Portland Negatives (environment, transplants, work)

[Tesaje]

Originally Posted by Minervah

... Basically if you are young, professional (doctor, accountant etc) or move here with money you may do well. If you are an average Joe, working at a clerical or retail job it will be difficult to make ends meet.

Although I have met some very nice people here I have to agree that there is a superficiality and self-centeredness of the majority. ..

Isn't this on topic - Portland negatives?

I would just like to interject that these negatives are not unique to Portland. Almost any large city is a lot more expensive to make a living at the lower skill levels now days. It is better in the mid-west, but both coasts have higher costs of living and cities are higher cost than small towns everywhere.

And superficiality and self-centeredness seems to be pretty common everywhere. The denser the population, the more wary people are of strangers.

I don't know if it is worse in Portland or not.

[argo69]

People can quote all the stats they like, and run and re-run the numbers until they get them to support their particular view but the bottom line is that when all is said and done, all cities are headed in one of two directions...toward what Los Angeles is or toward what New York City is. The former being an elaborate freeway system, sprawled housing developments, parking lots, car culture, etc. and the other being high density, public transit, pedestrian friendly streets, walkable neighborhoods, etc. I grew up in Los Angeles and for all the great things about that amazing (and challenging) city, I've never heard anyone tout transportation (ease of getting around) as one of its selling points.

[robertpolyglot]

Please, self-righteous posters, this is about Portland negatives and we are entitled to post these as we see these. I followed the rest of my family when they moved up from LA in the early 1990s.

My biggest problem with Portland is that it is extremely difficult, as a transplant, to make friends. I tried when I lived there for 3 and a half years and gave up. I then moved to Seatle and lastly to Northern California and, within 6 months, was never at a loss for people to hang out with. At the time I moved to Portland, I had just finished a Masters. No, I'm not weird...I am a fairly traditional, not overly conservative, decent-looking guy. Others, including professionals, have moved away for the same reason. There is also a horrendous imbalance between traditional clean-cut professional men and similar women caused by the abundance of alternative women who are drawn to it like a magnet. Also, there are many underemployed people. With really good credentials, I was never able to figure out who got the jobs that came to me much easier in other locales.

I call Portland the "city of 4 slices of pie":
About 25 % of the 22-45 population tends to be alternative or granola - boy, they seem to find each other.
About 25 % of the 22-45 population tends to be kind of Oregon hick, and dislike the impact of transplants
About 25 % of the 22-45 population tends to be the college crowd that moved back from Corvallis or Eugene, and while this is where I would have fit in, if you're not "local" they don't let you in...there's little chance of getting to know them
The remaining 25 % of the 22-45 is widely dispersed with some nice, interesting people...not organized or identifiable, so if you befriend someone in this group, it's by chance.

I lived in Seattle for 3 years, too. Same thing, twice as big. I will never forget the 1995 Newsweek article that profiled Seattle when it was HOT. One person said "Bring your own friends." It had taken him or her 10 years. It should take 10 months!

It's so scenic and the gloom is actually accompanied by mild weather, so it's really very livable and comfortable. It's too bad that the majority of the people are so morose and stand-offish.

Originally Posted by mer1

I have lived in Portland for 11 years and am in the process of leaving. I have had some nice experiences as far as enjoying nature, and some cultural events and met nice friends who since have left Portland for a better place to be. In the last 4 years I have interviewed transplants and the following are comments that have been consistant with people who have moved here. I am from the Midwest and as far as Portland people, I have never met such materialist, self-centered, irresponsible people who have no regard or respect for others. Many are a "phoney nice", not geniune. There is little to no community or comradship. Any geniune people I met were transplants from the Midwest, East Coast or another country. They will only "accept" transplants if you think, believe or act as they do. When I moved to Portland I was even told this by the native Oregonians. The positive things of Portland is the beautiful nature, although it rains it keeps everything green, and mild winters. There are jobs in Portland, not high paying, but will keep you afloat. But as for the people...you will fit in Portland only if you are an extreme liberalist, gay, movated by only your needs, a hippy, an extreme bicyclist or a distorted artist. I am not saying if these lifestyles are good or bad ... only that you need to determine which lifestyle is yours.

[Tesaje]

I realize the different people posting on the difficulty of making friends in Portland are in a bunch of different age groups which can make a difference. But if there are so many transplants in Portland, why can't the transplants make friends among each other? Do you need to make your friends with the natives who already have established relationships? Why not hang with the many other transplants who are looking for friends?

[robertpolyglot]

Originally Posted by Tesaje

I realize the different people posting on the difficulty of making friends in Portland are in a bunch of different age groups which can make a difference. But if there are so many transplants in Portland, why can't the transplants make friends among each other? Do you need to make your friends with the natives who already have established relationships? Why not hang with the many other transplants who are looking for friends?

