Just got back from visiting Portland (Gresham, Beaverton: to rent, high crime, house prices)

[Eriquito80]

And I have some questions/concerns...These may seem shallow or unimportant but I have to know...

1. What's the deal with all the all the panhandlers? I used to live in the City of Philadelphia (a place known for high crime and poverty) and I have never witnessed the level of panhandling going currently in Portland.

2. Violence on the Max? My wife and I read a lot about an attack that occurred last week...media hype or reality? This was a big bummer for us because one of the draws we see in Portland is the public transit.

3. (This kinda relates to number 1) Why all of the crazies? Again, I have spent a great deal of time in places like Baltimore and DC and I think I saw more self mutterers in Portland than anywhere else. I should state that I never once felt threatened or fearful, but is there something in the water over there?

4. REALLY IMPORTANT: Someone please tell me about the high schools and middle schools in the Portland area...I know Beaverton and the outlying areas have "better" schools but the point in our moving is to live a more urban lifestyle. We're both teachers and we got to see but not visit Lincoln High...Anyone with teacher info would be a great help.

5. Finally, an opinion question: Do you think there is a place in Portland for two teachers? In Delaware, two teachers can live fairly well(not millonaires but solidly middle class) While we plan to rent at first I am concerned that the area doesn't pay its teachers well enough for them to live in the communities in which they work. I must stress that living in a suburb would make no sense for us...if we wanted suburban wastelands we could just stay in Delaware.


Some kudos for Portland:

1. The food is GREAT

2. Extremely walkable

3. Public transit was really cool ( I didn't witness any beatings...but then again I did witness a MAX official harrass a Mexican dude)

4. Weather Smeather it was sunny 4 out of the 5 days we were there.

5. Beautiful city...clean and inviting.

We're still not sure if Portland is our town but visiting it definetly gave us an impression that countless hours of internet research could not.

[blazen]

I wouldn't minimize the weather. Portland has one of the fewest days of sunshine in the country. You got lucky.

[gnab gib]

Originally Posted by Eriquito80

4. Weather Smeather it was sunny 4 out of the 5 days we were there.

Oooh, so sorry to hear that. Bring on the clouds!

[roneb]

1. Panhandlers are very present but never seem to present a hassle.

2. Media will always hype something like the MAX attack; but that said, they have been having more problems recently.

3. Poor state funding for mental health in recent years leaves more crazies on the street.

4. Lincoln H.S. has a very good reputation teacher-wise, but the students have a rep for being extremely cliquish (sp?). In general suburban high schools tend to have fewer problems and offer better pay.

5. You WILL NOT earn as much on two teacher salaries in PDX as you did back east. I would expect a drop in living standard. Could be a fair trade off if you like the PDX culture and outdoor rec opportunities.

And yes, you did get lucky with the weather. Nicest October I can ever remember. Usually I list "the great gray wet" as my number one reason for wanting to move.

[blazen]

"definetly".....and you're a teacher. If I had kids, they would be home schooled.

[Eriquito80]

Not a whole lot for you to do today but correct typos...I'm glad I gave you a chance to feel smart.

Thanks for the legitimate reply though...The weather definetly got worse towards the end of our trip.

[suncat]

Glad you had an overall nice time. The pan-handling has gotten much worse over the past few years. This place seems to draw disgruntled youth from all over the US, and you definitely see that reflected in the downtown streets.

The Max is pretty safe during the day and most of the problems seem to happen at the stations after dark, when there aren't many other people around -- especially out in Rockwood and Gresham.

Did you enjoy our windstorm on Monday? Portland gets several doozies like that every winter.

[suncat]

Originally Posted by blazen

"definetly".....and you're a teacher. If I had kids, they would be home schooled.

And there you have a sample of Portland attitude. There are some nice people here, but there's also a thick layer of smug.

[oldtintype]

The panhandling tends to be specific to a very small geographic area downtown. Unfortunately that's where a lot of people who visit tend to congregate. I don't know if it's a west coast thing or? Visit Seattle and San Francisco/Berkeley and you'll see the same if not worse. In 90% of Portland you won't see it.

[zilfondel]

On the plus side about the crazies, the state is going to build 2 brand new mental health hospitals ~1/2 billion dollars in a couple years. So its still going to be bad for awhile... but they rarely pose a problem. Police are always pretty close by too (especially downtown).

About 10 years ago or so they privatized a lot of the mental health operations in the state. Turns out that crazy people don't have a lot of money to afford it out of pocket... :P

Panhandling is WAY down from what it was like around 2002. Back then, when I was downtown on the weekends I would be outnumbered by homeless bums. Not quite as bad now... but the winter drives everyone indoors.

2 employed teachers shouldn't really have a problem buying a house - but it of course depends on the location. We have neighborhoods of $500,000 homes and ones that are half that. House prices are down like 10% or so right now anyways...