Moving to Portland Oregon?

Northwest Portland

Northwest Portland includes the Pearl District, most of Old Town Chinatown, the Northwest District, and various residential and industrial neighborhoods. A range of streets primarily in Northwest Portland is named alphabetically and subsequently called The Alphabet Blocks.

Burnside Street, the “B” in the Alphabet Blocks sequence, divides the Northeast and Northwest quadrants of the city from the Southeast and Southwest.

The Pearl District is a recent name for a former warehouse and industrial area just north of downtown. Many of the warehouses have been converted into lofts, and new multistory condominiums have also been developed on previously vacant land. The increasing density has attracted a mix of restaurants, brewpubs, shops, and art galleries. The galleries sponsor simultaneous artists’ receptions every month, in an event known as First Thursday.

Further west is the compact but thriving NW 21st and 23rd Avenue restaurant and retail area, the core of the Northwest District. Parts of this area are also called Uptown and Nob Hill. Nicknames include Snob Hill and Trendy Third.

The residential areas adjacent to the shopping district include the Alphabet Historic District (with large Victorian and Craftsman homes built in the years before and shortly after 1900) and a large district centered around Wallace Park. The neighborhood has a mix of Victorian-era houses, apartment buildings from throughout the 20th century, and various businesses centered around Legacy Good Samaritan Medical Center.  The Portland Streetcar connects Nob Hill to downtown, via the Pearl.

West of the developed areas is the northern portion of Portland’s West Hills, including the majority of extensive Forest Park and the Willamette Heights, Hillside, Sylvan, Skyline and Forest Heights neighborhoods.

This area also include the areas surrounding OHSU (Oregon Health & Sciences University).

Southwest Portland

Southwest Portland is one of the five quadrants making up the Portland Metro Area. It is bordered on the west by I-5; on the north by I-5, SW Pasadena St., and SW Pomona St.; on the east by SW 49th Ave. and Kerr Parkway; and on the south by SW Kruse Ridge Dr. and the southern border of the Portland Community College Sylvania Campus.

The neighborhood is adjacent to the city of Tigard on the west, the neighborhoods of Ashcreek and Crestwood on the north, West Portland Park on the north and east, and the city of Lake Oswego on the east and south.The campus of PCC Sylvania occupies much of the neighborhood. Lesser Park (1988) is also located here. Also being located close to SW Portland are areas of Beaverton, Tigard, and Lake Oswego.