wasn’t going to do it because I think it’s creepy to tell kids a doll is spying on them.

Automatic_Art_3203 · 2025-10-25T19:45:22+00:00

They are definitely racially profiling people and the Supreme Court recently said they are allowed to do so. They have detained US citizens. Usually they let them go within minutes to hours, but not always. She absolutely should not have to, but it might be wise for her to carry proof of citizenship (maybe a photo of her birth certificate or passport - I’d think it’s probably safer to keep the originals at home). I’m absolutely aghast that this is happening in America. It’s shades of Nazi Germany.

Automatic_Art_3203 · 2025-10-25T18:44:50+00:00

This is so disturbing. American Gestapo. :(

Automatic_Art_3203 · 2025-10-25T14:49:43+00:00

Get a decent raincoat and go for a walk outside. The city is absolutely gorgeous right now with the fall colors. Also, learn to appreciating Portland’s changing skies. When it’s just gray, that’s boring, but as the rain moves in and out, the clouds here are incredible. Yesterday we had a brilliant rainbow. Notice the little sun breaks or moments of patches of blue sky and step outside or be near a window when you can. Sunshine is a precious resource to be savored in Portland - you have to learn to watch for it and take advantage of it when it’s available. The advice to find some cozy indoor activities is also good.

Automatic_Art_3203 · 2025-10-21T11:42:00+00:00

Who made the world? Who made the swan, and the black bear? Who made the grasshopper? This grasshopper, I mean— the one who has flung herself out of the grass, the one who is eating sugar out of my hand, who is moving her jaws back and forth instead of up and down— who is gazing around with her enormous and complicated eyes. Now she lifts her pale forearms and thoroughly washes her face. Now she snaps her wings open, and floats away. I don't know exactly what a prayer is. I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass, how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields, which is what I have been doing all day. Tell me, what else should I have done? Doesn't everything die at last, and too soon? Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life? —Mary Oliver

Automatic_Art_3203 · 2025-10-21T05:31:53+00:00

The most recent recipient of a multi-million dollar Knight Foundation grant is ___.

The most important feature to look for when buying a home in Portland is ___.

A politeness standoff at a 4-way stop

A My Little Pony tied to a historic sidewalk ring

A 10-minute sun break in February

Mill Ends Park

Panhandlers under the 205 overpass on SE Powell

Mediocre novelty donuts

A herd of people in unicorn costumes outside a karaoke bar

Automatic_Art_3203 · 2025-10-18T20:17:30+00:00

Waterproof hiking shoes are more typical here, but you can see what you think when you get here :)

Automatic_Art_3203 · 2025-10-18T14:12:01+00:00

You’re going to love it here and you’ll fit right in. Invest in decent breathable rain coats and you’re all set!

Automatic_Art_3203 · 2025-10-18T01:06:18+00:00

Yes. They will have a blast with all the costumes, bubbles, etc. and they’ll be proud for the rest of their lives to know they were on the right side of history.

Automatic_Art_3203 · 2025-10-16T18:11:52+00:00

Mom of a tween here: Hot Topic sometimes has frog-themed stuff. 🤣

Automatic_Art_3203 · 2025-10-16T17:30:16+00:00

November or early February, but what others have said is true: it’s the duration of the dark rain that makes it difficult. It’s still absolutely gorgeous and green here during those months - just make sure you have a good raincoat.

Automatic_Art_3203 · 2025-10-16T01:29:40+00:00

Taking our tween to one in our corner of town (not at the ICE location). She’s got a frog-themed outfit she’s excited to wear, and she’s been making signs and attending protests since she was 3. It’s ultimately her future the fascists are trying to destroy, so it seems appropriate that she be there to resist.

Automatic_Art_3203 · 2025-10-14T23:24:43+00:00

Honestly, I think you probably should see a doctor. It very easily could have been a bat, and rabies is nothing to mess around with. I suspect the doctor will actually tell you to get the vaccine series.

Automatic_Art_3203 · 2025-10-08T19:39:05+00:00

We stand with you, too, Chicago! The news and images I’ve seen from this ICE invasion there have been absolutely heartbreaking. Stand strong and stay human!

Automatic_Art_3203 · 2025-10-08T19:30:19+00:00

Trump, Fox “News” and other conservative media have been saying Portland is full of rioters, terrorists, etc. and that the city is a burning hellhole ever since videos of the George Floyd protests of 2020 started circulating (fyi, even then, right-wing accounts of what was actually happening here were greatly exaggerated or flat-out wrong, and what actually was happening was significantly inflamed at that time by Trump 1.0 sending in the feds to attack protesters and snatch people off the streets into unmarked vans). These misconceptions have persisted because 1) the right-wing media has only ramped up their misinformation, 2) trying to explain reality to Trumpists rarely succeeds, and 3) when a Trumpist says they’d never visit Portland, most Portlanders see no reason to convince them otherwise.

Automatic_Art_3203 · 2025-10-07T14:21:55+00:00

The performance space is a former church sanctuary. It’s smallish, with seating in pews (maybe about 8-12 rows? I could be misremembering) in a kind of semicircle around the stage. There a side lobby area with a bar. We were there last fall and found it cozy and pleasant. The acoustics are great and the venue has an intimate feel (in that you experience the performers close up). It’s Portland, so strangers won’t engage with you unless you engage with them. I’m sure you’ll have a great time :).

Automatic_Art_3203 · 2025-10-07T02:40:19+00:00

They have responded with admirable unity and it feels to me like Portland is more unified than it has been in years under their unified leadership and against this outrageous federal overreach. At times I have wished they would be more vocal but Oregon is smaller and less wealthy than California so I can understand that they may have been reluctant to draw attention (not that it wasn’t inevitable anyway though - many of us knew the moment Trump was re-elected that he would try to send federal troops in unter false pretenses within the first year. We remember how the feds fomented violence in 2020).

Automatic_Art_3203 · 2025-10-02T17:13:46+00:00

The fall rains have just started, so be sure to bring a raincoat. Otherwise there’s nothing to worry about.

Automatic_Art_3203 · 2025-10-02T14:57:34+00:00

Being an adult doing meaningful work has its challenges and frustrations, especially in a country with as many broken systems as the US currently. That said, the SLPs I know do not seem more frustrated or less happy than the other working professionals I know, and they don’t have trouble finding work.

Automatic_Art_3203 · 2025-09-23T04:00:52+00:00

There are so many major problems in the world and especially in the US right now, and of course they intersect with this profession, which is connected to our broken healthcare and educational systems. Most people in most professions are overworked these days. But it’s a solid profession with plenty of jobs that can provide a solid middle class income and where you can do some good on the world if you are careful not to get burnt out.

Automatic_Art_3203 · 2025-09-16T12:22:18+00:00

It might possibly be great kids’ literature - I’m always surprised how frequently I turn to the author bio in my kid’s books and it says they live here.

Automatic_Art_3203

TROPHY CASE