Possible Move To Portland From the Deep South (Aloha: how much, home)

[doxie64]

We live in Georgia...and have lived in the South all our lives. My husband has a job interivew in Portland this week. I'm really worried about how difficult of a transition it would be for us to move there. We're used to nice, hot weather in the summers and mild winters. I hear that it rains A LOT in Portland. Are the people there open to having true Southerners move in? If things pan out, I just want to know what we might be in store for.

[Leisesturm]

Salmon is cheap and catfish is expensive. Reo's Ribs went out of business before you got here so finding decent BBQ will be an adventure, do keep me posted on your attempts to find some though. On the whole I find Portland more tolerant than its suburbs. Luckilly I don't really care whether the people I live and move amongst want me here or not. What's driving the move? My mother just moved to Atlanta and says it rains a bunch! See how much of this weather stuff comes down to pure personal peevement! You just can't go by what anyone here says you will simply have to try it on for size yourself. Good luck.

H

[rajjerm]

It's a big difference. I lived in the South a little bit. But I am sure many others have done this type of move.

[Daisy32673]

If I am reading correctly you LIKE hot weather summers and mild winters? If thats the case, Portland will take some getting used to for you. Portland does get a lot of rain compared to other cities. And it can rain for days and be cloudy and gray for days - usually this goes on from October to May or June. But there are the summer months where the weather is beautiful and maybe a week or 2 combined (thru the summer) of 90-100* temps.

[philwithbeard]

It will be a cultural shock. But you have all the life skills to overcome any of the minor problems. The weather is somewhat like London, UK (the entire Pacific North West is like London actually, not just Portland.)

The loss of you personal social support group you leave behind may end up being more of a real problem to your family. The making of new friends, close friends, might take some time. But on the other hand, we don't have kudzu; wild blackberry with nasty thorns on the canes is our version of Kudzu.

[hamellr]

Reo's Ribs moved from Aloha to Macadam. Catering |Barbecue restaurant, baby back ribs, Aloha, OR I personally think the quality went down over the past few years, but I have not tried the new location yet.

The other Southern Style BBQ place turned out to be a front for a Cocaine money laundering operation and was closed down in 2009, which was too bad, as it was some really good food.

There are still lots of good BBQ places in the food cart pods though. It all depends on if you like your BBQ Southern, or Texan.

Oh, and there is a Southern Style BBQ place in the food court at Saturday Market.

[teddyduck]

Originally Posted by doxie64

We live in Georgia...and have lived in the South all our lives. My husband has a job interivew in Portland this week. I'm really worried about how difficult of a transition it would be for us to move there. We're used to nice, hot weather in the summers and mild winters. I hear that it rains A LOT in Portland. Are the people there open to having true Southerners move in? If things pan out, I just want to know what we might be in store for.

It rains a lot more in the south. Here it mostly drizzles, and only in the winter and spring, it's not really rain. The summers here are amazing, sunny, warm, and dry, no humidity to keep people inside or in the hospital from not being able to breath.

It would be a major culture shock. I lived in the south for six years and never really got used to it, I'm sure it would be the same going the other way. People are very nice here, but it is different from the south since you will know what they mean when they talk to you. People are not so afraid of offending here as they are in the south, and most people here are far less rude.

[Nell Plotts]

I don't view Atlanta as 'deep south', it is pretty cosmopolitan IMHO. That said, there are significant cultural differences. Most people in the PNW don't know that there is a sizable highly educated Black upper class in the SE. Some of our Black high school students think that B & Cs will get them into Morehouse, for example.

I don't know what you mean by 'true southerner'. People who are considerate of others are welcome. One big difference you will find is that religion is not a big deal here. Discussion of religion, sex and politics should be avoided unless and until you really know a person and they are interested in the subject.

[OscarLevant]

I moved here from Tx to go to school and got trapped... go my degree now trying to make it back home

I can tell you the folks here are not really polite as a general rule, the COL really high for what you get, and the drizzle will get to you. I have lived in PDX and the 'burbs so I have given it a chance. I moved here from Houston and have found they are very intolerant here. If your views are not inline with the locals they will tell you how wrong you are. Also be prepared to find begging an acceptable form of 'free speech' that appears to be tolerated (especially in downtown PDX).

It is funny when they boast about all the diversity here, that might give you a chuckle. In reality it is very very vanilla, and that is on thing that threw me for a huge loop when I first moved here..

Best of luck with the hubbies interview, just getting one of those these days is pretty damn cool

[tylersworld]

I came to the N.W. a bit north of Portland (150 miles, in 1990). I came for a job from Nevada and expected rain. We got 3 inches rain snow combined per year where I was and lots of sun. Lots.

I refused to keep dwelling on the weather like so many others, and this area is a lot like Portland. I did fine first 10 years, now it bothers me. People tend to over eat up here and I think it is the weather that depresses them. Much has to do with your attitude and knowing why you are coming. If it is work and your attitude is positive, you will do fine, despite the differences in culture. May take getting used to as mentioned in other posts. The latitude is much higher (north) and such being the case the winter days are much shorter than yours, and the summer days much longer. Dec 21 is the shortest day and I always look forward to getting past that date. June 21 is the longest day. I have been here 21 years and just now got a chance to leave and it is all about what you are doing in your life and your attitude. If you like people and you like life then you only got to look to your purpose, the job. Nothing in life is permanent remember. You might like it, you might like something else about this area, just got to go for it if you have an opportunity and see.