Torn about staying here -- any advice? (Portland, Phoenix: to buy, school)

[subsound]

I don't see any whines, just asking for advice...I thought that was the point of these boards. Plans take awhile, especially when you need to be more cautious at this stage of the game due to the nation wide economy. The only though I might add to my suggestions is to fly back and visit before making a set plan, I think Blacknblue makes a really good point that you left home for a good reason.

Maybe visiting will set you on course back home, to rethink Portland, or to move to a new place and try it out. I know I reconsidered how annoyed I was at moving when I was talking to family after moving from Denver to Portland, and how nice it is to be over 1,000 miles away from petty squabbles, bad decisions, and self made disasters.

[nephthys]

Originally Posted by sundaysmile

3) The people my age are... well, many seem to be clones of each other. I apologize for this huge generalization, but so many of the 20-somethings have the same haircut, same shoes, and same "hobo chic" clothing style... and also have a hipster, indier-than-thou, starving-artist-working-as-a-barista-attitude: very little motivation or ambition, laid back to a fault, contentment with sitting around listening to records and smoking pot all day (I actually got called closed-minded by someone when I told them I was not "420 friendly"). In general, I find the directionless existence of people my age to be really depressing and unfortunate. I don't know why, or if this is even unique to Portland, but the 20-somethings here just seem to flock together and stagnate. As a result, I find myself trying to befriend a different age demographic (mid 30s or so), though on the whole, I find socializing here to be VERY difficult and it seems not many people are interested in making new friends.

4) The economy and job market. I am fortunate to have a relatively stable, decent paying job, but I think it was sheer luck. It took my roommate 3 months to find a job when he moved here, and after 2 months, they laid him off (as well as everyone else in his department) even though he was one of their most profitable employees. This concerns me, as I would like to break into a different field than the one I'm currently in, but there is such fierce competition for jobs that I wonder if I could ever do that.

I agree with these two. It took me 6 months to find a good job here, but I've been here almost 3 years now and it was worth the wait. Now I make more than I've ever made, but im sure im paying more too, actually I know I am.

As for the people your age, I was 25 when I moved here and I lived on NW 21st, near you. I am a hip hop head, but look "average". I don't dress any sort of way, the only thing that really stands out about me is my face, and well, that no one can clone. I had a hard time taking people seriously, I always felt like I didn't fit in and wouldn't even try to talk to these "hobo-chic" looking people. I thought somehow I wouldn't be cool enough. Eventually I kept getting compliments on what I thought was nothing... and it was from these people I could never see myself hanging out with. So, after living in that area for a year, people would always wave or say Hey if they saw me. I didn't have to make friends with them but I realized how easy it was to just get along. Trust me it's that neighborhood... if you moved across the river somewhere near Lloyd Center you'd run into a totally different crowd. There's even a bike rider neighborhood I discovered, that is quite odd if you don't ride a bike. Anyway, goodluck/

[mk57]

It's all in what you're used to and what you want. My family and I moved here last summer from the mid-Atlantic seaboard, and we're unanimous in agreeing that Portland is too cold, too wet, and too gloomy. (And everyone tells me this has been a good winter with lots of sun!) I'll agree there have been a lot of sunny days this winter, which makes me dread a normal winter. The argument that rain all winter makes the rest of the year green doesn't hold water for me. Georgia, North Carolina, and Virginia are beautifully green, and it doesn't rain six months out of the year. I'm here for a while longer, due to a job, but personally, I can't wait to get out of Portland.

[EnricoV]

Originally Posted by mk57

The argument that rain all winter makes the rest of the year green doesn't hold water for me. Georgia, North Carolina, and Virginia are beautifully green, and it doesn't rain six months out of the year. I'm here for a while longer, due to a job, but personally, I can't wait to get out of Portland.

You want to know why that is? It's because it rains more there than it does in Portland. But you're right. It doesn't rain six months there ... it rains all 12.

Annual average rainfall (I just picked a major city in the three states you mentioned):

Portland, Oregon 36.3
Richmond, Virginia 42.0
Raleigh, North Carolina 44.7
Atlanta, Georgia 50.2

I sincerely hope you find a place you feel is perfect for you.

[mk57]

Granted, all those cities get more inches of rain than Portland. The difference is that it doesn't take a day of rain to get a quarter of an inch. It rains for an hour or so, you get an inch or two, and then it's gone. According to the Western Regional Climate Center, Portland has only 64 clear days a year. Raleigh, on the other hand, has 112. For me, that's a big difference. But everybody is different. If you like cloudy overcast Portland, more power to you.

[ArthursChoice]

Originally Posted by roneb

Wow, someone write an articuluate and thoughtful summary of their current feelings and struggles with living in PDX and he's told to "stop whining" and that he's "running and hiding". For some, the winter weather in PDX is not that easily dealt with. Light boxes and vitamin supplements are not a cure-all. To some of us, the very fact that you have to sit with a light box is a reminder of the fact that the weather here sucks in the winter! If someone thinks that based on their EXPERIENCE in both climates, they deal better with more sun, that's not running and hiding, that's being honest with oneself.

By the way, for many, Flagstaff would not be considered a "small town." That line smacked of a condescending "You're not in Kansas anymore, Dorothy" attitude.

Yeah i too thought that was a lil....uhhh sumthin...harsh maybe. I was amazed to read such a thoughtful and insightful post, one that rarely IS on this site. Everyone just seems to put down a place and its people with such a vicious tone. I just kind of sat here and read it carefully and really thought about what the OP was saying. I think it garners a more informative answer that "quit whining" IMO.

[roneb]

Originally Posted by mk57

Granted, all those cities get more inches of rain than Portland. The difference is that it doesn't take a day of rain to get a quarter of an inch. It rains for an hour or so, you get an inch or two, and then it's gone. According to the Western Regional Climate Center, Portland has only 64 clear days a year. Raleigh, on the other hand, has 112. For me, that's a big difference. But everybody is different. If you like cloudy overcast Portland, more power to you.

Ah, the joy of statistics. They can be used to prove whatever you want! Only in this case you're right. I always have to smile when people try to tout the fact that Portland gets only 36 inches of rain. Problem is it is spread out over MANY more days than the other three cities in the comparison, as your post points out. I, for one,would much rather have rain come in short downpours/cloudbursts than continuous drizzle. Additionally, the reason it is so green here has a lot to do with the fact that the annual rainfall totals in the region go up dramatically as you move up into the Cascade foothills. Estacada is not far from Portland and it gets substantially more annual rainfall than Portland.

[Leisesturm]

What is it about this thread that has brought everyone out of the woodwork? So many great posts get no response or maybe one or two. The o.p. was well written, so? Man, things are bad when because someone can wax rhapsodic in multi-syllables they are elevated above other mortals. I didn't think the o.p. was whining but, as was said, this winter has been incredible. Absolutely incredible. Anyone who has had a problem with SAD this winter definitely does not belong anywhere except back in AZ. It really isn't a question to put before the forum except perhaps to foment dissent among the usual suspects. I hope the o.p. is not a 'he'. If he indeed is male then, yes, that post was whiny and would deserve all our scorn and contempt. From a female it is acceptable, if a little 'precious'. I don't think calling it as one see's it is always neccessarily 'mean'. I'm not trying to be mean, just balancing out some of the knee jerk (and undeserved) sympathy because of the shared misconceptions of PDX life, geography and climate.

H

[Wicked Felina]

Precisely on point, Leisestrum.

[Minervah]

I hope the o.p. is not a 'he'. If he indeed is male then, yes, that post was whiny and would deserve all our scorn and contempt. From a female it is acceptable, if a little 'precious'.

Wow! Sexist much?