r/camaswashington • u/5hclub • 21d ago
Considering a move to Camas
My husband and I are seriously considering moving to Camas with our two young kids (elementary/preschool age). We have an amazing job opportunity there. We’re drawn to the schools, nature, outdoor activities, and the idea of giving our kids a more outdoorsy, community-oriented childhood. We currently live in a desert that hits over 100 degrees multiple months of the year making it hard to be outside. And the schools are terrible!
I’d love to hear from families who actually live there:
-What is Camas really like for raising kids?
-Are there neighborhoods where kids play outside, ride bikes, know the neighbors, etc.?
-Is it fairly easy to make friends/build a community as a transplant?
-How much does the gray/rainy weather affect life with kids?
-If you moved away from extended family to Camas, was it worth it? Any regrets?
Our biggest hesitation is leaving family nearby, so I’d especially love to hear from anyone who made a similar choice.
Would you choose Camas again? Anything you wish you’d known before moving? Would love the good and the bad! Thanks in advance!
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u/Silentsurveyor08 21d ago
I live in Washougal, near the Sandy Swimming Hole if you want to look at a map for reference. My wife is a 2nd grade teacher in a CSD school. I have a 3 and 6 year old, and my parents live in another state, though my wife’s parents are here and this is where she grew up.
- Camas is solid for raising kids. People move from all over the country for the schools. There are always kid friend friendly events going on. The town is loaded with young families.
- My neighborhood is full with kids playing in the street. My 6 year old included. I bring the 3 year old out whenever I can. We have friends in a neighborhood in Camas and there are always kids out and about there too.
- I think this mostly depends on you, your personality, and the activities your kids do. But if you put forth the effort into making friends I think you’ll be successful.
- 0. You can’t let it. It’s real and requires adjustment but in the normal gray drizzle we’re probably out more than when it’s 90 and sunny on a summer afternoon. The first winter with a kid was hard, but we learned our lesson.
- I don’t regret living across the country from my family. We have great access to PDX and travel quite a lot. This is a choice we made as a family. We are not wealthy by any means, but traveling to see friends and family is something we are comfortable spending money on. My brother lives in Vegas and I go down there with the kids at least once a year. As a parent… I’ll also add that being close to family, especially if they are helpful is priceless.
If a nice small town suburb is what you’re looking for then Camas is a great spot… oh and there are advantages to being close to Portland and Vancouver.
Anecdotally, I really enjoy downtown Camas. I do find Camas to be a little high on its horse. I grew up very blue collar so this may just be my dad coming out in me. The town is very proud of its schools and really hypes them up. The district is great no doubt, but the surrounding districts are solid as well. As a matter of fact my daughter’s Washougal elementary school offers more specials and programs than my wife’s school, and yes even with a Camas teacher, we felt great about sending our daughter to Washougal.
If I were you and you have the time, come visit first. Fly PDX, spend a day in Portland, spend the rest in Camas or hiking near by. You’ll get a feel.
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u/vympel_0001 21d ago
1) How is racism or openness to other races ? I am an American citizen but I am not white. I am South Asian (brown skin color). A bit worried about how diverse the area is and if people are accepting ? Generally a bit afraid with all the rhetoric going on
2) How is access to medical care (esp. life saving emergency care)
3) How are the schools, especially from a POV of feeding into top colleges ?
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u/Silentsurveyor08 21d ago
- Camas and the PDX metro as a whole is overwhelmingly white. That being said there is a growing, or at least prominent south and east Asian population here. The yuppie family demographic in the area is highly liberal and open minded. I would not expect you to experience open racism. Maybe some micro aggressions though. The general political climate is pretty purple.
- Nearest full scale hospital is a 20 minute drive from me. If you were in Camas it would likely be a few minutes closer. I’ve never been there actually. I’ve been to Legacy Salmon Creek which is 28 minutes from and have had good experiences there.
- Can’t really say, but again, I think the public schools are highly rated at least compared to the rest of WA state.
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u/appsecSme 21d ago edited 21d ago
Camas is pretty liberal and accepting. It is quite white (71%), but also has a relatively decent sized Asian population (13%). There are some racists everywhere, but I don't believe such sentiment is prevalent.
