Is anyone here in love with portland? (fit in, place to live)

[Smiled]

Well, I've been here for 17 years, after a long stint in the Bay Area and the central coast of California.
It took me 15 years to get used to the long winters, but when I finally got in sync with the seasons, it's been fine.
Portland itself is a very livable city with fine people. You won't get rich here, but you'll get by. I can't think of any reason I'd move away.

[backdrifter]

Originally Posted by pth

I have had a hard time finding positive threads about the city. I see lots of rain threads, and a gang violence thread, etc.

The picture threads are nice, and I'm an outdoor obsess/enthusiast so it seems like a ridiculously awesome place to be. I get that it rains but if its just a sprinkle once or twice a day..that's not something that would deter me.

Does anyone here love portland?

It really is a gorgeous city. It's safe, it's vibrant, it's diverse, it's friendly, it's laid back, it's tolerant... Weather is subjective and gang violence is not usually something you deal with unless you're in a gang or you're a cop. There are a lot of cool things going on. I think a lot of complaints come from people who have too narrow of a view of Portland. I work somewhere where I see a good slice of the ENTIRE population--old, young, liberal, conservative, single, married, parents, non-parents, male, female, other, LGBTQ, native, transplant, immigrant, all races, all religions, all levels of ableness, housed, houseless, and so on. But if you focus on just one group (say, for example, hipsters or liberals or transplants or homeless or...) and come from somewhere else with a different context for your social interactions between groups of people or with a certain kind of worldview, then you might feel a little miffed by the city and/or its denizens. My point is that, having the whole picture, I love Portland and its residents (for the most part) and I think the complainers usually just aren't seeing the big picture.

That all said, I think it can be a polarizing city to an extent. People *tend* to love it or hate it in my experience, depending on a lot of factors. I actually do a little bit of both sometimes. You could say that Portland and I have a sort of toxic relationship with each other because of that... Although we are "taking a break" right now, I could definitely see myself "getting serious" with Portland someday.

[peaceloveandtattoos]

I LOVE Portland! I have lived here around 4 months and came from Arizona...my whole family loves it so far!

[Minervah]

Originally Posted by backdrifter

It really is a gorgeous city. It's safe, it's vibrant, it's diverse, it's friendly, it's laid back, it's tolerant... Weather is subjective and gang violence is not usually something you deal with unless you're in a gang or you're a cop. There are a lot of cool things going on. I think a lot of complaints come from people who have too narrow of a view of Portland. I work somewhere where I see a good slice of the ENTIRE population--old, young, liberal, conservative, single, married, parents, non-parents, male, female, other, LGBTQ, native, transplant, immigrant, all races, all religions, all levels of ableness, housed, houseless, and so on. But if you focus on just one group (say, for example, hipsters or liberals or transplants or homeless or...) and come from somewhere else with a different context for your social interactions between groups of people or with a certain kind of worldview, then you might feel a little miffed by the city and/or its denizens. My point is that, having the whole picture, I love Portland and its residents (for the most part) and I think the complainers usually just aren't seeing the big picture.

That all said, I think it can be a polarizing city to an extent. People *tend* to love it or hate it in my experience, depending on a lot of factors. I actually do a little bit of both sometimes. You could say that Portland and I have a sort of toxic relationship with each other because of that... Although we are "taking a break" right now, I could definitely see myself "getting serious" with Portland someday.

The bolded is a great statement. I really explains why some come here and are disappointed. For myself, I used to love Portland, not so much anymore but I don't hate it. It's a place to live until I can relocate.

I can see though, that for someone looking for many of it's actual amenities, it's a good place to live.

[hose111]

Originally Posted by backdrifter

It really is a gorgeous city. It's safe, it's vibrant, it's diverse, it's friendly, it's laid back, it's tolerant... Weather is subjective and gang violence is not usually something you deal with unless you're in a gang or you're a cop. There are a lot of cool things going on. I think a lot of complaints come from people who have too narrow of a view of Portland. I work somewhere where I see a good slice of the ENTIRE population--old, young, liberal, conservative, single, married, parents, non-parents, male, female, other, LGBTQ, native, transplant, immigrant, all races, all religions, all levels of ableness, housed, houseless, and so on. But if you focus on just one group (say, for example, hipsters or liberals or transplants or homeless or...) and come from somewhere else with a different context for your social interactions between groups of people or with a certain kind of worldview, then you might feel a little miffed by the city and/or its denizens. My point is that, having the whole picture, I love Portland and its residents (for the most part) and I think the complainers usually just aren't seeing the big picture.

That all said, I think it can be a polarizing city to an extent. People *tend* to love it or hate it in my experience, depending on a lot of factors. I actually do a little bit of both sometimes. You could say that Portland and I have a sort of toxic relationship with each other because of that... Although we are "taking a break" right now, I could definitely see myself "getting serious" with Portland someday.

how true

[Twincam666]

Originally Posted by pth

I have definitely learned to take this forum for what its worth..alot of it will be negative because no one really yaps about the positive stuff haha

You never have a drought!

[Yankeemama]

Great post, Backdrifter! I sometimes love it here but not sure if it's PDX or just that mid-life is proving to be a great time for me personally. I have lived in beahtiful cities but peronal unhappiness skewed my opinions of those places.

[hamellr]

Originally Posted by Twincam666

You never have a drought!

Unfortunately, not true: The Oregon Story . Water . Oregon's Water | OPB

[Mr. Opinionated]

I dont think Portland is any closer to perfection than Seattle, Cleveland or any other similar size city. Like the others, it too has many great attributes. And imo, the people talking trash about a certain city tend to be the natives that take it for granted, or outsiders unfairly comparing the worst of it to the best about their hometown.

[backdrifter]

Originally Posted by Minervah

The bolded is a great statement. I really explains why some come here and are disappointed. For myself, I used to love Portland, not so much anymore but I don't hate it. It's a place to live until I can relocate.

I can see though, that for someone looking for many of it's actual amenities, it's a good place to live.

Originally Posted by Yankeemama

Great post, Backdrifter! I sometimes love it here but not sure if it's PDX or just that mid-life is proving to be a great time for me personally. I have lived in beahtiful cities but peronal unhappiness skewed my opinions of those places.

Thanks guys.

I definitely think people need to be realistic and put things in perspective. No place is perfect and no place is really completely bad, at least in this country... Not even somewhere like Fresno or Detroit or...