Why do I hate Portland (Beaverton, Hillsboro: house, job market, high school)

[Metlakatla]

SeeBee, do my eyes deceive me or did you just type the word "ain't"?

I agree, no need to be harsh with the poster. We've probably all moved somewhere that we ended up not liking.

[Raelyn28]

Wow!! I have lived in four states since birth and Portland was one of my favorites. I can see the thing with the rain being difficult but that wasn't even mentioned, or was it??? Maybe you haven't given it a chance and people are recuperating from the winter (it was a weird one to say the least). I am in Eastern Washington but we recieved word that Portland had an unusual amount of snow, and maybe people will seem different as the sun warms their hearts. I likes Oregonians.. I thought they were friendly. Coming from Southern Cal, Portland was a breath of fresh air to me (literally). I thought it was affordable, absolutely breathtaking and beautiful and really laid back. Compared to OC it was amazing but then again I don't like the big city fast paced lifestyle what-so-ever. I don't like traffic jams, lot of different racial problems, expensive homes or any of that big city stuff. I don't mind visiting a big city but I don't like being stuck in one. The people are right here.. Give it a little more time which it sounds like you have and move away if you don't like it. You either like it or you don't and that is alright... Everyone has their own personal tastes. Personally I miss Portland, especially all of the places that were listed earlier in this thread. Try going different places and be sure to enjoy as much nature as possible before you leave. Make the most out of this season in your life... The roses there are lovely and Mt. Hood and Columbia Gorge beautiful... God's Country for sure!!! Can't suggest any take-out but I loved the restaurants there!!! Don't miss out on a visit to Canon Beach!!! Just talking about it makes me homesick!!!

[RipCity503]

attn all new yorkers: don't move to portland and complain about how unlike nyc it is. same goes for folks from LA or anywhere else, this is our city and it's how we operate. ....and you can't find anywhere to eat besides subway? you're just not looking.
I've met hella people moving here from back east and can only complain at what portland isn't. don't know what exactly you were looking for from our city, but obviously its not clicking...

[EnricoV]

Originally Posted by SeeBee

I agree with both posts. Ain't no place perfect, is there ?

I think some folk are being a bit harsh on the OP. Clearly, if one's main complaint is food delivery they are either very, very young and/or not terribly experienced in life.

I loved Oregon as soon as I moved here. But then, I was not expecting anything to be the same.

Why internalize someone saying they hate a city? Do we really care that much? People can like Portland or not like it, imo. Macht nichts. If they absolutely hate living in a city, you can easily gather that they've decided against even trying.

Well, what makes me care is the inaccuracies in his claims. He says there is no delivery. There is. Delivered Dish, whose link I posted, delivers from 150 different restaurants in the metropolitan area for lunch and dinner. He says lunch options are limited, implying that Subway's the only choice? That's ridiculous.

If he doesn't like the people, fine. He doesn't. But because the people are unworthy? Ridiculous. I usually think it has more to do with the old saying, "you have to be a friend to make a friend," and would look to the source, as you suggested. I just grow weary of posts like that going unchallenged and then taken for fact.

Living in Portland (or anywhere) and complaining that it's not like New York (or anywhere) is just futile. It's not New York. Just as New York isn't Portland. To expect to find in one what you do in another is absurd. And blaming the place? Well, that's even more absurd. It's like drinking champagne and complaining that it doesn't taste like beer. If you want beer - order beer.

[John Shaft]

Originally Posted by EnricoV

If he doesn't like the people, fine. He doesn't. But because the people are unworthy? Ridiculous. I usually think it has more to do with the old saying, "you have to be a friend to make a friend," and would look to the source, as you suggested. I just grow weary of posts like that going unchallenged and then taken for fact.

I had the realization a couple of months ago that NOT ONE of my social circle was born and raised in the Portland area. Some from Oregon and Washington, but not in the PDX metro. Sure, there are a lot of new faces moving here, but to have zero "native" friends...?

I agree that there is something incredibly insular about the native folk. You're either one of them or an outsider, apparently. It's not that I've ever been mistreated by them (far from it in fact as most are quite polite and nice) - it's just very odd. ???

