Where to Live in Portland: Your Guide to the Best Neighborhoods in Portland

Over the years, the city of Portland, Oregon, has taken on an almost mythic quality in the popular imagination—buoyed by a hit television series on IFC, fawning features in national newspapers, and a creative culinary scene that runs the gamut from bacon-adorned doughnuts to hyperlocal, seasonal fare sourced from nearby farms.

Given all the hype around the Rose City, it can be tough to know where to live. So, to help, we’ve rounded up a list of the best places to live in Portland, Oregon—complete with vibes, suggested stops, and other tips for having fun—and including:

• Alberta Arts District
• Alphabet District
• Belmont
• Downtown Portland
• Goose Hollow
• Hawthorne District
• Laurelhurst
• Mississippi Avenue
• Mt. Tabor
• Nob Hill
• Pearl District
• St. Johns

Thinking about moving to Portland? Let’s get started!

Alberta Arts District

The quirky, laid-back Alberta Arts District neighborhood sits along a hip stretch of Albert Street in northeast Portland. As the moniker implies, the enclave is named for its many art galleries, murals painted on the sides of buildings, and the summertime Last Thursday festivities—where galleries stay open late, vendors sell handcrafted goods, and musicians perform all over the place. Single-story, single-family homes cover much of the neighborhood, making it one of the best places to live in Portland, OR, for raising young children.

Favorite gathering spots along Alberta include Great Notion Brewing, which is beloved for IPAs, sour ales, and culinary-inspired stouts, and Salt & Straw, a Portland-based ice cream chain that scoops a mix of classic and unusual flavors. You’ll also enjoy your proximity to Pine State Biscuits and its Southern-inspired biscuit sandwiches.

Alphabet District

One of the quieter neighborhoods in Portland, the Alphabet District is a sleepy quarter northwest of downtown. As the name implies, the tree-lined district is denoted by east-west streets named in alphabetical order. Burnside Street forms the neighborhood’s southern border, and from there, you’ll encounter Couch Street, Davis Street, and so on and forth.

Vintage townhomes, modern condos, and retro apartment buildings—mostly inhabited by a mix of young professionals and retirees—make up the bulk of the housing in the quiet neighborhood, bordered on the west by Nob Hill, on the south by Goose Hollow, and on the east by the Pearl District. The Portland Streetcar loops through the broader Northwest Portland and downtown districts if you’re looking to venture out of the area.

Gems around the Alphabet District include Paymaster Lounge, a local watering hole with a boisterous back patio, Gastro Mania, a bustling lunch spot that serves Mediterranean specialties, and Couch Park, where you can unfurl a blanket and while away a sunny summer afternoon.

Belmont

The Belmont neighborhood, just a few blocks north of the Hawthorne District, stretches from the Willamette River waterfront to the base of Mt. Tabor in southeast Portland and boasts its own blend of vintage boutiques, popular eateries, and packed coffee shops. Similar to Hawthorne, Belmont has plenty of hipster cred, but it differentiates itself with a quieter vibe geared more toward families and young professionals (thanks to a mix of newer condos and older homes).

Belmont is chockablock with excellent pubs and restaurants—including Hat Yai, a Thai restaurant dishing fried chicken and curry, Slappy Cakes, where you can make custom pancakes on the griddle embedded into your table, and Horse Brass Pub, a dimly lit, English-style pub boasting one of the city’s best beer selections.

If you need a quick pick-me-up, Stumptown Coffee is the roaster that put Portland on the map as a premier coffee destination.

Downtown Portland

Despite its name, the downtown Portland neighborhood sits near the western edge of the city, bordered on the east by the Willamette River, on the north by the Old Town Chinatown and Pearl District neighborhoods, and on the west by Goose Hollow. Buses, streetcars, and light-rail trains, all operated by TriMet, offer easy access to the rest of the city.

Befitting a big city’s bustling core, the vibe can change from hour to hour and block to block. Most weekdays, office workers fill downtown’s high rises while students attend class at Portland State University. Downtown tends to go quiet after work but can liven up with the arrival of fairs, festivals, and farmers’ markets all spring and summer. Downtown is also one of the best neighborhoods in Portland if you’re interested in a modern condo or apartment building.

