Portland, what a wonderful city

[crazylegs5150]

Originally Posted by PDXmom

We moved from Portland to NC, and while our humidity and heat is not as bad as FL I understand your dislike of the hot, wet, wool blanket that is handed to you every time you walk out the door between May & October.

I love Portland and to me it will always be the home I picked. But I wanted to comment on your Mccain observation. Oregon is very much a divided state politically. Portland and the environs are very progressive and carry the democratic party in Oregon. Eugene falls into this category too. Salem is purple, Bend is purple... becoming more blue. But most of the rest of the state is pretty red. There is a HUGE difference between the needs and desires of people in Pendleton and Portland. And it always shows up on election day. Williamette Week did a great cover article on the changing Oregon... I think it was back in 2006. Check out the WW around election time.... I'm sure they will have some good coverage of this.

Personally, I always thought that Oregon and Washington should be split down the N/S lines of the Cascades. West of the Cascades should be one state and east of the Cascades should be another state. Because they are historically very different.

I hope you love Portland as much or more than I do. And I hope you tolerate the rain better than my hubby. (One of the reasons we are no longer there. The things we do for love. )

I agree with you PDXmom. I know Portland is a very progressive city and it does not necessarily reflect the rest of Oregon as a whole state but to add to my previous comment, i found it interesting that I did not find ONE Mccain flag/sign/sticker anyplace and I was actively looking while I totally lost track of the Obama ones I came across. It was just an observation. I am very curious to see how Oregon goes in the election and which side take the state. I think with all states on the west coast you have the farming/rural life mixed with the city/cosmopolitan life and they USUALLY are on different ends of the spectrum. It will be interesting for sure!!!

[meltinjohn]

Originally Posted by crazylegs5150

Haha. That's so funny. Ironically enough, my wife and I live in Florida now and that's why we want OUT! This place SUCKS! Why anyone would wanna move here is beyond me. Now don't get me wrong, it has it's bonuses. WE have horses and live in north central florida which is horse capital of the US ( Sorry Lexington) . Beautiful rolling green hills and oak trees. The problem is the peeps and the weather 95% of the year. Rednecks and the good ol' boys is not for me. Also, I really value the choice of fresh produce available in many outlets in the west not to mention the selection of wines. I can't find any of that in this area.
But I digress, this was not a "**** on Florida" post. Lol. Although we can make one!!!!
Oregonians were so happy and content. Yes, we plan on going back in winter to see "the other side" of Oregon , but know the people are what make it so beautiful.Even grey skies are "cozy" . I am so sick of sunshine and HEAT all year long. Don't get me wrong I love the sun, but when it's so darn humid all year and I cannot turn off my AC until late october and then back on in April it's too much. I love leaving my windows open t night and feeling the breeze and fresh air.
After reading so much stuff about oregon ( good and bad) it was a relief that it lived up to our expectations. While it was not quite Amsterdam like I had heard previous comparisons, I did find some smaller similarities which struck me as progressive and cool. I loved the Max and the streetcar. Why can't more cities get on board with this concept? How much sense does it make? TOTAL!!
Small walkable blocks were a big plus too. We had scoured the city pretty much in one day it's that easy to get around with no car.
We'll definately be back. One last thing I loved was that I did not see one "Mccain " sticker anywhere but was surrounded by "Obama" signs in front yards and store fronts. I lost count. It definately fits the "left" minded individual.

And tell me, how many 55+ communities in Portland? FL is loaded.
I would abolish 55+ places if I became president or in charge.
I think its very easy to get around Portland without a car too bigtime.
And much like you, Portland lived up to what I expected it to be also.
I learned a lot from the trip, but since IM back in FL, I feel like I am in a similar rut to before my trip, just with more knowledge and maybe getting a job soon to help pay for a move to Portland. When I get there it will be sweet because this FL suffering for me has got to go away at some point.
I know it cant get worse, it can only go up. The thing that sucks is I saw how good it definitely can be, and then come back to unfun here and knowing it will be a little wait before I can get back there.

Originally Posted by juliempdx

We were in Clearwater, FL this spring and though it was beautiful I absolutely hated Florida. Overall I just thought it was trashy and both me and my husband found ourselves saying over and over again...... Can you imagine living here?? Glad to see other people agree

No ****. I am not far from St Pete. Im in Manatee and that has to be the WORST county I lived in in my entire life along with Cambria in PA.
Pinellas looks good next to that and so does much of Sarasota county lol.
I see little similarities to Portland in Sarasota/St Pete tho altho I think Sarasota is much more of a ripoff for rent. I dont think you get enough house for the money there. Altho a green city for fl, its kinda overrated.
My mom loves FL and I cant get why and not even a developed older city there, some new town that isnt proven.

[crazylegs5150]

A lot of people like Florida. Everyone likes different places for different reasons. If you are sick of snow like 75% of the population of Florida, then it's heaven. No shoveling, ever. The problem for me is the lack of culture. I feel like if you want culture you have to go to the city, much like anyplace. however, the urban areas in FL are very affluent. When I go to the cities, it's all about Porsches,BMW's and Lexus'. Culture does not equal money in my opinion. What I loved about PDX and San Fran too, is that you don;t need to be affluent to enjoy life. I loved just walking into Powell's and wasting part of the day. All the galleries and festivals were wonderful. You just can't get that here in Fl unless you wanna go to Barnes and Noble in some strip mall. It just comes down to what you are looking for in life I suppose. Yeah, even the weather has gotten to me. I am not sick of the sun per se, but just the lack of seasons and the near constant presence of humidity which makes much of the year off limits to opening your windows and suffering with AC all year around. I miss the fresh air. Also, one last point on the weather. I have recently spoken with several people regarding the weather in PDX. Most recently a girl who works at Whole Foods in Tampa who is from PDX and misses it. The rain that PDX is famous for, seems to not affect everyone. It does not seem to be a torrential downpour all winter long like we all tend to think. It's more of a mist much of the time. Here in Florida, when it rains, IT RAINS! You cannot do anything in this heavy rain. It's a waterfall. I can deal with spitting rain . At least you can still go outside and go about your business. I am really looking forward to getting out of florida. ANyone wanting to move to north florida ( 90 miles north of Orlando) and buy our 10 acre mini farm?? lol.

[lilypad]

Originally Posted by PDXmom

We moved from Portland to NC, and while our humidity and heat is not as bad as FL I understand your dislike of the hot, wet, wool blanket that is handed to you every time you walk out the door between May & October.

I love Portland and to me it will always be the home I picked. But I wanted to comment on your Mccain observation. Oregon is very much a divided state politically. Portland and the environs are very progressive and carry the democratic party in Oregon. Eugene falls into this category too. Salem is purple, Bend is purple... becoming more blue. But most of the rest of the state is pretty red. There is a HUGE difference between the needs and desires of people in Pendleton and Portland. And it always shows up on election day. Williamette Week did a great cover article on the changing Oregon... I think it was back in 2006. Check out the WW around election time.... I'm sure they will have some good coverage of this.

Personally, I always thought that Oregon and Washington should be split down the N/S lines of the Cascades. West of the Cascades should be one state and east of the Cascades should be another state. Because they are historically very different.

I hope you love Portland as much or more than I do. And I hope you tolerate the rain better than my hubby. (One of the reasons we are no longer there. The things we do for love. )

Do you have a link to that article, PDXmom?