Honest Opinion of Portland (Gresham: transplants, to buy, theater)

[michelangelo88]

Originally Posted by BLAZER PROPHET

My heart goes out to the homeless here. So many kids (under 18) and the vast majority in to drugs and prostitution. I often wonder what it was that brought them to this stage of their lives. The police want to help, but it's hard to help those who either don't want it or squander it. When I used to take MAX to work downtown in the winter I'd see all the people in doorways with a single blanket wrapped around them. Like some people, I do the little things. I volunteer some time and give money to local charities but the problems just seems to be getting worse. I don't begrudge their panhandling per se, but when one realizes 90% of it goes to get high it's hard to give as you're part of the problem.

What brought them there? Majority of them are kids who were in foster care and then were dropped by the state. Most of them really are homeless, despite what other people on here have said. They are kids who were taken away from their families by the state, with good reason usually, and then dropped because the state can't afford to keep them on. Too many budget cuts. Kids get dropped because of a lack of foster homes, particular for teenage males (sound like the chip on their shoulder kids?) or because they start refusing to cooperate with the system, which sometimes places a kid in 40+ foster homes during their time with DHS. They run away, because foster homes are usually run by people who mean well, but just aren't equipped to deal with kids who have been abused or abandoned, and then shuffled through placement after placement.

It's not the "liberal" system. It's the fact that child abuse is rampant, and the meth problem has now become a crisis. When you have so many kids needing to be taken away from parents and the national governement cutting funding, you're left with state governments having to pick where the money goes. So the kids you see on the street, are usually the kids who were the ones who took to much money or effort. The state can't afford to help all of them, so they try to pick the ones who take the lest resources, the ones who have the least amount of difficulties to overcome. Yes they have chips on their shoulders. They should.

By the way, I left the foster care system (finally) after I turned 18. I turn 20 in a little over a week. I see kids who I lived with on the streets fairly often in Eugene, and once in a while in Portland too. Try asking one of those kids how they got there, and you'll hear stories that will bring you to tears and haunt you at night. If you find one of those "chip on a shoulder" kids that hasn't been raped, beaten or abused numerous times, thank god that at least one of them wasn't.

[Leisesturm]

All cities in the U.S. have had historically high segregation indices including Oregon. NYC has demographics not completely unlike Philly but it is only in select areas in the city and select cities in the state as a whole where there will be statistically significant instances of interracial romantic interaction. It is easily as taboo as same sex interaction and the 'looks' you get are very similar. If this is the case in NYC then I don't wonder that it would be similar in other cities in the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic and MidWest. Ironically in the Deep South, West Coast and Pacific Northwest there is a cultural pride in civility and benign human interaction. In the south they call it 'southern hospitality' in the west, its called "friendliness". In my opinion any culture that promotes the better aspects of human behavior is a positive one and that often means turning a blind eye and deaf ear to that which confuses or offends. I grew up believing that my parents and family were quite tolerant of different races and lifestyles. They had friends and socialized freely across race lines. I did not discover their hidden and intense... I don't even have a word for it until as an adult, after the end of my marriage entered into an interracial relationship. The smoke still hasn't cleared. I'll take the looks on the street any day. It doesn't make me feel any better to think that racism probably has a legitimate biological origin. Living in trees has a legitimate, biological origin but we don't do it anymore because living in a center hall colonial is way cooler (figuratively). Seems to me racism is a vestigial holdover from our pre-history and we ought to be past it by now.

H

[SteveMark]

Originally Posted by Leisesturm

But was that your point? I didn't think so and I don't think anyone else did either. You 'were' trying to make the point that Oregon sucks for having an income tax. But in your own words "... the state has to run somehow". I wonder what you would think of New York City that has both a ~9% city and state income tax AND an 8.375% sales tax.

H

I'll be quick. I think Oregon should have a sales tax and let the MANY people who visit and shop there pay some of the burden of running the state and not leave it all to the Oregonians by taking 8% more of their income.

[SteveMark]

Originally Posted by oldtintype

This is not directed at you PERSONALLY because many people do this, but it's so strange to me that people leave Portland because they don't like it here, but still feel compelled to come back and go on and on about why they don't like Portland. It's so common on this board I'm just curious why people still feel drawn to come back and dwell on it. If one is happy in a new place, why dwell on the past? Sharing experiences is one thing but hanging out on a board writing post after post about somewhere you left because you were unhappy.....it just seems strange to me.

