Why do you love Portland? (public schools, living, price)

[AddieJane]

Oh and can anyone suggest a good house-hunting website? I love redfin, but it doesn't work in Oregon (something about commission sharing laws).

Thanks again!

[juggler]

Originally Posted by AddieJane

Oh and can anyone suggest a good house-hunting website? I love redfin, but it doesn't work in Oregon (something about commission sharing laws).

Thanks again!

Try rmls.com for the Portland area
windermere.com is another good one - covers many western states

[Tesaje]

Originally Posted by AddieJane

I love the fact that there is a big park in the city. What is it like? Is it similar to central park?

Nothing is really like Central Park in NYC. A carefully designed huge park by a foremost landscape architect is not something found in many other cities.

I've explored several parks in Portland and they vary in character. From the formal gardens in the Japanese Garden and Rose Gardens to the wilder Forest Park and the many along the Willamette River and many in between. One of the very nice things about Portland is that it is just lousy with parks. There being a lot of trees in PDX, most of these parks allow you to feel like you are in almost in the wilderness following a trail while fully enclosed by the city. One thing that strikes me is it smells like the coniferous forest and you get to hear the wind thru the trees. Really not like Central Park at all, but oh so pleasant! Of course Seattle also has many parks with many of the same attributes.

[Neal2009]

Forest park is exactly what its name implies. There are no monuments, vending carts or thousands of people like in Central Park. Forest park is miles and miles of forest and I often had the feeling when hiking there as if I were thousands of miles away from the city. As far as I know the park starts in downtown and goes all the way til the Columbia River. You could probably spend months hiking all the different trails that go through there and admiring the beautiful 100+ foot trees which loom over you.

Portland is unrivaled when it comes to parks, but that is just my opinion. There is nothing like riding your bike up to Council Crest or Rocky Butte and having majestical views of Mt. Hood, Mt St Helens, Mt Adams and Mt Rainier on a clear day. On a real clear day you can see the famous vista house and the tip of Mt. Jefferson from Rocky Butte. I think the nicest park though is Mt. Tabor, which is an extinct volcano. You have everything from bike paths to walking paths to playgrounds, with probably the best view of downtown Portland that you can get.

Granted, I have never been to a city like San Francisco, but besides there, I cant think of many other cities in the U.S, besides SF and Seattle that has as good of parks as Portland.

[brubaker]

Because Portland has enough young hipsters (with expendible cash) to support a WIDE RANGE of independent theater and other oddball goody events (Professional Pencil Fighting Contest, Amateur Porn Festival, naked bicycling, IMAX Science Films, Communion Wafer Taste Test, etc etc) that would never be profitable (and therefore available to me) elsewhere.

Not that I 'get out' all that often but when I do want to stop staring into this screen it's nice to have some quality events to choose from!


It's a small but often overlooked quality.

[Raelyn28]

Just thought I would put in my two-cents worth since I lived in Portland for almost a decade. I loved it there. The beauty is unbelievable, especially the view from the airplane window as you approach the PDX as you view Mt. Hood!! My mother used to call it "God's Country" and she always had an eye for beauty.. God Rest Her Soul. She was able to visit twice before she passed away.

Anyway, there isn't too much NOT to like about Oregon in general. The only downside is that the lack of light in the winter can effect some people with me being one of them. I actually found a solution to that shortly before I moved away. You can buy these lamps (they are expensive) but they are made to replace the lack of sun in the winter. I am not sure of the name of those lamps but it is a quick fix for "SAD" the condition brought on by PNW winters. Apart from that I loved Portland and everything about the area....I miss it!!

[Raelyn28]

I have heard the word "hipster" before. Just what exactly does that word mean anyway?? It sounds really funny

Originally Posted by brubaker

Because Portland has enough young hipsters (with expendible cash) to support a WIDE RANGE of independent theater and other oddball goody events (Professional Pencil Fighting Contest, Amateur Porn Festival, naked bicycling, IMAX Science Films, Communion Wafer Taste Test, etc etc) that would never be profitable (and therefore available to me) elsewhere.

Not that I 'get out' all that often but when I do want to stop staring into this screen it's nice to have some quality events to choose from!


It's a small but often overlooked quality.

[philwithbeard]

Originally Posted by Raelyn28

I have heard the word "hipster" before. Just what exactly does that word mean anyway??......

Wikipedia's definition:
Hipster (contemporary subculture) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Note the above link's use of the terms: .... elements of all of the "fringe movements of the postwar era—Beat, hippie, punk, even grunge," and draws on the "cultural stores of every unmelted ethnicity" and "gay style", and "regurgitates it with a winking inauthenticity".... {which is a quote from a magazine article Titled ""Kill the hipster: Why the hipster must die: A modest proposal to save New York cool", Time Out New York"}

A "hipster" is a young person who always needs to know (and I mean KNOW!) where the young crowd is gathering, partying, or just hanging out. They will change bars and dance halls on a whim, and engage in what ever behavior that seems cool at the time. Right now, Tattoos (Tats, Body Art, BA, stamps, many other slang terms) is 'cool' so all kinds of tattoos are partially sticking out of pants, tops, selves, and ankles, necklines, and so forth in public. Cell phones are glued to ears.

You may have to trust me on this: Hipster clothing ain't the Disney World employee look, nope it sure ain't.

Phil

[brubaker]

Originally Posted by Raelyn28

I have heard the word "hipster" before. Just what exactly does that word mean anyway?? It sounds really funny

It's on everyone's lips nowadays I guess.


The more I hear people humorlessly disparage these kids en masse the more I am
drawn to their defense. Most of the people I see online upset about 'hipsters'
are wayyy more wound up and seriously angry than the situation warrants.

Not everyone but *most*.

And they're just such an easy target...it takes no skill or courage.

Anyways, I don't like uppity (or trendy) people either...but I like the cool events lots of
trendy kids together can help fund and make possible.




Don't we all?

[hellosandyp]

hipsters are just kids with a fashion sense.