Honest Opinion of Portland (Gresham: credit, luxury, apartment)

[Minervah]

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).

Funny and true. I was discussing with a friend who is a librarian for OSU and a born-and-raised Oregonian. She is well versed on the history of Oregon and Portland. She likened Portland's situation with the "Scalawags" or "Carpetbaggers" who swooped down into the South after the Civil War.

They bought property for song often from people who could no longer afford their land. They thought up and implemented schemes to fleece those who had survived the war out of what little they had. The citizens of the South were basically agrarian and were not sophisticated in the ways of the cutthroat business practices of the Industrial and Business oriented North.

She said Oregon was like this in many ways. Some years ago the politicians convinced Oregonians to abolish term limits of political officials. For better or worse it allowed new blood in our government who hadn't much experience so took their cues from lobbyists. I could give an example of our Public Broadcasting Station of some years ago but it would take too long.

Property is the biggest scam. When I first moved here there were a couple of laws stating how often and how much rent could be increased. This was changed to whenever and how much ever they want as long as they give 30 days notice.

Now we have agencies that promise out-of-towners they will find them great apartments for an advance fee. Right. That's the only way landlords can fill their slum apartments. Many years ago at least the potential renter didn't have to pay the agency. Now they and the landlords are getting money from the clients. Nothing ever changes.

Funny thing about the "homeless" kids downtown; many of them are wearing shoes that are more expensive that mine and they want money from me? Another scam. At least the homeless in my neighborhood stay out of sight as best they can and don't bother anyone.

[Mubid]

If you are still reading this I live in SE Portland below 20th st. and I pay 715 for a two bedroom, and I am told that is a lot. So price wise you'll do fine.

[PDXBADGER]

Overall Portland is safe. Recommend staying out of NE Portland however. Move to Lake Oswego if possible.

[edebott]

I don't know why people can hate on Portland for being dangerous, expensive, and the people are "Aloof" because after living in Chicago for the last 4 years as a NW native I can assure you that Chicago is exceptionally more dangerous, expensive, and the people are definitely in their own world and so rude. They're also very ignorant, prejudice, and aren't aware of current events outside their own city. As a female I feel much safer walking the streets of Portland at late hours than a block away from my apartment. Groceries are not only more expensive, because of tax, but you cannot get any really good fresh produce. Everything is shipped from a distance unless it's corn. Yes, Portland can be rather gloomy, but at least the rain doesn't prevent you from walking outside. Just put on a good raincoat and grin and bare it. As for Chicago, the negative and windy weather either 1. Makes you want to die or 2. Makes you want to crawl into hibernation for the 6 months of miserable winter. Oh and not to mention, the Midwest is for the most part flat. Portland is 1 hour west of mountain ranges and east of the coast....does it get any better? I don't think so.

[scongress1234]

Originally Posted by internat

Sorry but shootings once every few weeks is still horrible for a supposedly civilised first world country.

true..isn't that sad that someone getting his head blown off only every two weeks is a "good thing"?

[roneb]

Originally Posted by edebott

I don't know why people can hate on Portland for being dangerous, expensive, and the people are "Aloof" because after living in Chicago for the last 4 years as a NW native I can assure you that Chicago is exceptionally more dangerous, expensive, and the people are definitely in their own world and so rude. They're also very ignorant, prejudice, and aren't aware of current events outside their own city. As a female I feel much safer walking the streets of Portland at late hours than a block away from my apartment. Groceries are not only more expensive, because of tax, but you cannot get any really good fresh produce. Everything is shipped from a distance unless it's corn. Yes, Portland can be rather gloomy, but at least the rain doesn't prevent you from walking outside. Just put on a good raincoat and grin and bare it. As for Chicago, the negative and windy weather either 1. Makes you want to die or 2. Makes you want to crawl into hibernation for the 6 months of miserable winter. Oh and not to mention, the Midwest is for the most part flat. Portland is 1 hour west of mountain ranges and east of the coast....does it get any better? I don't think so.