You’ll find many of Portland’s best-loved attractions throughout downtown, including the long-running Portland Art Museum and the quirky Portland Saturday Market. Pioneer Courthouse Square, a brick plaza nicknamed “Portland’s Living Room” is the go-to spot for noshing on creative food-cart fare, catching a concert, or lazing the day away. Downtown is also home to Governor Tom McCall Waterfront Park, a thin strip of greenery between downtown and the Willamette River waterfront—and the site of several festive events throughout the summer.

You can also catch the MAX train to Washington Park, home to the Oregon Zoo and other popular attractions. Of course, downtown is also where you’ll find the first-ever outpost from Voodoo Doughnut, known for its decadent yet silly pastries.

Goose Hollow

If you want a quiet neighborhood without sacrificing accessibility, chances are good you’ll wind up in Goose Hollow—the southwest Portland neighborhood that’s bordered by downtown on the east, the Alphabet District on the north, and the Tualatin Mountains (known more commonly as the West Hills) on the west.

Here historic, Victorian-inspired homes mingle with old-school apartment buildings and chic condos, helping Goose Hollow feel like one of the quieter neighborhoods in Portland.

Still, Goose Hollow retains a subdued charm—other than the couple dozen times a year when rowdy fans of the Portland Timbers and Portland Thorns soccer clubs fill Providence Park, a stadium that dates back to the 1890s.

Most days, it’s not hard to score a seat at Goose Hollow Inn, a bistro known for some of the city’s best Reuben sandwiches, or the Leaky Roof Gastro Pub, a veteran eatery dishing classic pub grub. And, if you need a break or to switch up your work desk for a few hours, Fehrenbacher Hof serves classic coffee selections alongside pastries and light bites for breakfast and lunch.

Hawthorne District

One of the best neighborhoods in Portland, the Hawthorne District stretches from roughly the Willamette River to the base of Mt. Tabor—and lays claim to most of the city’s most popular shops and stops in southeast Portland.

At its western edge, Hawthorne hosts a few food cart pods (including Cartopia) and one of the city’s best brunch spots: Jam on Hawthorne. For a night out, stop by the McMenamins Bagdad Theater & Pub, where you can enjoy pub fare from a local brewpub chain and watch a movie in an auditorium that dates back to the 1920s.

Hawthorne offers easy access to downtown and nearby neighborhoods (like Belmont and Mt. Tabor) via several convenient bus lines. And, while its vintage shops attract hipsters in droves, Hawthorne’s single-story homes and occasional apartment complexes typically house established families, veteran office workers, and well-off retirees—with a few young professionals mixed in for good measure.

Laurelhurst

Portland’s old-money history is rarely more apparent than in the Laurelhurst neighborhood, where tree-lined streets are surrounded by one- and two-story family homes—some of which date back a century or more. The southeast Portland neighborhood sits north of Hawthorne and Belmont, but its location on the inner east side makes it easy to visit downtown and northeast Portland. Taken together, you have a quiet enclave teeming with veteran professionals and established families.

It’s easy to see why Laurelhurst is so adored. Screen Door is a bustling brunch stop (noted for towering stacks of chicken and waffles), the old-school Laurelhurst Theater pours local beers for moviegoers, and the lush Laurelhurst Park hosts walking trails, an off-leash dog area, plenty of play equipment, and other fun attractions. You’ll also find several quiet side streets if traveling by bike.

Mississippi Avenue

The ultra-hip Mississippi Avenue runs through north Portland, bisecting a quiet, leafy neighborhood and repurposing all manner of historic buildings to house some of the city’s most popular restaurants, bars, and shops today. It hasn’t come without a price—Mississippi was home to some of the cheapest apartments, condos, and homes in Portland before gentrification dramatically raised the cost of housing in recent years—but there’s a genuine sense of energy and excitement among the families who live along Mississippi Avenue today.

That’s due, in part, to a number of outdoor patios lining the main drag, including an outdoor seating area that extends onto the street at Stormbreaker Brewing and the spacious patio at Prost Marketplace, which comprises a German beer bar and several of the city’s best food carts. Popular stops nearby include ¿Por Qué No? Taquería, where ever-present lines are a testament to fresh Mexican fare, and Lovely’s Fifty-fifty, a local institution churning out crisp wood-fired pizzas and homemade ice cream.

Mt. Tabor

Have you ever hiked up an extinct volcano? You can in Portland, where Mt. Tabor rises from its namesake neighborhood and provides all manner of year-round fun for residents and visitors alike. Mt. Tabor Park features a few miles of hiking trails, picnic sites, and some of the city’s best sunset views, helping the neighborhood become one of the best places to live in Portland, OR.

