Is all of Portland really this depressingly bad? (Salem, Beaverton: crime rates, loans)

[suncat]

Originally Posted by tawnyfawn

That's not what we want and people like you moving here with your noise complaints and whispery calls to the police about suspicious characters lurking on the block mess it up for the rest of us. Move to North Carolina.

What a bitchy comment! I didn't realize people had to apply and be approved by a committee to live in Portland.

Any particular reason you suggested North Carolina?

[suncat]

Originally Posted by swandiver

It sounds like the only people who are experiencing the benefits of the city are upper middle-class white people who want to show the world how eclectic they are and how cool they are because they're not scared of said homeless.

No matter how great or liberal a city claims to be, a large homeless population is a glaring, neon sign indicating a large gap in opportunity between rich and poor.

Right. On. The. Money.

[Cat_Person]

Welcome to the USA. Portland has no monopoly on the divide between rich and poor. The middle class is disappearing people, whether you're degreed or not.

[Cat_Person]

Originally Posted by checar

I believe it was this past winter (or maybe the year before) we had SUV's being set on fire here in Portland.

Am I the only one who finds this a bit humorous? SUV's? Soccer moms must be in shock to find their vehicles aflame! Thank God I drive a Honda

[KGRACE]

I just came back from Portland yesterday. Our daughter lives there. I totally agree with you on what you've seen. Our daughter lives near PSU - in a wonderful neighborhood right next to campus. But, if I were moving out there, I would only buy in the hills. Those being the ones you see from the downtown. They are lovely, safe and nice families. Just off of SE Hawthorn to the south between 20th and 24th St - there are some nice older neighborhoods. Hawthorne itself is a little busy but nice. The Pearl is wonderful and pricey as are the houses in the hills - Some of the southern suburbs are nice also. I would stay AWAY from the northeast all together other than to go to the airport etc.

Originally Posted by YoAdrian

We're on vacation in Portland right now, and we are seriously underwhelmed so far. The scenery out in the countryside is some of the most beautiful I've ever seen, anywhere, but the city has so far given us the creeps.

We parked down along Naito Parkway to head to the Saturday Market, and one of the first things my wife saw as we left the parking garage is some guy crouched behind a bush, taking a dump. I smelled urine in at least three spots along the streets, and I saw one kid whip it out and take a leak at a park down by the Portland Building. There was some lunatic wandering around Pioneer Courthouse Square, wearing gloves and a winter coat on a nearly 80-degree day, stopping every few steps to look skyward, gesture, mumble something to himself, turn, take a few steps, and do the same thing all over again. There were bums everywhere, and lots of them were kids. One guy thrust his arm out at me and then another at my wife, explaining that perhaps his other arm was easier to read. He had something tattooed on his arm about giving him change for beer money. So this guy is apparently in a permanent state of begging, if he went to the trouble to get his begging mantra tattooed on his arm. And he didn't even want money for a meal, or a place to stay. He wanted BEER MONEY. Nice.

Then there are the strip clubs all over the place, and lots of lots of sketchy neighborhoods. Trailer parks, RV parks ... we were going to eat at a restaurant out on Alberta Street, but we turned on a side street to get there and thought we'd been transported to the world of tar-paper shacks down in the Mississippi delta. It was horrible. Our car probably wouldn't have been there when we came back, had we actually stopped.

Are there actually any nice areas in or around Portland? Anyplace with nice, clean neighborhoods, where the windows aren't boarded up or have bars on them? No strip clubs on every corner? A place where we can walk down the street without being accosted by some bum at every intersection? I've heard so many wonderful things leading up to our trip, and now that we're here, frankly, it's a dump so far.

Please don't lecture me about how I want too much, how I sound elitist, or whatever. We're a white couple in our mid-30s, and we now live in an older but safe neighborhood in Alexandria, Va. I've dealt with bums in D.C., but I've never had them throw their arms in my face, asking for beer money. We're out in the PNW now to scope things out for a possible move here, but right now, from what I've seen, I wouldn't feel comfortable moving my wife out here. We're just looking for a decent neighborhood. It doesn't have to be upscale yuppie heaven, just safe, quiet, clean, and family friendly.

We drove out to see Vancouver, Wa., today, to see what was there, and the west side wasn't too bad. From what I've been reading tonight, the east side, around Fishers Landing, is worth checking out. Would anyone agree with that? And are there are comparatively decent places on the Oregon side of the river?

[PNW-type-gal]

Originally Posted by KGRACE

I just came back from Portland yesterday. Our daughter lives there. I totally agree with you on what you've seen. Our daughter lives near PSU - in a wonderful neighborhood right next to campus. But, if I were moving out there, I would only buy in the hills. Those being the ones you see from the downtown. They are lovely, safe and nice families. Just off of SE Hawthorn to the south between 20th and 24th St - there are some nice older neighborhoods. Hawthorne itself is a little busy but nice. The Pearl is wonderful and pricey as are the houses in the hills - Some of the southern suburbs are nice also. I would stay AWAY from the northeast all together other than to go to the airport etc.