Again, NOT a personal attack on you Steve, which by the way, I got a laugh about reading you refer to yourself as Mr Negative

No offense taken Old tin type. You're right. I need to get a life and quit griping I do get on a roll on things sometime, I'll admit. I love living in Utah now and have moved on. Sometimes I just get my blood pressure up! I've said many times since moving here that I lost 3 years of my life living in Portland and I want it back ! Trust me, I'm about done (for now )

[oldtintype]

Originally Posted by michelangelo88

By the way, I left the foster care system (finally) after I turned 18. I turn 20 in a little over a week. I see kids who I lived with on the streets fairly often in Eugene, and once in a while in Portland too. Try asking one of those kids how they got there, and you'll hear stories that will bring you to tears and haunt you at night. If you find one of those "chip on a shoulder" kids that hasn't been raped, beaten or abused numerous times, thank god that at least one of them wasn't.

What do you think kept you off the streets? Did you have any kind of support structure after aging out?

[JTJ1977]

Originally Posted by Leisesturm

All cities in the U.S. have had historically high segregation indices including Oregon. NYC has demographics not completely unlike Philly but it is only in select areas in the city and select cities in the state as a whole where there will be statistically significant instances of interracial romantic interaction. It is easily as taboo as same sex interaction and the 'looks' you get are very similar. If this is the case in NYC then I don't wonder that it would be similar in other cities in the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic and MidWest. Ironically in the Deep South, West Coast and Pacific Northwest there is a cultural pride in civility and benign human interaction. In the south they call it 'southern hospitality' in the west, its called "friendliness". In my opinion any culture that promotes the better aspects of human behavior is a positive one and that often means turning a blind eye and deaf ear to that which confuses or offends.

H

Goodness, someone who truly understands my feelings!! In fact, I got a distinct "Live and let live" vibe in California when I was out there. A desire to preserve the environment, stimulate growth, and allow people to live their lives, as long as they weren't harming others. It's this theme that attracts me to the Western U.S and probably attracted many of you posters here (or your ancestors). Don't get me wrong; racism is everywhere. However, I don't sense the subtle racism and ignorance about differences--even those not related to race, such as gay marriage and abortion--on message boards for Western cities as I do when I encounter those in the East. And it's that Libertartian tradition that I hold dear. (BTW, I'm actually center-progressive in my politics...lol)

[Northern Drifter]

Heres my take on Portland..

Downtown, Nice, some dirty people...Ok I guess, other than that..Eh..

Hillsboro --- Moderator cut: please refrain from making racist remarks

Beaverton---Oh boy where do I start? People begging for money every corner, weird zombie looking people wandering around (meth)...Exploding illegals population...Women with missing teeth...

Tigard---Trailer trash, meth heads, overall run down downtown (even if you want to even call it a downtown, it looks like a old west ghost town)

Gresham---Gee, whats not to say about that hell hole..All of the above, plus more crime, etc.. etc..

Lake Oswego/West Linn/ Northwest Portland---I would only recommend these areas if you are thinking of moving around here...


Ive lived in Michigan, Minnesota, Colorado, San Diego, so I have been all around. Nothing was as worst as Portland, hands down...Luckily I am moving back to San Diego because this place is a joke...

Overall, anyone thinking of moving here. DON'T. Its definately not the good old grunge days like the 90's..Also, if you are thinking of finding work here, good luck finding something over Nine dollars an hour!!

The weather truly is gloomy, and I have been in gloomy places, like the cold midwest. but be warned, it is NOT like the midwest grey at all!! Housing is extremely overpriced, people thrive on being weird here, like its the cool "hip" thing to do..

Crime is worse than I thought it would be. Might not be lots of violent crime like major cities, but LOTS of vandelism, random stuff like that..Oregon is the #1 meth state in the USA, and it is a red state for unemployment...

So unless you are a "hipster" with a grey mullet and a unicyle, I'd dodge it if I were you! I'm leaving this carnival for sunny San Diego!! Goodbye!

[oldtintype]

Oh please--this was a ridiculous post. Can you possibly stereotype more areas with inappropriate comments?

[tiffela74]

wow...what a shining example of pessimistic paranoia!
I think the Beaverton was was the most outragous...although, im not sure....they were all pretty far off what those cities actually are...
wow...what an.......interesting post....all i can picture is a Rob Zombie movie. LOL!!!! That post was an extreme exaggeration and nowhere near reality....

[Topaz]

Originally Posted by oldtintype

This is not directed at you PERSONALLY because many people do this, but it's so strange to me that people leave Portland because they don't like it here, but still feel compelled to come back and go on and on about why they don't like Portland. It's so common on this board I'm just curious why people still feel drawn to come back and dwell on it. If one is happy in a new place, why dwell on the past? Sharing experiences is one thing but hanging out on a board writing post after post about somewhere you left because you were unhappy.....it just seems strange to me.

Maybe the ex-Portlanders want to exhibit altruism and save others from moving to a place in which they weren't happy.

And about SteveMark's comments about the cost of living in Portland vs. Seattle, if you look at lists that rank a city's affordability in terms of cost of living AND average income, Portland scores worse than Seattle.