Is There Hope For Oregon? (Portland, Salem: home, rent, vacation)

[illinoisboy]

I've been reading alot of these posts recently, and have found out that Oregon is not as perfect as I have imagined. I visited it this past summer for vacation and had found most of the people to very polite, and all the little towns were very nice and quaint. I did not notice much signs of crime, except for all the tagging in downtown Portland. Another thing i was surprised to notice was that everywhere I went EVERYONE WAS WHITE! I did not notice all the Mexicans, like I am used to here in Chicagoland. However all these posts are complaining about ALL OF the Mexicans moving there, taking there jobs and raising the crime statistics. I had also read about how bad Oregon's schools are, and various other things. SO MY QUESTION IS: Is there any hope for this beloved state to return to it's former glory?

[illinoisboy]

PS - I have done some research and have found that most of these things ARE (sadley) true. I went onto the Washingotn County's website and saw pics of graffiti in the Hillsboro/Beaverton/Aloha area. THEY WERE ALL HISPANIC GANGS! (except for one) Its really sad...

[WorkinStiff]

For someone in Chicago to criticize crime & gang activity in Oregon is a little like Jeffrey Dahmer criticizing your diet...

[illinoisboy]

Im not CRITISIZING Oregon at all! Oregon is one of my favorite places in the world! Im just saying that I would hate to see it turn into what the majority of the country has turned into. I thought that Oregon was different from the rest of us.

[Silverfall]

I lived in Illinois for 22 years before becoming an Oregonian 17 years ago...

Yes me are mostly Caucasian here. We have something like 3% African American state wide and like 14% Hispanic. Not 100% positive on those stats, but something close.

Crime here as to do with drugs, for the most part. While you will find plenty of graffiti problems online, most of our gang activity is still in the wanna-be category. It really has nothing to do with your race. Head to our local jails and you will see plenty of white people there. Drug addiction is a powerful thing...Graffiti here makes the news since it's a big deal. When was the last time you heard about tagging in the Chicago area? It's so normal there, it's not news worthy. Hillsboro has a large Hispanic population due to its proximity to agriculture. It makes sense that they would have Hispanic gang issues there. You are seriously overgeneralizing.

Portland has issues like every other city. It is still an amazing and incredible place. I lived there for 9 years before moving to Salem (not really a choice move). I'd move back to Portland anytime.

You need to understand that Oregon is a much slower paced lifestyle than Chicago area, and people here are not used to much racial diversity. Yes the Hispanic rate has grown and I think the African American population as well. I think when I first moved here it was like 1%. I personally would like more diversity here in Oregon, but that is me.

So...when you hear complaints from the locals here it is because they are adjusting to a more diverse representation of race. Some will adjust well and some will complain about it. It is a pretty easy target. We are an agriculture state, so we attract migrant workers. I think people tend to fear Hispanics because they speak a different language, and they have different cultural norms. In fact, many farms could not hire ENOUGH workers this past year. Not seeing many white people jumping at farming jobs. Not sure what stats you are pulling up that you think they are taking jobs from white people?

Oregon ranks 40 out of 50 for overall school performance. Measure 5 really hurt school funding. You do need to evaluate schools individually as we have some truly stellar schools. I encourage you to NOT make a blanket statement about all of Oregon schools.

You will hear people complain about Portland traffic, but if you let them sit on the Dan Ryan, Kennedy Expressway, or Eisenhower, they would truly understand "bad traffic."


Everything is relative.

[mikemorrow]

Well, I'm moving there so I guess that there is hope. LOL

[tiffela74]

Oregon will never be what it was 100 years ago.....nowhere will I think. Theres always going to be progress, both positive and negative. Cant stop it, cant fully reverse it. I am curious, what is it you want Oregon to return back to?
Oregon is not perfect. But boy, for many of us, its as close to it as we can get. And i fully agree with Silverfall! (great post btw!!!) Stuff like graffiti here is big news because its not the norm. And the gangs are emerging in some areas, but nothing like it is in places like LA, Chicago, etc. Not to say they couldnt be, hopefully we can keep on fighting them back and they'll never grow to a serious threat. Also, from what i hear, Oregon just isnt a place for them. Too backwards??? lol
Anyhow, Oregon is still a place with great beauty, wonderful people, and truly its own state. You wont find perfection here, but again, maybe as close as one can get to here on Earth. Each to their own.
Tiffany

[illinoisboy]

So, is there any progress towards cutting back on the drug problems? I heard from some show on the History Channel that Oregon was the number one state with the most meth problems. Also, is the majority of the public schools going in the right direction in terms of improving? We were thinking of moving there in a few years from a pretty good school district here in Illinois, but we don't know if it would be worth it.

Yeah, Oregon is gorgeous! That's one of the biggest reasons why we love it so much. I was talking to a friend of mine that had the privelage of traveling all around the world, He was in England, California, and many, many other places. He said that Oregon was, out of all these places, the most beautiful place he'd ever been!

[BLAZER PROPHET]

Sadly, no.

Oregon is lost forever.

It is not liberalism, per se`, but Oregon has become so elitist liberal that it is literally run by unions and special interest groups. To me, a state or country runs best when there is a balance, but Oregon will no longer have that. Our schools are failing despite the highest compensated teachers in the world (that's right, the world), I work in the legal system and the judges are so far left that be it civil or criminal, it's all whacked up. Property values are way too high for the income levels, taxes are very high and it shows no sign of ever ending.

That said, there are some good things here. And it's still a drop dead beautiful state.

We're here all right, but surviving on life support.

[tiffela74]

id suggest doing what i just did, I typed in "State with the worst meth problem" in my google search, and the very first page is that Hawaii has the worst meth problem....then down, it says Tennesse....then Washington...but it was really alarming to read the first page and how they say "In a town on the Big Island, 50 percent of teenagers are addicted to crystal methamphetamine." also..."40 percent of people arrested by police in Honolulu tested positive for methamphetamine use, according to a Justice Department report. " very very sad....
anyhow, i know there is a meth and other drugs problem in Oregon...but I do believe thats everywhere in our nation. I am friends w/someone who has been on the Oregon Meth task force for years, and according to this person, Meth use and production in Oregon has been declining and we are definatly not in the top worst states for meth or other drugs. Now thats just hearsay, but coming from someone on the Oregon Meth Task Force, Id believe.
We have our share of excellent schools and terrible schools. Shop around. I know Ive heard our public schools arent on par w/some of the schools in NewYork, or some others back east, but we do have some great ones too! Do your homework on em and you should find some you will be pleased with.
I agree with your friend!!! He's smart and has a good eye! lol