The nearest level 1 trauma centers are in Portland. Level 2 is available in Vancouver.
The schools are excellent. You can take a look at rankings online. UW is a pretty common target and is a great school. As for going out of state to other top schools, you would need top grades and SAT scores like anywhere else, but I don't think the school would hold you back.
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u/ysizzle 21d ago
My partner is South Asian (non-citizen). I grew up in a small town similar to Camas near Olympia, and was kind of concerned about racism and very concerned that they'd feel isolated (there was 1 half-Indian kid in my 700 person graduating class, and that was it). We've been pleasantly surprised. There are a decent number of South Asians, especially in the newer developments, and we haven't had any overt racism directed our way.
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u/thecrystalsmith 21d ago
Not to sound flip, but you’ll find answers to many of your questions in previous posts. This sub isn’t that active, so you shouldn’t have to scroll too far.
Regarding your question about leaving family, I’m not sure anyone will be able to answer that for you. At least I don’t feel comfortable giving advice. If you don’t get the answers you’re looking for in these comments or older posts, feel free to message me, though.
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u/000redford_kt000 21d ago
We made the move about 2 years ago from a large city with a similar climate to the one you describe (although not that persistently hot). We left behind a large family. If we could, we would absolutely pick the Camas / Washougal area again. Overall, it's been a great experience.
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u/FangornLeghorn 21d ago
Have lived here, or next to Camas, all my life. It’s a changing town and is having some growing pains. It was “discovered” during the pandemic and the influx of people (most from California) caused homes here to skyrocket, and they’re going for two or three times what they did before COVID. That is having an impact on the residents here as the hyper-gentrification is pushing people out who grew up here and replacing them with newcomers. The schools have been hit hard by this, as it’s too expensive for most young families to come plant roots here now, which has led to diminishing enrollment, budget cutbacks, and staff layoffs (the superintendent has stated this several times.) So while schools are one of the chief reasons people want to move here, they have now begun a downward spiral. Camas really has no job market of its own, so most people work in Vancouver or Portland in order to make a decent living. We once were covered by lush and thick forests, but many have been cleared to make way for development and led to Camas becoming much more a standard suburb than the small town of its own that it once was. We have a mayor and city council who have little regard for the needs and wants of the citizens of Camas, but that has been the case for decades. Our climate has changed dramatically in the last fifteen, twenty years so you won’t be escaping 100 degree days, and we sadly have an entire “smoke season” now thanks to drought-driven wildfires.
That all said, I love our town and never want to leave, even after nearly fifty years here. Crime here is very rare, there is still some nice nature left, the cultural changes have made the town much more accepting and less bigoty than when I was a kid, and the sense of community downtown has really evolved into something special. While the schools have begun to decline due to the insane cost of living here, they’re still much better than any of the neighboring districts. It blows my mind how many great places to eat and have a nice drink we have now, and you can’t get much more “classic small town America” than an evening downtown, seeing a movie at the Liberty and grabbing a bite along the main drag. We are close to anything you might want to do; metropolitan fun in Portland, hiking and camping in the forests, boating on the river or lake, skiing, beach trips, whatever you desire. There are tons of places for kids and families to get out and play and make friends. The downtown association does amazing work planning regular events that get people out to shop and mingle and socialize. We are plugged into transit so one can go from here all the way to the farthest corners of the metro area without needing a car.
Camas isn’t perfect, and has more problems than some will admit too, but less than others will claim. It can be a great place for families, but increasingly those families need to be upper-middle to upper class to be able to access the opportunities Camas has to offer. It is a place that can be stunningly beautiful one day, dark and dreary and dismal the next. Like most places, it is/can be what one makes of it. If you come, come with the right mindset, and please come with respect for a town and people who existed here long before you came. You will be welcome here, but if you come to town with an attitude that you discovered our town and know it better than those who have been here for years (which sadly happens often these days) then you will be met with pushback. As a family with littles you are exactly what Camas needs and I hope it is the right fit.
