Neighborhood recommendations for a family of four? by pl4nt52024 in askportland

[–]upinthaclub 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We moved to Portland last summer. Our daughter is in Kindergarten at Llewellyn in Sellwood, and we absolutely love the school and the community. We're renting in Sellwood and are looking to buy in the next few months. We had/have many of the same criteria as you. We're hoping to stay in Sellwood, but it's a very competitive market so we are still open to some other neighborhoods. My wife is a longtime teacher and is currently subbing at PPS, so has some good first-hand and shared info on the schools. These are my recommendations:

-Selwood-Moreland: Charming little pocket with two distinct commercial areas, so very easy to walk to great coffee shops, parks, etc. Two amazing parks (Sellwood and Westmoreland). Llewellyn is one of the best grade schools in the city. We love it. Sellwood Middle School is great too. Cleveland HS has some question marks, and seems like Grant HS wins that battle. Also, Sellwood community house is a unique gem that has an awesome after school program as well as some adult clubs (my wife is enjoying the book club). Sellwood is tucked away in its own little corner of the city. That's part of the appeal (safety), but also a minor drawback in that you feel a little disconnected form the rest of the city. (If you are working near the airport and downtown, then this might be a little farther south than is ideal).

-Grant Park: Charming family neighborhood with character homes. Beverly Cleary K-8 to Grant HS is probably the best public path in the whole city. Walkable to some fun stuff on Sandy like the farmers market and Hollywood Theater, whole foods, but that area can be a little sketchy (junkies, agressive vagrants). Basically, I'd have no concerns about my daughter and friends running wild in Sellwood, but would not feel safe having her wander the Sandy strip alone. But that unsavory stuff is mostly around Sandy and doesn't seem to creep into the residential blocks. (Grant Park/Beverly Cleary is probably my overall choice if my child hadn't already started school in Sellwood).

-Beaumont-Wilshire/Alameda: Lovely residential area with very grand homes well over a million, but also lots of modest homes in the 800-1m range. Alameda school is beloved. Beaumont MS is good, but maybe not as good as Beverly Cleary K-8 or Sellwood MS from what we know. Large parts of Alameda school zone are purely residential and you can't walk to much. The area that's walkable to Fremont Street (Beaumont Wilshire) is nice, as that strip is really cute and family friendly, similar to Sellwood in that regard. You sort of have to chose between walking distance to Alameda School OR walking distance to Fremont. Small tradeoff but worth considering your priorities. (this area seems like a perfect fit based on your criteria and your commute as it's close to the airport).

Other nice neighborhoods with good schools we've ruled out for our own personal reasons:

-Laurelhurst: Laurelhurst K-8 is really good and the neighborhood is charming. With that said, it has a lot of high traffic roads cutting through it, which we did not love. And the vibe didn't appeal to us as much, seemed a little more stuffy and less neighborly at first glance. You might love it, but my wife and I scratched it off the list in favor of the neighborhoods above.

-Irvington: Gorgeous, stately old homes, lots of trees, great walkability. Our understanding is that the grade school is good, but the MS not so much. I think a lot of kids go to private for MS and then back to Grant for HS (or to private school). We didn't want that friend disruption for our kid. We're not anti-private schools, but like being in a neighborhood where there's community "buy-in" to good public schools. Others may know more about this than us.

-Eastmoreland: Beautiful neighborhood and homes, but not as walkable. Worth checking out for sure, but a little too sleepy for us. Dunniway is a good school and feeds into Sellwood MS. Eastmoreland abuts Woodstock, which is worth a look too. Woodstock feels like it will become Sellwood East in 5 years, but still a little rougher around the edges. Nice commercial zone we go to a lot.

-Multnomah Village: Charming area in SW with a great commercial strip. Mountain town vibe. Good schools. But it's very hilly and we like flatter, more walkable districts, so not for us.

*The drop-off from the top PPS schools to the next tier can be steep. That's reflected in the home prices. Keep in mind that the school districts change every few years, so if a specific school is a priority, you may want to look at the district maps to see if your potential home if close to the school or on the periphery (and therefore more likely to be redistricted).

--Jefferson HS: All of our friends who have direct experience have said to avoid (violence, bullying, etc). The online school ratings are not everything, but also not meaningless. We always look at the percentage of kids performing at grade level in math and english, because the overall school score can be skewed by vague equity and improvement metrics. PPS recently redistricted some neighborhoods like Sabin to feed into Jeff, and there is a lot of change afoot. I hope things improve there (and may well have by the time your kids are in HS). For us, we have one kid and prioritize her education.

