Often these real estate neighborhood sections attempt to be an all encompassing guide to Portland neighborhoods.  Let's face it though, you are going to have to get out and drive, walk and maybe bike the neighborhoods before you could possibly get a feel for where you want to live.  That is why I am going to write only a broad outline about neighborhoods in order to get you started on your journey in the right direction.  Strangely there are five QUADrants in Portland.  There are the regular four as in NW, SW, NE and SE.  Then there is the fifth odd man out called North Portland.  In fact, all are wonderfully odd.  That is why one of the Portland's most famous sayings is "Keep Portland Weird".  You just have to walk around awhile to see why.  A typical web site indicative of this phenomenan is Pedalpalooza.  Now let's hear about each of the five quadrants and why you would love to live there.

Northwest and Inner Southwest - Basically this is the whole downtown area.  Life is bliss here and there is plenty of everything a good city should offer and even better.  It hardly ever rains hard enough to deter one from having a fine Java at a sidewalk cafe.  Happy hours are too numerous to count and rents are way less than most larger city downtowns.  One can walk for hours enjoying the Gotham like architecture alone.  World class music, performing arts, galleries, museums are all here.  It's this strange mix of affordability, culture, gothic style and friendly people that draw so many to this beautiful city.

East Portland - The East side and the West side of the Willamette River are very different.  Many people would not move to the "other side" if their lives depended on it.  With many exceptions of course, the East side has the old historical commercial and residential buildings that are for the most part built around vibrant local business areas. Basically flat, walkable, bikeable and urban.  East Portland has a very desirable lifestyle with it's many restaurants, cafes, bars, music scene, galleries, dry cleaners, you name it all within easy walking or short bike from most homes. This area is largely what the rest of the country wishes it was.

Inner Southeast Portland & Northeast Portland - What I wrote about East Portland applies to these two parts of the city.  Granted they both have their distinct flavor.  Truth is even within each there are unique neighborhoods all with their own special style.  It kind of wrecks havoc with us real estate brokers attampting to set the selling price of a home.  Every street has its unique advantages like distance from parks, city center, shopping, schools, restaurants and most importantly, cafes.  Each street looks different and may have many different home styles, sizes and ages homes.  This is why I wrote earlier that you just have to get out and walk around an area to get the feel before you decide where you want to live.

All the above is still true outside of 82nd Ave. sometimes called outer east side.  The local business sections of the neighborhoods are a bit farther apart out there leaving space for larger lots and natural areas.  Home prices are generally lower too so don't forget to check out that area.

Southwest Portland - We are talking about the west side of Portland that is beyond downtown.  There is a Northwest Portland beyond downtown too that is mostly unpopulated because of the huge natural area called Forest Park. See the map.  Southwest Portland is like a suburb that is way better than a suburb.  You are close to downtown Portland and you have beautiful forested hills all around.  Many homes have awsome views and there are in fact people friendly urban centers scattered around, like Multnomah Village and Ceder Hills.  Unlike East Portland, the roads are not in a grid.  They wind in and around the hilly topography so may be a little harder to learn your way around.

North Portland - Last of these short neighborhood descriptions but not least is North Portland.  More affordable homes can be found in North Portland without sacrificing any of the urban charm that Portland is fameous for.  Whereas in Northeast and Southeast Portland at least half the streets have number names, in North Portland all the streets have non-number names.  So you do have to use a map at first to get around even though the streets are mostly in a grid.  The Max goes through North Portland up Interstate Avenue and this has really quickened the urban renewal this quadrant of the city has experienced.  Lord, soon people will be calling North Portland trendy whereas up to about two thousand seven there was a lot of deferred maintenance, many homes and commercial buildings needed work and looked it.  I love the urban centers in North Portland like Mississippi and old North Portland downtown.  Interstate Avenue and Lombard Street are also changing and full of all the restaurants, bars, nature food stores, galleries, and culture one would expect from a first rate city.