Portland Blog: This Week in Portland October 10- October 17

The last few days have been beautiful and today promises to be the same. Its a toss up as to what to do today. Blog, walk the hounds, coffee at The Red E Cafe (yum!), grab some lunch at New Seasons and its either an afternoon of fishing at Sauvie Island or hiking somewhere spectacular like Tryon Creek State Park, Eagle Creek or Forest Park.

Last weekend we did a walking tour of Sellwood and Moreland neighborhoods. It was a hoot to meet so many new people who run some very cool independent Portland businesses. We really enjoyed the nice long walk and the sun on our faces as we snapped this "Tour of Sellwood and Moreland". We hope this helps to share the vibe and feel of this very unique Portland neighborhood.


Read the full Sellwood Moreland neighborhood profile here



Have a great weekend...hope you enjoy the rest of this weekly Portland blog!

Photo Contest: Portland in the Fall

October marks the beginning of our Fall Photo Contest. Submit your "Portland in the Fall" picture and enter to win a $50 gift certificate to a yet-to-be-named independent Portland business!

Rules: the photo must be taken by you, must adhere to the Portland Fall theme and must be submitted within the month of October. The best photo will be announced on November 7th.

A request to our readers: We want you to tell us which independent Portland business you want us to support. Powells Books? Por Que No? McMenamins? The Rheinlander? St Johns Theatre & Pub? The Red E coffee shop? Which Portland businesses do you love and want us to support on your behalf? Reply to this blog with your comments- thanks! (So far, we have had requests for The Rheinlander, Ladybug Coffee, The Red E and Dragonfly Chai....Who else?)

Portland Photo of the Week

The Portland Photo of the week is Crisp by Trina. This lovely leaf is from local paradise Mt Tabor Park.

Featured Portland Events

This week we are promoting the Portland Art Museum events which are a'plenty!

View the list of over two dozen events here.


We've hand picked a list of member added Portland events for you to check out:

Field of Screams
Montavilla Farmers Market
Aunt Lena at the Monkey and the Rat
Day of the Dead Celebration
Family Free Day at the Portland Art Museum
The Women of Troy

There are a ton more great Portland events, just visit the Portland Events calendar!

Are you moving to Portland?

So many people consider moving to Portland Oregon, and with good reason. You've researched the area and found that you love the close proximity to the ocean, Mt Hood, St Helens, the seemingly endless acres of forest for hiking, camping and fishing. Or perhaps you've fallen in love with us after discovering that we are as green as they come; setting the national bar for bicycle commuting in lieu of cars, innovators of revolutionary recycling programs, demanding sustainability and organic meats and produce. Or, you've longed to move to Portland to join the masses known for being fiercely independent, home of the nation's largest open air market, jokingly dubbed Beervana for our seemingly never-ending stream of local Oregon breweries and also one of the best places in the United States to get a cup of coffee.

We count farmers markets like other cities count Taco Bell, Denny's or Safeway. We've got a plethora of independent performance theaters and even movie houses that serve beer and homemade pizza. We'll not sleep until Wal-Mart has been foiled in their bid to open shop near a lovely river neighborhood. We say we shop local and we mean it. In fact, you'll find that our Portland neighborhoods are chock full with the pioneering, innovative strength of independent artists and businesses, thriving and supporting one another.

You'll be happy to know that moving to Portland Oregon means an easy commute. We boast a mass transit system that larger cities could only hope for, a small town feel in a big, but not too big city, restaurants that find fame on the review pages of New York and Los Angeles esteemed publications and more. What's not to love? here to help prepare you either for your move to Portland or to help you settle into your new home. We want to prepare you as much as humanly possible for a move to our lovely city. Want to start a community garden? You'll be at home here. Do you love dogs, beer, wine, art and outdoorsy stuff in general? Take your coat off and stay awhile: I think you're at home already!

Portland Coffee Snobs, Beer and Wine Enthusiasts

The west coast is the center stage for what is known as third wave specialty coffee. With respect to Seattle and San Francisco, Portland could be considered the premier city in showcasing some of the best coffees in the world. You read that right--the world. As such, we have hundreds of coffee shops here in Portland. You can drink a cup of coffee at one shop and watch another one open across the street. Well, not quite but very close. But in terms of amazing quality, the kind of quality that is revered and has a massive underground, cult-following--well, we are home to some American coffee icons; those who are globally famous for either roasting their own amazing blend or making the best damn cup of coffee ever. It is not uncommon to read about our very own Portland coffee scene in the New York Times. People outside of Portland often seem surprised that coffee is such a way of life here. Well, it is. You too will more than likely become enchanted by our coffee culture.

