DINKS - SINKS - NOF-NOFs : Relocating to Portland from NIH

We moved here because my husband got a job on "Pill Hill" which is Marquam Hill in Portland where OHSU overlooks the Willamette River. OHSU is Oregon Health Sciences University, the only medical school in Oregon. Healthcare professionals are very dedicated to their work. We decided this move to Portland was a good time to start a family.

My husband was an NIH Fellow. He got a position in Portland. NIH is the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. I was a Technical Director at Ross Perot's company, EDS, while Roger Smith ran General Motors. I remember Roger and Ross would have fights in the board room. It got to the point that Roger fined Ross $10,000 per insult or disruption (or something like that) . Ross being the colorful guy he was would then pick his battles more carefully. When he got fined, Ross would say "It was worth it!"

Back to us. We DINKS hardly saw each other. Late nights at NIH meant that I knew every good restaurant within a reasonable distance to NIH that was open past midnight. Our schedules were so busy, we had to make time to see each other. Thursday night was out data night, even though we lived together, it was nice to spend some face to face time together.

Moving to Portland was a nice change. I'm a San Franciscan, and living in the Washington DC area was a culture shock for me. When it came time for my husband to leave NIH, I said:
"Let's go back to the West Coast, anywhere on the West Coast, except Alaska!"
I was not at all enamored with snow.

Becoming a mom was a welcome relief from being on the career track though it reminded me of being a manager. All those people to take care of. Now I just had two. Getting by on one income, and having a beautiful 3 story home in the West Hills, was both a luxury and an economic stressor. No matter what echelon of existence, I think couples moving from being DINKS (double income no kids) to SINKS (single income numerous kids) AND having relocated to NOF-NOFs (no family no friends) is really a huge stress on a couple.

Lake Oswego, Oregon

I love Lake Oswego. It's a quaint town just south of Portland. It takes 10 to 15 minutes to get to downtown Portland from here, but I'm happy just hanging out here around the lake. Lake Oswego is bounded by hills on both the north and south sides and by the Willamette River on the east side. On the west, it is bounded by I-5, the main interstate freeway that shuttles travelers through from California to Washington on their way up to Vancouver, British Columbia.

Lake Oswego is the only lake in the Portland Metropolitan area. It was historically a weekend get away spot for the wealthy Portlanders who built homes or cottages on or near the lake. This is why there are so many cottages here. Some of them have been very well kept. Others are treated like vacation rentals - now just regular home rentals, and some are in a sad state of disrepair.

I've been living here since my kids started kindergarten. I lived in a number of apartments around the lake before buying my own home. In this blog, I hope to take you on a tour of this quaint little town, that we locals so dearly love.