Is Portland still a good place to be young?

[Yankeemama]

Originally Posted by Mini-apple-less

I guess I was just trying to give Portland some credit since I've spent the past few weeks bashing the city, haha!

I find in general that Portland has most of the inconveniences of a big city and few of the benefits. Generally poor art scene, a dead music scene (what bands from the past 10 years are actually FROM Portland, and didn't just move there?), little in the way of cultural offerings, the same over-priced festivals every year, crappy old and small music venues (I hate the Crystal Ballroom, Aladdin is much nicer!). Bagdad Theater is about the best it gets in Portland.

For one thing, IMO, crime in Portland is high. Maybe not as bad as Detroit, Stockton, Memphis, or even Chicago, but it's still higher than the US average in just about any other category aside from murder. Even the cities with ghetto areas back east, generally if you avoid a few "trouble spots" the cities as a whole are quite safe. In Portland property crime is rampant everywhere, and violent crime happens in unpredictable spots. Your money's worth in Cleveland will get you a safer area to live than it would in Portland, let's put it that way.

Plus when there IS a murder or other serious crime like a kidnapping/rape or something in Portland/the PNW, it's often incredibly brutal in nature. Look at all the school shootings that have happened in Portland, or the disappearances of Kyron Horman and Brooke Wilberger (I know she went missing in Corvallis, but I'm talking about the region in general too). Or that mother who threw her son off a bridge. This is not even mentioning the problem with sex trafficking in Portland that people here like to pretend doesn't exist. I think there's a very high rate of mental illness here and these crimes often represent the times when unbalanced people "explode".

I also found getting around Portland, despite endless insistence to the contrary, was extremely difficult and time consuming. Errands that might take half an hour or 45 minutes in most places like post office trips can be an ordeal taking practically all day in Portland, especially if you rely on their overrated public transit system. It can take as long to get between certain parts of Portland during high traffic as it would take to drive to Tacoma! I became used to walking 2-3 miles and thinking nothing of it to run errands since often it was quicker than taking the bus. Driving isn't much better with the insane traffic, and biking in Portland is extremely dangerous now.

Those aren't my biggest issues though. My main gripes are the shallow, unfriendly, band-wagon hopping, politically correct, libertarian people and the awful economic climate for workers and businesses alike, as well as renters. It seems like everyone there wants a buck from you, whether it's property management/landlords (most of them in Portland are complete scumbags who will take you in "damages" and fees for every penny you aren't worth), the aggressive homeless (who I feel sorry for, especially since the other people in their city don't view their problem as being an actual problem), or overpriced restaurants and stores.

You can live in Portland for a century and never make a single good friend if you don't put out extra effort compared to other places.

Sorry but I have made amazing friends in Portland and I have only been here for five years. I think timing is everything when it comes to places to live and relationships. Portland may just be the wrong place to live for you at this stage of your life. Try another city. I know when I lived in Boston for several months, thinking it would be longer term, it just wasn't a good fit. Everything seemed to be off in all aspects of my life. I moved back to NYC and found it to be the right city for my entire 30's. Everything clicked and it was special because I had my first child there. I can't explain it but Boston was wrong and I was bitter for a while. Now I see Boston for what it is... a city and a home for many people who do truly love it! I hope you can someday feel this way about Portland or try again in the future.

[thedownlow]

Originally Posted by Mini-apple-less

I guess I was just trying to give Portland some credit since I've spent the past few weeks bashing the city, haha!

I find in general that Portland has most of the inconveniences of a big city and few of the benefits. Generally poor art scene, a dead music scene (what bands from the past 10 years are actually FROM Portland, and didn't just move there?), little in the way of cultural offerings, the same over-priced festivals every year, crappy old and small music venues (I hate the Crystal Ballroom, Aladdin is much nicer!). Bagdad Theater is about the best it gets in Portland.

For one thing, IMO, crime in Portland is high. Maybe not as bad as Detroit, Stockton, Memphis, or even Chicago, but it's still higher than the US average in just about any other category aside from murder. Even the cities with ghetto areas back east, generally if you avoid a few "trouble spots" the cities as a whole are quite safe. In Portland property crime is rampant everywhere, and violent crime happens in unpredictable spots. Your money's worth in Cleveland will get you a safer area to live than it would in Portland, let's put it that way.

Plus when there IS a murder or other serious crime like a kidnapping/rape or something in Portland/the PNW, it's often incredibly brutal in nature. Look at all the school shootings that have happened in Portland, or the disappearances of Kyron Horman and Brooke Wilberger (I know she went missing in Corvallis, but I'm talking about the region in general too). Or that mother who threw her son off a bridge. This is not even mentioning the problem with sex trafficking in Portland that people here like to pretend doesn't exist. I think there's a very high rate of mental illness here and these crimes often represent the times when unbalanced people "explode".