Trust me, I would have been a lot happier making friends with the transplants than the natives....ANY DAY. It's just that the transplants are in hiding and the natives are visible. The firm I worked for was a damn U of O alumni club...now that's native.

I read a post on the previous page after I posted with has a link the "Seattle Freeze." So beautifully described. It affects this corner of the country. When I lived in Seattle, a certain Dr. Tara, talk show hostess and bitter at the area as well, dubbed it "The New Stockholm," essentially reinforcing that the Scandinavian countries' people tend to be cool, aloof but polite. Well, Seattle has historically been a Scandinavian stronghold, along with Minneapolis, which registers similar complaints. This makes it about 180 degrees different from someplace like Miami or New Orleans, where the dominant social groups, the Cubans and the African Americans/Cajuns, are more animated and emotive.

I just flew into Portland today from Christmas in Canada, so don't get me started on the stoic uptightness. LOL.

[KerryB]

Originally Posted by Tesaje

But if there are so many transplants in Portland, why can't the transplants make friends among each other? Do you need to make your friends with the natives who already have established relationships? Why not hang with the many other transplants who are looking for friends?

What does it matter who is friends with who?? Thats not a very inviting attitude. Is Portland really that snobby??

[Tesaje]

Originally Posted by KerryB

What does it matter who is friends with who?? Thats not a very inviting attitude. Is Portland really that snobby??

It doesn't matter at all who is friends with whom. I was just wondering why, if the natives aren't particularly interested in making friends with newcomers, the newcomers couldn't be friends with each other. It seems to be a common complaint.

When working, I can understand it might be hard to find friends outside of work if the hours are long or commutes long. A modern problem in a lot of places.

So it seems newcomers need a venue to meet each other and get to know one another.

[KerryB]

Originally Posted by Tesaje

It doesn't matter at all who is friends with whom. I was just wondering why, if the natives aren't particularly interested in making friends with newcomers, the newcomers couldn't be friends with each other. It seems to be a common complaint.

When working, I can understand it might be hard to find friends outside of work if the hours are long or commutes long. A modern problem in a lot of places.

So it seems newcomers need a venue to meet each other and get to know one another.

But why is it that transplants have trouble making friends with natives??

[oldtintype]

This is another example of someone who live in Portland AGES ago! It's changed drastically in the last five years so while I don't doubt his experience, it's a different world here now.

Originally Posted by robertpolyglot

Please, self-righteous posters, this is about Portland negatives and we are entitled to post these as we see these. I followed the rest of my family when they moved up from LA in the early 1990s.

My biggest problem with Portland is that it is extremely difficult, as a transplant, to make friends. I tried when I lived there for 3 and a half years and gave up. I then moved to Seatle and lastly to Northern California and, within 6 months, was never at a loss for people to hang out with. At the time I moved to Portland, I had just finished a Masters. No, I'm not weird...I am a fairly traditional, not overly conservative, decent-looking guy. Others, including professionals, have moved away for the same reason. There is also a horrendous imbalance between traditional clean-cut professional men and similar women caused by the abundance of alternative women who are drawn to it like a magnet. Also, there are many underemployed people. With really good credentials, I was never able to figure out who got the jobs that came to me much easier in other locales.

I call Portland the "city of 4 slices of pie":
About 25 % of the 22-45 population tends to be alternative or granola - boy, they seem to find each other.
About 25 % of the 22-45 population tends to be kind of Oregon hick, and dislike the impact of transplants
About 25 % of the 22-45 population tends to be the college crowd that moved back from Corvallis or Eugene, and while this is where I would have fit in, if you're not "local" they don't let you in...there's little chance of getting to know them
The remaining 25 % of the 22-45 is widely dispersed with some nice, interesting people...not organized or identifiable, so if you befriend someone in this group, it's by chance.

I lived in Seattle for 3 years, too. Same thing, twice as big. I will never forget the 1995 Newsweek article that profiled Seattle when it was HOT. One person said "Bring your own friends." It had taken him or her 10 years. It should take 10 months!

It's so scenic and the gloom is actually accompanied by mild weather, so it's really very livable and comfortable. It's too bad that the majority of the people are so morose and stand-offish.

[oldtintype]

Originally Posted by KerryB

But why is it that transplants have trouble making friends with natives??

I have no idea because while most of my friends are also transplants, I do have some "native" friends that I've made from work. I think if anything it's because transplants came to Portland from a different environment looking for what the "new" Portland has to offer, where as the natives were pretty happy with the way it was. Perhaps the two groups gravitate to different things.