Chicago is only one city in the Midwest, and if that's what you're comparing Portland to, you'd be right. But I'd say Minneapolis is a much fairer comparison. In general, I've found people in the upper Midwest to be much more "real" and genuine than people on the west coast (though Portland is better than many western cities). And some of us would take sub zero temps and the sunshine that always comes with it over Portland's gray dreary winters any day!

[scongress1234]

Originally Posted by studioiduts

Unless you work for the government, medical or are already wealthy, you will probably have a hard time here. Most of Portland is SERVICE based. Meaning, restaurants and bars. There is very little high tech here, not very many big corporations and overall, not a lot of jobs. If you take a service industry job, get used to lousy tipping. Getting 15% is lucky here.

If you are black, you will probably refer to Portland as "Utopia", as a friend of mine who left here for the Bay area did. Portland likes to think of itself as very open minded to all races, but they fail to remember what they did to the blacks in this region. They specifically made laws where they couldn't own or buy property except in only one place; the MLK area. And now, they are forcing them out of there through real estate price increases and so called gentrification. If you are black and even remotely menacing looking, expect people to walk away from you on the sidewalk. This is a "Mayberry Mentality" city. This city is only open minded when it suits their personal agenda. They are also totally happy with Mexicans and other illegal migrants sitting around on side walks and littering up the place all day in the name of Human Rights. And let's not even get into the fact that they defecate in people's door ways and wee on people's cars. Don't believe me? Go hang around SE Ankeny and 6th all day. Take a good look.

The city is heavily socialist. It's tax happy and if you do happen to make a decent living, you will find the gov likes to take as much as it can and redistribute it to certain "programs". This happens everywhere in Amerika, but it is very prevalent in Portland. Portland tends to think that it runs the whole state of Oregon as well. They really don't care much for the people in the smaller regions. Very much a sort of suedo class warfare.

There is some good food and some good small farms. Don't know how long that will last though, with Monsanto and ADM trying to ruin the world with the help of the USDA, it's only a matter of time before it falls. For right now though, you can get good local food here. But you'll have to hook up with a co-op to get it. Whole Foods and New Seasons aren't going to have that much. And Wild Oats just got bought out.

There are things to do here. If your coming from a small town from nowhere, you'll be entertained. If your coming from a big city, you realize that Portland is a poser city in a lot of respects. As someone on here said before, "it tries to be NY with out the class." It is a Hipster enclave, and basically most people are full of it. Lots of emo junk music. There are some goods bands and underground stuff. Some bands from Cali and Seattle have relocated here do to it being somewhat cheaper than there. Although, this is about over. Check Craigslist and you will see how expensive it is to live here. And the prices don't reflect wages, unlike Seattle. The Portland real estate market is a collusion between real estate speculators and government. It has has driven prices up to ridiculous levels that in no way reflect what this city has to offer. And the city is happy to tax you on your property value. You can also get raked over on leases here real easy. I suggest being careful about "NO CAUSE" evictions. You will not get much for your money here. Expect the fall of the real estate market bubble to hit every where else first. It will hit the NW last.

Crime isn't that bad. Nothing lethal. It's mostly vandalism and theft, which is rampant. If you have a decent car, you might want to find secured parking for it. It will most likely get spray tagged, have the mirrors broken off or have some other type of stupid vandalism applied to it. Don't leave valuables in the car and use a radio with a removable face. You don't have to worry about being shot or raped. Unless you specifically set out to go get shot or raped. I'm sure you could find it out past 82nd if you looked hard enough.

Not that much traffic. You'll get rush hour on I-5, 26 West and 84 at the usual hours. Some parts of 99E are bad in the city too between 5 and 7 pm. In general, it's pretty easy to get around. Public transit isn't all it's cracked up to be. The Max(train) basically only goes up, down, left, right. You'll more than likely take a bus if anything. Busses are pretty much the same in every city that I have experienced. People can't drive. PERIOD. When you take your DMV test, you'll see why. Get ready for bikers that think they own the road. They don't follow laws, ride recklessly if they can actually ride their bike to begin with and get all pissy when they cut you off and almost get hit by you( or actually do in some cases). A lot of people ride fixies and old junk that they can barely get a up a hill. A derailleur is SIN here. Which brings up my next point...

