Would I fit in and/or thrive in Portland? (Green: home, find a job)

[ScottyBee]

I'm looking for possible places to move next summer. Obviously part of my decision will be based on where I find work, but I want to get an idea of places I want to conduct that search.

About me:
I am 26 and will have an M.A. in Creative Writing. I will have 2 years teaching experience at the K-12 level and 1 year as a graduate assistant. I like to be around people most of the day, but I also enjoy my alone time when I am at home. I am not much for people dropping by without calling first.

Personality:
I'm pretty talkative, outgoing and energetic; but not annoying like Rachel Ray. I would consider myself as intelligent and humorous. Think of a combination of Seth McFarlane and Chris Farley.

Politics:
I am a liberal atheist, and I am not afraid to voice my opinion. However, I usually do so in a joking manner. Though I am not very PC. Maybe a liberal version of a "South Park" creator.

Stuff I like to do:
I like to swim. This is pretty essential in my life. I prefer a nice lane pool at some sort of gym with access to gym classes and weight lifting equipment. I also like to be able to go to the beach during the summer. I won't swim in the ocean as I am afraid (however unrealistically) of being eaten by a shark. I will swim in the lake, but it must not have any fish in the swimming area (as I get scared that someone dumped off piranhas in the lake).

Greenery and outdoors is very important to me. I like to go walking or hiking in nature I also like to go bike riding and hope to pick up some sort of cruiser when I move out. I would like to spend time in the mountains as well.

A good-quality cinema is a must have for me. I watch 2 to 3 films a week at the theater whenever I am able to, thus the importance of quality. This means no people talking during the film or shouting at the screen.

I would like to have access to a cheap dramatic theater as well, something like a college production.

For shopping, I like to window shop in small downtown shops and at the mall. Think of head-shop type businesses with incense and trinkets to purchase.

I am not very fashionable and am against the fashion industry for their portrayal of women as anorexic, brainless sex-objects. Though I don't dress like a slob/Wal-mart patron either, so I would like to have some mid-grade stores to purchase clothing from.

A bookshop that is like an upper-end Barnes and Noble is also essential to me. I like the store to have sitting areas for customers to browse the merchandise and a good selection of speculative fiction and literary novels.

Neighborhoods:
I want to live someplace with people like me. I want to live around young collegiate/academic types with coffee shops and low-cost restaurants. I want to be in walking distance to these types of shops and not have to drive and park all the time. I am not a fan of small children, so hopefully I can be in a family-free district.

[davefr]

Fit in - yes
Thrive - not likely (as defined by employment)

[backdrifter]

Not meaning to be rude and no offense meant, but you sound like a total Portland cliche.

[ScottyBee]

Originally Posted by backdrifter

Not meaning to be rude and no offense meant, but you sound like a total Portland cliche.

Would this be a beneficial cliche or a detrimental one? I mean, Tony Soprano is a New Jersey cliche; but I wouldn't think that persona would be well-received by many people.

Would Portland provide me with the type of lifestyle I want without making me seem like a two-dimensional farce of the Portland experience?

[backdrifter]

Originally Posted by ScottyBee

Would this be a beneficial cliche or a detrimental one? I mean, Tony Soprano is a New Jersey cliche; but I wouldn't think that persona would be well-received by many people.

Would Portland provide me with the type of lifestyle I want without making me seem like a two-dimensional farce of the Portland experience?

Does it matter what it would make you seem like?

Essentially you could probably enjoy yourself almost anywhere in the city, especially close-in east side. Many Portlanders can probably relate to you as the stereotypical Portlander lives the sort of lifestyle you described.

It is Oregon... The greenery and mountains and water are abundant. It is super liberal. Generally people don't like 'the man' here. People love them some arts--music, literature, cinema, you name it. Have you heard of Powell's Books? If not, google it. Search for "Hawthorne" or the "Hawthorne District" on here.

From an outside perspective it would be easy to see you as a two-dimensional caricature of a Portlander, but if you're in Portland no one will think twice about it. You will be living the dream with all the other Portlandistanis living it too.

If you can survive here, you'd fit right in like the missing puzzle piece with all the other missing puzzle pieces. But whether you can survive is the Big Question of the Day.

[philwithbeard]

ScottyBee:

This is only based on my reading your post, so it may not apply....

Everyone has a social support structure (friends, relatives, casual acquaintances, school or work peers, etc.) where they are living. When you move to a new city, your previous support structure gets bent and part of it fades away. You build new, and hopefully, stronger social bonds in the new location.

From reading your post, I gather you are seeking a location where there is a significantly large enough population segment to form a similar peer group looking to rebuild their social support group also... as in birds-of-a-feather. By that I mean, other people who are your age, educational background, recently re-located, and employed to earn about your same tax bracket.

From the content of your post, or rather the lack of your mentioning it, you would not be opposed to meet someone to share your intimate life with (love interest, marriage partner, significant other...) However, you might be someone who has concluded any intimate partner would be more compatible with you in the long term if they shared your social / cultural / educational (intellectual?) / political / religious background; and what percentage of Portland will fit such a 'profile'.

You don't appear to be moving to get rich, punch-your-ticket on the way up the corporate ladder, seek fame and public adoration as some media star, nor seeking the brazen night-life style of young and fabulous looking 20 something. You don't appear to be running away from some nasty personal problems (moving will not solve them, trust me.)

Therefore, why not go to Portland? Don't let unrealistic expectations cloud your mind. Don't let the posters on this board scare you away, they are mostly trying to force you to be realistic about Portland. Portland ain't all of Oregon, and All of Oregon ain't Portland. People are people everywhere, you can get flipped-off in Chicago, NYC, or Portland and maybe even other cities as well.

Again, what I wrote may not apply to you. But, if your current situation, and social structure, makes it OK (or is understanding in your desire) to move, why not? It will make your soul stronger, and you are still young.l

Phil

[Wicked Felina]

Originally Posted by backdrifter

Not meaning to be rude and no offense meant, but you sound like a total Portland cliche.

Funny, I read the OP and thought that sounds like a total NYC cliche. I can say this, having been both ~

[Wicked Felina]

Originally Posted by backdrifter

Not meaning to be rude and no offense meant, but you sound like a total Portland cliche.

Funny, I read the OP and thought that sounds like a total NYC cliche. I can say this, having been both PDX and NYC cliches ~

[Minervah]

I think you can rvrtything you describe you are seeking in Portland except for work. There is no demand for your skills unfortunately at least not right now. You would be better off waiting until things get better but that could take a long time.

Standard advice: if you really want to move here, have at least a years worth of savings and leave enough to get back home if that turns out to be the case. But try to find a job before you move. That would be the ideal situatuation.