Living in West Linn/Oregon City/Tualatin

Hi E.,
My husband is a teacher in the Lake Oswego School Dist. & of those 3 districts the West Linn one offers more options & a better quality of education (L.O. & West Linn are next door to each other).

Hi E.,

My husband and I moved to West Linn because of the schools' reputations. If your child has no problems related to his education, he will be in good shape. We have found, however, that the West Linn/Wilsonville school district is seriously lacking in its special ed. department. Our older son has some academic challenges that should have been recognised and treated early on. Instead, I had to (literally) go to another district's special ed. people to get help. Our son is now in sixth grade, which means the first year of middle school here. He outright refuses to go to school most days. I truly believe that most sixth graders should still be in elementary school, and my son wasn't even close to being ready for the leap. No matter how hard we've tried, we can't seem to get the help we need. We have come to the conclusion that the principals we've dealt with would prefer to not have special needs kids in their schools. These so-called experts haven't followed through with any of the plans we discussed at our numerous meetings. There have been times when the district has been out of compliance of state laws. My background is in early human development, so I'm no dummy when it comes to my children's progress. In short, I think that this school district has failed my son miserably. In all honesty, if it were feasable, we would move to the North Clackamas area. I think it's great that you're doing your homework. Good luck!

West Linn is one of the wealthier surrounding areas of Potland. I like Oregon City, and believe it is changing into a really nice town (in transition). Tualitin is too sububia for me.

My husband and I moved our little family from NE Portland to Tualatin. We miss being able to walk 4 blocks to the Farmer's Market and fun jazzy restaurants. That's the down side.

On the upside, it's full of people in similar stages of raising children, we live on a cul-de-sac and a couple blocks from Jergens Park and an easy bike ride to Tualatin and Cook Parks via the new bridge they put in. It's been a great place to raise our kid so far (let's face it - we just weren't going out to those jazzy restaurants anymore).

West Linn has some of the best schools around, but because the town has no industry, it's residential property taxes are really expensive (on top of already expensive homes). So it depends on your own economic stability.

I personally didn't like Oregon City. I know some people that do, but I didn't get that homey feel from it.

In my opinion, Tualatin really is the perfect median. It has a wonderful sense of community and in the Tigard/Tualatin School District. My daughter isn't old enough for school yet, so I can't attest to their quality. But if you need a fabulous daycare facility, YChildcare in Wilsonville is really good.

I live in Tualatin and have for six years. Some of the pros are that it is conveniently located near I-5 and I-205, so it is easy to access other cities and get downtown. The thing I don't like about it is that we don't really have much in the way of activity communities. If you move to Tualatin, try to find a home feeding into Byrom Elementary- it is rated way better than the others.
West Linn is nice, but it is a bedroom community. So, everyone there has to drive everywhere for everything. The thing I don't like is that it feels pretty far out (from Portland) and that if you want to go to anything more than a grocery store, you have to go to Wilsonville, Clackamas, Tualatin, or Tigard. Most of the people I know who live there have to drive 20+ minutes to go to their gym! But the schools are rated well and there is very low crime. To me, it looks a little boring with nothing to do but drive elsewhere, and with the cost of gas these days, it just doesn't make sense.
I don't know much about Oregon City.

As I lifelong Portland area resident and public school teacher, I'd vote for West Linn. Oregon City has some great areas, but not all are great. IMO Tigard/Tualatin is pretty far out and a difficult commute. West Linn is lovely, has good schools and wonderful parks. If I didn't need to stay in Portland city limits, I'd be in West Linn, right up on Maryhurst Drive hill!

Welcome to the area.

L.

I don't know much about the areas you speak of becuase we don't live there, but my daughter goes to pre-school at Marylhurst Early Childhood Center in Oregon City, so there are a few things I have enjoyed in OC.

Marylhurst tops my list - I have been so impressed with the school time and again since we enrolled her. I just can't say enough great things about the staff and teachers. They have programs for children ages 2-5 years.

The website is: www.meccenter.com

I have enjoyed going to ACME coffee and Spicer Brothers Produce stand in Downtown OC while my daughter has been in school.

I heard OC has a fun Farmer's Market that will be starting this coming weekend.

West Linn has a great wooded park with trails - Wilderness Park - we have enjoyed taking our dog for a walk there on a few occassions.

We've lived in Oregon City for 3 years; before that we were in SE Portland. We love OC--it's a mix of "old" Oregon and new. There is a rich history but also a newer Farmer's Mkt and concerts in the park; there are older homes (many historic) and newer neighborhoods. Depending on what kind of home or neighborhood you're looking for, OC probably has it. We love that we don't have to leave OC if we don't want to--we're far enough from the city that we have everything we need, but close enough to the city to go if we want to. There are a ton of parks and community activities. I work for Clackamas County, so my home, job and kid's schools are within a couple miles of each other.

Our ODD will be starting public school next fall (right now she is in private Kindergarten, only because of school daytime schedules). We are actually going to be taking a tour of her elementary school later this week, so I don't yet have an opinion formed. However, I am a believer in the public school system and that's where my kids will go. Right now, they are both in the YMCA daycare located at CCC, which has a wonderful curriculum and great teachers(I can also attest for the Y in Wilsonville).

I think the three towns you've listed are all great places to live, but they all offer very different "ways of life." For us, we love the history and autonomy of OC, could never afford WL even if we wanted, and Tualatin/Tigard (and Sherwood) was too far for my husband to commute (to N Portland). It all depends on what your own family values are. Good luck, and maybe we'll see you in OC soon!

We lived in West Linn for a while, and absolutely loved it! Housing is more expensive, but if you can afford it, I think it is worth it. The schools are great, the parks are great, etc. The biggest problem I had with it is that HWY 43 is often backed up, and there is no easy way around it.

The Tigard/Tualatin area is also nice, but you've got to get in the right parts. I do not recommend Oregon City at all! Just take a drive through the areas you are concidering and look at things like how well they keep their yards up, whether the kids playing outside are unsupervised, etc. Also, take a chance to play at the parks there on sunny days, and see what kind of teens are hanging out there, and if lots of the kids are being sent to play unsupervised, or if the parents play with them and watch them.

Hi
our address is Oregon City but we are right on the boarder of N. Clackamas. My kids attend North Clackamas schools and we love it. We are just out enough to be in the country yet only 5 min from town. (Sunnyside) There are 3 new schools being built out our way; two elementry schools and one middle school. A new high school will also be built in years to come.
We moved from Portland 9 yrs ago, we love it here. Clackamas is growing so fast with many nice homes and shops.
Happy Valley is wonderful also. They too are getting a new school.
HTH
D.

Hi Elisabeth,

I have worked for the city of Tualatin for the last 9.5 years. I really love this town! It is small and a close knit community that is easy to get around in, Except Tualatin-Sherwood Rd but that part of town can be avoided most of the time.

The parks are GREAT and two of the Elementary schools are wonderful, Byrom and Bridgeport are the ones you want to look for when buying a house or renting an apartment.

I always feel safe here and I love working for this great community.

C.