Unwelcome vibe?

[NomadScribe]

Having experienced living in Portland as a transplant for about a year, my sense (based on my experience) is that a lot of the begrudging looks and attitudes come from other transplants who feel they put in more time there. My general experience was that long time Portland "natives" and recent transplants were a lot more open eared and friendly as opposed to some grumpy folks who feel they had an ownership of the place from having been there a few years.

[pdxMIKEpdx]

Originally Posted by NomadScribe

Having experienced living in Portland as a transplant for about a year, my sense (based on my experience) is that a lot of the begrudging looks and attitudes come from other transplants who feel they put in more time there. My general experience was that long time Portland "natives" and recent transplants were a lot more open eared and friendly as opposed to some grumpy folks who feel they had an ownership of the place from having been there a few years.

This exactly.

I am a lifelong resident of Portland, Oregon. Born here, raised here, etc.
While I miss the Oregon of my youth (I'm in my 50's), I realize that change happens and all I can do is to go with the flow and try to enjoy it or become one of "those" kind of people.

I love it when I meet somebody that has lived here for a few years and is past the "newcomer" stage, and is all in your face and opinionated on how Oregon is falling apart, mismanaged, backwards, whatever. By that I mean they have done the touring bit, seen the sights, settled in, understand the local issues and now consider themselves to be a tried and true full fledged Oregonian because they've lived here for three years.
I mean good for them, they are, or at least think they are involved, which is good. But it's funny how some of them consider themselves more native than the natives.

Most of the friends I had from my youth live somewhere else, I've seen my neighborhood changeover a couple times, I enjoy meeting people and I could care less where you're from as long as you are a decent human being.

I know it's a custom on this board to tear down the viewpoints of any native Oregonian, but don't start flaming me with all that "I don't know why you natives hate outsiders" and "why do you think you are better than a transplant", and "I pay taxes too" crap.

This post is 99 and 99/100% hate free. Like Mark and Dave.

[hamellr]

The ONLY problem I really have with Californians, or really ANY transplant are those who constantly complain about the rain. Seriously, Portland has had a reputation for rain since the 1860's. Despite constant boosterism over the last century it's still pretty well known across the country that Portland has rain. Ask a random person in any city what the dominant feature of Portland is. The answer is mostly likely going to be rain. I tried to move to Omaha many years ago, when told I was from Portland people would say "Oh, tired of the rain eh?"

Yet people still move here and say "Oh, I can handle a few more rainy days," not realizing that from Mid September to June (and sometimes beyond), it rains and is quite gloomy at times.

Part of the problem though stems from the 60's. When the timber industry went downhill then lots of Californians moved in, house and land prices went through the roof, squeezing people out who had lived in the area for generations but couldn't afford to live in their own hometowns anymore. That attitude is still prevalent to a certain extent as it is still seems to be happening.

[DreamWeavin]

Originally Posted by pdxMIKEpdx

This exactly.

I am a lifelong resident of Portland, Oregon. Born here, raised here, etc.
While I miss the Oregon of my youth (I'm in my 50's), I realize that change happens and all I can do is to go with the flow and try to enjoy it or become one of "those" kind of people.

I love it when I meet somebody that has lived here for a few years and is past the "newcomer" stage, and is all in your face and opinionated on how Oregon is falling apart, mismanaged, backwards, whatever. By that I mean they have done the touring bit, seen the sights, settled in, understand the local issues and now consider themselves to be a tried and true full fledged Oregonian because they've lived here for three years.
I mean good for them, they are, or at least think they are involved, which is good. But it's funny how some of them consider themselves more native than the natives.

Most of the friends I had from my youth live somewhere else, I've seen my neighborhood changeover a couple times, I enjoy meeting people and I could care less where you're from as long as you are a decent human being.

I know it's a custom on this board to tear down the viewpoints of any native Oregonian, but don't start flaming me with all that "I don't know why you natives hate outsiders" and "why do you think you are better than a transplant", and "I pay taxes too" crap.

This post is 99 and 99/100% hate free. Like Mark and Dave.

I don't know why you natives hate outsiders, why do you think you are better than a transplant? I pay taxes too!!!


Just teasing ya!!! I enjoy your input Mike

[electric_lady]

Being from the Detroit area originally, I would say folks in Portland should see the bright side of all the influx of out-of-towners. When the economy picks up and more jobs are available, they'll be very thrilled that most of the city is taken up by families and young folks rather than abandoned houses. A crowded big city is better than a ghost town in every way. Believe me.

[pdxMIKEpdx]

So, Disembodied, did you ever make it to Oregon or Portland specifically?

Let's hear about your experiences with us mean ole Oregonians.

[seain dublin]

Originally Posted by John Shaft

Interestingly enough, despite all the rhetoric about "progressivism," it's been my experience that Oregonians really, really dislike change in any form. A new face = something different. It just takes them a bit longer to adjust, I think.

That being said, I can't fault 'em for some of the things Cali folks have done up here.

Very true. We lived in Oregon for two years and I think Portland is a beautiful city, but there are many people who are "psuedo liberals" who think they're progressive but are very xenophobic.

I have posted this before but we were "flipped off" and yelled out twice for having CA plates before we changed them.

I remember thinking the person/persons who did this was proably one of these types who consider themself liberal but didn't give a second thought to "act out" against someone they didn't know and had done nothing to them.

So much for progressive.

Now granted it only happened twice so it wasn't a daily occurance...LOL...but it did happen.

We did find the people friendly...but only to a point.

And it wasn't just the natives, many who live there awhile form into groups and they don't welcome new members....LOL.

[pdxMIKEpdx]

Funny, when I see out of state plates in the fall, I just figure it's college students.
When I see them in the summer, I figure they are summertime tourists.

Maybe its the doldrums of late winter/early spring that makes people act out because it makes them feel "alive" when they get their hackles up and yell at somebody; maybe they are tired of holing up and hibernating in the "gloomy" months.

In a city with the population of Portland it's not uncommon to see out of state plates.

[MarleysMama]

I moved here from Texas several years ago and settled into the SW area close to downtown. I felt very welcomed in Oregon and people were very interested in why I chose Oregon and why I left Texas. It is true that Californians sometimes are not as welcomed ...but in my area that was true more for the investors scooping up all the homes and properties than individuals.

I actually found Texas to be less welcoming of non-Texans than Oregon.