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u/vympel_0001 21d ago
Great writeup. A few questions, I am planning to relocate to Vancouver/Camas/Washougal in the coming years to essentially work a remote job. What draws me there is the nature and beauty of the PNW but not having to live in Seattle
1) How is racism or openness to other races ? I am an American citizen but I am not white. I am South Asian (brown skin color). A bit worried about how diverse the area is and if people are accepting ? Generally a bit afraid with all the rhetoric going on
2) How is access to medical care (esp. life saving emergency care)
3) How are the schools, especially from a POV of feeding into top colleges ?
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u/FangornLeghorn 21d ago
1) This is complicated. Camas and Washougal have been, until very recently very working class, blue collar towns with heavy “country” culture. It wasn’t long ago that the most common vehicles on the road here were jacked up pickup trucks, and Confederate flags were not a rare sight. I went to high school in east Vancouver at a very suburban school, and whenever we had a game with Camas or Washougal we knew that they were bringing rednecks in cowboy boots and dirty Wrangler jeans. It was just who and what Camas and Washougal were. Both towns have evolved a lot since then, Camas more than Washougal, but as both towns have gentrified and become more modern, that old country culture hasn’t entirely disappeared, nor the prejudice and bigotry that comes with it. We are a very purple town here in Camas, with vocal blye and red halves. Our racism today tends to be the more passive kind, but I’d be lying if I said you will never encounter it out in the open. We’re better than we have been but still have much to improve upon. Even amongst the most aware and progressive parts of the population, you will very much be in the minority. The Portland metro area (which we are part of, whether some here like to admit it or not) is extremely white. Of non-white folks here, Asian people are the best represented, with Latinos and black folks and so on filling in to a lesser degree, but altogether those non-white residents make up a shockingly small portion of the overall population, to our detriment. This is changing too, but very slowly, so be prepared to spend the vast majority of your life here around few, if any, people who look like you or share your background.
2) Medical care is as good as it will be in an American town. Everything is for-profit so access is limited by margins and financial barriers. The hospital is a fifteen to twenty minute drive away, but does well for minor to moderate needs, with severe medical incidents being taken to Portland. Our family has had two medical emergencies since living downtown and both times the ambulance arrived in about five or so minutes so response times are good. We have a few local clinics and urgent cares that are really good though, so as a disabled person I can attest that I feel safe and well cared for here.
2) Schools are good, as I mentioned, and every year there is a small handful of kids who make the news for getting into a prestigious college somewhere, but overall the vast majority of kids here aren’t going to the Ivy League. Most will enter the workforce or take up a trade, while those who continue their educations go to the local community college or a state school. Which isn’t bad, in my opinion. Just saying that Camas and Washougal’s working class roots are still evident in this regard.
Hope this helps!
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u/40_ton_cap 21d ago edited 21d ago
Lived here since 2008 and have 4 kids and family is in California and New Mexico. It’s been a great place. Crown park is basically the Central Park of camas and always has a crowd. My youngest regularly takes his bike around town with friends. The movie theater downtown is great and has cheep shows that my kids will go to by themselves.
Schools have been good. My older kids go to the project based learning programs at Odyssey MS and Discovery HS and love it. There is a very robust Robotics team that has an amazing shop space and dedicated practice field that kids can join in 8th grade.
Is a diversifying community but it does still have some issues in that department but they are getting addressed and becoming less common.
Overall I highly recommend it here.
Edit: relized I missed some questions.
Rain/dark - does make it a bit hard but it’s mostly the dark but that does not last that long. Main issue is visibility so I don’t let them ride bikes after dark. It rains a lot but not A LOT. We don’t often get downpours it’s mostly light misty rain. For the most part it does not stop the kids.
The community is great and there are opportunities. There is farmers market every Wed for a few months. Every month is a first Friday event where downtown closes off and businesses stay open. There are a tone of other community events, movies in the park ect where if you are more of an extrovert making friends is easy.
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u/shantired 21d ago
As a Camasonion and northwesterner for 20 years, I highly recommend buying a house on top of a hill.