I also found getting around Portland, despite endless insistence to the contrary, was extremely difficult and time consuming. Errands that might take half an hour or 45 minutes in most places like post office trips can be an ordeal taking practically all day in Portland, especially if you rely on their overrated public transit system. It can take as long to get between certain parts of Portland during high traffic as it would take to drive to Tacoma! I became used to walking 2-3 miles and thinking nothing of it to run errands since often it was quicker than taking the bus. Driving isn't much better with the insane traffic, and biking in Portland is extremely dangerous now.

Those aren't my biggest issues though. My main gripes are the shallow, unfriendly, band-wagon hopping, politically correct, libertarian people and the awful economic climate for workers and businesses alike, as well as renters. It seems like everyone there wants a buck from you, whether it's property management/landlords (most of them in Portland are complete scumbags who will take you in "damages" and fees for every penny you aren't worth), the aggressive homeless (who I feel sorry for, especially since the other people in their city don't view their problem as being an actual problem), or overpriced restaurants and stores.

You can live in Portland for a century and never make a single good friend if you don't put out extra effort compared to other places.

I agree with this guy.

[58rhodes]

I find Portland no better or wore than anyplace else
I think we've just been over hyped.

[Port Pitt Ash]

Originally Posted by Mini-apple-less

Do you think the cost of living and the culture in Portland in general is still "worth it" if you're young? I'm 25 and I had to leave and was pretty soured about the place, myself, but I could see how others might like living there as it does have its positive qualities. New York and Chicago might have more to do, but they don't have Mount Tabor, for example.

It's certainly not a deal anymore and becoming more cookie cutter weird by the day, but I think it's still "worth it".

Is it annoying at times, yeah, but in the grand scheme of things it's still a lot better than many places in the US. Plus there are a lot of people who would gravitate to that sort of city coming from places that still have a much higher COL. So by comparison it works for them even if it's no longer affordable.

[Discovery1]

My question to the Op.

Why do you stop at young peoplealthough we are all know there are all kind of young people. The young and reckless or the young with career minded type ?
To me, the real young career minded should not pick Portland over Seattle, the Bay Area, New York or even Dallas or Atlanta , Washington DC. Portland losing all to major big cities in this category , hands down period

For the young and reckless, lazy, stoned, still wondering what is in this world for me kind of mentality....etc...Yes Portland is the perfect city for them.
Portland will never be a better city to those i mentioned unless the people who managed it understand half of what is going on . That is the problem when you have too many stupid people in the office for so long.

[Discovery1]

I am feeling very bad when everyday reading in here how rental rate pushing a lot of people out of places. In the mean time you still hearing what a crappy about what called UBD for years and years although no one and i mean no one have the capacity to stop growth means people moving to Portland.

Why not fix it if you just can't against the wind ? You can't seal the border so why stick with that rule of lord " UBD". ? Obviously, these people who running the state is out of touch and they are paid by your tax money to make your life tougher by the minute.

[urbanlife78]

Originally Posted by Discovery1

I am feeling very bad when everyday reading in here how rental rate pushing a lot of people out of places. In the mean time you still hearing what a crappy about what called UBD for years and years although no one and i mean no one have the capacity to stop growth means people moving to Portland.

Why not fix it if you just can't against the wind ? You can't seal the border so why stick with that rule of lord " UBD". ? Obviously, these people who running the state is out of touch and they are paid by your tax money to make your life tougher by the minute.

UBD? You mean the Urban Growth Boundary? If that is what you are talking about, then I don't think you really understand how the UGB works.....though you might be talking about something else, which in that case my post might not have anything to do with what you are saying.

[TatterSalad]

I had business back in my college town, San Diego-
and I have to preamble this:
that it is all too easy to take a place for granite.

So in SD I went to the local grocery store to pick-up some eats, and was the only person in the store wearing a long sleeve shirt. Yeah, I know, but when I was living there, I didn't own any long sleeve shirts.
Then I dropped down to the beach to eay my sandwich; the beach was covered with folks, the smell of suntan lotion and sea weed.
There was a couple of girls there, lying on their bellys, and one girl sticks her hand down the back of the bikini bottoms of the girl next to her, way down, and then they started kissing.

Yeah, sorry - I miss SoCal.

Originally Posted by Discovery1

My question to the Op.

Why do you stop at young peoplealthough we are all know there are all kind of young people. The young and reckless or the young with career minded type ?
To me, the real young career minded should not pick Portland over Seattle, the Bay Area, New York or even Dallas or Atlanta , Washington DC. Portland losing all to major big cities in this category , hands down period

Where does this ridiculous notion come from?

Portland is very good for people with certain skillsets. It's terrible for people with no skills or some other skillsets. I would consider myself "career minded" and Portland is an excellent choice, far better than New York, Atlanta, DC, etc, which have essentially no presence in the industry I work in.

I guess I could change careers, slash my income probably in half, and go live in one of those cities, but why would I want to do that?

[DCBayer]

Jason, what do you do and where have you lived in portland