how diverse is oregon? (Portland, Salem: for sale, roughest, neighborhoods)

[EnricoV]

Originally Posted by Oregon Transplant

After seeing this post I went over to the huge Washington Square Mall in Southwest Portland. I saw maybe 2000 people and not one Black Person. 90% White and 10% Asian.

Washington Square isn't in Portland. It's in Beaverton. Portland ends at the ridge of the West Hills.

That's the suburbs. And they are all much less diverse than is the city.

[illinoisboy]

Originally Posted by Silverfall

That's because of the burbs surrounding it. If you head down to Pioneer Square, Lloyd Center, or Clackamas Town Center, it will be more diverse.

What do you guys consider "diverse"?

Does Salem qualify as being diverse because it has a Hispanic population, or not? Because I know that Oregon is mostly white.

I would consider Portland diverse because it has a large amount of backgrounds, other than Hispanic. (since they are seen everywhere nowadays)

Just wondering...

[Silverfall]

IMO, Salem is not diverse, but I come from a Chicago Area perspective.

[portlandshaws]

Hi--
I am married to a black man who was raised in D.C. and we have young child. My husband has lived here for 11 years and we are at this very moment, thinking about moving out of Portland. We don't have any "problems" as a mixed couple but there is definitely an underlying ignorance, as other posters have stated. My husband misses being around other blacks and misses the culture that it brings. From a school standpoint, it's pretty scary. If you're interested in surrounding your children with other blacks, you're looking at the worst schools in the city. If you want to make sure they get a good education, you're either moving to Lake Oswego or putting them in private school (all white). Having grown up in LO, I know a lot about this. We will most likely be moving to the east coast where there are greater options of diversity and better public schools. Feel free to contact me directly if you'd like...

[Leisesturm]

It is simply not possible to escape America's legacy of hostile and seperatist race relations. True, the large population centers of the East have greater 'options' of diversity but IMO they don't have 'better' public schools. Of course if you are willing to bankrupt yourself by squeezing into an economic money sink like Tribeca in NYC or some equally tony neighborhood in Boston, Connecticut, New Jersey, etc. you will be assured of a quality education for your offspring but will it be diverse? No. Absolutely not. The actual number of African American children in a high end prep school in Brooklyn Heights will be absurdly small. Likewise Park Slope.

Until race is no longer synonymous with class and achievement 'better' areas of any city you can name will be likewise synonymous with 'white'. African Americans who have evolved beyond fascination with materialism and passive entertainment need to stop pining for acceptance and inclusion with the larger body of black people living in large cities in America. It isn't going to happen. Demographic projections into 2050 say that the black population will increase to 15% from the 12% it is presently. That is essentially zero growth given that in that time the Hispanic population will increase to 30% from the 15% that it is presently.

Race relations between Hispanic/Black; East and South Asian/Black are if anything worse than between White/Black. And that in the end is the whole point. Where I used to live in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn the majority of my neighbors (black) didn't have to worry about race 'relations'. They didn't have to 'relate' to any other race but their own. The various races that inhabit America are happiest when they live in communities that are non-intergrated. For the most part this can happen effectively except in the case of Black communities. I don't really like being an insignificant minority of a basically white community but the alternative, which I have experienced, is far worse. This is why I said in another post that diversity is very overrated.

As an interracial family the 'best' that you will achieve on the East Coast is indifference. That's cool, but in Portland and environs you can actually experience tolerance, encouragement even. Your children would still be the only mixed race children in some high end classroom in NYC because as a percent of the population mixed race children are less than 2% of most population estimates regardless of geography. After this I'm done trying to convince anyone not to leave Portland, for any reason.

H

[EnricoV]

Originally Posted by illinoisboy

What do you guys consider "diverse"?

Does Salem qualify as being diverse because it has a Hispanic population, or not? Because I know that Oregon is mostly white.

I would consider Portland diverse because it has a large amount of backgrounds, other than Hispanic. (since they are seen everywhere nowadays)

Just wondering...

Diverse, to me, means everybody is included. I love living amongst all races, cultures, nationalities, ethnicities, ages, etc. Just having a large community of one of those, doesn't qualify as diversity for me.

