Sweating it out in West Linn

So. Here we are. West Linn. Otherwise known as "Lake Oswego Junior".

Now, for those of you who don't know, Lake Oswego is the swanky, rich suburb of Portland. It is SO white bread and so clean, you kinda forget you're in the real world. West Linn is the next door neighbor to Lake O (as it's called by the locals) and is aspiring to be the Town of the Gated Community. And the place where lots of the Portland Trailblazers live.

Every morning I walk through these neighborhoods, looking at the big houses stuck so close together I'm not sure why they aren't just called townhouses. My new walking partner (who happens to be a realtor along with being a nurse) tells me what the various houses have sold for. I can barely keep my astonishment in check. Okay. I don't even try.

I just don't get it. These houses are not only mostly unattractive, they cost WAY too much. They are ridiculously close together, I just can't get over it.

It has become very clear that we won't be buying a house here. Not only can we get way more house as little as a town away, but we won't be paying the extreme property taxes etc. here. So, trying not to get too attached to the town because unless I go out and get one heck of a job, West Linn is not our Final Destination.