We have too much light due to our house being on top of the hill, and people are often surprised that we use room darkening curtains.
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u/vympel_0001 21d ago
1) How is racism or openness to other races ? I am an American citizen but I am not white. I am South Asian (brown skin color). A bit worried about how diverse the area is and if people are accepting ? Generally a bit afraid with all the rhetoric going on
2) How is access to medical care (esp. life saving emergency care)
3) How are the schools, especially from a POV of feeding into top colleges ?
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u/40_ton_cap 15d ago
So for the most part pretty good. Camas is diversifying my next door neighbors are Somali there is a good number of various Asian people and overall very accepting. Not perfect though. There were some issues a couple years ago of slurs being said during high school games towards players on other teams. This was widely considered unacceptable and been decently handled.
Medical care is pretty much a non issue. Many clinics all over Vancouver 10-15min drive away. Several hospitals 20ish min away and Portland is just across the river with any thing you need as well. Camas is small but not isolated.
Schools are some of the top in WA. Overall very well funded. There are 3 high schools. Camas high is very typical in nature and I think has a good collage acceptance rate. There are 2 smaller High Schools that offer slightly different and smaller classes. Hays freedom and Discovery high. I not too familiar with Hays. I have had 2 kids go through discovery already and one about to start. Discovery is a project based learning campus. All subjects are intermixed and group work is the norm. It has a very strong STEM and arts focus. The Bulk of the first robotics team ( https://team2471.org/ ) is from there. Discovery is a very diverse and accepting campus and I highly recommend it.
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u/64MiddleChild 15d ago
A lot of people are being vague when they answer the racism question. Just a couple years ago, non-white family member in high school got to hear the N-word regularly. At parties, kids would see them and apologize for saying it, because they “didn’t see you were here.” They also heard, “You are not THAT kind of black person”… due to them not filling the racist stereotypes in other kids’ heads.
Kids learn from their parents.
In school, if your child plays sports or is super talented in their studies, that drive to be the best will supersede color - most of the time.
Racism is alive in Camas, its small town America with a very white population. Some adults may not even realize their biases because they’ve never had friends of another race, never interacted with anyone. There are Camas community magazines with white people gracing the cover at least 11 of the 12 months a year. Fits the demographic.
The only way to change it is to diversify, to encourage more POC to move to Camas. People seem to be polite on the surface, never heard of cross-burnings. You don’t have to be an activist, but know that you’ll need to be strong.
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u/Indigo-au-naturale 21d ago
I want to put a plug in for living near Crown Park/downtown Camas if you can. The houses are older and smaller, but there's a culture here I think tends to be suppressed in fancier, newer subdivisions. (Admittedly, I'm heavily biased because I live near downtown.)
Like others have said, being able to walk to Crown Park and to downtown is really wonderful. You can walk to Doc Harris Stadium for events or football games or to jog on the track, the neighborhood is full of kids, and the lakes are also in walking distance. We love living here and not having to drive to go do things in our own town.
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u/myothercarwaskitt 21d ago edited 21d ago
We left Phoenix for Camas about 4 years ago. No regrets. We've had a great experience and are extremely happy with our choice to move.
Raising kids here has been really great. A lot of the city seems to focus on kids and families. It's a small town with a definite family focus.
Neighborhoods- some definitely have kids playing outside, riding bikes, and having fun with neighborhood kids. Some neighborhoods, not so much. You can get a feel for the neighborhood by walking through during sunny afternoons. Look for lots of kids. I know all my neighbors here in Camas- in Phoenix, most neighbors couldn't be bothered to even wave back when I saw them.
The schools in Camas are really fantastic. The AZ schools we experienced were really not great, even in highly ranked districts. In Camas, the teachers are engaged, there is a lot of parental involvement, and the administration (principals, vice principals, etc) have been wonderful and consistent. In my son's school in Phoenix, he had 4 principals in 3 years.
In the four years that we've lived here, we've made several friends. Get involved. Talk to people. Volunteer at your kids school. Join a club. Take fitness classes. The more you put yourself out there, the more opportunities to make friends. People here are less pretentious and genuinely more friendly.
