Portland Blog- This Week in Portland January 23 - January 30

This will sound crazy, but I am feeling spring in the air! It could be the sunny days or the fact that I spotted some rhodies in bloom on a recent bike ride...or the teeny little sprouts of life I am seeing shoot up from the ground. Hello, Daffodil! Any way you look at it, we're on the upside of winter and heading into Portland in the spring. Yes!

I wanted to share an awesome video I found by Travel Portland. Portland is such a stunning city, seriously. I was pretty blown away by how well they captured the feel of our fair PDX.


Parting thought: Don't forget to feed the hummingbirds! They're here year round and they need some food this time of year! Learn about our Portland hummers here.



Hope you enjoy the rest of this Portland Blog. Have a lovely weekend, Portlandia!

Heard on the Forum

Moving to Portland
Hipsters and Economy and California Haters
How bad is the rain, really?
More moving to Portland...
T Minus 3 days to Takeoff!
Sunshine on my shoulder
First sign of spring

Portland Photo of the Week

The Portland Photo of the Week is by Karma Pakshi. Gorgeous imagery!

Karma wins a bag of freshly roasted coffee from Coava Roasters for sharing this awesome shot!

Our Portland Photo of the Week is currently sponsored by Coava Roasters and The Red E Cafe. A winner is announced with every This Week in Portland blog. Submit your photos to win!

Featured Portland Events

Portland Seafood and Wine Festival

This winter event held February 5 & 6, 2010 is a celebration of all things Oregon, but most specifically our wonderful Oregon seafood and wines.

Scheduled in the quiet of winter, and smack dab in the middle of the Dungeness Crab season, it promises to be a popular event in Portland, the gateway to the Oregon coast and the Oregon wine country. The event will be a very upscale yet festive event at the Oregon Convention Center, promising a climate-controlled facility with lots of on-site and surrounding parking. Over 98,000 square feet of exhibit space will allow for lots of room to wander the event while stopping to sit and enjoy the good food, drink and live music throughout the event.

The Spirituality of the Body

The body provides our most direct and effective access to profound spiritual transformation. This workshop explores both the theory and body-based practices of Tibetan Buddhism which aim at what tantra calls "the redemption of the body." Through a variety of somatic meditation practices we will journey into the darkness of the body in search of the fabulous country within which all the secrets of the universe are openly displayed. Through our work together in this intensive, we may glimpse how we contemporary people are fully capable of making the journey to complete realization and fulfillment within the context of our everyday, modern lives.

This workshop will be led by Dr. Reggie Ray, who brings us 4 decades of study and intensive practice within the Tibetan tradition.

Sundays for Families: Everyday Objects

Every Sunday in January, visitors of all ages can create artwork inspired by everyday objects, as in the works of Robert Rauschenberg.

Family Tours: 12:30 p.m.
Art-Making: 1 - 3 p.m.
Story Time: 2:30 - 3 p.m.

Free for members or with Museum admission. Museum admission for children age 17 and younger is free.

Looking for other great things to do in Portland? We have some great ideas for you here!

Check out the rest of our Portland events here.

Portland Coffee: Insiders Scoop

Portland Coffee: Who is the cream of the crop?

What sets these cafes apart and makes them the best of the best? Its all about passion, knowledge and mechanics. Walk into a premier cafe in this city and you'll notice a serious lot behind the counter. It will dawn on you real fast: these folks are not passing time at a cafe job while going through college. These people are professionals who are fiercely dedicated to one thing: coffee. They obsessively study coffee from brewing mechanics, to brewing methods, to roasting methods, to the farms that grew it.

So it makes sense then that these shops would be truly different. Instead of offering coffees by one roaster, some of them offer several roasters like a pub would offer several taps. Think you'll pump your own coffee from a huge vat? Think again. Do you want French press, clover, toddy (cold coffee) or coffee from a vacuum pot? Would you like espresso? Americano? A latte? Some of these cafes wince at putting flavor in a drink because "you can't taste the coffee". These are purists. In every sense of the word.

The barista will employ mechanics and knowledge far exceeding those at other, lower quality cafes. Consider different brew times and temperatures as variables and levers. Notice your barista eyeing the timer, watching how the coffee runs into the cup. Maybe it meets his approval. Maybe not. Viscous? Too many breaks in the stream? Hmmm. They are going for the perfect drink -- all for you. The barista is a lot like a scientist in these shops. A mad, obsessed, coffee scientist. Thank God!

Read the rest of this article. Which is your favorite Portland coffee shop?

Eastmoreland Neighborhood Report

By Ross Seligman

The Eastmoreland neighborhood is located in Southeast Portland. It is bordered by the Sellwood, Reed, and Woodstock neighborhoods. Learn more here: http://www.portlandneighborhood.com/eastmoreland.html

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 Eastmoreland 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, just contact me on this forum or at: http://www.propertiesofportland.com.

If you are looking for homes in Eastmoreland, visit this link where you can search for homes by particular neighborhood.

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.

On to the report:

Here is the overall chart of inventory, sold, and pending for the Eastmoreland neighborhood from 10/08 to 12/09:

Being a very popular neighborhood, Eastmoreland has had steady sales throughout 2008 and 2009. Closed sales are up and pending sales are way up from this time last year. In December 2009, Eastmoreland neighborhood had 26 closed sales, 19 Pending Sales, and 91 on the market.

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

One year change from December 2008 to December 2009:

Inventory (how many homes on the market for sale): Down 10.8%
Homes sold: Up 13%
Homes pending sale: Up 72.7%

Chart for average price per square footage:

In the past 15 months, the average price per square footage in the Eastmoreland neighborhood has been between $147 and $179/sq. ft. In December 2009, the average price per square foot in the Eastmoreland neighborhood was $171.

One year change from December 2008 to December 2009:

Change in Price Per Square Foot:
December 2008: 150
December 2009: 171
Percentage Change: Up 13.8%

Days on Market, Sold/List Price:

Read the rest of this article 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

Every week, Ross shares his list of the "best deals in Portland":

Check out the best deals in PDX here.

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