[Lilly12103]

maybe we could help out the OP... what exactly are you trying to do in Portland that nobody is up for? Have you checked out MeetUp and the various other social clubs to maybe meet some other New Yorkers who would have a similar social disposition that you are used to? Are you an alumni of a college that may have an active club in Portland? Friends won't fall into your lap while you are surfing your laptop or watching tv at home. You have to really put yourself out there and find other people who are in similar situations, looking to meet new people and make friends.

[Wicked Felina]

Originally Posted by Metlakatla

SeeBee, do my eyes deceive me or did you just type the word "ain't"?

I agree, no need to be harsh with the poster. We've probably all moved somewhere that we ended up not liking.

WHAT!!!! LOL, oh, well, I was torn between "ain't" and "snarckee" (I'm watching the French Open) ~

[PNW-type-gal]

Originally Posted by John Shaft

I had the realization a couple of months ago that NOT ONE of my social circle was born and raised in the Portland area. Some from Oregon and Washington, but not in the PDX metro. Sure, there are a lot of new faces moving here, but to have zero "native" friends...?

I agree that there is something incredibly insular about the native folk. You're either one of them or an outsider, apparently. It's not that I've ever been mistreated by them (far from it in fact as most are quite polite and nice) - it's just very odd. ???

Well, in 1970 the population of the city of Portland was 328,000. Now it's 529,000 without really annexing all that much. Likewise, the wider metro population has more than doubled. So, assuming births equal deaths (and that every person ever born here stayed, which is a bad assumption), roughly every other person you meet wasn't born and raised here.

Likewise, it depends on where you meet people. When I worked in high tech and met most people through work, I'd say at least 80-90% of them were from somewhere else, simply because the engineering boom was too big to be met by Oregon graduates.

[backdrifter]

Originally Posted by PNW-type-gal

Well, in 1970 the population of the city of Portland was 328,000. Now it's 529,000 without really annexing all that much. Likewise, the wider metro population has more than doubled. So, assuming births equal deaths (and that every person ever born here stayed, which is a bad assumption), roughly every other person you meet wasn't born and raised here.

Likewise, it depends on where you meet people. When I worked in high tech and met most people through work, I'd say at least 80-90% of them were from somewhere else, simply because the engineering boom was too big to be met by Oregon graduates.

Natives are rare, but they're also just generally fairly insular too, a la "Seattle Freeze." I am friends with two native Portlanders, but the people I was friends with in Portland were basically only people I already knew from Southern Oregon. All of those people (there were a lot) were pretty gosh darn insular too. I really think it's a greater regional cultural thing to some extent. It's a little bizarre.

[argo69]

Originally Posted by John Shaft

I had the realization a couple of months ago that NOT ONE of my social circle was born and raised in the Portland area. Some from Oregon and Washington, but not in the PDX metro. Sure, there are a lot of new faces moving here, but to have zero "native" friends...?

I agree that there is something incredibly insular about the native folk. You're either one of them or an outsider, apparently. It's not that I've ever been mistreated by them (far from it in fact as most are quite polite and nice) - it's just very odd. ???

This is one of those touchy subjects but I will put in my two cents. I moved to the Pacific Northwest a decade ago and find most native northwesterners polite and friendly both as work associates and friends. As far as extroversion goes, I would give the edge to Oregonians, but that's relative to Seattle. If one moves to the Pacific Northwest and accepts that it is highly unlikely that your friendship will extend past a certain point with natives, that most have a small circle of close friends they have grown up with and known for 20-30 years then you will be ok. If you accept that it is very unlikey that you will penetrate this inner circle and be invited home to spend any holiday time with their family, etc. you should not be rudely surprised.

I have a small circle of wonderful Seattle friends I have made during my time here...ALL transplants, some very recent and some here since the 70's. I think the key is that they have all been through the experience of uprooting themselves, moving to a new city and having to rebuild their friendship network. People who live in one place their entire lives simply don't feel the need to bring more into the inner circle or actively open the existing group to newbies because they've never had a need to. That's my take anyway, and based on very consisent personal experiences with natives. Natives who are wonderful people, but people who I don't expect more from than they are willing to give. If you do happen to truly become close friends with a native and are invited into their intimate circle, count yourself one of the lucky ones.