About the Portland, Oregon Area 

Money Magazine calls Portland North America's “Best Big City”. One of England’s most respected newspapers has acclaimed it “one of 5 world cities of the future”. This sleek, smart, friendly city of 538,180, with 1.95 million in its greater metropolitan area, is growing fast. With marvelous outdoor recreation opportunities, cultural and artistic attractions that are the envy of many bigger cities, a world-famous and environmentally friendly mass transportation system, great dining and nightlife, and a host of other attractions, Portland really is the place to be.  

Location 

Portland is approximately 80 miles from the Pacific Ocean in the Willamette River Valley in Multnomah County, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia Rivers. Portland is seven miles from Vancouver WA, 47 miles from Salem, OR, and around 100 miles from Eugene OR. 

Geography 

The city is located in the Willamette Valley and surrounded by wooded hills, fertile farming country, and vineyards. At over eleven thousand feet, the snow-capped Mt. Hood in the nearby Northern Cascade Mountains dominates the view from the city. 

Jobs 

The rapidly-expanding high-tech market has helped make the Portland metropolitan area one of the fastest-growing in the nation. Nike and other major multi-national corporations have their headquarters in the area, as well as a host of well-known national companies. Health care, tourism, and education are major employers, and the unemployment rate is well below the national average. 

Housing 

Portland offers the full range of home-buying opportunities. Colorful multicultural neighborhoods and charming historical areas attract many homebuyers looking for established homes or condos, while others prefer the fast-growing suburban developments or one of the many planned residential communities. Portland’s renowned transportation system and careful urban planning ensure that residents enjoy the city’s famous high quality of life. The average sale price of a home in the Portland metro area is approximately $322,900, with a wide range above and below the average. 

Recreation 

Portland stands out among American cities for the richness of its outdoor recreation environment. The city has an astonishing 37,000 acres of parks, including the Smith and Bybee Wetlands Natural Area, the nation’s largest protected urban wetland. This extraordinary natural gem enables city-dwellers to see deer, otters, beavers, bald eagles, and many other exciting birds and animals right in the heart of the city.  

Not far from Portland, the remarkable Oxbow Regional Park, a 1,200-acre natural area located within the wild and scenic Sandy River Gorge, is home to wildlife such as mink, beaver, raccoon, fox, deer, osprey, songbirds, elk, black bear, cougar and many others. The park’s 15 miles of trails offer access to ancient forest, and there is swimming, fishing, boating and kayaking on the river.  

If you live in Portland you have to ride a bike! The city is justly acclaimed as America’s Number One cycling city, and its many cycling paths offer safe and enjoyable exercise and recreation all year round. Most of the city’s parks have great cycle trails, and the trail through Waterfront Park, which follows the waterfront through the downtown area, with stunning views of the river and the city skyline is not to be missed. 

For sophisticated urban recreation Portland is hard to beat. Its famous downtown art gallery neighborhoods, gourmet coffee shops, and vibrant bars and nightclubs, featuring the best of boutique beers and live entertainment rival those of the world’s great cities.  

With almost 20 golf clubs within city limits, some of which offer more than one course, Portland has a challenge for every golfer. Several have been designed by such leading course designers as Robert Trent Jones Sr. and his son Robert Trent Jr., including the stunning Heron Lakes, which Golf Digest lists as one of the top 75 public courses in the U.S. 

Special Attractions/Events 

Portland’s annual Jazz Festival is one of the city’s most famous and acclaimed attractions, showcasing some of the genre’s most renowned artists among almost a hundred top-flight performers in a week to remember.  

Known as the City of Roses, Portland has been celebrating its annual Rose Festival each June for almost 100 years. This marvelous civic celebration attracts over two million spectators to a line-up of culture and entertainment that includes concerts, shows, parades, a huge flower show, fireworks display, and much more. 

The Willamette Shore Trolley line is a great way to see the river and some of the charming and elegant homes on its shores. The antique trolley runs for six miles between Portland and Lake Oswego, along the west side of the Willamette River, traveling over several long trestles and through a 1400 foot curving tunnel on its forty-minute journey.  

The 20,000 square foot museum of the World Forestry Center in Washington Park is designed to engage visitors to learn about the sustainability of forests and trees of the Pacific Northwest and around the world. Recently extensively renovated, it is built in the Cascadian style, featuring intricate hand carvings and a grand entry, and its hands-on, interactive exhibits are educational and entertaining for the whole family. 

Interesting Facts 

Legend has it that the founders of Portland, Asa Lovejoy and Francis W. Pettygrove, each wanted to name the new town after his own home town and settled their argument by tossing a coin. Pettygrove won, and the city that would become one of the nation’s most attractive was named after Portland, Maine. If Lovejoy had won it would have been named Boston.  

Portland’s advantage in those early years was its location on the Willamette River at the furthest point inland that ships could reach. This made it the major port on the Pacific Northwest for much of the 19th Century, until it was eclipsed by Seattle when the railroad connected that city with the East. 

Many grand and historic buildings in Portland date from this period, including the Pioneer Courthouse, which was completed in 1875 and is the oldest surviving federal building in the Pacific Northwest, and the Pittock Mansion, a huge mansion of eclectic architectural design and with a richly decorated interior built by a pioneer business man and newspaper magnate in the first decade of the 20th Century. 

Portland is unusual among American cities in having small city blocks and many statues and fountains in its streets. In this way it is more like a European city, and is especially inviting to pedestrians and walkers, who also find its acclaimed public transportation system uniquely accessible and user-friendly. Light rail trains, the Portland Streetcar and an excellent bus system all offer free service within the 330 blocks of the downtown area. 

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