Family Circle Maganzine has named Lake Oswego one of the Nation’s 10 best towns for families. This came as no surprise to me. It’s why I moved here. I think it’s why many people move here. This is simply a great place to raise kids.
Here is what Family Circle had to say:
Lake Oswego, Oregon
Population: 36,396
Median Income: $83,397
Median Home Price: $361,317
Households with Kids: 30%
Student/Teacher Ratio: 22:1
Great Schools Rating: 10
Beth Taylor, 53, rarely travels far from this scenic Portland suburb for family vacations. She and husband Mitch, a 52-year-old tech firm executive, along with kids Grant, 18, and Margaret, 9, have hiked in the Cascades, skied at Mount Hood and floated down the McKenzie River—all just a two- or three-hour drive away. The Taylors can also get their nature fix by walking out the front door, since their home borders a 645-acre forest known as Tryon Creek State Park. “When you’re on the trails, it’s easy to forget that you live anywhere near a city,” says Beth. But what she appreciates most about Lake Oswego is its caring citizens. To make up for school budget cuts, parents raised more than $2 million last year to hire teachers and keep classes small. And when Grant was hurt during a football game last October, two neighborhood doctors met Beth and Mitch in the ER for moral support and stayed with them through the night; when Grant returned home, the family’s voicemail and e-mail boxes were filled with hundreds of good wishes and their fridge had been stocked with food. “Not unusual at all,” says Beth. “People here go all out to support each other.”
Good Deeds: Every year students at Lake Oswego High spend one of their days off from school doing volunteer work, from cleaning the local library to mucking out stalls at a horse stable for disabled youth. In April 700 kids stepped up; next year’s goal is for all 1,200 to take part.