Portland is a say one thing, do another, type city. It's all talk and no action here. If it's a bumper sticker, they are all over it. If it's actual work, forgetaboudit. They are also not into actual due diligence of fact finding either. They like to be told what is correct by a Democrat that promises everything to them ( I'm Libertarian if anything, if your wondering, and into sound money) They like to tell you how green and eco-conscious they are. What they don't tell you is how much mercury and dioxin are in the Columbia and Hood rivers from industrial dumping. They don't tell you about the old Manhattan Project 2 hours north that is leeching all kinds of junk down here. They don't tell you about how most of Oregon runs off of dams for electricity. Of which, most block Salmon routes and have no fish ladders. It's destroying a lot of the local Salmon supplies as well as other fish. Dams are also a big contributor to Ecoli in water thanks to the constant release streams that wash vegetation off the edges of the waterways and create bad algae. Go look on City-Data for Portland. Look up the Toxic Waste data. Get a good look at all those markers. There is also the euphemism of "public land". Oregon has so much "public land". Like the people own it. It is not public land, it's Government land owned by the FEDS, not citizens. And the FEDS do what they want with it. Such as burry radioactive waste and spent fuel rods in remote mountain areas. And if someone starts talking about how great the Urban Growth Boundary has been for the city, please proceed in slapping them black and blue. It's a scam. Just like the TRAM. And the Waterfront Development.

The coast and mountains are pretty. But if your thinking of a warm sunny beach you are sadly mistaken. It rains hard and is constantly windy from Oct. to March on the coast. It's not pleasant. In the summer it will get only up to about 75 or 78, and that's at late day temperatures. If it's 90 in Portland, you will have to drive 1 and a half hours to Cannon Beach or other, and get there at about 2 pm for it to be 75. And that will last to about 7pm. Then it drops down to the 50's. The wind creates a wind chill too. In Nehalem it can be vicious. The water temperature is always cold too. About 50. It's not swimming water. Surfers wear gear. It is pretty though. The cold/cool makes it loose it's luster.

The weather isn't that bad. It's mostly mizzle when it does rain. It rains the hardest between Nov. and March. You can get some good storms and floods then. Go search YouTube for December 2007 floods (Seattle suburbs go the worst). The summers are great. Dry and warm to hot. You can get some 90+ degree days. Some up to 100. Generally pretty good though. You will need air conditioning in the summer to be "comfortable". The stinky hippies will argue against this. But, as someone coming from Atlanta, I know hot. Trust me, you'll want it. Winter lows are around 35 to 39. You won't get much of any snow unless you go to the mountains. It will be a dusting if it happens in the city. Foothills, a little more. When the weather clears up it's colder. When it gets cloudy, it gets warmer.

The people vary here. I find the more friendly people being people transplanted here from the midwest and East Coast. You will find a lot of smugness here. It is becoming a transplant city though. There are panhandlers all over the place. But, these are generally not homeless people. These are junkies, tweakers, deadbeats and generally ignorant misfits. The real homeless don't ask you for money. They are the ones digging through your trash at 3am looking for bottle returns. They will also try to take your parking spots with their vehicle, if they have one, and park it there forever to live out of it. That can be a problem on the inner east side in that respect. They usually are friendly though. In a Psychic Vampire kind of way. There are also some really disturbed and crazy individuals here. There is a high concentration of loons all over the place. Some of them homeless, some of them not. I don't think I have ever been in a city with this high of a concentration of mentally ill people before. And you can only blame so much on the "greys". Of which, you will have to get used to. It can be hard adjusting to long term overcast and cloudy conditions. Better like coffee.

Well this is getting long. I'll end with this. Move to where you know you can make great money. Because you can always take a vacation when you have money. If you are in a beautiful place, but poor and struggling, a paradise will look like a slum. You will never have any time to enjoy it.

