<p>If you do go to Portland, I highly recommend a trip to Vodoo Donuts. AMAZING donuts and a vibe that is totally Portland:)</p>
<p>Portland has become the new SF/Berkeley for college grads and dropouts of all sorts.</p>
<p>edad asked about places in NorCal, you might look at Grass Valley/Nevada City and other areas in the foothills. GV is about halfway between Sacramento & Tahoe, so an hour + to a SWA airport and an hour + to ski, in the foothills with both pines and oaks.</p>
<p>RE prices are much lower now that a few years ago</p>
<p>a lot of people your age here:
[Breitenbush</a> Hot Springs - A Place to Bring Life Into Balance](<a href=“http://breitenbush.com/]Breitenbush”>http://breitenbush.com/)</p>
<p>:)</p>
<p>You can look at the terrain (and quite often see the houses) by using google maps.</p>
<p>hey dmd77, enjoying the 60 weather the last couple of days? W is on my case for not getting on the bike.</p>
<p>Seattle’s weather is not even the same within the region. Twice as much rain in one area over another. More sun in some along with more snow/cold. Just driving to work it can be vastly different.</p>
<p>Well, we finally got our trip planned - flying out Thursday night through Tuesday morning. We’re meeting with a realtor Friday who will show us a range of houses that meet our criteria. Then we’ll spend some time driving ourselves around the various neighborhoods to get a feel for the areas, including shopping and driving times. By my request we’re squeezing in a little tourist activity - I picked out the Saturday Market, Japanese Gardens, and Multnomah Falls. I know there’s so much more to see but figured those would be the best bets in early March. We’ll fit more in if time allows - and weather; apparently we’ll get a fair overview of typical winter rain and drizzle.</p>
<p>Any other suggestions for activities that would help us understand what living in Portland is really like would be much appreciated! We’ll be staying by the airport the first and last nights, and just south of downtown in between.</p>
<p>When you park at Multnomah Falls make sure you do not leave any valuables in the car, or at least in sight. It is a notorious place for car break ins.
Also, when you are the Japanese Gardens it is a great chance to explore NW 23rd- grab a bite to eat there. </p>
<p>Have a great time! I would also head across the river to Vancouver, Wa and look at neighborhoods there. It is literally a 5 minute drive from the airport. And the tax benefits can be impressive.</p>
<p>Take the Max Light Rail from Airport thru downtown all the way to Hillsboro/Intel. (30miles, 1.5 hours)</p>
<p>Return on Max and stop at Portland Zoo then minitrain to Japanese Garden. Then bus to downtown or to Oregon Health Science Center then tram to SouthEnd of Waterfront Park. From there to trolley to downtown. Max and Trolley are free within downtown (TriMet.org) Take the Max from downtown to airport hotel. </p>
<p>Huber’s.com for lunch sandwich.
Golden Horse for Chinese Seafood. </p>
<p>Pioneer Square for Nike, Columbia, Nordstoms, etc, and Apple. (Oregon is sales tax free) (Bet your kid needs a new Apple.)</p>
<p>wear rubber shoes. 
It raining after a week of dry & cold weather.</p>
<p>Haven’t had time to read this whole thread yet and bet this is redundant–but don’t miss Powell’s bookstore–10th and Burnside! The neighboring Pearl District also has plenty of food options. Chinese Garden is also lovely if you are right downtown.</p>
<p>I really like the Powells on Hawthorne better, more my scale.
One of my favorite places was the nickle arcade in the Avalon theatre. Old style pinball machines that took nickles. 
Pho Van- also on Hawthorne( & in the Pearl) is the only vietnamese restaurant I have been able to get my H to go to ( & go back to)
& [the</a> blue bridge]( <a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Bridge_(Oregon)]the”>Blue Bridge (Reed College) - Wikipedia) over the Reed canyon- I miss it. It is beautiful on a foggy night.
