True Southerners in Oregon (Portland: 2013, house, cinema)
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This is directed to those of you who are from the South. But also to my fellow Oregonians. What do you think of the Pacific NW. I miss my home (Oregon), but I don't want to leave Atlanta. Just curious how you feel about your newly adopted home in the Pacific NW. Do you miss the South? And what do you miss. I need to go home for family and personal reasons. But I want to return here. I have a lot of friends and connections out here. And I'm torn between the two. I'm true Oregon (born and raised). But the people here are why I don't want to leave. And there are so many other things keep me grounded here too. Just curious what all of you guys think.
As a native Oregonian who has travelled in the South, the people there are truly delightful. No, there is nothing like it in Oregon, except perhaps in a few small groups. If the climate was better there, I wouldn't mind living in the South, but I'm not ready to spend my life behind an air conditioner.
Oregonian in the south (and pretty much not what the OP was looking for........)
Until recently I was preparing to return to Oregon. I do miss the year round green and the laid back lifestyle. I missed the people I've known for years more (still do).
I had a resume *pop* that turned into a job and I will be moving to Houston instead (funny how that works). I don't mind the hum of an air conditioner when I am home in the evenings (yes, it can be hot and very humid). I will be outdoors most of the time while at work. Having AC is a blessing after a long day outside. Traffic in Houston is epic. (Some) Drivers in Texas would make great fighter pilots. In retirement I will be splitting my time north and south. Texas (and most of the south) have a great fall and winter season. I can see myself in Oregon 3 or 4 months a year. I have said it before the 8 weeks (give or take) of summer in Oregon is absolute perfection. You wont find better country to hike or camp in that time. I love the smell in the woods in summer. As a consolation in Houston I will be living in a very wooded area and it will help keep the homesickness at bay.
HA! I grew up in the South (Louisiana and a few years in Kentucky), and moved to Oregon in my early 20's. Yes, there are things I miss about the South, and yes, people there are (for the most part) wonderful! I have yet to feel the same hospitality and friendliness anywhere else. We lived in the Midwest for 3 years, and it about killed me, mainly because of the people. They lived up to their strong work ethic, and they were generous and would give you the shirt off their backs, but they were so private and (for lack of a better word) unwelcoming. I really really miss the manners of the South. It still makes my hair stand on end when I hear a kid address an adult by their first name, for instance. I do really like the people here out West... no pretenses, very independent, fruit of the earth type... They take a while to get to know, but once you do, friends for life...
That said, I'm a chic, and the big hair, ultra feminine persona down there just didn't fit me. Neither did the mainly conservative, religious ethic. I also think there's a bit of "fake civility" that I'm used to, but after I moved away, it was refreshing to not have to pretend, if that makes sense.
I miss the diversity of people there, as I find Oregon so incredibly "vanilla". The spring in the South just can't be beat (as the fall in the Midwest). The food... OMG I miss the food, but I have probably added easily 15 year to my life NOT eating the food ;-). Fried okra is my absolute favorite thing, along with shrimp, which we just can't get here in Oregon, no matter what people say.
I do not miss the heat and humidity. I had a much easier time living in a climate where we got 100+ inches of snow in the winter than those horrible summers down there. I'd much rather play in the snow than spend all summer in a pool, which is really the only way to escape the heat. I don't miss the bugs, and crushing poverty either. I love Oregon's beauty, public land and "liberalism". Don't think I'd ever move back...
I was born in Louisiana and spent most of my life just outside Atlanta. Honestly, there are quite a few things I miss about the south. I will try to list some of them here.
There is something that I've always felt about the Pacific Northwest, but have never quite been able to put into words. Things here are indeed very beautiful. Grand, stately, a wonder to behold. But something just doesn't seem right about it. It also feels a little too stately. The "essence" of nature here seems almost like... I am not sure what word to use. Like a sham, or perhaps, a pretense. Like a set for an old western movie. It looks like a real town, but it's all just a bunch of cleverly placed facades with special tricks of cinematography. It's so grand it almost feels designed. It doesn't feel alive to me. It lacks a real, primal vitality. The forest isn't quite dense enough, the undergrowth isn't quite thick enough, and the (relative) lack of insects is disturbing. In contrast, the woods of the south felt extremely alive. Just by being there, I could feel the breath of the earth! Vegetation so thick you can't even see through it, the sounds of all manner of insects, crickets, grasshoppers, bees, and especially the ever-present rhythmic music of cicadas. Just listen to this:
Can you hear it? It's alive! All of it! You would never hear anything like this in any forest in Oregon, not in a million years. The video doesn't even begin to do justice to the immensity of the sound.
