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PORTLAND, OREGON OVERVIEW
Portland was recently ranked #1 of the best big cities to live in. Portland has the energy of a large city with numerous activities, but it has the feel of a small community.
Portland is within close proximity of the ocean, the city is scenic with mountains, trees, rivers and so much more. Plus Portland is home to the nation's largest urban wilderness, Forest Park with 5,000+ acres. In many places around Portland Mt Hood and Mt St Helens are clearly visible. Portland has moderate temperatures making it perfect for outdoor activities, various festivals, 277 parks and lots of outdoor dining, make it a great outdoor city.
Portland was Green long before it was fashionable. Neighborhood community gardens, active composting, bike in movies and other innovative ways to help mother earth. Mainstream in Portland might be considered on the fringe in other areas, but Portland has something for everyone!
The Portland metro area has a great quality of life, with ample employment opportunities, easy access to education, recreation and dining, making Portland a very livable city.
Portland, Oregon is constantly growing, with homes for sale and has numerous real estate developments happening in the Portland metro area, in cities like Portland, Beaverton (where Nike & Tektronix are located), Tigard, and Hillsboro (where Intel & Epson have a large presence) as well as Lake Oswego, and West Linn. The diversity of the Portland Oregon Metropolitan area offers homeowners a great choice of living styles. Row houses, stately homes, condos, lofts, new, established neighborhoods, distinctive architecturally unique custom homes, or homes that have a rural feeling can all be found within 15 minutes of downtown Portland.
LAND USE PLANNING
Portland has an unusual land use planning system that has been a national model. We have what is called the Urban Growth Boundary (UGB) an imaginary boundary around the metro area.
- All residential and commercial development is designated inside the boundary.
- Outside of that boundary, usually about 45-60 minutes from downtown, is where the large parcels of acreage zoned only for farm or forest land are located. The land cannot be divided, used for commercial purposes, nor have any sort of residential development.
- Only when every inch of land has been used inside the UGB, will the UGB be expanded.
There is a good side to all of this; Portland does not have abandoned core areas. Old housing is recycled and reclaimed, space for parks and wetlands are always made into developments to keep Portland from looking like a sea of development. The UGB has kept our downtown and neighborhoods vibrant and active. You will rarely see boarded up and unused homes or buildings, which is very nice.
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