Is Portland still a good place to be young? (Gresham: violent crime, credit)

[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.

[pdwpdx]

If you have a good job it is a decent place to live. I wouldn't recommend anyone coming here if they expect to just skate by on a part-time or otherwise low-paying job.

[NWGirl74]

What were your reasons for leaving?

[Mini-apple-less]

Originally Posted by NWGirl74

What were your reasons for leaving?

Abusive living situation and priced out, plus I was just sick of the crap you have to put up with on a daily basis living there.

[FSF]

Originally Posted by Mini-apple-less

Abusive living situation and priced out, plus I was just sick of the crap you have to put up with on a daily basis living there.

I'm not trying to give you a hard time but what is the "crap" one has to put up with on a daily basis that is unique to Portland exactly? Also, I find it odd that you would describe Portland in such a way and yet still "see how others might like living [here] as it does have its positive qualities."

As for New York and Chicago, they don't have Mount Tabor, but they have Central Park, Lake Michigan, world class museums and a bunch of other things Portland is lacking in.

[58rhodes]

Well lets face it Portland isnt New York or Chicago and it wont be hopefully. Those cities have amenities that only metro areas above 9 mill have. Portland is a very nice mid sized city with some growing pains and currently has a bit of a housing shortage which should change in the near future. The economy here has always had its ups and downs, more downs than ups actually but people still keep moving here. Housing prices are high for HERE but are still cheap as compared to our northern neighbor or the bay area and anybody that comes here should know beforehand that we dont have the Boeings or the Microsofts etc etc to support the influx of new residents. Anybody that has their heads in the dreams of the 90s---LOL-- is watching too much TV. Portland is just Portland--nothing more nothing less.

[Nell Plotts]

Actually Boeing does have a plant in the vicinity of Gresham that employs almost 1,000 people. I didn't realize that had grown so large myself.

[58rhodes]

Originally Posted by Nell Plotts

Actually Boeing does have a plant in the vicinity of Gresham that employs almost 1,000 people. I didn't realize that had grown so large myself.

I think the biggest employer in the Portland area is Intel with about 17,000. Boeing has 70,000 Seattle area employees,Microsoft has 40,000 and the U of W has 26,000.

I think Boeing of Portland has about 1800 employees

[Mini-apple-less]

Originally Posted by FSF

I'm not trying to give you a hard time but what is the "crap" one has to put up with on a daily basis that is unique to Portland exactly? Also, I find it odd that you would describe Portland in such a way and yet still "see how others might like living [here] as it does have its positive qualities."

As for New York and Chicago, they don't have Mount Tabor, but they have Central Park, Lake Michigan, world class museums and a bunch of other things Portland is lacking in.

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.

[CanuckInPortland]

This just in:

Mini-apple-less did not like Portland.

News at 11.