[samse]

Generally college towns are going to be more diverse than non-college towns. Whenever I think of culture in Oregon I think of Ashland with the Shakespeare Festival and SOU. There's a lot of art and theater there and my cousin loves to go there to shop for her vintage clothes. As for Bend (I live there) downtown is artistic and young. It's not all cowboy! I was actually surprised by the lack of country people when I moved here. Sisters is a retirement/tourist community so don't expect too much. Oh and try Eugene also - home of the UO Ducks! Portland sort of goes without saying...but I've never really spent any time there so I don't have any advice for you. But Ashland is certainly your best bet if you ask me!

Ovarian Cysts No More

[bobmulk]

Washington Square is in Tigard.

[beenhereandthere]

Other than some employment issues and the cops in Portland and Seattle, the PNW is a cool place for African Americans certainly more intergrated and accepting than, say the South where in a strange way, some blacks may find less racism, but it's easier to avoid racism when you have the opportunity to deal within your own group almost all the time, like you can in the South and places like Chicago, Detroit, etc.

[SeattlitefromNC]

Originally Posted by Leisesturm

It is simply not possible to escape America's legacy of hostile and seperatist race relations. True, the large population centers of the East have greater 'options' of diversity but IMO they don't have 'better' public schools. Of course if you are willing to bankrupt yourself by squeezing into an economic money sink like Tribeca in NYC or some equally tony neighborhood in Boston, Connecticut, New Jersey, etc. you will be assured of a quality education for your offspring but will it be diverse? No. Absolutely not. The actual number of African American children in a high end prep school in Brooklyn Heights will be absurdly small. Likewise Park Slope.

Until race is no longer synonymous with class and achievement 'better' areas of any city you can name will be likewise synonymous with 'white'. African Americans who have evolved beyond fascination with materialism and passive entertainment need to stop pining for acceptance and inclusion with the larger body of black people living in large cities in America. It isn't going to happen. Demographic projections into 2050 say that the black population will increase to 15% from the 12% it is presently. That is essentially zero growth given that in that time the Hispanic population will increase to 30% from the 15% that it is presently.

Race relations between Hispanic/Black; East and South Asian/Black are if anything worse than between White/Black. And that in the end is the whole point. Where I used to live in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn the majority of my neighbors (black) didn't have to worry about race 'relations'. They didn't have to 'relate' to any other race but their own. The various races that inhabit America are happiest when they live in communities that are non-intergrated. For the most part this can happen effectively except in the case of Black communities. I don't really like being an insignificant minority of a basically white community but the alternative, which I have experienced, is far worse. This is why I said in another post that diversity is very overrated.

As an interracial family the 'best' that you will achieve on the East Coast is indifference. That's cool, but in Portland and environs you can actually experience tolerance, encouragement even. Your children would still be the only mixed race children in some high end classroom in NYC because as a percent of the population mixed race children are less than 2% of most population estimates regardless of geography. After this I'm done trying to convince anyone not to leave Portland, for any reason.

H

Just a note of clarification:

Number one, there are many places where public schools are better than OR ones ... look up Chapel Hill, NC's public schools, for instance.

Number two, there are several black neighborhoods on the East Coast full of old-wealth families (especially in the DC area) that are not considered "bad". People make assumptions because they see a bunch of black people around, and never stop to talk to these folks. Every single family that I know of living in PGC is making a quarter of a million dollars a year -- several of them with government pensions, no less. These are the kinds of folks to look up to, and for black youth in particular, it is important to know that these people exist so they know that they, too, can be the same way.

Number three, class and race are not entirely synonymous. Not by a long shot. Again, note the black upper class ... I can think of several East Coast areas that are practically run by the black upper class (Charlotte, NC and Atlanta and DC and the PGC, among others).

Number four, prep schools focused on black youth exist in this country. No, really.

Number five, the Pacific NW is a great place to live ... but it is not the ONLY place to live. And it's not for everyone. Like it or not, it definitely IS lacking in the diversity department for a lot of folks ... and that is an issue for those folks. That is to be respected, not ridiculed. You can no more change their mind than the color of their skin, so perhaps that should be taken into account. I love living in the Pacific NW and never plan on leaving, but if someone else doesn't find it to be their liking, that is perfectly alright. The world will not end.