North Portland (Safe?)

[hamellr]

Originally Posted by Copsgirl73

Safe? Depends on where you are. Like PP said there are bad pockets all over, including near UP.

For various definitions of "Safe." Most East Coasters would laugh at Portland's "worse" neighborhood.

[urbanlife78]

Originally Posted by hamellr

For various definitions of "Safe." Most East Coasters would laugh at Portland's "worse" neighborhood.

That is very true, I remember laughing at how dangerous people thought North Portland was when I first moved from the east coast to the west. I would usually say, when the news uses shootings and robberies from that neighborhood as nothing more than a news filler between better stories, then it is a dangerous neighborhood.

[Deezus]

Yeah, but the way East Coasters talk when they come out west you'd think that they all grew up in Camden or the South Bronx.

North Portland of course isn't that dangerous these days. Violent crime in general in Portland isn't that high, murders are fairly low. Most gang-related shootings in Portland rarely result in injuries(they're mostly horrible shots). There aren't a lot of murders related to the drug trade as some other US cities since the market here is spread out and fairly decentralized. Even the housing projects in New Columbia look pretty nice.

On the other hand though property crime in Portland is pretty high. For the most part thus means your car window might get smashed if you leave anything in it. And while I found North Portland to be fine for the most parts and liked living there, depending on where one lives in the area can depend of your own tolerance for a little sketchy behavior.

I lived off Interstate in Overlook for four years and just a block or two to the west was fairly nice middle class(or even wealthy) old craftsman homes and a safe pleasant neighborhood. On the other hand I had neighbors that were straight out of Breaking Bad(and liked to ride their motorbike at 3 am), the occasional crackhead in my yard, and an interesting cast of characters coming down the street from the no-tell motels on Interstate. Didn't really bother me all that much, nor was I that scared by the occasional gunshots on the corner when I lived off North Williams(now basically gentrified and safe for New Seasons shoppers).

So while I found the area fine for the most part and spent plenty of time in other areas like Kenton and St Johns, I'd say that some people looking for a little more suburban bliss might be put off by certain parts of North Portland. And some of the schools up there have bad reputations if you've got kids. But if you're young and looking for cheaper rent or home it can be a fun area.(Though only cheap in comparison and near Mississippi is expensive as anywhere these days).