Portland Southwest median real estate price is $805,943, which is more expensive than 92.0% of the neighborhoods in Maine and 83.1% of the neighborhoods in the U.S.
The average rental price in Portland Southwest is currently $2,673, based on NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis. The average rental cost in this neighborhood is higher than 93.3% of the neighborhoods in Maine.
Portland Southwest is a densely urban neighborhood (based on population density) located in Portland, Maine.
Portland Southwest real estate is primarily made up of small (studio to two bedroom) to medium sized (three or four bedroom) small apartment buildings and apartment complexes/high-rise apartments. Most of the residential real estate is renter occupied. Many of the residences in the Portland Southwest neighborhood are relatively historic, built no later than 1939, and in some cases, quite a bit earlier. A number of residences were also built between 1970 and 1999.
Portland Southwest has a 11.0% vacancy rate, which is well above average compared to other U.S. neighborhoods (higher than 67.0% of American neighborhoods). A relatively large percentage of housing here is seasonally occupied (8.0%), which can occur in some markets dominated by colleges or vacation homes. If you live here year round, you will find many of the homes or apartments are empty for all or a portion of the year.
Many things matter about a neighborhood, but the first thing most people notice is the way a neighborhood looks and its particular character. For example, one might notice whether the buildings all date from a certain time period or whether shop signs are in multiple languages. This particular neighborhood in Portland, the Portland Southwest neighborhood, has some outstanding things about the way it looks and its way of life that are worth highlighting.
The first thing that you'll notice if you moved to this neighborhood is that an astounding 3.9% of the households are same sex couples. According to NeighborhoodScout's analysis, this is a higher proportion of same sex households than in 99.7% of the neighborhoods in America. This is one indicator that this neighborhood is likely a gay-friendly neighborhood. So if you are looking for such a neighborhood, the Portland Southwest neighborhood should definitely be on your list of places to consider.
In addition, with a nice mix of college students, safety from crime, and decent walkability, the Portland Southwest neighborhood rates highly as a college student friendly place to live, and one that college students and their parents may want to consider. NeighborhoodScout's analysis shows that it rates more highly for a good place for college students to live than 89.8% of the neighborhoods in ME. This often also means that the area has certain amenities and services geared towards college students, from undergraduates to graduate students. In addition to being an excellent choice for college students, this neighborhood is also a very good choice for urban sophisticates and young, single professionals.
More people in Portland Southwest choose to walk to work each day (25.8%) than almost any neighborhood in America. If you are attracted to the idea of being able to walk to work, this neighborhood could be a good choice.
Also, would you like to be able to ride your bike to work? If you are attracted to the idea of getting a little exercise of the two-wheeled type while reducing your carbon footprint, bicycling to work might be the answer. But which neighborhood you live in can make this either impossible, or alternatively, a great and realistic option. NeighborhoodScout's analysis revealed that the Portland Southwest neighborhood is a fantastic option for bicycle commuters, as 5.0% of commuters here do ride their bikes to and from work on a daily basis. This is a higher amount than we found in 98.3% of the neighborhoods in America.
Finally, in the Portland Southwest neighborhood, many people's commute means walking from the bedroom to the home office. NeighborhoodScout's analysis found that 32.4% of residents worked from home. This may not seem like a large number, but Scout's research shows that this is a higher percentage of people working from home than 96.3% of the neighborhoods in America. Often people who work from home are engaged in the creative or technological economy, such as is found in areas around Boston, and in Silicon Valley. Other times, people may be engaged in other businesses like trading stocks from home, or running a small beauty salon.
If you like crowded places, then you will probably enjoy the the Portland Southwest neighborhood. According to NeighborhoodScout's exclusive data analysis, this neighborhood is more densely populated than 95.2% of neighborhoods in the U.S., with 21,361 people per square mile living here. Being a walkable neighborhood can help increase property values for the simple reason that people enjoy it and value it. To put it plainly, despite our love affair with the automobile, American's enjoy taking to the streets, sidewalks, paths, and courtyards of a place to get a coffee, relax, and take in the sights and sounds. And, according to NeighborhoodScout's exclusive and first quantitative walkable score index, the Portland Southwest neighborhood is one of the most walkable neighborhoods in America.
