The second edition of the Newcomer's Handbook® for Moving to and Living in Portland, about 530 pages long, contains detailed information on neighborhoods, getting settled, helpful services, child care and education, cultural life, and much more. Written by Bryan Geon, who has spent over a decade exploring Portland and the surrounding region, both as a long-time resident and serial newcomer, this book is the essential guide to Portland and the surrounding communities.

Designed especially for individuals who are planning to move to Portland, Oregon or for those who have just arrived in the Rose City, this thirteenth title in the Newcomer's Handbook series provides in-depth neighborhood and community profiles, as well as chapters on getting settled, helpful services, childcare and education, transportation, getting involved, green living, and much more.

In detailing Portland neighborhoods from Kenton to Multnomah Village and the Pearl District to Montavilla, this volume delineates the character and features of each area as well as the types and availability of housing, plus a list of convenient addresses and web sites. It then goes further afield to describe suburbs in East Multnomah County, Clackamas, Washington, and even Yamhill counties, plus Vancouver and its suburbs in Washington state. Plus, this new edition includes photographs illustrating what the neighborhoods and communities actually look like.

And best of all, this volume approaches Portland with a sensibility appropriate to the city with humor and a bit of delight in the quirkiness that exemplifies the Rose City. For example, a brief excerpt from the Weather and Natural Disasters chapter:

By now, you've probably heard a few not especially funny jokes about Oregon rain. One old saw holds that Oregonians don't tan, they rust. Another states that Portland's rainy season only runs from September 1 to August 31. Yet another asks, "What do you call two consecutive days of rain in Portland?" (Answer: the weekend.) Then there's the story about the hapless fellow waiting to be admitted into hell. He watches anxiously as Satan throws almost every soul in line ahead of him into the fiery pit, but notices that every so often the devil chucks someone off to the side instead. Intrigued, he summons up the courage to peep, "Excuse me, Prince of Darkness, but I notice that you seem to be throwing some people off to the side instead of into the inferno." "Oh, them," the devil replies ruefully, "They're from Portland. They're too wet to burn." Har har har. Endless rain. How very droll.

It does rain a lot in Oregon. Rumors of a nine-month deluge, however, are greatly exaggerated. The sun comes out sometimes, even in winter, and summers are typically glorious. And even if the weather's often wet and gray, it's somewhat comforting that the region's best known climatic feature is its drizzle rather than, say, category 5 hurricanes, killer tornadoes, or paralyzing blizzards.

Which is not to say that Portland is not at risk from natural disasters. All that rain sometimes begets mudslides and floods, and the area is subject to earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, forest fires, and the occasional ironic drought. It's all part of the price you pay for living in a paradise—a soggy, geologically unstable paradise.

PDF Excerpts

Portland - Table of Contents

Portland - Introduction

Portland - Neighborhood Sample

Portland - Surrounding Communities

Portland - Index