Portland Transplants post here. (Phoenix: school, living, shop)

[Dignan]

My experience has been different. I grew up in the South. I have a noticeable accent. I've been in Portland for eight years now, and I haven't been treated ANYTHING like zeno44 has been treated. People have been very friendly.

There was one person, though. I was having a piece of furniture delivered, and the woman who helped deliver it to my house found out that I'm not from here, and she repeatedly told me that I can't stay here, that I have to go back where I come from. After she told me that for the THIRD time, I told her that my grandparents were born in southern Oregon (which is true), and she shut the hell up.

That's been the only bad experience in eight years, though.

[oldtintype]

I haven't had any bad experiences either. Everyone has always been nice to me. THe only time someone ever said something was when I kept pronouncing Multnomah
Mult-A-nomah and someone commented that I must not be from here.

[jread]

Originally Posted by Bluesbabe

I think the worst experience I ever had with this sort of thing is when I lived in Texas. I didn't hate blacks, I didn't hate gays, I was from ~ gasp! ~ Cal-ee-fore-ny-yay! And, to make things worse in their eyes, I didn't care that I differed from them! I was 7 months pregnant when we left the state and never looked back.

Wow, stereotyping the entire state of Texas makes you no better than the people stereotyping you for being from California. I don't know what backwoods part of TX you were living in but I can assure you that most of the state is not like that. I live in Austin and we have thousands upon thousands of transplants from California and nobody really cares (nor do people here hate minorities or gays... we have plenty of both).

[jread]

Depending on how our upcoming visit to Portland goes, my wife and I may look into moving there. How do Portlanders feel about Floridians (her) and Texans (myself)?

[meltinjohn]

I am from Massachusetts and moved to FL and I still have the Boston accent and people were nice to me in Portland. I didnt get any problems overall. A bartender at Paddys actually had family in MA so he knew some of the towns I lived in. Yamhill is actually owned by Boston ppl. If anything, a few people liked my accent and laughed in a good way at it. Portland rules. I'd leave FL anyday to come up there and live.
Some may suffer from seasonal depression but I suffer more in humidity with heavy sun a lot of the time. Makes me real lazy. I found in Portland I was doing things every day, going out almost every day and felt comfortable doing so most of the time unless it hit 93 degrees during that heatwave which it did. I dig Hawthorne area most and Hollywood 42nd also and NE Stark area where My Fathers Place is. 3 top parts of Portland imo.

[backdrifter]

Originally Posted by jread

Depending on how our upcoming visit to Portland goes, my wife and I may look into moving there. How do Portlanders feel about Floridians (her) and Texans (myself)?

To those who care, outsiders are outsiders (except for possibly Washingtonians and Idahoans), but the vast majority in this state don't care at all because most people are from somewhere else.

I hope you find out that love Oregon.

[oldtintype]

Originally Posted by zeno44

That sounds just like the people of Portland...an underachieving, closed off, oddball city making fun of a place like Chicago. What a joke. My wife and I tried living in Portland and got out of the place eagerly after half a year. As soon as a Portlander realized you were from elsewhere it was like you were just released from a leper colony. That's if they would even converse in the first place. We headed up to Washington State...much easier to get along there, the people were much more well-adjusted.

You've gotta laugh...Portland people making fun of Chicago. Get a clue.

Whenever I read things like this I wonder how long ago the person lived here. Often they say 5, 10, or 15 years ago. Portland has grown up a lot in the last 5 years, dramatically in the last 10. What things were like (for better or for worse) years ago don't hold true now necessarily. Then again, some people will just have a bad time no matter where they go.

I'm a transplant and haven't found people to be rude about it at all.

[Bluesmama]

Originally Posted by jread

Wow, stereotyping the entire state of Texas makes you no better than the people stereotyping you for being from California. I don't know what backwoods part of TX you were living in but I can assure you that most of the state is not like that. I live in Austin and we have thousands upon thousands of transplants from California and nobody really cares (nor do people here hate minorities or gays... we have plenty of both).

Guess what? I was living in ~ gasp! ~ Austin!!!!

And what I learned about most (notice I said most) Texans is that the southern friendliness was pretty plastic. And, in general, really didn't weren't open to people who didn't give a **** to be like them. But this was in the mid-to-late 70's! I really, really hope that there has been some maturity in the social end of things over there. But I wouldn't live there again if my live depended on it! And I do not apologize for it one bit.

For the longest time the only thing I missed about Austin were the Schlotzky's. Now, I can go to Tualatin to enjoy one on occasion.

[jread]

Originally Posted by Bluesbabe

Guess what? I was living in ~ gasp! ~ Austin!!!!

And what I learned about most (notice I said most) Texans is that the southern friendliness was pretty plastic. And, in general, really didn't weren't open to people who didn't give a **** to be like them. But this was in the mid-to-late 70's! I really, really hope that there has been some maturity in the social end of things over there. But I wouldn't live there again if my live depended on it! And I do not apologize for it one bit.

For the longest time the only thing I missed about Austin were the Schlotzky's. Now, I can go to Tualatin to enjoy one on occasion.

I find it hard to believe that you were living in Austin proper and experienced attitudes like this (even in the 70s). The suburbs are very different but still not racist or backwards like what you described (a lot of people live out in some hick town 30-miles outside Austin and still say that they live in "Austin"... I hate that). You should visit again sometime and you will see it is absolutely nothing like what you described. Austin has grown dramatically over the last decade and is very progressive. There is a reason why so many people are still moving here.

[Bluesmama]

Originally Posted by jread

I find it hard to believe that you were living in Austin proper and experienced attitudes like this (even in the 70s). The suburbs are very different but still not racist or backwards like what you described (a lot of people live out in some hick town 30-miles outside Austin and still say that they live in "Austin"... I hate that). You should visit again sometime and you will see it is absolutely nothing like what you described. Austin has grown dramatically over the last decade and is very progressive. There is a reason why so many people are still moving here.

Well, I think it would have been different if I were a student. Back then I could see that the college was drawing in fresh attitudes for education, so I had hopes that "things" would change. I also know that Austin has grown a lot in other ways (it definitely did not have a big music scene there despite The Armadillo).

But it's a gorgeous place with the best climate, I think.