Weekend Getaway

Today is my last day at work for the week, WooHoo!! Tomorrow morning we will hop on a plane for a non-stop flight to Portland, Oregon. I have lived in California most of my life and have never ventured farther north than Lake Tahoe. I hear the Pacific Northwest is beautiful and cannot wait to experience Stumptown for myself. 

Now, this is not simply a mini-vacation. Rather, more a reconnaissance mission. There is a good chance that we will soon be calling Portland home and we want to get a feel for the area before we commit. Research has been done, maps have been made, neighborhoods have been discussed, and pubs have been pin pointed. We want to soak up as much of the city as we can during the 3 short days we will be there. 

Leaving our beautiful Santa Barbara would be sad, but
 the PNW would bee a nice consolation prize

We are focusing our search mostly on the westside of the city. If we do move there, we want The Lion Man to have a short commute to his potential job out to the west of the city. The nugget dog needs a yard, so we wont be able to be right in the city, as most of the available housing is apartment/condo style. I would like to be within walking/biking distance from at least a couple restaurants and shops. If possible, having the city within biking distance or even a  short metro ride would be great. Oh yeah, and this all must be affordable. 

**Let me pause for a second and qualify the word "affordable." Santa Barbara and affordable do not go exactly hand in hand. Right now we are renting a room in a house for the same amount the we could pay to rent an entire home in most other parts of the country. Part of the reason making this move is so attractive is we may be able to buy a house sooner than we would in Santa Barbara (like, before we are 50).**

We hope to spend at least a little time in most parts of the city, but are focusing our attention on the Hillsdale area and the St John's area. Both are still within the city of Portland, just not downtown.  Hillsdale is in the southwest, and St John's is in the northwest.

Hillsdale has the cutest little mainstreet with all sorts of different shops and events. It reminds me a lot of Santa Barbara. St John's is a little gritter, from what I understand, but still very historic and very beautiful. It looks like it has a funkzone vibe. 

St John's Bridge. How beautiful is that?

After neighborhood shopping, we should have enough time to experience a lot of other things Portland has to offer...

Portland Saturday Market

VooDoo Doughnuts

Try a few of the MANY breweries

And you can't forget the coffee!

Any other suggestions? I would love to hear them!

We are trying to get a somewhat local experience, but it is hard when there is so much to do and see in only 3 days! 

I'll be here tomorrow with my Friday Confessions, then back on Tuesday with a full Portland Report!

Until then...

Keep it Fancy,

Jett