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Old 04-20-2016, 09:15 PM
 
Location: Portland
26 posts, read 30,292 times
Reputation: 32

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I'm originally from Texas and loved the west coast..so I gave the bay area a try back in the late 90s. My favorite part about the bay area was the weather (I lived on the peninsula) and the gorgeous places to explore and hike, which to this day I miss very much!! But I left due to high cost of living, horrible traffic, and crowds. I didn't experience any rudeness but I do get the lack of community feel you describe.

Although it's not as bad in Portland YET...I am personally about to move a bit out of the Portland area (about 20 miles out) for the some of the same reasons I left the bay area..although I will stress again that it's not as bad here but sometimes it seems like it is going in that direction, from my perspective. I am especially concerned about overcrowding and traffic issues here. I'm also trying to buy my first house and found I can get more for my money and better schools by getting out of the city...but I work from my laptop mainly so I can get away with it.

If you move here, you are sure to find that community feel you are seeking...but here's what I have learned so perhaps someone can learn from my mistakes! If you want to live in Portland, do all you can to find an area in which the major aspects of your life are within a SMALL radius: your child's school, your work, and shopping needs...or move close to a train line at the very least. If not, then traffic will wear you down. I live in SE currently but didn't care for the neighborhood school..so I got my child into a great charter school in NE. It's about 8 miles one way from me and I figured I could handle it. Boy was I wrong. The heavy traffic is wearing me out and is one of the reasons I'm bailing on the area so I can have a good school close by and stop living in my car. I personally couldn't find a house I could afford in Portland near a good school. The houses that feed into the good schools are out of my price range. But if you can afford the low 400s, then you might be able to find something small, but nice, that feeds into a good neighborhood school. Or opt for whatever area you want and go private.

I also know that you will find that community connection most easily if you attend your neighborhood school versus a charter or private school like I have done. Otherwise, you may feel a bit disconnected from the other families, which is what I have experienced commuting my child to a school across town. It's really going to come down to your budget as far as getting what you want. Portland is a great city and overall I have been much happier here than I was in the bay area. It is a great place to raise a kid once you find your spot!

Just my two cents, for what it's worth!!

Best of luck to you
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Old 04-20-2016, 10:25 PM
 
148 posts, read 178,483 times
Reputation: 192
sigh
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Old 04-20-2016, 10:26 PM
 
148 posts, read 178,483 times
Reputation: 192
Quote:
Originally Posted by gray horse View Post
Traffic is a real problem in PDX, almost as bad as the Bay Area. Something I didn't expect when I moved up from CA.
That's what happens when thousands of Californians thought the same thing
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Old 04-21-2016, 11:06 AM
 
3,928 posts, read 4,908,385 times
Reputation: 3073
Quote:
Originally Posted by sloyd View Post
That's what happens when thousands of Californians thought the same thing
Yup. Always the Californians.
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Old 04-21-2016, 01:15 PM
 
210 posts, read 251,815 times
Reputation: 379
Well, they are and have been by far the largest group of migrants to this area.
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Old 04-21-2016, 01:38 PM
 
3,928 posts, read 4,908,385 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pdwpdx View Post
Well, they are and have been by far the largest group of migrants to this area.
Maybe because we are neighboring states and CA is the most populated state. Of course there is migration to Oregon. I should have been a jerk to all the transplants in Bay Area in the 80's and 90's, I guess. Is that how it works in the U.S.? Seriously, do we live in a country where we cannot leave the state we are born in. In that case... all the transplants to CA should leave so I can go back? Sure. Our economy would collapse since Silicon Valley is kind of important to our economy. So all transplants in Oregon should leave and the timber industry should replace Intel, which couldn't operate here if HR could only hire born -here Oregonians. Life sucks when you get priced out of an area. I know. Blaming transplants from
One state just shows you want to live in the past.
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Old 04-21-2016, 01:55 PM
 
43 posts, read 46,353 times
Reputation: 92
Quote:
Originally Posted by Yankeemama View Post
Maybe because we are neighboring states and CA is the most populated state. Of course there is migration to Oregon. I should have been a jerk to all the transplants in Bay Area in the 80's and 90's, I guess. Is that how it works in the U.S.? Seriously, do we live in a country where we cannot leave the state we are born in. In that case... all the transplants to CA should leave so I can go back? Sure. Our economy would collapse since Silicon Valley is kind of important to our economy. So all transplants in Oregon should leave and the timber industry should replace Intel, which couldn't operate here if HR could only hire born -here Oregonians. Life sucks when you get priced out of an area. I know. Blaming transplants from
One state just shows you want to live in the past.
Thank you. There were people saying the exact same sentiments back in '98 when I first moved to PDX, and I guess it hasn't gotten better. Sheesh.
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Old 04-21-2016, 01:58 PM
 
43 posts, read 46,353 times
Reputation: 92
Also, when I lived in Portland I saw tons of Washington and Idaho plates. Yet no one tells them to "go back to your home state." I just don't undersand. And it seems like most people I met up there have a connection somehow to CA, so I don't know why CA always gets singled out as the hated ones.
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Old 04-21-2016, 02:34 PM
 
210 posts, read 251,815 times
Reputation: 379
Just stating the facts.
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Old 04-21-2016, 02:52 PM
 
3,928 posts, read 4,908,385 times
Reputation: 3073
Quote:
Originally Posted by girlieNfamily View Post
Thank you. There were people saying the exact same sentiments back in '98 when I first moved to PDX, and I guess it hasn't gotten better. Sheesh.
A lot of the people saying anti- CA crap ARE from CA or are transplants themselves. It's so stupid. I seriously just enjoy my wonderful life here. What else can you do?. And what's ironic is so many xenophobic haters are liberals who hate xenophobia except when it "protects" their lives apparently. This is why I do my own thing and treat others well. Teach my kids to be good people and live life simply. You will be fine, too, if you move here with your family. Haters are just unhappy, that's all.
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