I belong to the Living in Lake Oswego Facebook group and today someone asked the question about moving children to LO. This person was questioning whether uprooting them from their current schools would be worth it. Of course, this lead to a very nice discussion and it made me realize that it’s a conversation worth having here.
I see three primary benefits of relocating children to LO, based upon my own experience.
My children were in the 4th and 7th grades at the time of our move.
The first is the schools. I moved here from Sellwood, a very nice neighborhood in SE Portland. It’s a neighborhood with a reputation for having pretty good schools, but I came to realize that it just wasn’t good enough. What’s different here in LO? So many families move here for the schools that it creates an environment where the children arrive at school ready to learn. Teachers are able to teach and they spend much less time discipling. There really is that big of a difference. I also think it’s a harder and more traditional curriculum. I wanted my kids to read the classics and take courses that really set them up for success.
The second is the safety of the community. My kids world got substantially bigger because I didn’t worry so much about them venturing out. They could ride their bikes in our neighborhood and I felt that they were completely safe.
The third is the curfew. If a person is under the age of 18, they are not allowed on the streets in LO after 11pm unaccompanied by an adult. This means that teenagers don’t loiter at night in LO. It also means, as a parent, that I knew my kids would be home by 11pm. I will confess that each of my kids got picked up and brought home at least once. There is no punishment, no citation, no lecture. They simply ring the bell and leave the child after they made sure that they have gotten safely inside.
Moving to LO was one of the best decisions that I have ever made. SOOOOO glad that we did it.
Dianne