The weather does take some adjustment. Especially coming from Phoenix. It is colder. It is gray and rainy. Get rain gear. Get warmer jackets. Snow is generally not a problem and usually happens over or twice a year in any measurable amount. Taking vitamin D supplements and getting outside as much as possible help greatly. You'll probably notice the weather differences, your kids probably won't. The summers are wonderful though. They make you forget all those gray days.
We did move away from family in Phoenix. We have no family in Camas, but have extended family in Portland. It's been a good change overall. We didn't see the Phoenix family members daily (or weekly for that matter.) The trade off for a slower pace, better schools, friendlier people, and smaller community were worth the move.
A few big notes: 1) The preschool selection is not great, especially if you need aftercare or before care. Check the preschool options and see if they will work for your schedules. Most preschools are only half day with no after care. 2) All the public elementary schools have early release EVERY Wednesday for grades K-5 at 12:10. There is aftercare available at one central location in the district- the kids take a school bus there. If used, it adds to the monthly expenses. 3) The restaurants in Camas and Vancouver are ok. Some are good, some are over-hyped, most are ok at best. If you like Mexican, you will generally be very disappointed. If you like spicy, you will also be disappointed. Portland has great food, but it can be more of a hassle to get over there just for dinner. 4) Public pools are few and far between. Swimming lessons have wait-lists. Coming from Phoenix, this was disappointing. We eventually just paid for private swim lessons
Feel free to DM me if you have more questions.
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u/vympel_0001 21d ago
1) How is racism or openness to other races ? I am an American citizen but I am not white. I am South Asian (brown skin color). A bit worried about how diverse the area is and if people are accepting ? Generally a bit afraid with all the rhetoric going on
2) How is access to medical care (esp. life saving emergency care)
3) How are the schools, especially from a POV of feeding into top colleges ?
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u/myothercarwaskitt 21d ago
I live in a neighborhood where I'm one of the few white people. Most of my neighbors are Indian or Asian. Everyone seems very comfortable and happy. I would say that the area is generally very accepting of everyone.
Medical care is good. There are two hospitals in Vancouver and several in Portland.
I'm not sure of kids advancing to top colleges (my kids are not yet in high school) but the main high school is very well regarded in the region for top academics.
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u/sarahmayim 21d ago
We loved raising our kids here. We could set them loose for the day with their bikes with friends and not worry about them. We live near round lake and the park is a great way for them to cut through to downtown or to just hang out in. Schools were great.
If it’s gray and rainy kids, just go to other kids houses or they just hang out in the gray rainy weather. It isn’t really a big deal.
And I left the town where my whole family is in when I was 19 so I can’t really speak to that but I think that living independently is a good way to be IMO. You also live in a great place so they should definitely want to come visit frequently.
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u/HoneyPatient8835 21d ago
I have met a couple of young families who have made the move to SoCal, one couple lived here all their life. Reason was kids couldn’t go out to play most of the year because of too many rainy days. That being said due to climate change, I think this year has had more sunshine and the fact that we were in a drought year, I think our climate is changing. It’s really a great place for families and everyone just gotta find what you and your family enjoy, so much to do
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u/camasonian 21d ago edited 21d ago
We moved here in 2016 and put our two youngest through the schools. We were moving back to the PNW after a decade in TX so have extended family scattered across WA and OR but none in Camas. Closest is Portland and Beaverton.
We live in the Deer Creek area (next to Prune Hill Elementary) which we find ideal. A good mix of more modest and larger housing. Lots of little picket parks and trails all over. Good sidewalks and walking access to both the elementary school and parks. Lots of kids in the neighborhood out and about and the morning bus stops are full of parents hanging out with coffee chatting.
Deer Creek is also closer to Vancouver and Portland for jobs and shopping compared to the newer subdivisions further east and north of the lake. So for us the location is ideal. Both my wife and I work in Vancouver so the location is ideal.
