Considering Portland.. Could use some help (Detroit: appointed, transplants, 2009)

[JLR29]

I currently line in SE Michigan (Ann Arbor)with my wife and we are looking to leave. I am happy enough here, but feel like I should take advantage of my youth and experience different places. We are a relatively young couple (early 30's) and have no kids.
I have been lurking on this board for a while and have gotten some good information so far, but the posts haven't really fit me, so I am going to post to ask specific questions.

If I only looked at this board, I would think that the only people to move to Portland are incredibly shortsighted and willing to move cross country without having secured a job. It seems to me that this is behind a lot of people's dissatisfaction with PDX. Both my wife and I have solid job offers, so that won't be an issue, Does that change some of the overall negativite tone of the posts.

We are looking for a medium city that has things to do, happy people and is not too hot or too cold, and where I can afford to buy a nice house. Does Portland fit the bill?

I am a little worried about the weather, but living in the Detroit area, the weather here is crappy too. It's great May-October, but gray and cold most of the other time. It's sounds like Portland, with maybe Portland being warmer. Is this accurate? I am not expecting San Diego, just not a whole lot worse than where I am coming from.

As far as where to live, I do have a couple of questions. We would both be working at OHSU. We would like to live in a house, but someplace that is pretty accessible to the Hospital, able to walk/bike downtown to shop eat, and relatively dog friendly and safe. I am tired of suburban type life and want to experience a city. I don't care about schools yet, but that could be a consideration later. I am looking to rent first to get a lay of the land, but would be open to buying if I like Portland. Any suggestions?

Lastly, we are an interracial couple. I want to go to a place where this won't be a big deal. It sounds like Portland, what do you guys think.
Sorry this is so long, but when I first looked at Portland, everyone I knew told me it would be a fabulous place to live. I got on here and was a little disheartened by a lot of the comments.

The places we are deciding between are Portland, Sacramento (Davis), and Albuquerque. Any thoughts?

I know that I have to visit, but gettng some info from here would help me focus and decide if I like it as a place to live vs. as a place to visit. Thanks for your help, I have liked the board a lot so far.

P.S. Does anyone in Portland eat Steak? I love it, but all I hear anyone mention is vegetarian dining. That could be a potential dealbreaker........

[StealthRabbit]

Portland will be accepting of you, but is not known to be 'happy' (not like Boulder, CO or someplace similar, but more happy); lots of depression meds in PNW.

If you come, stop in Nebraska or Colorado and buy your beef, the PNW steaks are disappointing (having grown up with 'grain finished' prairie beef). I'm not sure why it is so crummy tasting, only Hawaii is worse (IMHO). You CAN order imported beef from NE / CO, but it is better to carry a cooler with you when you travel, and bring the good stuff back. In fact... I would look into a job in Colorado if you want to be around 'happy' people and enjoy 'warmth' in the winter (sunny days can warm you well, even with a skiff of snow). It can be 70F occasionally in winter there (CO) (not the case in PNW). People seem to be more outgoing in CO, NE, WY, NM. I'm not sure ABQ is a good place for Bi-racial, but Santa Fe would be, so you could likely find a region in ABQ that will be accepting. (It is 'dusty' there, and mossy in PDX, SAC is really crowded & plenty polluted, and taxes / CoL can be an issue).

Portland is congenial, but not what you would call 'friendly' or happy. Think of the pioneer spirit of independence, it still reigns. (everyone on our street has 'unlisted' phone numbers, for various reasons, (I'm 'ole school, and grew up with 'party-lines', and lots of sharing of dinners / tools / needs / work so the PNW is culture shock for me, where you might not speak to your neighbors for a year or two). There is lots to do, and even in the winter, if you are 'Wash&Wear'. It is colder than you think, as I have friends from MN, who claim PDX is really bone chilling cold compared to frigid MN.

I would validate the OHSU jobs, I don't know of too many Happy workers there. Most are very happy when they get another job elsewhere (Just had another friend express that this week, after many yrs at OHSU). Kaiser and Adventist medical center workers seem to be happiest, some jobs at Providence seem to be good too.

[mazurkr]

if you've got jobs lined up, you'll love it here, by your description.

my wife and i (and 2 very small kids) did 10 years in A2, than came here last year post-grad school. She's a doc, and works at providence and likes it quite a bit. not sure what you're doing at OHSU, but we have a friend who did her residency there and had nothing bad to say about it.

weather is cooler and sunnier in the summer (think michigan equivalent of june, with no humidity, from june-october). this winter was relatively dry, by pdx standards, but even so the rain here is different (by which i mean less miserable) than in the midwest.

here, when the forecast is for a cloudy day with showers, that usually means light rain in the morning, than sunbreaks for coupla hours. more rain in the afternoon, with another nice sunbreak right as the sun sets. hardly any rainy, gray days like a michigan october/november has where it's literally gray and rainy all day long.

only california transplants find the weather here disagreeable. if you're used to any other climate than mediterranean, you'll love it.

this economy will help you with your housing. lots of houses for rent, and the rent prices is still way cheaper than the equivalent buy price.

don't worry about your race. not a big issue, afaik.

the restaurant scene is quite good. we like all kinds of food, but i'm pretty sure you'll find a good steak here. not sure what your standards are, but there are many ruths chris-equivalent places around. only 1 or 2 high-end steak/seafood joints, though, as most of the nicer places tend toward a more european bent.

all in all, we haven't regretted it a bit.

