Honest Opinion of Portland (Gresham: violent crime, mortgages, employment)

[Redrover]

babycoleslaw, I'm with you on the weather in Portland. After living in Houston's "wet 'n hot" climate most of my life, I am so ready for some rain & cool. When I have been up in Portland in the winter, for some reason it feels less humid in the rain than it does here in Houston on a sunny day - go figure! Another benefit to Portland is that it is an easy city to navigate and I especially love that there are so many things to see and do in the downtown area. In Houston it is mostly just a business center with a small theater district, some restaurants and recently, some condos. But the vast majority of people "evacuate" downtown at 5:00 and shopping is virtually non-existent. Although we don't plan to live in Portland proper when we relocate, we will certainly take full advantage of all its amenities as often as possible.

[babycoleslaw]

Originally Posted by internat

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

I never said the shootings weren't horrible, just that they don't compare to Houston's...
I feel very safe in Portland, overall. And the shootings I've seen on the news are mostly in North Portland so guess what? I'm not going there!

[babycoleslaw]

Originally Posted by Redrover

babycoleslaw, I'm with you on the weather in Portland. After living in Houston's "wet 'n hot" climate most of my life, I am so ready for some rain & cool. When I have been up in Portland in the winter, for some reason it feels less humid in the rain than it does here in Houston on a sunny day - go figure! Another benefit to Portland is that it is an easy city to navigate and I especially love that there are so many things to see and do in the downtown area. In Houston it is mostly just a business center with a small theater district, some restaurants and recently, some condos. But the vast majority of people "evacuate" downtown at 5:00 and shopping is virtually non-existent. Although we don't plan to live in Portland proper when we relocate, we will certainly take full advantage of all its amenities as often as possible.

Yeah, you hit the nail on the head! The humidity in Houston is what gets me...and the bugs! Having to spray insect repellent out of a truck each night in the neighborhoods is not the way to live!
I have felt humidity in Portland on occasion but it is NOTHING like the moisture where you are.
I am from the Memorial area and remember going to downtown Houston on rare occasions. Here, we're downtown quite a bit! It's such a walkable city and there are an amazing number of fun things to do!
Good luck on your relocation here...you won't be disappointed!!

[rye-rye]

Portland is definately an interesting city. There are so many little neighborhood districts, all with their own feel and style. Its a relatively compact city so its fun to explore on foot or biike. I find the people pleasant and very patriotic about their city. I find most Portlanders to be exactly the same; very liberal, earthfriendly, and generally prefer the offbased and non-mainstream. If you are counter to that, people can be very cold. If you visit, have a cup of coffee in Pioneer Square and people watch. Have fun

[bclark3434]

Originally Posted by babycoleslaw

I never said the shootings weren't horrible, just that they don't compare to Houston's...
I feel very safe in Portland, overall. And the shootings I've seen on the news are mostly in North Portland so guess what? I'm not going there!

You guys have to understand, Houston is a HUGE city!! The more Populated a city is, the more Violent. Chicago,Houston,New York,Baltimore,Miami,Washington DC, New Orleans, L.A, Washinton DC and Detroit are all highly populated and the worst places for violent acts.

[internat]

According to statistics NYC is nowadays one of the safest American cities for its size.

Originally Posted by bclark3434

You guys have to understand, Houston is a HUGE city!! The more Populated a city is, the more Violent. Chicago,Houston,New York,Baltimore,Miami,Washington DC, New Orleans, L.A, Washinton DC and Detroit are all highly populated and the worst places for violent acts.

[gnab gib]

Originally Posted by internat

According to statistics NYC is nowadays one of the safest American cities for its size.

And DC proper is home to only about half a million people, roughly the same size as Portland proper. (2006 Census Bureau estimates put Washington at 581,530 and Portland at 537,081.) It's not the size of a place that necessarily makes it more violent ...

[starchild1]

Hey, thanks for the direct questions. I'll be helpful where I can. Remember, just as Oldtintype says, if people are only negative then you have to take things with a grain of salt. On the other hand, if people are only positive, they probably work for the city of Portland tourism board.

Are people nice? or combative?

People are nice. Sometimes too nice. It's the in thing to be nice. So there are genuinely nice people and then there are psyho-nice who go out of their way to prove their superiority. People aren't combative here, at least not directly. The biggest thing to know is that with the benefit of having community, there is also a sense of big brother who watches your every move and tell you how to dress, or not dress (for example, designer clothes or premium cars are frowned upon-at the same time, there is envy over their neighbor's subaru!)

