liberal portland? (Eugene, Corvallis, Ashland: to rent, house, find a job)

[luckylisp]

I know everyone is probably sick of the "moving to oregon" threads, but I just have a few quick questions.

my fiance and I are moving to portland right after our wedding this july. we were orignially drawn to portland because we had heard that it is a very liberal area. we live in a very conservative area of maryland right now, and we're looking for a drastic change. could anyone tell us if what we've heard is true? we were looking to rent around the hawthorne district. we want a sort of bohemiam neighborhood. somewhere artsy and liberal. is this the place for us?
any advice is much appreciated.

[PDXmom]

Originally Posted by luckylisp

my fiance and I are moving to portland right after our wedding this july. we were orignially drawn to portland because we had heard that it is a very liberal area. we live in a very conservative area of maryland right now, and we're looking for a drastic change. could anyone tell us if what we've heard is true? we were looking to rent around the hawthorne district. we want a sort of bohemiam neighborhood. somewhere artsy and liberal. is this the place for us?
any advice is much appreciated.

I grew up in NC so I get the type of conservative you are talking about. Portland (not Oregon) but Portland is VERY liberal. Most Portlanders are either Demos, Green Party, or Socialist. Election time is a hoot. In the neighborhoods you see yards blanketed with Democratic Candidates and in there will be like one guy in the whole hood with a Republican sign. lol Always feel bad for that guy. Well, not too bad.

Portland is very open to alternative lifestyles, alternative energy, and alternatives to pretty much the main stream. Hawthorne is bohemian. However, it has become a bit less so over the last five years. A few of the funky shop owners are getting priced out with rent because it's becoming a little more upscale commercial. Pains me to say this but it's true. However, Belmont... a couple of blocks away is probably a tad bit more bohemenian now and a little less on the rent. But honestly you can't go wrong with either of these areas.

Now, once you leave Portland, it's pretty conservative out there in the rest of Oregon. As a result Oregon has passed some hideous laws such as a ban on gay marriage. We do currently have a Demo Gov, and the state and house are Demo. But Oregon's constitution is changed based on iniatives (the people of the state vote to ammend the constitution... thus the ban on gay marriage). So as result we sometimes get these laws that might work for the rest of the state but do not work for Portland.

Eugene (100 miles South of Portland) is the other bastine of liberalism here. Pretty much everything else is red. I'm not sharing this to scare you away. Some folks are shocked to learn this when they move here.

Portland is a great place to live... especially if you are young, looking for new stimulating experiences and are left leaning. I think you'll like here.

[zilfondel]

Originally Posted by luckylisp

I know everyone is probably sick of the "moving to oregon" threads, but I just have a few quick questions.

my fiance and I are moving to portland right after our wedding this july. we were orignially drawn to portland because we had heard that it is a very liberal area. we live in a very conservative area of maryland right now, and we're looking for a drastic change. could anyone tell us if what we've heard is true? we were looking to rent around the hawthorne district. we want a sort of bohemiam neighborhood. somewhere artsy and liberal. is this the place for us?
any advice is much appreciated.

Sounds like we don't need to give you much advice, cause you are exactly correct! Hawthorne is a very liberal neighborhood and is full of hippies, vegans and the alternative crowd. You probably won't find one conserative in the whole lot.

oh, and PDXmom forgot to mention that Belmont is all of about 4 blocks north of Hawthorne (btw, that isn't the name of the neighborhood, but the main streets where all the action is).
Portland, Eugene, Corvallis, and Ashland are all pretty blue towns. Hood River, when overran by surfers from Portland, can also trend that way during the summer.

'Course, what they call a Republican in Oregon would be lynched for being a 'damned terrorist liberal' in places like Texas. So it's all relative...

George Bush didn't call P-town "little Beirut" for nothin!

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/966872/posts

[bobmulk]

Portland is VERY liberal. Unfortunately, if you have a political leaning that is not politically correct, then it is hateful and narrow-minded. Since you're not conservative, you'll be accepted.