In addition, three-deckers, duplexes, old Victorian homes cut up into apartments. Independent stores on the corner selling pizza. These are some of the hallmarks of neighborhoods with lots of small 2, 3, and 4 unit apartment buildings. The Portland Southwest neighborhood really stands out in this regard, however, as it is dominated by such small apartment buildings more than nearly any other neighborhood in America. This is a stunning visual and lifestyle example of this type of neighborhood. In fact, 46.8% of the real estate here are small 2, 3, or 4 unit apartment buildings, which is a higher proportion than found in 98.1% of America's neighborhoods.
Furthermore, do you watch 'This Old House' on Public Television? Do you love the idea of fixing up a Colonial or Victorian era home, complete with the charm of yesteryear? Do you like to stroll or drive streets lined with gracious older residences? If you found yourself nodding yes to any of these questions, you are going to be interested in this unique neighborhood. The Portland Southwest neighborhood stands out on a national scale for the sheer concentration of historic residences it contains: 69.6% of the residential real estate here was built from 1939 or earlier, some much earlier. This is a greater concentration of historic homes than 98.6% of the neighborhoods in the United States.
Did you know that the Portland Southwest neighborhood has more Sub-Saharan African and French Canadian ancestry people living in it than nearly any neighborhood in America? It's true! In fact, 22.5% of this neighborhood's residents have Sub-Saharan African ancestry and 5.5% have French Canadian ancestry.
Portland Southwest is also pretty special linguistically. Significantly, 6.7% of its residents five years old and above primarily speak African languages at home. While this may seem like a small percentage, it is higher than 99.2% of the neighborhoods in America.
There are two complementary measures for understanding the income of a neighborhood's residents: the average and the extremes. While a neighborhood may be relatively wealthy overall, it is equally important to understand the rate of people - particularly children - who are living at or below the federal poverty line, which is extremely low income. Some neighborhoods with a lower average income may actually have a lower childhood poverty rate than another with a higher average income, and this helps us understand the conditions and character of a neighborhood.
The neighbors in the Portland Southwest neighborhood in Portland are middle-income, making it a moderate income neighborhood. NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis reveals that this neighborhood has a higher income than 58.6% of the neighborhoods in America. With 33.8% of the children here below the federal poverty line, this neighborhood has a higher rate of childhood poverty than 85.1% of U.S. neighborhoods.
The old saying "you are what you eat" is true. But it is also true that you are what you do for a living. The types of occupations your neighbors have shape their character, and together as a group, their collective occupations shape the culture of a place.
In the Portland Southwest neighborhood, 63.5% of the working population is employed in executive, management, and professional occupations. The second most important occupational group in this neighborhood is sales and service jobs, from major sales accounts, to working in fast food restaurants, with 25.3% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in manufacturing and laborer occupations (7.2%), and 3.9% in clerical, assistant, and tech support occupations.
Languages
The languages spoken by people in this neighborhood are diverse. These are tabulated as the languages people preferentially speak when they are at home with their families. The most common language spoken in the Portland Southwest neighborhood is English, spoken by 84.0% of households. Other important languages spoken here include African languages and Italian.
Ethnicity / Ancestry
Culture is the shared learned behavior of peoples. Undeniably, different ethnicities and ancestries have different cultural traditions, and as a result, neighborhoods with concentrations of residents of one or another ethnicities or ancestries will express those cultures. It is what makes the North End in Boston so fun to visit for the Italian restaurants, bakeries, culture, and charm, and similarly, why people enjoy visiting Chinatown in San Francisco.
In the Portland Southwest neighborhood in Portland, ME, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as Sub-Saharan African (22.5%). There are also a number of people of English ancestry (13.1%), and residents who report Irish roots (12.7%), and some of the residents are also of German ancestry (10.5%), along with some Asian ancestry residents (7.2%), among others. In addition, 18.2% of the residents of this neighborhood were born in another country.
How you get to work – car, bus, train or other means – and how much of your day it takes to do so is a large quality of life and financial issue. Especially with gasoline prices rising and expected to continue doing so, the length and means of one's commute can be a financial burden. Some neighborhoods are physically located so that many residents have to drive in their own car, others are set up so many walk to work, or can take a train, bus, or bike. The greatest number of commuters in Portland Southwest neighborhood spend under 15 minutes commuting one-way to work (48.8% of working residents), one of the shortest commutes across America.
Here most residents (35.9%) drive alone in a private automobile to get to work. In addition, quite a number also hop out the door and walk to work to get to work (25.8%) . In a neighborhood like this, as in most of the nation, many residents find owning a car useful for getting to work.