What's the organics situation?
Very good.

Can my wife commute to work and back on bus without being concerned about being raped or robbed? (frankly she can't in the city we currently live in)

Yes, pretty safe.

How is the food?
Excellent. You might have issues with variety, but the quality when it's good, it's excellent, when it's bad, it's really bad. Cheaper than most larger cities too.

Are there social activities?
Of course, but people tend to be kind of nerdy here. So that may be a plus or a minus.

[Leisesturm]

Originally Posted by internat

According to statistics NYC is nowadays one of the safest American cities for its size.

Yes, this is what I have read also. However, I have also read a report which says that there is a HUGE discrepancy between what the NYPD is reporting and what the hospitals which actually treat the victims of violent crimes are reporting. In any case, violent crime is on the rise everywhere thanks to the coming recession. Desperation is everywhere and people are taking it out on one another. Let's be serious, does anyone want to be dragged into an alley and raped... I mean, for real. No, we all want to live in 'safe' area's and EVERY city has them. Even NYC. OTOH every city has its not very nice area's and some that actually qualify as dangerous. Even NYC, regardless of what you have read. This is the question IMO people should ask: where are the area's to avoid and, how much is the price differential of the 'not so nice' vs the very pleasant. By and large though, even if this site didn't exist, I could still spot an area that wasn't very nice just by appearance. It doesn't matter if I'm not likely to get killed or forced to watch my GF assaulted, if the neighborhood stores close at 9:00 except for the drive throughs and Starbucks will not authorize a franchise there... well, count me as not interested.

H

[gypsydoc]

Originally Posted by HeadWest

My wife and I are planning to relocate to the NW. Right now we're in the process of job hunting both in Portland and Seattle. We're looking for social science oriented jobs so research, etc. Anyway we had a chance to visit seattle and form an opinion, but portland seems a little harder to access.

Please keep in mind that we are coming from Kansas City (we lived in Providence, RI before that), which is as many may know one of the highest crime cities in the country. This is what is confusing us. We felt 100% safe in Seattle and the crime there is significantly lower than in K.C. But when I read some comments people act as though Portland is a scene out of 'Escape from New York' or something but when I've run the crime numbers they are lower in many ways than Seattle and certainly lower than where we've lived in the past.

I guess we're just trying to get the best view of the city from people who live there.

Are people nice? or combative?

What's the organics situation?

Can my wife commute to work and back on bus without being concerned about being raped or robbed? (frankly she can't in the city we currently live in)

How is the food?

Are there social activities?

basically all that. Just trying to understand, sorry if any of the questions are too blunt.

I used to live in KC as well. (Shawnee Mission, Overland Park and down by the Plaza - also Lawrence and Topeka). I LOVE Portland... even the weather. Living here, compared to KC is like living in a long fall and a long spring - two seasons that seem limited in the Midwest... temperatures go from wonderfully comfortable there to freezing or blazing with that wind that sometimes is way too much.

I live in the SE area of Portland, close to Gresham, and find it comfortableand affordable... Compared to Midwest, many, many people walk here... for fun, to work, on errands... compared to the large distances and uncomfortable weather in the Midwest, there just weren't that many walkers or outdoor enthusiasts. Here, you can be outdoors pretty much everyday of the year...

The food is amazing. Fresh produce everywhere. Although not all of it is organically grown, there is quite a bit that is, and I believe the amount is increasing because of the interest and more people making healthy choices.

Hood River is one of the major fruit producers in the country. Orchards of apples, cherries...nuts, peaches, pears, etc. Berries of all kinds..Very long growing seasons. Tomatoes may take a bit longer to get really going here, simply because they like the heat...to do really well. Farmer's markets are everywhere. Sauvie Island, which is about 20 minutes from downtown portland is a place where kids enjoy the Pumpkin Patch and corn maze in the fall, and you can go and pick or buy your own produce all summer long. There are other farmers markets in almost every town... Oregon City, about 12 miles south of down town has a year round produce market. The food is cheap and wonderful. Across the street from there is a fresh fish market.. Both have been there for years.

There are many social activities. I might suggest you check out craigslist classifieds: jobs, housing, personals, for sale, services, community, events, forums under events to get an idea of some of the things here.
If you want more info, I'd be happy to get it to you...

Hope that helps...