Good Luck

I think if you go north from LA, up the coast, it gets weirder.....when you hit alaska, it peaks and cresendos.....I cannot emphasize how strange the people in Alaska are.......or where the hell they came from......bush people, who just come into town to shop once a month.....freaky people who have never been farther south than Montana.....huge famale/male imbalence.....just a total freak show...

[SeeBee]

Originally Posted by scongress1234

I think if you go north from LA, up the coast, it gets weirder.....when you hit alaska, it peaks and cresendos.....I cannot emphasize how strange the people in Alaska are.......or where the hell they came from......bush people, who just come into town to shop once a month.....freaky people who have never been farther south than Montana.....huge famale/male imbalence.....just a total freak show...

Well, haven't read the whole thread here, but why bother? Just reading your different thread posts and studioiduts' rantings is enough. At least you guys (?) are funny, unbelieveable, but funny ~

[bliss60]

Studioiduts:
You wrote a thoughtful, brilliant, completely accurate and intelligent report and I really appreciate it...both as a native and someone who has come back for a few months for a summer visit.
Like you, I know this city is entirely overrated and many people are getting scammed. It distrubs me but here is another aspect: everyone is looking for a quality of life in the U.S. and there are very few places to have it. Strip malls, Wal-Mart, Taco Bell, Rite Aid is the story of our modern life and we have been conditioned, dependent and brain washed to become reliant on chains. I am no different. If I wake up at 1:00 in the morning and want a Taco, I am five minutes from someone who will get me one almost anywhere in the country.
Someone here (or a group) understood that selling quality of life was going to get a lot of people here as real estate buyers and consumers for the chain stores. You have to give them credit. It was brilliant.
I now believe the homesless and mentally ill of this city more accurately reflect the general schizoprenic citizens of Portland. If that wasn't true, the street people and illegals would not be so popular here. Mainstream Portlanders understand them. That's scary. By the way and I've said this before..if you are renting, stay away from S.W 170th in Beaverton...all bad news apartments.

[SeeBee]

Originally Posted by bliss60

Studioiduts: If that wasn't true, the street people and illegals would not be so popular here. Mainstream Portlanders understand them. That's scary. By the way and I've said this before..if you are renting, stay away from S.W 170th in Beaverton...all bad news apartments.

Hello, bliss60 -

Studioiduts comments are a far way from being brilliant, IMO. He's aiming in the right direction, but went off on his (her?) own socialist bent. Everything is black or white. It is a simple and convenient way of trying to understand life.

He doesn't think there's a serious crime problem in this city? That means he hasn't been hit with anything. How many assault or murders does it take to "get serious?" Um, OK, there's someone who's really done their homework.

Are you aware that the police cannot even issue a ticket to a beggar for panhandling or just laying around - and if the police try to arrest them for something minor to get them moving, they're nazis all over again.

Laws prohibiting panhandling were struck down years ago...of course that would attract a lot of indigents (and some deliberate indigents). Portland is a mecca for these kinds of people because of lack of laws, not lack of enforcement, or that we have "understanding." Blame the legislature, and Mayor Potter - not Mainstream Portlanders. Who are those people, anyway?

Pandhandling, begging is not "popular" bliss, it's legal.

The newsmedia in this town are notoriously anti-police, only because the friction sells. Take notice what happens when police try to clean up the park in front of the courthouse, by just asking "homeless" to pick up their garbage...it will take a crowd about 5 minutes to gather and start yelling at the police (they probably just got out of jail).

What would having so many beggars and some "allegedly homeless" people roaming around have to do with "Mainstream Portlanders?" You're not taking in the whole picture.

Beaverton has been "home" for some very serious Hispanic gangs for years. So have Tigard, Hillsboro, Woodburn, etc. Every contingent of motorcycle gang that you can come up with are in pockets all over Portland. This should not be a surprise to anyone. (Well, there goes that "insulated" pdx attitude!)

And you're right about selling "quality of life." That's how it's done, I guess. I call it deceptive and crooked though, not brilliant.

Portland is like any other same-sized city, and we have ALL of the same problems, maybe on a lesser scale, but they are here. We just hide the bad things better than most.

Just don't count me as a 'mainstream portlander', whatever that means.