Is all of Portland really this depressingly bad? (high crime, felony)

[Cat_Person]

And here I though LA was the land of wannabes. I stand corrected. "Cosmopoitan" LA is not. Skanky it is. San Francisco has alot more culture and class..but then there's those pesky homeless people everywhere.

[poopyhead]

Yea, portland does have a lot of homeless, but every city in the Northwest has homeless. Is this the only place youve visited on the west coast? Lemme tell you, the homeless population isnt anything compared to seattle. Heres some other info for ya. The homeless hang around all of those trendy little tourist areas cause thats where people give em money. I kinda like the bums, who here obviously arent bums, just pan handlers. They dress to nice and dont talk to themselves and dont smell bad, and theyre young and very capable of working. Dead give away if youve seen enough of em. I come from the east coast too. Syracuse, where the bums usually have some kinda weapon for when you say no to em, so they can just take it instead. Ive been to DC too, and its worse. I've lived all over the east coast, from maine to florida. Portland, all you have to do is ignore em. They wont attack you and take your money.
I know what your thinking. Another portlandite defending theyre turf, but I dont live in portland. I live in cannon beach, 80 miles away, but Im there enough to have a pretty good idea on how the city works. It has way more friendly people than anywhere on the east coast, even beats that good old southern hospitality. Its got old oak lined streets away from downtown, like on leave it to beaver. Seriously, Portland is not that bad. Granted, its not the best city in the world, but its one of the better ones. Just gotta find the right places, just like DC, or most everywhere else. Portland actually has a lot going for it. Granted, the yuppies have moved in in force, but theyre worse in washington. Way worse. And worse in California, leaving oregon to be the last yuppified state on the west coast. It has decent weather, no bone chilling humid cold like back east, and no swealtering heat either. Kinda right in between the whole year long. Good schools and plenty of things to do at night. I think portland is ok, but of course, thats just my personal opinion.

[suncat]

Originally Posted by YoAdrian

How that got changed into my passing judgment on Portland's "African Americans," I have no idea.

It's a secret special type of Portland logic, Adrian. It's like a whistle only dogs can hear.

Seriously, your observations are spot on. I wish you'd seen some of the better parts of the area, as they do exist. Seattle seems like a better fit for you. It's a gorgeous city, and if it had better weather, I'd consider moving there.

[Dignan]

Originally Posted by YoAdrian

Oh, and as for the tar-paper shacks comment, I wasn't the one who said it was the "African American" part of town. Funny, huh? Putting words in my mouth? I didn't know or care about the pigmentation of the people who lived there. To the contrary, the tourist guides sold the area as the arts district. We went there to dine at Vita Cafe. I expected hip, arty, and cool. Instead, I saw a tacky neighborhood with graffiti, some windows boarded up, others with bars on them, and one desperate side street that looked like a slum. How that got changed into my passing judgment on Portland's "African Americans," I have no idea.

I suspect that you already know the answer to the question, and you're just yanking our chain, but I'll go ahead and tell you anyway.

Your comment was something to the effect of "tar-paper shacks in the Mississippi Delta."

The Mississippi Delta is an area that is heavily African American. The Alberta area of Portland is pretty much the only area of Portland that is heavily African American. So it was assumed that you were referring to race, as well as class, when you made your comment, and it wasn't an unreasonable assumption to make, under the circumstances.

[Dignan]

Originally Posted by jghoo

Vancouver is really just a suburb of Portland always has been always will be. People work in Portland and live in Vancouver so they don't have to pay income tax.

No.

Vancouver residents who work in Portland do pay 9% Oregon income tax. It's Oregon law.

[EnricoV]

Originally Posted by YoAdrian

The more distance I get from it all, the more I think that Portland is a little town trying desperately to be a big, trendy cosmopolitan city, but failing miserably. Seattle is what Portland could be -- or perhaps even wants to be -- but it just isn't. Not even close.

Portland is NOT trying to be cosmopolitan in the least. We leave that to the Seattlites.

[Minervah]

I was discussing the homeless situation with a friend of mine who lives in North Portland. We actually began referring to "our" homeless people who live in our neighborhoods. I live in the Hawthorne district. One of our local bakeries which after a 25 year stay has closed it's doors used to leave out day-old bakery goods outside its door for the homeless or whoever was hungry and couldn't afford to by some.
Her mom used to hire one or two guys to do the yard work for the privilege of sleeping in their back yard. There is a wall that was built up behind their house when the I-5 freeway was built and a lot of homeless people find that as a nice protected place to live.
The homeless in my neighborhood simply walk around with their shopping carts collecting what they can to survive. I remember "Angie" back in the 90's who lived on the streets with her belongings in one of those carts. What made Angie unique was she had two very well-fed cats tied to her cart riding on the top like royalty. The social workers worked very diligently with Angie to get her to stay in some sort of facility for the mentally challenged but she preferred the streets. Every now and then she would go home to relatives.
Lately, the city of Portland has started on a campaign to issue homeless people bicycles and carts that attach to the bikes so they will have a place for their belongings.
Homelessness is an interesting situation. I get a little crabby when the same guy downtown asks me several times a day as I pass his corner on the way to work then lunch then to the bus stop going home. The downtown homeless are more aggressive than the neighborhood ones.
Just because there are homeless people in a city does not make it a bad city. Just as being homeless per se does not always makes homeless people bad people. Sometimes as in the situations I mentioned the people in the neighborhoods get to know who they are and sometimes help out. I think the city does what it can. It's just one of the ever-growing situations in Portland as well as many other cities. We may not like to see it but it is a fact of life.

[tiffela74]

Portland is beautiful and wonderful...full of friendly and interesting people from all walks of life. Not too big, not too small, Portland isnt trying to be anything but what it is. Horray for Portland.
Tiffany

[Nell Plotts]

20 some years ago a family in my old Portland neighborhood permitted a homeless man to seek shelter their garage. He lived there for at least 10 years. Everyone knew who he was and made sure he had what he needed. Unfortunately, after visiting a social service agency he was killed by one of their clients. I suspect they both had mental health issues.

[Minervah]

Originally Posted by Nell Plotts

20 some years ago a family in my old Portland neighborhood permitted a homeless man to seek shelter their garage. He lived there for at least 10 years. Everyone knew who he was and made sure he had what he needed. Unfortunately, after visiting a social service agency he was killed by one of their clients. I suspect they both had mental health issues.

Sadly I think that's why many homeless people are afraid to go to shelters.
It would be interesting to hear some of their stories.