I really don't like the skies here either. My favorite thing to photograph has always been the sky. But the sky here has precious few things worth taking pictures of. It's dark and leaden in the winter, and pure, bright blue in the summer. During the early spring, you might catch one or two congestus clouds, but no more. In this whole time I have been here, I have never seen anything like this:
or like this:
And especially like this:
The sky is as dead as the forests! (I took all of these pictures within a mile of my old house in Loganville, GA)
Related to the above, I miss thunderstorms. The weather here is indeed pleasant... too pleasant, sometimes. While I don't particularly miss the extreme heat or humidity, I often find myself wishing something bad or unpleasant would happen to offset the constant pleasantville-like atmosphere. Perfectly mild weather for months on end becomes a little wearying after a while. I am certainly not saying I want a bunch of tornadoes to touch down or anything, but some kind of volatility or random factor to break up what is otherwise utterly boring and predictable and make it a little more easily appreciated.
Back in Georgia, I always thought fall was the best and most beautiful season. Such a relief from the heat of summer. Lovely! But here, all of summer is like fall in Georgia. It's a little hard to get a feel for how nice it actually is when that's all there is.
As for the people, I've found them to be perfectly nice, at least as nice as in GA, possibly more so.
Concerning the winters, it really doesn't bother me. My mood and energy are not significantly affected by either sunlight or day length. In fact I actually enjoy dark and cloudy days. Always have. They are excellent for macro photography too.
Sorry if this post seems a little negative. I certainly don't hate it here, and I can't imagine living anywhere else at this point, but these things do weigh on my heavily sometimes, because they were such an important part of my life.
No fireflies, but lots of nights at my place are a lot noisier than that. In the spring, the frogs are mating owls are hooting up a storm, and boomers (mountain beaver) are chittering. This time of year the crickets are thunderous.
Well said Lunar Delta! Beautiful pictures!!! Both DH (from midwest) and I miss thunderstorms too, and I spent the first year in Michigan taking pictures of the sky LOL! I know what you mean about "lack of life". Especially here in NE Oregon, it's even more true, but I think it's mainly because of less water. As to too quiet, you haven't been to my house early in the morning LOL I had tons of quail and other birds, deer and skunk, and a multitude of burrowing creatures that like my garden. It's just different. I do really miss the "green" of the South, especially since we moved to Eastern Oregon... the driest place I've ever lived. OTOH, I don't miss the mold ;-)...
BTW, where did you grow up in Louisiana? Baton Rouge and New Orleans for me!
I moved to Oregon 14 years ago after living in Atlanta for 25 years. I never really connected with Atlanta, but I stayed so long because of family, friends, and jobs. When I visited the PNW on vacation, I was determined to move here, and I did so. I was homesick for about a year, and it took me a few years to adjust to the wet, gray weather, but now this is home. What drew me here in the first place, and what I still like most about the PNW, is the diverse, spectacular scenery. Even after so many years, I still have moments when I can't believe I actually live here. Other than that, Portland is a nearly perfect city for me: big enough to have all the cultural diversity, amenities, and cuisines I like, but small enough to lack the problems of truly big cities. The people are friendly overall, but less outgoing than Southerners. For the most part, I like the weather (I've learned to love rain, fog, and mist), but it would be nice to have a longer season where you can sit outside on the back patio.
This month, I'm going back to Atlanta for the first time in nearly a decade, and I'm anxious to see how it's changed. I don't miss the city, and I wouldn't move back, but I do have fond memories about the South in general. I miss Southern accents, and am glad to have made friends with a native Atlantan who moved to Oregon, so I get my "y'all" fix. (I'm originally from California and don't have a Southern accent). I sometimes miss the expansive, colorful Southern attitude, with its many colloquial expressions. I don't miss the hot, humid Southern summers, but those long springs and falls sure were nice. I miss thunderstorms and warm rain. I miss the distinctive ambience of Charleston and Savannah, with the stately old homes and Spanish moss. I miss the grandiose dreams and good times of my vanished youth, which happened in -- and thus are tied to -- the South ... even as I acknowledge most of those dreams involved leaving the South and accomplishing great things with my life.
No fireflies, but lots of nights at my place are a lot noisier than that. In the spring, the frogs are mating owls are hooting up a storm, and boomers (mountain beaver) are chittering. This time of year the crickets are thunderous.
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That's if the fireflies are still around. I haven't seen a firefly or a bee in North Texas in YEARS.
That's if the fireflies are still around. I haven't seen a firefly or a bee in North Texas in YEARS.
I saw lots and lots of fireflies in Cleveland when I was visiting there last year. It was so nice since I hadn't seen them in years. I hope they have not disappeared from Texas.
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