Oh and Portland Beer?

Oh boy. That's a website all unto itself. We are hands down world-famous for our microbrews and also home to the Oregon Brewers Festival which is internationally famous and well, you know- not a big deal really, but is, uh, the largest beer festival in North America. We're unsure as to who is more insanely dedicated- the beer enthusiast or the coffee enthusiast. We're just lucky one is served in the morning and another is served, eh, later in the day (imagine the brawls, will ya?).

And Last but Certainly not Least, Oregon Wine.

It may come as a surprise to you to discover that Oregon is globally famous for our wines. Oregon boasts over 300 wineries and 500 vineyards across the state. A day trip to wine country is exquisite and beautiful and quite simply cannot be missed.

Moving to Portland: Where the Neighborhood is King

You might meet someone new, ask where they live and they will proudly tell you: "I live in the Piedmont neighborhood" or "I live right over by Center and South Tabor". You'll come to understand that neighborhood pride runs rampant here as folks tend to personally identify with the neighborhood they call home. There is a strong sense of Portland community regardless of which Portland neighborhood you settle in. Hence the reason we must call out the neighborhoods in the very beginning of your Portland journey. It takes most new folks quite a bit of time to discover the magical differences between (and even the existence of!) neighborhoods such as Alberta Arts, Belmont, Boise, Hawthorne, Clinton, and South Tabor for examples. Some of these neighborhoods are wholly self-sustaining urban villages where the locals wouldn't have to wander out as they don't need to. Let's do a quick tour of the most popular Portland neighborhoods to get you acquainted: Portland Neighborhoods

If you are new to Portland or considering a move to Portland, you'll definitely want to check out our book, a Weekend Guide to Portland. Get the e-book and be green!

Learn more about Moving to Portland

Alameda Neighborhood Report by Ross Seligman

Alameda is one of the premiere neighborhoods in Portland. With quiet, tree lined streets, gorgeous homes, a strong sense of community, and incredible views of downtown and the west hills, Alameda is an incredible place to live. Want to know more? Read about if from the Portland experts on Alameda's neighborhood profile. Alameda neighborhood map

In my monthly Portland real estate report, I always talk about how each individual neighborhood is a micro-market. If you are looking to buy or sell in a particular neighborhood, the most crucial information that you need to know is what is going on in that neighborhood. In this situation, the overall Portland market report is less important and the national real estate report is just about useless. This posting is a real estate report for the Alameda neighborhood of all homes in all price ranges. Feel free to request particular neighborhoods in which you are interested in buying or selling and I am be happy to do a report. You can contact me on this forum or on my website.

The first thing you will notice about individual neighborhoods as compared to the overall Portland reports are that the numbers can be wildly different month to month. Basically, the bigger the pool of data you are working with, the smoother the stats become. As we focus on smaller areas, many different things can happen month to month.

If you are looking for homes in Alameda, know that you can search for homes by particular Portland neighborhood.

On to the report:

Here is the overall chart of inventory, sold, and pending for the Alameda neighborhood from 07/08 to 09/09::

lameda is a very strong market. No surprise here since it is such a desirable place to live. Closed sales are up, pending sales are up, and inventory is down. It will be interesting to see what happens in the next few months now that it is almost too late for first time homebuyers to get their $8000. (Btw... you have until Oct. 15th to get into contract to be safe. October 31st if you are lucky. Contact me for info.) Currently, Alameda is a balanced market leaning toward being a SELLER'S market! When is the last time you heard those two words put together?

More stats for you from your friendly neighborhood real estate statistics nerd:

One year change from September 08 to September 09

Inventory (how many homes on the market): Down 32.5%
Homes sold: Down 14.3%
Homes pending sale: UP 126.7%

Read the rest of this report by local Portland Realtor and Ecobroker, Ross Seligman.

Did you know there are nearly 100 urban Portland neighborhoods? Learn about Portland Neighborhoods by reading their respective neig...

Best Real Estate Deals in Portland

A pick of Ross Seligman's best real estate deals in PDX this week!

New PortlandNeighborhood Members

A big hello and hearty welcome towonderful Portland blog! If you love this site as much as we do, please invite your friends!

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