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Here is the best advice I can give. Listen to what oldintype has to say and read this article: http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/200...ortlandusa.usa (broken link)
Both will give you a pretty accurate view of Portland, which is kind of like two cities in one. On one hand you have the more progressive types that want Portland to be a larger, more metropolitian city with excellent transit options. The other city is the bohemian one, that wants thrift shops galore and still dresses in 1990's grunge. This is a surprisingly strong element of the city, and I have never experienced a similar vibe in any other city.
But most everything that you have heard regarding the public transit, the beauty, the accessibility/walkability, the excellent restaurants, the Japanese and Rose Gardens (beautiful...seriously!!), etc (which is why you should listen to oldintype).
Edit: I am no Portland expert and have only visited the city once, about a month ago, for 5 days. I feel as though I got a pretty good handle on the city (and it wasa very busy 5 days), but you may take my opinions with a grain of salt.
RIDICULOUS! THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS GRUNGE HERE. THOSE FLANNEL SHIRTS HAVE ALWAYS BEEN WORN SINCE 1900, WHICH FOR YOUR INFO PREDATES 1990 BY 90 YEARS. Before Nirvana, that was called "logger" style. It happens to fit the weather, it is traditional, and we make them on our own turf (at least the wool ones) at Pendleton Woolen Mills.
Honest opinion of Portland: if you have to live there, well, you can find a decent neighborhood at middle class prices, somewhere between central city and the outskirts. But why do that? Try the suburbs. Avoid Gresham and far east pdx anywhere near Burnside. Go south, or west. North? Industrial, old , often gang and crime infested, but not all neighborhoods.
Oh and, be sure and wear a long raincoat or something whenever you ride any tri-met or max. chances are some transient peed/ cra**ed on the seat previously. This is common.
I forgot to say, that it is entirely disgusting and even criminal, to note the huge numbers of homeless men, women and children in the city/ metro area, actually the whole state. How Portland could drill a huge tunnel beneath the city for their dear transit toy, costing what~~ billions? and then fail to house their own, is absolutely unforgivable. If they want to ask the feds for money, why not beg them for the billions to house the needy? And why do the investors, landlords, and management companies have all those increasingly self-serving rights, at the expense of the renters? The poor and nearly poor are getting stuck worse every year with erosions of their protections. I think it has lots to do with being a crossroads town where people come to make money, then move away to the next high-end legalized scam. They come to get in and take over this population of (very commonly) thyroid-deficient sheep lethargically half-asleep at the wheel. (Oregon/ portland are deficient in nutrients, in the water and soil: especially iodine and selenium, fluorine too).
Of course this is also a statewide set of problems. But Portland metro area does have a generally depressive aura, I noticed this once as I drove in from a smaller town about 40 miles away. An actual, palpable overhead feeling of darkness and oppression as I drove in. Our state supposedly has the 2nd-highest rate of suicide in the nation; the second- least churched, both, next to Washington State. Sounds like correlation to me.
Please, if you genuinely care about people, come in and help us. We need you.
If you just want to exploit whatever's here, get lost. We're all about to wake up . Then we'll dig grampa's old rusty logger axe out and put on our flannels and um, well......[take a few heads for trophies]?
oops i forgot, we have real people who really would here. HEY YOU GUYS, I WAS JUST KIDDING! IT'S A JOKE! GO CHOP SOME KINDLIN' FER YER JOTUL WITH THAT THANG!
Last edited by 2bpurrfect; 04-29-2008 at 01:53 AM..
RIDICULOUS! THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS GRUNGE HERE. THOSE FLANNEL SHIRTS HAVE ALWAYS BEEN WORN SINCE 1900, WHICH FOR YOUR INFO PREDATES 1990 BY 90 YEARS. Before Nirvana, that was called "logger" style. It happens to fit the weather, it is traditional, and we make them on our own turf (at least the wool ones) at Pendleton Woolen Mills.
Honest opinion of Portland: if you have to live there, well, you can find a decent neighborhood at middle class prices, somewhere between central city and the outskirts. But why do that? Try the suburbs. Avoid Gresham and far east pdx anywhere near Burnside. Go south, or west. North? Industrial, old , often gang and crime infested, but not all neighborhoods.
Oh and, be sure and wear a long raincoat or something whenever you ride any tri-met or max. chances are some transient peed/ cra**ed on the seat previously. This is common.
I forgot to say, that it is entirely disgusting and even criminal, to note the huge numbers of homeless men, women and children in the city/ metro area, actually the whole state. How Portland could drill a huge tunnel beneath the city for their dear transit toy, costing what~~ billions? and then fail to house their own, is absolutely unforgivable. If they want to ask the feds for money, why not beg them for the billions to house the needy? And why do the investors, landlords, and management companies have all those increasingly self-serving rights, at the expense of the renters? The poor and nearly poor are getting stuck worse every year with erosions of their protections. I think it has lots to do with being a crossroads town where people come to make money, then move away to the next high-end legalized scam. They come to get in and take over this population of (very commonly) thyroid-deficient sheep lethargically half-asleep at the wheel. (Oregon/ portland are deficient in nutrients, in the water and soil: especially iodine and selenium, fluorine too).