It depends on what you want. Alameda Ridge is in the northeast and is a lovely area. The Killingsworth/33rd area is a nice area of fixed-up older houses and has a New Seasons Market and a McMenamins. To just lay a blanket over the entire area and say "this is not nice" is untrue.

[gnab gib]

Originally Posted by oldtintype

I think you've simply visited the wrong areas and obviously have a really negative attitude based on those observations. Most of Portland IS clean and friendly, not "desperate and dirty." But obviously you've made up your mind based on visiting areas of Portland that I can't fathom why you went to see anyway. I mean who goes to the trailer parks in the boondocks? It's a shame you didn't start out with a proper tour instead of visiting the worst the city has to offer and then declaring that to be the entire city, because it's not. I laugh thinking of Sellwood, Laurelhurst and some of the other 50 areas you obviously didn't visit.

I've been to DC and Portland is nothing like that. I also find it interesting that you visited the small section of Portland comprised of African Americans and have declared the city to be full of tar shacks like Mississippi. Uhh...kind of off base on about 700 levels.

I again, can't believe you managed to miss the other 90%+ of Portland that is not full of "mentally ill bums and desperate people." But each to his own.
As for the man ripping off his shirt, again, how do you manage to meet those people? I just got back from walking my dog and said Hi to about 10 people and got a pleasant good morning in return. I think your observations are so off base it's actually sad. It's too bad you didn't plan your trip better.

Well, it's too bad you think you know what kind of planning went into my trip. I've been on this forum for at least a year, I've been elsewhere all over the Web, I've scoured at least half a dozen tourist books. We stayed out by the airport, and there was a run-down RV park maybe a mile away. I also didn't say the city was full of tar-paper shacks; I said one side street we turned down was. But it was amazing how widespread the blight was in many parts of the city.

Don't ask me how I managed to "meet these people." It's not like I sought them out. They were just there, everywhere. It was hard NOT to find them. Hell, I found them right in the heart of downtown, and around all of the tourist activities.

Yep, I was in Laurelhurst. Walked the streets, went to a market, even had lunch there. Decent neighborhood, but nothing to write home about. Not as desperate as much of the rest of Portland, I'll grant you that. But I didn't see enough to make me want to move across the country, especially considering the surrounding environs.

You're right, it's not like DC. At least DC has the Northwest side, where you don't feel like you're going to die walking down the street.

To another poster, I wouldn't flatter yourself on calling Portland a "big city." It's a midsized city, but it has all the squalor of a massive city, and seemingly an unusually large homeless and mentally ill problem for a town of its size. Shame, really. I will hand it to the travel guides, though -- they do a great job of pimping Portland as a great, hip, fun place to live and (yes) somewhat of a green haven. Sure, the Japanese Garden was gorgeous, but I'm not going to live in the Japanese Garden. Tigard was nice, east Vancouver was nice, Camas was nice. But I have no need to live in a place where I do all my things in the burbs and avoid the city. I do that now (for the most part) with DC.

Anyway, we just got back from Seattle, and it turned out to be pretty much everything we expected Portland to be. Vibrant, hip, friendly, welcoming, beautiful. It has its share of problems like any big city, but at least it wasn't a dump riddled with aggressive bums on every corner.

I know people get defensive and want to stick up for the places they live. I get that. But if this is the attitude most Portlanders have when people criticize their city, I'm even more glad we're not moving there. You can have it. Portland is a dump.

[tablemtn]

"Die walking down the street?"

Portland has one of the lowest murder rates of any major city in America. Let's be realistic, now. Perhaps you're not very good at assessing risk?

[EnricoV]

Originally Posted by KGRACE

I just came back from Portland yesterday. Our daughter lives there. I totally agree with you on what you've seen. Our daughter lives near PSU - in a wonderful neighborhood right next to campus. But, if I were moving out there, I would only buy in the hills. Those being the ones you see from the downtown. They are lovely, safe and nice families. Just off of SE Hawthorn to the south between 20th and 24th St - there are some nice older neighborhoods. Hawthorne itself is a little busy but nice. The Pearl is wonderful and pricey as are the houses in the hills - Some of the southern suburbs are nice also. I would stay AWAY from the northeast all together other than to go to the airport etc.

How nice you were able to find something up to your standards in the city I love, and choose to live in. I'm surprised with such exemplary standards, you'd allow your daughter to go to such a lowly school as PSU. Surely Reed or Lewis & Clark would have been better choices, if she had to be in Portland.

[Dignan]

Originally Posted by YoAdrian

I know people get defensive and want to stick up for the places they live. I get that.

Well, to be fair, you do have a tendency towards hyperbole. That sort of thing tends to draw a response, even from people who usually know better.