Portland(ia) (Adams: rental market, houses, neighborhoods)

[Bravofan07]

All,

So I am new to the forum. An engineer by degree and experience (manufacturing) and currently live and work in Augusta GA. I got onto the show Portlandia. Love it. Ever since Portland has been on my list of cities to move to...only topped by Denver and Seattle.

So for those of you who live in Portland, how is it? Does the show do an accurate depiction of reality? How is crime? I was born and raised in Atlanta and like I said currently live in Augusta so it can't be too bad in comparison...

I mean it has been consistently ranked at the top of the charts of "best places" to live so Portland has to be PARADISE!

So, please any and all inputs comments welcome!

[sayulita]

Yes, it is paradise here and exactly like Portlandia. You need only to read through the forum to see how deliriously happy we all are, what with the perfect weather, abundant jobs, terrific rental market with lots of low cost vacancies, absolutely no crime, efficient and frequent public transportation, low cost of living and the friendly, welcoming citizens.

Seriously, have you read through the forum?

[pdxMIKEpdx]

Not to mention that we get folks like Aimee Mann and Sarah McLachlan to clean our houses and do our yardwork.

Really.





Tell you a secret, Portland is more like Grimm.

Really.

[NWGirl74]

Am I the only person who has never seen an episode of "Portlandia?"

Vacancy rate is roughly 3%. Demand for housing is much higher than that so prices are increasing. A lot of landlords are also no longer allowing pets because they have no shortage of applicants.

Jobs are hard to come by. I'm starting to lose track of who I'm keeping my ears open for and what type of work they're looking for.

It rains 9 months out of the year. Not pouring rain, but just enough of a grey drizzle to make people incredibly grouchy by the time spring rolls around. Which is typically July 5th. Which is also the start of summer. We have two seasons here: rain and construction. Occasionally, it snows. Since that's such a rarity, it shuts the city down.

Summer is beautiful with a lot to do, however. I imagine summer here is like an episode of "Portlandia," but again, I've never seen the show.

[EnricoV]

Originally Posted by Bravofan07

All,

So I am new to the forum. An engineer by degree and experience (manufacturing) and currently live and work in Augusta GA. I got onto the show Portlandia. Love it. Ever since Portland has been on my list of cities to move to...only topped by Denver and Seattle.

So for those of you who live in Portland, how is it? Does the show do an accurate depiction of reality? How is crime? I was born and raised in Atlanta and like I said currently live in Augusta so it can't be too bad in comparison...

I mean it has been consistently ranked at the top of the charts of "best places" to live so Portland has to be PARADISE!

So, please any and all inputs comments welcome!

Wow. Folks around here are sure feeling grumpy.

Personally, and I've lived here all my long life, I love Portland. It's a great place to live. And I love the show Portlandia.

I must admit, it is an awful lot like the show. The show is an exaggeration, to be sure, but ... it's pretty spot on. Now that's not to say that every character on the show is representative of everyone here, but enough of them.

Yes, the rental market is tight. Yes, it's hard to get a great job (where isn't it?). Yes, it rains in Portland (39"), but it rains more in Atlanta (50"). It does NOT rain 9 months of the year. Yes, there are 9 months in which it rains, but in Atlanta there are 12 months in which it rains.

Is life here like Portlandia? I've gotta say yes. I'm sitting here, and businesses surrounding me are ... a medical marijuana company, a coffee shop, a couple of craftsmen. I see a lot of the "characters" on Portlandia on a daily basis, though like I said, they're exaggerated.

I think that both Portlandia and Grimm both represent the look and the feel of the city, excellently.

[pdxMIKEpdx]

I was watching the first episodes of Portlandia the other day.

It reminded me of Portland right before the "bubble" burst, and everybody was happy, sustainable, and concerned about being eco-friendly.

Whatever happened to all of that?
I guess that "trend" wasn't so sustainable.
The "It's SO Over" sketch kinda hits home.

It WAS funny seeing Sam Adams in some of the sketches.
I'd almost forgotten about him, that is until I see a water bill, or see a painted bike lane that hasn't been repainted in two or three years.
Man did Portland waste a lot of our tax money back then.

Here we were thinking that Portland was all hippy dippy, cool and diverse, but our government was setting up the town to be a haven for young rich white folks.
I tend to see more young professionals and outdoor yuppie types than "creative" types lately.
I guess by gentrifying the whole town, "they" figured out how to get the taxes paid.


I think Portlandia was more "realistic" (if you want to call it that) when it started, than now.

[bler144]

I think there's a class component as well. If you are amongst the handful that can retire at 25 you'll meet a lot of people like what the show is lampooning. Likewise, where you live in the city (or metro) matters. Portlandia really has little to say about east Portland, but sure, if you spend your time downtown/Pearl or in inner-SE, it's much more on the nose.

While most of the headline guests aren't local (Edward James Olmos) it is interesting to see the local personalities pop up recurrently - Sam Adams, Corin Tucker, Colin Meloy, etc.

[pdxMIKEpdx]

Portlandia really has little to say about east Portland, but sure, if you spend your time downtown/Pearl or in inner-SE, it's much more on the nose.

That's why a lot of Portland residents are very vocal that the show doesn't represent Portland as a whole.

It's frustrating to many of us that a lot of non-Portlanders think that it does.

As far as showing the different neighborhoods, and what Portland actually looks like, I much prefer Grimm, even though if you are a long time resident, you realize that there isn't much continuity considering the shooting locations.
For example, they'll show a street or park in Eastmoreland, and then in the next scene jump over to a West side neighborhood.

If you weren't a Portlander you wouldn't/couldn't pick up on things like that.

The movie "The Hunted" was the same way.

[NWGirl74]

Originally Posted by EnricoV

Wow. Folks around here are sure feeling grumpy.

Apparently, that's not uncommon the day after we "spring forward."

[oregonwoodsmoke]

Originally Posted by pdxMIKEpdx

........

Tell you a secret, Portland is more like Grimm.........

I agree with that, but keep in mind that Nick is a senior detective and his girlfriend is a veterinarian with her own office. Normal people with normal jobs can not afford a house as nice as the one they live in.

Also, we are very live and let live and it is very unlikely that you will ever know who is the werewolf living near you. It's really none of your business and he isn't going to try to impose his lifestyle on you.