Of course this is also a statewide set of problems. But Portland metro area does have a generally depressive aura, I noticed this once as I drove in from a smaller town about 40 miles away. An actual, palpable overhead feeling of darkness and oppression as I drove in. Our state supposedly has the 2nd-highest rate of suicide in the nation; the second- least churched, both, next to Washington State. Sounds like correlation to me.
Please, if you genuinely care about people, come in and help us. We need you.
If you just want to exploit whatever's here, get lost. We're all about to wake up . Then we'll dig grampa's old rusty logger axe out and put on our flannels and um, well......[take a few heads for trophies]?
oops i forgot, we have real people who really would here. HEY YOU GUYS, I WAS JUST KIDDING! IT'S A JOKE! GO CHOP SOME KINDLIN' FER YER JOTUL WITH THAT THANG!
Jeebuz, 2B, who p!$$ed on your cornflakes this morning?
Of course this is also a statewide set of problems. But Portland metro area does have a generally depressive aura, I noticed this once as I drove in from a smaller town about 40 miles away. An actual, palpable overhead feeling of darkness and oppression as I drove in.
haha. I've heard of this before in regards to Portland. I've also heard it about New Orleans. Something supernaturally dark about these two cities, apparently. A lot of people have bad past life experiences here fairly recently? I don't necessarily buy into this voodoo stuff but hey, anything is possible.
Ignoring most of the other stuff you exaggerated I'll comment on one thing--New Seasons and local produce...totally incorrect. They buy much of their produce locally, or as much as possible. It's a great store--ask local growers. Don't lump a locally owned store with Whole Foods.
I didn't find any exaggeration in that post. Just because you don't like to hear it, doesn't mean it's not true.
Age 51, life long Oregonian and spent many years in and around Portland. Here would be my short & impartial opinion of Portland.
First, this is a beautiful city. No only is the city itself beautiful, but you have close & direct access to both the mountains & ocean. For those reasons alone I would not hesitate to recommend giving it a try. Now, for some short specifics:
1) Weather- it doesn't rain as much as people are led to believe. I think the issue is the lack of sun during the winter. As an ex-weatherman I keep track and it isn't unusual to go 20-30 days with less than 10 hours total of sun. Many people find that depressing. Aside from that I think the weather is great.
2) Political climate- Portland is a true elitist and aggressive liberal city. There is genuine & personal hostility to people who do not adhere to such an agenda. Very similar to racial hatred in the south is how anyone who does not follow the liberal agenda may be treated. I've seen people shunned by neighbors, personal bigoted attacks and many other disturbing thigs done to those that do not adhere. That said, many liberal ideals are good. They are just over pursued. But there are many areas to bike, we have a very dedicated mass transit system, I applaud the cit'y efforts to be as "green" as possible... The state legislature is decidedly liberal and they will over ride the spoken will of trhe people from ballot initiatives to follow an elitist liberal agenda at any cost- but at least they do so openly. I think anyone can respect that whether they agree with it or not.
3) Crime- Like any city with a metro population of 2.5 million we have gang violence, drug issues, home invasion robbers/murders... but it's certainly no different than any other west coast town. What we DO have in abundance is a under age homeless drug problem that according to several national publications is the worst in the country. The liberal enviroment makes this a haven for that type of activity. That causes some thorny problems downtown, but one gets used to it quickly enough.
4) Schools- Average. There's no real committment to actually make the education system better, per se, but the teacher's union (the strongest in the state) does ensure we have the highest paid teachers in the world (taking into account benefits). And those figuresd have been independantly verified. I would call Oregon's education system plain and without innovation. Home schooling is assailed by the teacher's union and charter schools have had to fight their way from the shadows. I see no real hope of that area improving. Most money set aside for educatio does not go to infratructure, but to the teachers and the union. It's so tightly controlled that it remminds me of the mafia. And this is someone who's been in the union.
5) Commuting- Like Seattle, Portland was never prepared fore the influx of people escaping California from the late 70's thru today. The roads & freeways are woefully over used and with rivers... it isn't going to get much better. In fact, it's a downward spiral that isn't going to end. To that end, the city is working aggresively on mass transit (which I applaud). We have no other option.
6) Employment- Good & bad. I think we have a very good employment base and job opportunities are above average. The down side is that so many people want to live here the competition for those jobs is unbelievable. Each job for a teacher will garner thousands of applications. I placed an ad for a claims adjuster (dental malpractice) and resumes poured in from all over North America. Hundreds and hundreds. Are there jobs- yes! Are they easy to obtain- no!
7) Cost of living- Poor. Housing costs (taking into account per capita family income) is in the top 10 worst in the country. We generally have the highest gas prices (or close to it). Taxes are oppressive. We have very high property taxes, state income tax (8%), and Portland is very big on local city & county taxes and floats several tax ideas each year. A study I recently read calls Oregon the 4th highest taxed state in the US.