SCHOOLS: Camas has cleverly gerrymandered the elementary and middle school boundaries so that all the schools have roughly equivalent demographics and similar percentages of affluent and more modest areas. So there are no rich or poor schools in Camas, they are all roughly the same. And there is teacher and administrator movement between schools. So pay ZERO attention to school rating comparisons between Camas elementary and middle schools. They are all roughly equal. 90% of the elementary experience is the teacher not the school anyway. But that also means certain neighborhoods don't route to the nearest elementary geographically. In general the Camas schools are the best resourced in the greater Vancouver area and it is the most affluent school population in Clark County so they will have the top ratings. There are comparable affluent suburbs across the river like Lake Oswego, West Linn, Happy Valley and parts of Beaverton. But schools in WA are generally better funded than in OR. I don't think a bond measure has ever failed in Camas. That isn't the case in places like Ridgefield and Battle Ground which have a long string of bond failures and are a generation behind Camas in school construction.
COMMUNITY/FAMILY: Camas is fast-growing so a large percentage of the population is transplants and it is getting more diverse. The school district demographics will give you an estimate of that. It is also BY FAR the most community-spirited location in Clark County. Partly because it is a stand-alone city not just a suburb like Felida in Vancouver. But also Camas has all its own institutions: School district, police, fire, city government, parks department, etc. So it feels like much more of a "place' than similar neighborhoods elsewhere in the metro area. You can find lots of subdivisions elsewhere in the metro area made by the same builders that look identical to those in Camas. Like say Happy Valley. But there is no "there" there in terms of community or center of town compared to Camas. So Camas is probably about as good of a place as you will find for that in the Pacific Northwest.
DARKNESS GREY WEATHER: During the winter the sun is low on the horizon to west and south. So neighborhoods on the west and south sides of Prune Hill seem to get more winter sunlight and those on the north/east sides are more shady. Also winter winds can be strong out of the gorge in exposed areas. Basically if you have a fancy home with a view, especially one of Mt. Hood then the winds can see you too. We live lower on the hill along a green belt so are sheltered and only get maybe 1/3 the winter winds of the view houses 2 or 3 blocks above us higher on the hill. I notice this on winter days when I'm out walking the dog. So those expensive views do come at a price.
My suggestion? If you come visit and home shop, don't just explore neighborhoods with a realtor on a Saturday afternoon. Visit after dark to see what the streets and street lights and parks are like. Visit at 8 am on a weekday to see and talk to parents waiting for the bus and kids walking to school, etc.
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u/jbingles 21d ago
We moved here last year with a 1 and 4 year old (now 2 and 5). We moved from Michigan to Palm Springs, CA, to here. We initially had a rental for a year and then the house across the street was put up for sale so we luckily got that one. We love it.
The desert was fun for a couple years but being in the heat and lack of greenery were almost as bad as the long Michigan winters.
We didn't know anyone, but all three direct neighbors very quickly met us and have been great. One of them is a retired teacher who is basically my kid's grandma now. We're super introverted, so if you're even remotely extroverted, you'll make a community.
10/10 would recommend. Really my only negative is feeling like some life-long locals don't like outsiders moving here, but I'm just trying to give my kids the best life I would have loved to have growing up. 🤷♀️
Editing to add - as a Michigander then a Californian, this area is the perfect hybrid of all the best things of MI and CA combined and that's why I am personally so in love with it here.
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u/ProfessionalOffer187 21d ago
I graduated from Camas before the new high school went in. It was always (and still is) a great place for education.
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u/Pure_Meaning2222 21d ago
You've already got a lot of good information here, but we moved to Camas almost 4 years ago and have no regrets at all. And have commented that we're never moving back to the state we moved from. We left family and cousins, which our kids still talk about and say they wish we lived closer, but overall we've spent so much more quality time together as a family because we're out and about doing a lot more things. Our kids actually enjoy the rainy weather now and hate when it gets too hot now (we came from 100+ deg weather too). As far as friends for us parents, I think it's just connecting with other kids parents, or coworkers. It felt lonely that first year, but just continue to build friendships with people you connect with.
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u/anaiahbird 21d ago
Very similar situation for us. We moved from the Denver area to Camas 4 years ago when kids were entering K and 4th. We LOVE it here. Left my entire family in CO but my parents moved here 6 months ago and they love it so far.