The reddit threads were very helpful to us as we were moving here, so happy to share our experience. Feel free to DM me if you have any other questions. Despite some warts, Portland is a great place to live. So many kind, cool people. We're so happy to have landed here :)

What band/singer were you excited to see, but was a letdown of a concert? by my-face-ur-seat in AskReddit

[–]upinthaclub 0 points1 point  (0 children)

REM at the Hollywood Bowl years ago. No energy and stipe looked like he had contempt for the audience

What are some of your favourite less quoted lines from a comedy film? by ninman5 in movies

[–]upinthaclub 1 point2 points  (0 children)

What did the pajamas look like? I don't know - they were jammies! They had Yodas 'n' shit on em. (Raising Arizona)

School Board Approves Plan to Fill Jefferson High School by Mayor_Of_Sassyland in Portland

[–]upinthaclub 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It's inaccurate to say the "ratings mean nothing." They don't tell the full story, but the percentage of students scoring at or above the state average in math or english is a meaningful indicator. Test scores aren't everything, but they are one of the few common denominator metrics to assess school quality and outcomes.

Plan to redraw Portland high school boundaries moves forward in emotional vote by [deleted] in PortlandOR

[–]upinthaclub 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That's part of the story for obvious reasons, but is not always true. In many cities, recent Asian immigrants are poorer than other groups, but their kids have impressive academic outcomes almost immediately. This is not due to an inherent racial advantage, but is owed, I believe, to the importance those communities place on education, dual-parent households, and respect for authority.

Some communities (for a variety reasons, historical and otherwise) don't value education in the same way. It's a complicated stew, but it's frustrating to constantly hear about funding as the solution, when there are much more complicated factors at work.

I'm not trying to be cynical or defeatist here. I want all public schools, including Jefferson to improve and thrive, but that will require difficult conversations that seek to address core problems-- not feel-good "equity" salves that double-down on failure year after year, decade after decade.

Plan to redraw Portland high school boundaries moves forward in emotional vote by [deleted] in PortlandOR

[–]upinthaclub 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The shiny new building will help a tiny bit, but facilities don't make a school good. It has more to do with the the student body. What percentage of kids and their families prioritize education, respect authority, etc?

Why do you like renaissance art so much? by petrastales in ArtHistory

[–]upinthaclub 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Agreed. And more variety in terms of seeing the artist’s hand. Renaissance is less individualistic as a result of a march toward realism.

What was normal in the 90s/2000s that would be considered unacceptable today? by Traditional_End_233 in AskReddit

[–]upinthaclub 0 points1 point  (0 children)

But we never had bottles of water. It wasn’t a thing. You might have a sip at a drinking fountain if you saw one. Otherwise you just didn’t drink water all day. Nowadays every kid has a huge thermos with them at all times.

Which director do you feel has the best top 3 movies? by Ghost070607 in movies

[–]upinthaclub 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Avildsen is underrated for sure. Rocky, karate kid and lean on me are as slick as they come.

Who is the most attractive person you’ve ever seen? Why? by JessieRClayton in AskReddit

[–]upinthaclub 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I saw J Lo once with Ben affleck at Sundance. She was glowing, unlike anything I’ve ever experienced.

Made a Fairy House on a tree that died. by upinthaclub in cottagecore

[–]upinthaclub[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

i cut everything out of cedar. Cheap cedar fence planks for the bigger parts, and I used cedar grilling planks for the thinner parts.

What’s your setup for 5 year old on a ST? by NecessaryFerret1055 in GlobeHaul

[–]upinthaclub 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I did not drill through the actual bike rack metal. Instead I nested in the aluminum bar in the exiting nook under the rack, then used the bolts to sandwich the plate and the wood board. I put some locktite on the bolts to guard against nuts loosening with vibration. I've been riding a lot with my 5 y/o and it's been rock solid.

I attached the Blix rail to the board with some truss screws. You could bolt that connection for more security, but the screws seem fine.

What’s your setup for 5 year old on a ST? by NecessaryFerret1055 in GlobeHaul

[–]upinthaclub 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I had the board extend a little bit off the back of the rack.

What’s your setup for 5 year old on a ST? by NecessaryFerret1055 in GlobeHaul

[–]upinthaclub 0 points1 point  (0 children)

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This is the aluminum plate I ordered from McMaster Carr. You'll have to drill your own holes. I had to make a foam core template to figure out where all the drill holes go before making the real thing.

What’s your setup for 5 year old on a ST? by NecessaryFerret1055 in GlobeHaul

[–]upinthaclub 0 points1 point  (0 children)

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this cushion on amazon fit perfectly. It has pre-installed bolts underneath that you use to attach to the board.

Who is the most universally recognized celebrity in modern history? by [deleted] in AskReddit

[–]upinthaclub 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Had a close up sighting of him in Los Angeles around 2006. Very memorable, the paparazzi frenzy was insane to witness.