8) Quality of life- Better than average. There's lots to do, it's a fairly clean city, it's a city that takes art seriously and has some sports teams to boot. It's hard for me to imagine anyone not finding something to do either in Portland or close by. I also appreciate the fact people the fact there really is something for everyone here. If one likes natural foods, they are in abundance. If one likes theater, from cheap to ungodly expensive, it's all here. And while the climate for being a small businessman is poor, there is a place for that here. I think we have fair to average restaurants (certainly nothing to cry about) and like any big city we have funky pockets that are a real gas.
All that to say, if I were you and you wanted to live in the Portland metro area, I'd suggest Vancouver in Washington. The taxes are much less, housing less, lower crime and better schools. And Portland is just across the river.
Impartial, HUH! Sounds just like every other native; my state is the best, nothing is bad about it. What a load.
It amazes me how many people keep saying that the negatives about Portland are overhyped or exaggerated! I read your post, which is very similar to mine and many other negative posts I read about PDX. They all have the same theme; homeless/street people/mentally ill problems, bad weather, elitist/uber-liberal attitudes, etc. However, anytime they are posted, someone says how blown out of proportion they are.
I guess everything is in the eye of the beholder, but I thought your comments were spot on. I once talked to two policement on 6th ave and asked why there were so many homeless and panhandling street kids. To quote one of them, he said, "Oh please, don't get me started on that. We have been told directly from the mayor not to bother or harass them in any way unless they are causing physical harm to someone." I asked, "what about them just harassing people, being loud and agressive?" He repeated, as if he was reading it, "not unless they are causing physical harm to someone or committing a crime". That says it all.
The packs of white, dreadlock wearing, olive drab wearing 15-22 year old "homeless" street kids exist and thrive there because they are welcome there and can pretty much do what they want. I saw two of these freaks (one girl and one boy) sitting on the corner by the mall by Pioneer Courthouse Square. One held a sign that said, "need money to stop the voices" and the girl's sign said, "need money for new ring-tone". Funny? Maybe... Indication of the type of ignorant loser that makes Portland look like a joke? Yes... I can't imagine promoting downtown Portland as a "family friendly" environment, a place to bring the kids:
"Come on down to the city of Portland. Bring the kids and watch them be accosted by grungy street people. Watch as men pee on the side of buildings in the middle of the day as the police walk by!"
Go downtown Chicago even, a city exponentially larger than Portland, especially in a shopping district and see if you'll see that kind of crap! If you do, it certainly won't be to the extent. And I guarantee you won't get panhandled nearly as much in Chicago or Minneapolis than you will in Portland.
In several other threads I have mentioned the terrible exploitation of new renters and most people who are looking for apartments agree.
So, I want to say again, avoid many areas where illegals are welcome, including Hwys 8 and 10, if that is the only thing you can do to create a quality of life in the Porland area.
Also S.W. 170th has some seedy apartments between 8 (TV Highway) and Baseline.
I was welcome with open arms by a young property manager who needs this job to support her child and she sold out her integrity to a corporate apartment slumlord who needed to get me into this building. It was for sale and they needed all apartments filled to get their price.
I am an savy businesswoman and did not recognize the game..it was played so well. I asked if there were children living above me and she said, "none in the lease".
Even though they acknowledged they made a "mistake" and my life is a daily living hell, they still insisted I had to give 30 days notice. Then they attempted to get me out of the place on the 31st, even though my rent was paid through the 3rd of June.
Tenant laws in Oregon suck big time. If you want a landlord to be responsible, you have to hire an attorney. Please read tenant laws, as published on the Oregon State Bar Association website.
Write everything in an emails in advance.
It's way too expensive in Portland; please don't accept this as a condition of everyone wanting to come here. There is no excuse to cause human suffering...ever!
I agree. Many of the people that have moved here in the past few years should be making plans to vacate this town by next year. Really, filthy people all over the streets, on the transit, under bridges, in front of all places, the city hall for 3 weeks. What kind of town is that, and to have the gall to beat up on people that don't agree with Portlands laws that allow this.. To make matters worse it is not just in the downtown, it is all over and its suburbs. You think one can march their so called liberal butt into Boston and camp all over the place and bother people going to work like here. The thousands of daily commuters would be on the phone with the Boston Police all day. I can just imagine if some panhandler with a box of candy wandered up and down a commuter train in Boston looking for change. He would be told to get off the train, let alone he would have had to pay fare to get on in the first place, unlike here. This towns vagrants, and homeless and the general local population that have allowed this should be ashamed of themselves. That includes the ridiculous politicians and mindset in general that have allowed this for decades. I am not paying one more cent of taxes to a city or state that behaves like this after this year, I am disgusted with the way taxes are used or not used in this area of the country. A bum on one of the ramps or street corners can make more in one day than me at work, and not pay taxes on it. Its allowed here and they can have this kind of so called liberal bent.
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1990's grunge?
