So you live... where?

I like to tell people I live in Portland, but I really live in a little neighborhood just across the river from downtown. Portland is an interesting city. It has suburbs in all directions and arguments abound over where Portland ends and the neighborhoods within it begin. There is a Chinatown, a strong African-American community, neighborhoods that are environmentally friendly and others that are all about driving the biggest SUV. Tattoos, hair colors and modes of transportation are all over the place. Diversity is defined here.

I live in Sellwood. We have a cool, old bridge that has failed every major safety and engineering test in the last year. They will be buiding a new one (and disrupting some of the most beautiful and pristine wetlands in the Pacific Northwest) and I'm hoping it doesn't happen for a couple years. I'll take my chances on the Sellwood Bridge. If it falls into the river with me on it, think of the story my grandkids will hear... "And your grandma plunged into the freezing Willamette River in her pretty little blue Jaguar one sunny August day..."


To get anywhere south, I have to cross this one. To see my best friend Traci, to see my best friend Michelle, I just hit the road and head across, sometimes a couple times a day. I don't think I could bike it, it would take too long to get across and the big trucks that pass would make me nutty. That and the concrete crashing into the river on a regular basis.

I am so lucky, I get to live in a vibrant city full of great restaurants, cultural diversity, sports teams and outdoor activities. I am a short walk from the wetlands, mere steps from one of the best parks in the city and able to walk out my front door on any given day and watch miniature boat races, people learning to fly fish and families frolicking in my gigantic front yard. All while listening to the sounds of the train in the background as I sip my tea in a shady spot.

I live in Sellwood. Lucky girl. Can life get any more grand than that?