Customer Reviews

Insiders' Guide to Portland, Oregon, 5th: Including the Metro Area and Vancouver, Washington (Insiders' Guide Series)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

These books (there is a series) are the first resource we go to upon learning that it is, once again, time for us to transfer. They have all the information that most people could need and I recommend them to every military person I know that is in the process of transferring to make their move just a little bit easier. A look at the contents of this particular book:

Area Overview
Getting Here, Getting Around
History
Bed-and-Breakfast Inns
Hotels and Motels
Restaurants
Brewpubs
Coffeehouses
Nightlife
Shopping
Attractions
Kidstuff
Festivals and Annual Events
The Arts
Recreation and Spectator Sports
Portland Parks
Golf
Day Trips
Relocation
Child Care and Education
Health Care and Wellness
Retirement
Media
Worship
Index

No, there aren't a lot of pictures, but I can buy a coffee-table book for that. This is information and lots of it - including addresses, phone numbers, and websites when appropriate. Great for visitors and potential newcomers alike!

I liked the information in this book, Even has school listings. I was purchasing it for tourism purposes and it covers that but doesn't have pictures or long descriptions and prices. Since that is what I was looking for I was a little disappointed. Good for info bad for tourists.

This book has lots of useful information, but fails to tie the information in to graphics for those of us who have trouble visualizing the locations from the text. The neighborhoods are described by their names, and rougly tied into the city as a whole. However, the maps are not specific enough.

I've looked at and purchased a number of books I contemplate/prepare for a move to the Portland area. By far the most helpful book has been "Newcomer's Handbook for Moving to and Living in Portland" by Bryan Geon. However, that book has some gaps and I wanted to learn more.

Within seconds I knew that I won't be using the "Insiders' Guide to Portland" very much. The majority of the content is set up like a reference book with lists of locations, businesses, event dates, web sites, etc. This might turn out to be helpful once I get there, but it doesn't do me much good in my preparation for moving. In the back there are some very brief comments about moving into various neighborhoods. Unfortunately, there's almost nothing of value stated about Vancouver where many people live in order to avoid Oregon's steep income tax. This gap is astonishing given Vancouver's popularity as a Portland bedroom community.

There are probably some web sites listed I'll use. And I'm sure I'll find some valuable info here once (if) I move, especially the parts about event dates and locations. But overall it's not that useful for someone considering a move to the region. Without question, even with its own flaws, the "Newcomer's Handbook for Moving to and Living in Portland" is the superior book.

INSIDERS' GUIDE TO PORTLAND, OREGON, 5TH is a great guide to the cities of Portland and Vancouver, as well as their surrounding suburbs. Besides such information as house values, attractions, and the quality of schools in the area, the book also features detailed listings of the radio stations in the area, as well as in-depth discussions of what types of healthy-eating ideas and ethnic cuisine you can find in this metroplex. The book lacks a deep discussion of shopping malls in the area, preferring instead to focus on the other types of stores where a guy can find things to keep his woman happy, including CDs to dance to with her and clothes to help him look his best for her, which seems to indicate that independent stores are often the way to go to keep such promises, especially in a high-culture area such as Portland/Vancouver. Despite the lack of information on local malls, however, it's a wonderful book.