Welcome to Portland!  Native Oregonians and new residents alike enjoy the Portland area’s natural beauty, quality lifestyle, friendly people, and growing business opportunities.

Oregon’s largest city, Portland is situated where the Willamette River joins the Columbia River, which flows out to the Pacific Ocean, 78 miles to the west.

On the coast, you can enjoy kite flying, whale watching, beachcombing, shopping and more.  To the east, just over an hour’s drive of Portland, magnificent Mt. Hood rises 11,000 feet, providing year-round skiing and snowboarding as well as hiking, fishing and camping at lower elevations.

Portland is a world-class fresh water port and is a major distribution hub as well as home to nearly 250 high-tech and related firms.  Hundreds of businesses thrive in the Portland area, with technology companies playing an important role in the workforce.

Whether you’ve already decided to move here or are just considering it, we know you want to find the right home for you and your family and that you have specific questions about the communities in which you’ll be establishing your new life – recreation and entertainment, schools and daycare, medical facilities ads more.  We, at RE/MAX Equity Group, have answers that will make your move smoother and faster.

If you need more information ore help planning your move, please call us at RE/MAX Equity Group at our office, (503) 869-1295 and ask for our outstanding relocation package.  We’ll make you feel at home even before you get there.

Portland continues to shift its economy from timber-related industries to high-tech and service-oriented companies.  Tourism also played a large part in the economy because of the area’s natural beauty.

Portland is home to several Fortune 500 companies.  The high quality of life and concern for the environment affordable cost of living, highly educated workforce, and effective and open local governments continue to attract companies exploring expansion and relocation into Portland.

More then 600 square miles of the Portland Metropolitan area is served 5 a.m. to 1 a.m. by the Tri-county Metropolitan Transportation District’s (Tri-Met) buses and light rail.  Tri-Met was named by American Public Transportation Association as the “best large mass transit agency in North America”. MAX, Tri-Met’s light rail system, runs from the eastside suburb of Gresham to downtown Portland, as well as the Portland International Airport, through the Sunset Corridor area ending in Hillsboro, a west side suburb.  This east/west light rail system has earned national recognition.  The Tram, from OHSU to the South Waterfront, which began service in 2007 has become a tourist destination. In 2010, there will be additional service ending at Clackamas Town Center.  Additional MAX lines and trolley service are in the planning stages.

Lloyd Center is the region’s largest enclosed shopping mall with more than 150 specialty shops, fifteen restaurants, and Olympic–size ice rink.  The open-air Portland Saturday Market, open from March through the Christmas season at the west end of the Burnside Bridge, features the work of more than 300 independent artists and craftsmen.

In the city center, you’ll find Pioneer Place with three levels of specialty shops and restaurants.  In the suburban areas, you can enjoy shopping at Beaverton’s Washington Square or Clackamas Town Center on the east side.  Both feature large department stores as well as specialty shops.  You might also want to explore the newly opened European style shopping mall at Bridgeport Village just a few miles south of Portland or the Swedish furniture store IKEA close to the Portland International Airport.

Oregon’s continues to rank near the top in the SAT results for college-bound students.  Oregon invests a large percent of its discretionary income into educational spending compared to the rest of the country.

Portland schools have earned acclaim for high academic standards over the years.  All school districts have excellent special education programs as well as programs for exceptional students.

Oregon licenses child care facilities with the strictest requirements for centers where 13 or more infants/small children are present.  Group home care centers with less than 12 children in private family homes are also licensed.  There are more than 100 independent licensed childcare centers around the Portland Metropolitan area.  If you prefer private, in-home care by a nanny or ‘au pair’, there are several agencies in the Portland area to help you find the right person or program.

More than 200 parks including 20,000 acres of recreational land can be found in the Portland Metropolitan Area and its surrounding communities.  Forest Park, the largest forested city park in the world, features more than 4700 acres with approximately 30 miles of hiking trails, all in the heart of Portland.

Other favorite parks include:

• Washington Park, home to the International Rose Test Garden and the Japanese Gardens
• Tom McCall Waterfront Park, which covers two miles along the Willamette River and the Chinese Garden in downtown Portland, and
• Mt. Tabor Park, a wooded park that covers an extinct volcano’s cinder cone.

More than 50 local art galleries and museums are available in Portland to satisfy everyone form the casual observer to the serious connoisseur

The more than 100-year-old Portland Art Museum was renovated in 1995 and features word-class masterpieces as well as the work of established local artists.  The Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) demonstrates scientific principles and illustrates technology through six exhibit halls, a planetarium with astronomy and laser light shows and the high-tech visual effect of the OMNIMAX theater.  The Oregon Zoo is a 64 acre living museum of animals ranging from Western Oregon native animals to the rare and endangered Asian elephant.

Portland is a major cultural center boasting the nationally acclaimed Oregon Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Maestro Carlos Kalmar.  The Portland Opera Company is also recognized as one of the top twenty in North America.  Musical aspirations start young in Portland with the world famous Portland Youth Philharmonic , conducted by David Hattner, giving young people the opportunity to hone their skills.

Broadway musicals, dramas, mysteries and comedies come alive in Portland through the work of the Portland Repertory Theatre and Portland Center Stage.

Portlanders cheer a variety of professional teams including the NBA’s Portland Trailblazers, whose home, the rose Garden, seats in excess of 21,000 fans.  The World Hockey League’s Portland Winterhawks. Portland Timbers soccer, and the Portland Beavers minor league baseball round out the many choices for sports enthusiasts in Portland.

Adapted from an article by the RE/MAX equity group Relocation