St John or Lake Oswego???

Hi Portland experts:

I am planning a vacation with another family. We will have 4 young kids in total (5,4,3,2) and have a choice between 2 houses. One of the house is in ST Johns and the other is in Lake Oswego. We like the fact that the St Johns house seem to be close to DT Portland as well as the price being reasonable for the 9 nights. We want to take the kids to the Children%26#39;s Museum and zoo as well as other activities. Upon my research on the internet regarding St John, it didn%26#39;t have many favorable comments so I wanted to literally %26#39;pick your brains%26#39; about your thoughts and suggestions on where would be a better place to stay that is safe for us and our kids? We live in Vancouver CANADA so diversity and having culture is not a problem, just want to make sure that its a safe neighborhood. The house at Lake Oswego is nice too but the price is about $1000+ more and I think the distance to dt Portland is alot longer. Do you have any other suggestions for areas that I should be looking at? There isn%26#39;t alot of vacation rental homes available that would accommodate a group of 8 that I could find. Thank you in advance for everyone%26#39;s advice and suggestions.

St John or Lake Oswego???

Yes, St. Johns is closed to downtown. The drive from LO is not bad at all, just a few more minutes. But depending on where in LO it may take longer to get to the freeway, etc. But LO is a very nice town...just typical upscale suburbia though. If I were in your shoes, I would most likely pick the St. Johns location for ease.

St John or Lake Oswego???

Oops, I was thinking of Johns Landing not St. Johns. Sorry about that. In which case, personally I would opt for LO.

Thank you, may I ask why you would personally opt for LO? What are the downside of staying at St Johns area? Is it not safe?

Well, seeing as 5 generations of my family have lived in St. John%26#39;s at one time or another, I feel like I can be free to comment without fear of reprimand.

St. John%26#39;s is quite close to downtown, and would be an easy drive. You would have the option of going over the St. John%26#39;s bridge, and taking Hwy 30 in to downtown, which would bypass much of the I-5 mess.

That being said, where in St. John%26#39;s the house is located would be the key to whether or not I would recommend staying there. If the house is somewhere off of Willamette, near the University, it might not be too bad. Other areas, I would tend to be highly questionable of.

I have friends that live in St. John%26#39;s, and absolutely love it, would not live anywhere else in Portland. There are some nice and electic places to go. But, most times when I am over in that way, I find the dining opportunities limited, especially with my children.

This part of town has had lots of problems in the past, and there has been some minimal improvement, but I don%26#39;t see a lot of the changes that have been evident in other parts of the city, maybe due to the rather isolated location, but, that is just IMHO.

Okay, let the flaming begin.

I agree with mahjerle regarding exactly where in St. Johns the house is located. I live in St. Johns (well, technically Cathedral Park by about 2 blocks) and love it. I%26#39;m not a big fan of the suburban neighborhoods like Lake O.

If you post or message me the address (or at least the name of the street and the hundred block to preserve some semblance of privacy) I%26#39;d be happy to give you the breakdown of what you can expect. I%26#39;ll even take a 360 shot of the view from the front porch if you want.

St. Johns in 2009 is basically Hawthorne Blvd in 1981, if that makes any sense to anyone.

Thank you...the owner of the house we are interested in gave us the following so we can see approximately here it is:

you can mapquest the intersection of N. Seneca St. %26amp; N. St. Louis Ave. (97203). Let me know if this does not allow you to access the information that you need. Also, the house is fairly close to Pier Park which has a nice outdoor pool, skate park and play areas for the kids. It is lovely in the summer.

Is this area good for kids?

sweetally..we must have been posting at the same time.

I think it all depends on what area of St. John%26#39;s you are in. As with a lot of neighborhoods, there are just some spots that are nicer than others.

As someone who was born and raised in North Portland, I think if you mind your own business, you really don%26#39;t have much to worry about. My aforementioned friend is a woman, and goes out walking her dogs every night after work by herself, even in the dark of winter, and never feels unsafe or threatened.

Now, that being said, there are plenty of other electic neighborhoods in Portland to choose from. I personally would not want to stay in Lake Oswego either, but I am an east side of the river kind of gal.

That%26#39;s less than 9 blocks from my house. Tons of stuff to walk to, but I wouldn%26#39;t want to be directly on St. Louis street. Is it at least a house or two down Seneca?

yes I believe she mentioned that it%26#39;s a few houses off that intersection. Unfortunately I don%26#39;t know the exact address. Thanks again for your info and advice. It%26#39;s great to talk to locals and get their insight.

The closest thing to that house is the Thai restaurant, if you like Thai. Also within walking distance is Starbucks, James John Cafe, Anna Banana%26#39;s Cafe, Proper Eats Natural Foods, a gelato place whose name escapes me, and a bunch of other neat little places. Not a bad spot. That house is also near a house that has guard geese.