[Minervah]

I'm afraid I have heard the same thing as StealthRabbit regarding people working at OHSU. In fact that was one of the reasons I switched to Legacy. So many mistakes were made on my records and in my medical treatment I became dissatisfied with them. The admin people I found to be very surly and unhelpful because they were unhappy and the professionals; the docs, nurses etc treated them like crap because they were unhappy.
Both my docs at Legacy are from OHSU. They moved because they felt stiffled at OHSU. Too much admin interference and too much red tape. Also they lost patients (like me) because OHSU is accepting fewer and fewer insurance plans.
Although it was posted here a couple of weeks ago that Legacy was placing a hiring freeze, my doctor whom I just saw Thursday, told me they are hiring medical people so if you don't like OHSU you could try there. I have heard that OHSU is hiring from outside Portland because so many medical personnel here don't want to work there. However if it's your foot in the door to Portland, I would definitely suggest you take the jobs and see what happens.
I also wouldn't call people here happy but there is plenty to do. Depending on your interests, I think you will be able to satisfy them. It is grey and cold in the winter and damp. And I agree with the comment made about Mpls. I am originally from Chicago and I find winters colder here because it is so damp whereas in the Midwest the cold weather is more dry. I wouldn't let weather be a deterrent though unless you had SAD.
Houses around OHSU are pretty spendy but then I don't know what your income is. I don't think you would want to walk from there but biking is doable. It's a pretty large hill. In fact they used to refer to it as "Pill Hill." It's really beautiful around there with parks and running trails.
Regarding the interracial thing, I doubt there will be a problem. I see lots of interracial couples downtown and around and I know of a few interracial couples who tell me there has never been a problem. I think the city is pretty accepting of this.
Regarding meat. I have eaten at the Stockyard Inn in Chicago, there is nothing that can compare to that. We have ok steaks here. I don't think you will be disappointed but like the pizza it just doesn't quite measure up.

[Nell Plotts]

Race, no one gives a hoot. Smart, nice, people are appreciated. Inter-racial marriages among professionals and managers are not unusual. The various faiths blend, particularly with the kids. It is not unusual for friends to attend religious celebrations across faiths. If all that bothers you, don't come. Many will say Portland is not diverse. Compared to most major cities that is true. But just because there aren't many in the pool doesn't mean that you won't be welcome.

There is a lot of staff mobility between health care institutions. The usual BS. If you find a better team across town, move.

I recommend you rent until you find a house and neighborhood to call home. Home prices are dropping so there is little financial risk. Long term look for something 'in the center' so that you can access facilities easily.

OHSU is experiencing financial issues... long story, but their problems are exacerbated by the general problems with the payment for health care services by patients loosing health insurance across the country. Long time employees didn't expect to be sailing on choppy seas (so to speak) and are getting sea sick. Under those conditions the neighboring VA hospital must look like Nirvana.

Welcome to Portland.

[EnricoV]

If condominium life would suit you, you might do well to look at the south waterfront. There are a number of buildings clustered at the OHSU tram. Not outrageously expensive to buy into--I don't know about rentals-- but you've got good access to town from there via the streetcar that stops there.

You'll find plenty of steaks/beef available. 32 restaurants on Yelp are classified as steakhouses. The Ringside is probably the most popular. Our family have always liked Sayler's Old Country Kitchen. But ... I don't eat the stuff!

[subsound]

It's very good at the moment to be moving with a job, especially if you are upgrading from where you are at now...I think it's good to go for an upgrade when the opportunity presents itself. Situational awareness is one of the keys to success in life, which some other people seem to lack.

Be very careful in coming to OHSU though unless your family includes a physician or you are in research, layoffs are still ongoing (I know from first hand experience) that have so far removed 1,200 positions from the facility and medical school. Technically they should not even be hiring outside of research because of all the people on layoff list (I have no idea which department gave you the offer, so not sure). I'm not saying this to scare you off, but I've known a number of people who moved to get a good job at this facility...and while their department loves them, due to budget constraints HR decided they needed to go because they were newer then the chair slugs that have been around for 10 years.

Otherwise OHSU is your typical quasi governmental giant bureaucratic facility, there are good things and bad things about it that really depends on your department. Don't expect anything fast.

As for Marquam Hill, there are good areas and run down areas (mostly from all the moisture) but the streets are very narrow and can be extremely steep. Anywhere with a bus stop avoid like the plague, you have lines of cars up each side and a bus running through...I swear I'm not sure how they don't hit people. Take a look what buses go up there and see if their route corresponds with places you find desirable, though don't expect anything downtown or in the pearl to be even remotely inexpensive and have good parking (or any really). South Waterfront is getting nice, great streetcar access, and I like the look of it...although it is surrounded by highways, seems a bit isolated from the city (my feeling, that's it), and the condos I've seen are jaw-droppingly expensive.

Best of luck.

[katlins]

Welcome to Portland! As you look at housing options, I suggest you look at Daybreak Cohousing, a new, sustainable community opening in N. Portland in the Fall 2009. Daybreak is within bike commuting distance to downtown Portland (and include secure, indoor storage for 80+ bikes!) and is also on a bus line. By choosing cohousing, you gain instant community of all ages and would know all your neighbors. Units will be 1, 2 and 3 bedrooms. North Portland is a diverse, urban area with lots of restaurants, entertainment and other urban amenities. More details about Daybreak can be found at www.daybreakcohousing.org

[Nell Plotts]

My issue with the South Water Front is freeway noise. If I wanted to live in that general area I would look at John's Landing where there are condos for rent near the water front. The route to the tram is easily walkable or bikeable.

[EnricoV]

Originally Posted by Nell Plotts

My issue with the South Water Front is freeway noise. If I wanted to live in that general area I would look at John's Landing where there are condos for rent near the water front. The route to the tram is easily walkable or bikeable.

I have a relative who lives in one of those condos - and noise doesn't seem to be an issue for her.