Remember when downtown Portland was a destination spot instead of a hassle? (2015, condo)

[NOLA101]

Originally Posted by Cam33r4

I just moved from disgusting Buffalo, NY. Downtown Portland is not even comparable to many other downtowns across the country. Portland is the envy of so many! The bums don't bother me; in downtown Buffalo my risk was getting shot. After 5pm, there was nobody around. Everyone left when their jobs were done. Portland is much, much different. Appreciate what you guys have!

Buffalo has a reasonably nice core, and is quite safe. Buffalo is about as urban/vibrant as Portland.

You really just moved from Buffalo? Very odd post.

[Cam33r4]

Originally Posted by NOLA101

Buffalo has a reasonably nice core, and is quite safe. Buffalo is about as urban/vibrant as Portland.

You really just moved from Buffalo? Very odd post.

Are you serious? Like actually serious?

I lived in Buffalo for 25 years. Its core is a dump. No shopping, few restaurants that go out of business quickly. The city itself has like 3 or 4 "urban" neighborhoods. Buffalo is one of the most dangerous cities in the country, and this past month it may have surpassed Chicago for gun violence. Have you ever lived there? I'd love to hear more of what you think.

[Luckystrike1]

Originally Posted by Cam33r4

I just moved from disgusting Buffalo, NY. Downtown Portland is not even comparable to many other downtowns across the country. Portland is the envy of so many! The bums don't bother me; in downtown Buffalo my risk was getting shot. After 5pm, there was nobody around. Everyone left when their jobs were done. Portland is much, much different. Appreciate what you guys have!

If you just moved here then you haven't seen nearly the scope of the "bums" problem. Not even a fraction. Remember that "downtown" is not all of Portland. And any violence that someone could get caught in would be gang-related (doesn't happen often but it HAS happened). That aside, I'm sure Portland has to be an improvement over Buffalo.

[Cam33r4]

Originally Posted by Luckystrike1

If you just moved here then you haven't seen nearly the scope of the "bums" problem. Not even a fraction. Remember that "downtown" is not all of Portland. And any violence that someone could get caught in would be gang-related (doesn't happen often but it HAS happened). That aside, I'm sure Portland has to be an improvement over Buffalo.

I've been visiting Portland for years, and this was not an impulse move. I did a lot of research prior to my move and safety was a huge part of my decision. I'm not naive about the "scope of the bums". I live SE and see them often wandering around. I know it's not a downtown thing. I have seen them pretty much everywhere I've gone within the city. Crime was a part of life in Buffalo. Someone got shot on my street and we lived in a "good" neighborhood. When we moved to a different part of the city, we had a string of 4 women getting raped within the first week of being there. Again, in a good neighborhood. I'm not saying these things don't and can't happen in Portland, but for safety being concerned, it does not happen as often in Portland, and most crime studies will show that.

And yes, Portland has been a huge improvement. I didn't move here to jack up your rent/housing costs so that I could get legal access to pot like some have. I moved for a great work opportunity that I wasn't afforded back home, and I really enjoy the region. I just think people who have lived here for so long need to step out and see what some of the worse off cities look like.

[Dwayne Lassiter]

Downtown Portland is pretty much a "destination spot" for me, though when I was a lot younger, it was moreso. It's about me ageing more than downtown Portland undestinationizing.

I have to say that these posts arguing about the relative superiority or inferiority of Portland are quite tiresome. Surely C-D people have more constructive things to discuss? I have to note that a lot of participants here aren't even Portlanders, so for them it's just a cheap shot to offer judgements about what it's like to live here.

When I'm in the company of people who are "rankers", I find it stifling. There are people who worry passionately about the bestest and the worstest, and the 14th bestest and the 27th worstest. Portland is a pretty unique and interesting city, and that's why I live here. Get a life.

[Luckystrike1]

Originally Posted by Cam33r4

I moved for a great work opportunity that I wasn't afforded back home, and I really enjoy the region.

Congratulations to you, and I'm glad that it's working out well for you. At least it sounds like you did your homework.

[pdxMIKEpdx]

At least there is always something interesting going on downtown:

Altercations start early at dueling downtown Portland protests | OregonLive.com

Looks like fun for the whole family.

[EasyBeezy]

Originally Posted by pdxMIKEpdx

I do.
Shopping with my parents when I was a kid, the sights and sounds, when Pioneer Courthouse Square was new and a big deal, etc

Who goes downtown anymore.
Not I.
It's a pain in the patootie and isn't really worth the effort unless some really special event is going on.
People that live in the Pearl and tourists are the only things keeping it alive.

I totally agree with this opinion piece on OregonLive:

Fix Portland's infrastructure for shoppers: Letters to the editor | OregonLive.com

BTW, read the opinion after the downtown one.
(On pumping gas)

While I agree that downtown has become a bit more scuzzy lately due to the burgeoning homeless population, it was never a squeaky clean version of urban Americana. To insinuate that it has gone way downhill and is no longer worth visiting isn't really fair. It is still vibrant day and night, most businesses are active and many are longstanding, and it is not particularly dangerous. I'm downtown every day for work and often stay later to hang out and am thankful for what we have. Lets compare to a few other downtowns in cities of comparable size.

Phoenix - Dreadfully boring
Tampa - Even more dreadfully boring
Charlotte - Nice, but sanitized and auto centric
Salt Lake - Extremely, unbelievably boring
Richmond - Vibrant in some areas, scary in others
St. Louis - Scary at night, aside from a few pockets
Kansas City - Nicer than I thought it would be, but still kind of boring
Indianapolis - Pretty boring
Portland - Countless bars and restaurants, great shopping, healthy real estate market, plentiful parking, little violent crime, kind of dirty, lots of homeless

If you're anything like me, as you got older, you found less and less to enjoy about downtown. Like all downtowns, they follow the money. And while older people have more money, younger people are the ones willing to spend it on the types of things that downtowns typically offer.

[Dwayne Lassiter]

Originally Posted by pdxMIKEpdx

At least there is always something interesting going on downtown:

Altercations start early at dueling downtown Portland protests | OregonLive.com

Looks like fun for the whole family.

Another exercise in cherry-picking. You know, the plums and peaches are getting ripe too! But Trump supporters attract that kind of response, in a family-friendly spirit I guess.

[pdxMIKEpdx]

You don't have to bicker with me so much you know....
It's not healthy.