I will never forget how excited my lab got when walking over it, she couldn’t decide which side to jump off of!</p>
<p>Powell’s downtown bookstore at 10th and W Burnside (west side of the Willamette), definitely.</p>
<p>One or more of Portland’s excellent restaurants. I’d especially recommend The Farm Cafe at 7th and E Burnside (east side of the Willamette) and Wildwood ([Wildwood</a> Restaurant – Portland Oregon| Cooking from the Source in the Pacific Northwest](<a href=“http://wildwoodrestaurant.com/]Wildwood”>http://wildwoodrestaurant.com/)). The Heathman is VERY pricey but wonderful for lunch.</p>
<p>I love the Japanese garden, in all seasons. Just down the hill is the Rose Garden, which won’t be much in this season, but there’s a corner of it that’s a Shakespeare garden that is quite lovely. </p>
<p>For the most common Portland experience, head to one of our fine independent coffee or cocoa shops. Pix is my personal favorite. Coconut milk hot chocolate is a truly fine thing.</p>
<p>Oh, and bring extra socks. Wet socks are the pits.</p>
<p>Just wanted to report back on how our trip to Portland went, and again many thanks for all your advice. Portland was a beautiful city and we enjoyed our visit. We’re keeping it on the list for the potential relocation but weren’t ready to pack our bags and move quite yet. We met with a realtor who gave us a complete history lesson and took us all around the city, although concentrating on the SW, especially down near Lake Oswego (which had been drained for plumbing repairs - first time we ever saw an empty lake). She seemed to think that’s where our type of housing would be, although it seemed just a little bit out of the city proper. We really liked the neighborhoods on the NW; seemed most likely to have the kind of housing we might like.</p>
<p>Portland was a great place for a vacation - it only rained heavily one day and lightly one other evening; we even had some sunshine. Our hotels worked out fine. We arrived Thursday night, spent Friday with the realtor, went to Saturday Market on opening day (and bought a couple of things) then to the Japanese Gardens, and took the historic Columbia River highway on Sunday to see the great waterfalls, Bonneville Dam, and the vistas. We think we got a glimpse of Mt. Hood the first morning but not after that. On Monday morning we took the free tram up from our hotel at Riverplace to Powell’s, then back again, just to give it a try. Then we explored around the neighborhoods some more on our own. It did seem a bit difficult driving around downtown with all the one way streets, trolley tracks, and bridges. But it was amazing how quickly you could get out of the metro downtown - within five minutes you can be driving in the equivalent of a national park.</p>
<p>We ate breakfast at the hotels; lunches at Gubanc’s in Lake Oswego, Jo Bar on 23rd, and Fat City Cafe in Multonomah; and dinners at Nel Centro downtown, Bluehour in the Pearl district, and Paley’s Place in Nob Hill. We were interested in the food carts but unfortunately were never around them at meal time. We would have tried Stumptown Coffee but never ran into it.</p>
<p>As a cat owner, I got a laugh out of the catnip booths at the Market - at one of them, the owner kept emphasizing how their catnip was organically grown and harvested by hand. Hey - that’s what I do too! I did buy a cat stained glass at another booth, and my husband bought a hat.</p>
<p>Some of my favorite sights: the view of the coastal range from Skyline Drive. The cat riding on a man’s shoulder using his long long hair as a blanket. The bridge at the Japanese Garden (the waterfall is under repair). The waterfalls along the Columbia River and the ease of access. The view from Vista House. The view of Vista House from the Women’s Forum Overlook.</p>
<p>Our next and presumably final stop - San Diego! Not sure if we’ll get it in before DH gives up and goes in for his hip replacement…</p>
<p>Kitty Hooch! You were at the Kitty Hooch booth! The best catnip ever, according to my son’s cat, who is a connoisseur of catnip.</p>
<p>I would have bought some catnip except I didn’t feel like running it through airport security, either as carry-on or checked. 
We sat next an artist flying out, who explained why she no longer travels with plaster dust…</p>
<p>Marilyn…I enjoyed reading your report.</p>
<p>Me too! Going next week, and to Spokane.</p>
<p>Thanks! We’ve now booked our exploratory trip to San Diego and I’ve got my fingers crossed. I’ve loved every vacation there but am not sure what we can find that fits our housing criteria. But don’t want to go off my own topic - probably should start a different thread.</p>
<p>So glad you enjoyed Portland! Sounds like you got a fair dose of weather. :)</p>