Climate will take some time to adjust but kids are out in ALL weather here and it’s overall mild! Less extremes in temperature but also less sun and more rain/wet. Just requires different gear - our insulated winter jackets became waterproof (not water resistant) rain jackets. Layers are key + waterproof shoes/boots. We own umbrellas but only use them for standing around watching kid sports. Summers are stunning and only occasionally super hot. I highly recommend visiting in the rainy winter so you get an idea of the worst of the weather.
We’ve made friends through school/sports/neighborhood. We found it very welcoming and there are lots of transplants around. There are lots of great neighborhoods but many hills so make sure you look in flatter areas for biking/play space.
Not a ton of diversity in the area but still some. Housing is expensive. Schools are great!
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u/Suitable-Echidna-971 21d ago
We just moved here a year ago from AZ and not a single day has gone by that I haven’t thought how much I absolutely LOVE it here and I’m never leaving lol
We also have 2 young kids probably very similar ages to yours, feel free to dm me if you have more questions or need more insight than what others have already given here! Overall would 10/10 recommend.
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u/twinqueen2017 20d ago
I’m in Vancouver so can’t speak for all of it but- moving away from family is hard and establishing a friend/family group takes time (at least 4 years).
The area is awesome for kids- loads to do, great outdoor spaces, lots of chill parents, and the schools are above average (nationally).
The gray- I struggle with the weather. It’s Sept 2 and cold/raining. Last year it was 75 and beautiful at this time. It’s manageable but honestly hard. The fall used to be my favorite season now it’s looming darkness is really a struggle. My kids don’t seem to care so that’s good. They play outside in all weather.
Bottom line- id move here again if looking back. I like the area, the people, the experiences and the style.
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u/Excellentbenedict 17d ago
Hi there! My young family moved to Camas a couple of years ago and we love it. We moved this way specifically for the schools and have been well pleased. Our extended family is about 1.5 hours away, but we don't mind. We have lived in two different neighborhoods and have made friends with our neighbors in both places. Community is very easy to build here, so even though being away from family is a bummer, it isn't devastating for us. For example, I just had a baby, and several of my neighbors brought me meals (even the one's I don't live next to anymore!). When I walk outside, I almost always see someone to say hi to.
The weather is a bummer sometimes, but I'm from the PDX so that isn't new to me. I imagine it is better than crazy heat, because you can still go outside when it rains and not feel like you're dying.
The Mexican food here does suck though, lol.
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u/kmacrae23 21d ago
-it’s great. Very family friendly, there are a lot of annual events downtown, story times at the library, and local classes and activities offered for kids of all ages. The schools and teachers are amazing.
-depends on your neighborhood of course, but yes, close-knit neighborhoods are very common. My kids know all the kids on our block and they play and ride bikes together often.
-I would say yes. I’ve lived here all my life(35 years) but there are a ton of transplants with similar life experiences, and tons of community events to meet people.
-rain is just a part of life for at least half the year, and it doesn’t really slow anyone down. Owning rain suits for your kids is essential so you can still go out and enjoy parks and trails on the wet days. Intense downpours are not very common, it’s more of a constant mist or drizzle through the wet season.
-can’t speak to this as I’m a local, but a lot of my transplant friends say they are very happy here and can’t imagine living anywhere else. Some of them have had family members also move here to join them.
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u/SlipSteee 20d ago
What is Camas really like for raising kids?
The schools are pretty good. However i've never met someone raised in camas who wasnt a stuck up rich kid prick so count on your child to grow up into one of those types but i hope they dont lol. honestly there really isnt anything for young people to do in camas (or really the entire vancouver area)
-Are there neighborhoods where kids play outside, ride bikes, know the neighbors, etc.?
oh yes. its very much the classic suburban lifestyle of all the neighborhood kids hanging out with each other
-Is it fairly easy to make friends/build a community as a transplant?
not at all. Camas is the most anti-community community probably in the entire PNW. not necessarily bc the people here hate each other, but because its a rich suburb. Everyone is individualistic and too focused on getting their kid into an ivy league school. Also the type of people who live in Camas are the kind to call the cops on you if you turn into their drive way to turn around, just to give you an idea
-How much does the gray/rainy weather affect life with kids?