But that’s not all the Portland neighborhood has to offer. At the western edge of the Mt. Tabor district, Hinterlands Bar & Carts pairs some of Portland’s famous food carts with a friendly bar and plenty of covered seating. And Coquine is a Portland institution, renowned for dishing Pacific Northwest-inspired fare with fresh, locally sourced ingredients from Oregon producers.

Away from the eateries, expect to find plenty of single- and two-story family homes covering the relaxed neighborhood. That said, a few old-school brick apartment buildings dot the area, as do a few newer complexes.

Nob Hill

Portland is a pretty flat city—other than in the Nob Hill district, which sits west of the Pearl District, north of Goose Hollow, and where apartment complexes and stately, Victorian-inspired homes gradually begin rising into the West Hills. Yet the neighborhood—mostly centered around the bustling 21st Avenue and the trendy 23rd Avenue—is popular with young families, veteran professionals, and retirees who appreciate its vintage charm and easy walkability (at least when they’re not heading up the hill). The Portland Streetcar also runs through Nob Hill, one of several Portland neighborhoods it connects.

Northwest 23rd Avenue is rich with fashionable boutiques, inventive art galleries, and elegant eateries. Papa Haydn serves bistro-like lunch fare alongside homemade desserts, while The Fireside serves seafood, sandwiches, pasta, and more in a restaurant that hosts two fireplaces. Over on NW 21st Avenue, Ken’s Artisan Bakery is a beloved Portland destination that serves some of the city’s best baked goods—including breads, croissants, and other pastries.

At the western edge of the neighborhood, Wallace Park hosts 11 bronze sculptures amid children’s play equipment, picnic areas, and basketball courts. You’ll also enjoy easy access to Forest Park, a massive forest in the city that hosts more than 80 miles of hiking and biking trails.

Pearl District

A few decades ago, the Pearl District was little more than a collection of empty warehouses just north of downtown Portland—even today, you’ll still see cobblestone streets that reflect its industrial past. But in recent years, almost nonstop construction has given new life to the Portland neighborhood, where high-rise condos seem to open by the hour, trendy boutiques flourish along walkable boulevards, galleries celebrate local artists at First Thursday events, and parks offer a bit of green space in the urban enclave. You can even hop on the Portland Streetcar if you want to check out other Portland neighborhoods!

Young professionals and well-to-do retirees call most of those condos home, and you’ll meet your neighbors at The Fields Park, an urban oasis boasting views of the Fremont Bridge, and among the stacks at Powell’s City of Books, a three-story bookstore that takes up an entire city block and houses more than a million books.

“The Pearl,” as it’s known locally, is one of the best neighborhoods in Portland for craft beer, and nowhere is that more apparent than at Von Ebert Brewing, which serves award-winning ales and lagers that locals love.

St. Johns

Sitting at the far northwestern edge of Portland, St. Johns sometimes feels like its own city in Oregon—which it was until 1915, when the neighborhood was annexed and made an official part of Stumptown. More than a century later, St. Johns is both a popular tourist stop and a quiet, almost suburban-like retreat for the families and retirees who live there.

Massive, century-old trees still line most streets in St. Johns, providing ample shade for ranch houses and two-story homes across the neighborhood. That said, new apartment complexes are slowly but surely bringing young professionals out to the edge of the city.

If you join that influx, you’ll find plenty to love about St. Johns. If you’re looking to start the day right, Sparrow Bakery makes a variety of decadent pastries (including the cardamom-infused Ocean Roll). The grassy Cathedral Park sits as the base of the regal St. Johns Bridge (perhaps the prettiest of Portland’s many river crossings)—just a short walk from Occidental Brewing Co., which specializes in German lagers. For more outdoor adventure, you’ll find a few access points to Forest Park just across the St. Johns Bridge.

Find an apartment in the best neighborhoods in Portland

Ready to throw on your favorite pair of skinny jeans, invest in a fixie, and kick back a few craft beers in this city’s many brewpubs? Landing offers fully furnished apartments across Portland, making it easy to figure out where to live in Portland. And, if you’d rather sample the city’s different districts, Landing’s flexible leases allow you to transfer apartments and enjoy all of the best places to live in Portland, Oregon. Learn more about what a Landing membership can do for you today!