Beside that, Portland is a great city. Very walkable, liveable and lively. Many different neighborhoods with their own distinct character like the above-mentioned Hawthorne. Also Multnomah Village, the Pearl, Sellwood, Eastmoreland. Like the one poster said, Hawthorne might be good for you. It's a really cool area and totally bohemian. But beware, it's been discovered as most bohemian places are and chains are moving in. Still, it would be a good choice.

[OREGONRAIN]

I am from Liberal Massachusetts, but not always sure liberal there and liberal here, are the same liberal. Portland is a nice city though, you will like it, it pretty much has what you asked about. I will say if your a cigarette smoker, you will love it here, personally I can't stand them, but this has got to be the most cigarette smoking place I have ever been outside of vegas.

[Pen Cap Chew]

The majority of vegans became vegan not because of the health benefits of a meatless / dairyless diet (which there are many!) but because they love animals and don't want to contribute to any sort of animal abuse. You are assuming vegans are vegans because they are health-conscious but most vegans care about animals first and foremost; the health benefits are secondary.

Humans don't need meat; lions and tigers do, as they were designed that way.

[magrack]

Originally Posted by Pen Cap Chew

....

Humans don't need meat; lions and tigers do, as they were designed that way.

LOL.

Continuing your logic, humans were designed or evolved (depending on your point of view) as omnivores, meaning we can eat almost anything (not sure about haggis, though), you're actually advancing that it's OK to eat meat.

Thank you for that; I feel better about my day already.

[Pen Cap Chew]

No, hate to ruin your day LOL but i'm in no way advocating meat or dairy AT ALL for the human body. Period. Look at society: people generally are not healthy. Most are overweight (heart disease is the number one cause of death in adults), have diabetes, high blood pressure, poor immune systems, clogged sinuses, arthritis, strokes, cancers (cancer today is so common that everybody knows somebody who has it). A study says that 75 million people get sick every year because of what they eat. Farmed animals are fed twenty million pounds of antibiotics every year. I'm proof the human body doesn't need meat (or dairy). I never get sick, not even colds. I'm not exaggeratting. I was healthy as a vegetarian, but I am even more healthy as a vegan (vegan for 6 years now). I have more energy. I sleep better and need less sleep. And, as I've said, I'm never sick. Getting sick is not natural. If you get sick, you are obviously doing something wrong. And I used to get migraines but those completely stopped once I quit dairy. For many years I used to get heart palpatations that never happened again after I went vegan. Dairy can also plug up your ears. Many vegans have said their hearing improved after getting off dairy products. Just listening to someone talk and I can tell if they consume a lot of dairy products by the sound of their voice. Eliminating dairy can also improve your vision. My vegan sister says her eyesight is now 20/20 (before she needed glasses). And allergies ... I don't have any. Most people have allergies. It's very common (wonder why that is). I know for a fact that my body appreciates me being vegan. Bottom line is, I feel good. It feels right. My instincts say it's right. But the number one reason to go vegan is for the sake of the animals. For me, that will always be the main reason. Go vegan!

[magrack]

You didn't ruin my day...you made me laugh.

I don't GAS what you eat or don't eat.

People live, they die. You feel healthy being a Vegan...go for it, but your point was lions and tigers were designed to eat meat, and my point was, we (humans) were designed to also eat meat in addition to fruits and grains.

All I did was set your strawman on fire...think I'll use it to sear a steak.

When the animals reciprocate your concern for them, you make sure to let me know, and I'll be sure to help you advance the "It's for the animals" cause.

[anodyne]

i'm a vegetarian (not for the health benefits) moving to portland as soon as i find a job. that said, ALF and PETA are horrible institutions who really need to be called on their bad science and hypocritical statements (like the fact that peta "rescued" hundreds of cats and dogs, and then euthanized them when there was nowhere for them to go, yet they picket the HOME of the LA animal control head for -- get this -- euthanizing animals).

but this isn't the animal rights forum, it's the portland forum.