Phoenix Natives... share your thoughts! (Portland, Gresham: transplants, Home Depot, neighborhood)

[PhxNative09]

Good day all -

Since Portland is full of transplants, I know many of you have probably come from Phoenix. I'm asking for your experiences and your thoughts on the differences between the two cities (BESIDES the weather, please!) and what kind of culture shock you had, unexpected things, quirks, etc. I'm looking for the less tangible differences - I've read up on Portland quite a bit and have visited greater Oregon before, so I'm somewhat familiar with it.

Also I know many of my perceptions of a "city" will need to change - for example, I've lived all of my adult life in Phoenix (East Valley actually) and I'm used to a few things: 1) big, wide, roads; 2) speeding at all times; 3) sidewalks on every street; 4) Spanish; 5) great mexican food; 6) ASU; 7) thinking a short drive (to Home Depot, the gym, the good coffee shop) means 5-10 miles; 8) considering 15-20 miles a standard commute, etc etc.

Is there even a culture in Phoenix? It's hard to be aware of your own culture. Is there anything in Portland's culture that's really going to throw me for a loop?

[Rob Allen]

I've never set foot in Phoenix, but one of the most prominent Arizonans in Portland is Channing Frye of the Portland Trail Blazers. He has an interesting website with an active blog. Read some of the older blog entries to see his initial reactions to his new city:

Official Website of Channing Frye | Portland Trail Blazer's #44 | Portland, Oregon

[Lee151]

I lived for fifteen years in Phoenix.
The Mexican food here is awful. Chipotle is the closest I've found to what is traditional in the Valley. One of the biggest differences is the chips at restaurants here are heavy and greasy. Tostitos are better. Lousy chips and salsa at the stores too. There are lots of Mexican people here and lots of Mexican restaurants but the food is very different than Arizona's. It is also different than Tex Mex or California Mex. I eat Mexican almost every day when I am in Arizona which isn't often enough.

I also find the Pizza to be different. I eat Pizza in Phoenix as well. I also eat at Miracle Mile and Einsteins as much as possible because Kosher delis and good bagels are lacking here as well. I was a West Valley girl so maybe your taste is different.

A lot of the chain restaurants aren't here or just got here. Some of them aren't the same to me. Marie Callendar's here is awful for example but the one I tried outside of Seattle was exactly the same.

The Portland metro area is significantly smaller than the Phoenix metro area. The commutes are shorter. Home Depots are closer. Driving speeds are slower, the posted speed limits on the highways are slower. Not every neighborhood has sidewalks.

Portland is very Liberal, Green, food, dog, bike and nature friendly. Loads of farmer's markets, lots of local produce in grocery stores and farm stands as well. You'll look at apples a whole new way to have so many varieties and citrus is getting a lot better. Lots of Asian food, seafood. Meat prices are higher in the grocery stores.

There are a lot of music clubs downtown, a lot of bars and galleries. If you like microbrewed beer, coffee or tea you will think you are in heaven.

When I first moved here I was shocked by the lack of iced tea at restaurants, how many nude dancing bars there were and how few bars actually served hard liquor. The ones called Taverns only serve beer and wine. You can't buy booze in the grocery stores either, only at state controlled liquor stores and it is very expensive compared to Arizona. No drive thru liquor here!

[PhxNative09]

Well shoot, 90% of my diet is Mexican food, pizza, and bagels. Literally. Maybe that's a phoenix thing?

Is it a lack of local ingredients? Can I still pick up cilantro, tomatillos, and great jalapenos at the store? For that matter, do peppers grow in oregon? I grow jalapenos and habaneros at home down here in the valley...

One thing I have trouble getting a handle on is the scale of the city. I know that Phoenix is much larger, but looking at google maps it seems as though the trek from Gresham to Hillsboro is about the same as doing Mesa to the West Valley (though Chandler to N Phoenix is actually a little longer than Wilsonville-Vanc), so how is it actually that much smaller in terms of area?

[Rob Allen]

Maybe you should look into living near the Grande Foods store in Cornelius (that's between Hillsboro and Forest Grove).

[BLAZER PROPHET]

Originally Posted by Lee151

I lived for fifteen years in Phoenix.
The Mexican food here is awful. Chipotle is the closest I've found to what is traditional in the Valley.

Uh, Chipolte's is fast food. On a par with Taco Bell. If that's all you had in Phoenix, at least we're a substantial improvement.

PS- if you want to break away from Chipolte fast food Mexican type food, try Santa Fe's on NW 23rd.

[roneb]

Iron Horse on Milwaukie in the Sellwood area has a great rep for Mexican food. I also like Chez Jose on Tewilliger.

[Wicked Felina]

Mexican food? This is a locally-owned and run little ma 'n pop kind of restaurant. All food's made from scratch. It's less than 10 minutes from Sellwood Bridge to here. Nothing fancy, but good food!

///***Casa de Tamales***///

Rob Allen - nice website!