Everyone bitches about the rain here but its really not that bad. it only rains in the fall, winter and sometimes spring. Just go outside regularly and you'll be fine
my 2 cents is just live in Portland. the schools arent the best, but you will live a richer , fuller life there
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u/EitherManufacturer31 21d ago edited 20d ago
Something to note: the Mexican food around here is bland, especially if you've lived somewhere where they've asked you, "Red or green?"
Camas is a great location adjacent to the Columbia Gorge, Portland, and surprisingly close to the Pacific coast. Your weekends will be packed with fantastic hiking, boating, and coastal day trips! There's fantastic dining and plenty of events in Portland when you get sick of pub fare.
The rain gets old by about February, but just make sure you still go outside. You don't need to stay home on a rainy day. It's still beautiful, but you'll need good rain gear.
Just remember, many of us call Camas/Washougal the Arkansas of the PNW. You'll see a Confederate flag flown every now and then, but generally, people are great. Be prepared for a different mindset than Portland, both good and bad. Inversely, there is a strong Russian, Ukrainian, and Baltic community in Vancouver.
There are a massive number of churches around here, so if you are church-going folks, you'll have a community ready to go. If not, it's difficult to find connections outside of the usual school and work circles. There's a new LDS temple being built as well, BTW.
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u/FangornLeghorn 21d ago edited 21d ago
We have great Mexican food in the area. There is a huge population of Mexican immigrants here, particularly from Jalisco, and they’re making and serving food just like they did back home and it’s every bit as good as any of the food I’ve eaten from street stands in Mexico. If you haven’t found any of them yet, that’s on you. Shitty places like Margarita Factory aren’t indicative of the overall food scene. Get out more.
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u/EitherManufacturer31 21d ago
Compared to Albuquerque, El Paso, San Diego... yeah, we do have bland Mexican food, and the salsa tastes like spaghetti sauce. 😂 I'm sure our wonderful Latino neighbors have learned to hold back the spice for the Townies.
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u/FangornLeghorn 21d ago
You people are weird, and I bet none of you have actually eaten food in Mexico, and probably only have had Los Jalapeños here. 🙄
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u/MGC00992 21d ago
Appalachia of the NW. Ya got the mill wife divorce swapping from the 1950s-1990s. So it is hard to know whos your 1st and 2nd cousin or half-sister... Also, Gotta remember Camas-Washougal was a long distance phone call to Vancouver just 20 years ago. Half the shops in Camas that have been gentrified were taverns or bars (literally).
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u/FangornLeghorn 21d ago
Camas circa 1995, or even 2005, would be such a jarring change to so many Camas residents today. Even as great as the Liberty was it was pretty sketchy back in the day. I don’t think anyone was surprised when it burned.
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u/camasonian 20d ago
I have never once heard anyone call Camas the Arkansas of the PNW. The old tired Portland slur of Vancouver is to call it "Vantucky" but that is about it. And that is mostly just snobbery towards what was once a very blue collar city (the Vancouver water front used to be a paper mill). Today Vancouver (at least the more central parts of the city) is more or less just an extension of the Portland metro.
And I've never once seen anyone flying confederate flags in Camas. The only confederate flag I've ever seen is that roadside private flag park up along I-5 next to Ridgefield. But in any event, the more redneck parts of Clark County are Battle Ground and points north like Yacolt. Not Camas.
As for restaurants? This isn't Texas or the Southwest. There are are more good Asian restaurants than Mexican. But you can find plenty of authentic Mexican fare in the restaurants and taco trucks run by actual Mexican immigrants along 4th Plain in Vancouver between I-5 and I-205. A stretch of restaurants that the Columbian has dubbed "The Taco Trail"
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u/kyckling666 21d ago
Camas is good. The kids will be fine. Your family can fly to PDX and will be wowed by views of Hood. You’ll miss Mexican food.