black woman in portland oregon? (relocating, job, move back, location)

[kkbee]

Hey im a 22 yr old black woman from southern California and i was thinking of relocating my job(Post Office) to portland..but I'm a bit scared. I love the the rain, i absolutely love the ducks and i always enjoy myself when i visit oregon. I picked portland because i felt that it was more diverse than eugene. My concern is that i dont wanna feel like an outcast because of my race and also finding friends that have the same interest as i do. Ive been in love with oregon for years and this is where i felt my heart is..should i continue to follow my dreams and relocate?

[Becki in Tx.]

You might try posting this in the Oregon Section of the forums. That is where people who actually live in Portland Oregon will see it. Good luck!

[Frihed89]

While Oregon was frighteningly racist in its early statehood period, that has died out. However, the black population is relatively small. Portland is a great city. You will not encounter racism.

[Juxtaposition109]

You'll be fine in Portland. I lived there for three years. While the majority of the people there are white, it's a very open-minded hippy city. You are at a really good age to move somewhere new and try new things. The worst that could happen is you move there and decide it's not for you and you move back to where you are now. At least then you won't have to wonder about whether or not it would have worked. One thing I learned moving around the country is that your home city isn't going to "disappear" simply b/c you move away from it. In other words your decision to move somewhere new and try isn't a decision you can't "return" if your not satisfied with it. Go for it, you'll be glad you did.

[sarahkate_m]

Originally Posted by kkbee

Hey im a 22 yr old black woman from southern California and i was thinking of relocating my job(Post Office) to portland..but I'm a bit scared. I love the the rain, i absolutely love the ducks and i always enjoy myself when i visit oregon. I picked portland because i felt that it was more diverse than eugene. My concern is that i dont wanna feel like an outcast because of my race and also finding friends that have the same interest as i do. Ive been in love with oregon for years and this is where i felt my heart is..should i continue to follow my dreams and relocate?

Hello, KKBee,

I imagine if you relocate for a post office job to any location, you would have a lot of job protection. I'm from So. Cal (Caucasian but I grew up in East LA) & I love it here. Oregon is a lot like what it was like in the seventies in California. However, I speak from a white perspective.

Portland is one of the most crowded places in this state of a tiny population (compared to CA - look at the population of Los Angeles County compared to this entire state). People are cramped & crowded. They don't make much eye contact in Portland (referred to as PDX). But in other less populated & less popular areas, south of PDX & Salem, it's a little better. It's pretty lax in Eugene (liberal).

I have to tell you it's a lot like the Wild West here, in some ways. Small towns & small minds prevail. The Willamette Valley is your best bet, especially near/around Eugene. North of Eugene is Beaver territory, FYI.

I hope your journey goes well.