Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Oregon > Portland
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 03-14-2010, 07:56 AM
 
Location: Syracuse, NY
199 posts, read 534,501 times
Reputation: 59

Advertisements

Quote:
Originally Posted by Sprightly View Post
Salmanal, sounds like you might like it here. One of the best things about this city is that people seem to respect books. I was so thrilled when I first visited Powell's to see not only such a magnificent bookstore but such a popular one. After having lived in cities in the past where it wasn't uncommon to hear people brag about not liking to read, it was wonderfully refreshing. The only caution that comes to me reading your post is that you may find it a bit homogenous and too white here. I don't think you'll get bad reaction to you personally, but that you might find it a bit bland after the multicultural atmosphere of some of the places you've already been. As others have already suggested, definitely visit and do ordinary non-touristy things to get a feel for life here.
"White compared to Greece?" I liked Greece; at the time, the Euro was getting too strong vs. the U.S. Dollar and I moved to Mexico. The surge in violence after Calderon was elected is what made me leave Mexico and move north to cool off. I chose this city for the concentration of Higher learning institutions; the disappointment is the number of book stores; let alone, the number of people who can spell the name of their cars. A visit here would have been different due to the location of most hotels. I'm okay in Canada as well, I love it there. Meanwhile, my first stop in Portland is Powell's. My first visit to Cody's in Berkeley is an event I'll never forget.
I plant to visit Portland, and try to visit as many areas of the city as possible, including Old Town in the evening.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 03-14-2010, 11:15 AM
 
Location: Portland, Oregon
10,987 posts, read 20,456,202 times
Reputation: 8256
I wouldn't go so far as to say Old Town is unsafe, but a new arrival to the city should scope it out for themselves. For people who have lived in New York City or San Francisco, or many other large urban areas, it is not an issue. If small town Iowa is your comfort zone - quite another matter.

People with addictions or in need of mental health services are in all of our communities. In small towns they are often not visible. You will find many posters on this forum who seem to think Portland is unique in this regard, they should avoid any city.

For myself the fact that these people are availing themselves of services, and that there are people in the community who try to make a difference, - it saves lives.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-14-2010, 12:52 PM
 
Location: Portland, OR
1,657 posts, read 4,464,751 times
Reputation: 907
Salmanal:

I am going to presume you have a specific reason to visit "Oldtown".

I must add my caution also that Old town is more for Portland residents than tourist; 1st of all, it is only a few street blocks big, and 2nd, the Pearl District right next door, as it were, is much more visitor friendly, larger, and more varied.

Have you seen this walking tour map of Oldtown, Pearl, and NW23rd street?
http://www.artofgeography.com/maps/pdfs/pearl-nw23rd-walking-map.pdf (broken link)
(very large PDF file, may take a bit to download.

Phil
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-14-2010, 03:03 PM
 
Location: Syracuse, NY
199 posts, read 534,501 times
Reputation: 59
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nell Plotts View Post
I wouldn't go so far as to say Old Town is unsafe, but a new arrival to the city should scope it out for themselves. For people who have lived in New York City or San Francisco, or many other large urban areas, it is not an issue. If small town Iowa is your comfort zone - quite another matter.

People with addictions or in need of mental health services are in all of our communities. In small towns they are often not visible. You will find many posters on this forum who seem to think Portland is unique in this regard, they should avoid any city.

For myself the fact that these people are availing themselves of services, and that there are people in the community who try to make a difference, - it saves lives.
Right you are! It would probably be nothing for me having survived SF. Unfortunately, the Homeless in CA have become aggressive, and will place themselves in your path, if not your face. Homelessness was my first impression of SF. You can't just hand the Homeless money, their support needs are on a grand scale; hand-outs only fuel the dependency. A guy at my church in SF had just arrived from Portland, homeless, hungry, and broke. We ate at a cafe where I gave him specific written instructions on getting any city and/or federal assistance. A month later, he approached me with the issue of needing assistance again; he said the city gave him monetary assistance, but not enough; I assumed, a drug problem, and advised him that he used up my assistance and to go back to the city for more help, if any. I was in the middle of moving to Greece at the time, I was very busy. When I taught in the housing project, I was a combination teacher and social worker. A thankless job, but we like it anyway.

And thanks Philwithbeard for the map.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-14-2010, 03:22 PM
 
Location: Portland, Oregon
10,987 posts, read 20,456,202 times
Reputation: 8256
My home parish recommended meal tickets: .: Sisters Of The Road, Inc. :.

One family in my former neighborhood provided shelter for a homeless man in their garage for many years. The neighborhood knew he was a gentle man who had lost his way.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-14-2010, 04:02 PM
 
Location: Syracuse, NY
199 posts, read 534,501 times
Reputation: 59
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nell Plotts View Post
My home parish recommended meal tickets: .: Sisters Of The Road, Inc. :.

One family in my former neighborhood provided shelter for a homeless man in their garage for many years. The neighborhood knew he was a gentle man who had lost his way.
Wow! I worked for the Sisters of Mercy in SF, we were tirelessly empowering our community.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2020 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Oregon > Portland
Similar Threads

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top