Thinking of moving to Portland...Hipster ratio's? (fit in, for rent)

[billpelt]

Hey! I'm thinking about moving to Portland next summer and kind of wondered about how easy it is for a 22 year old guy to fit in if i'm not an all out hipster. I feel like i'm somewhat in the middle between preppy and hipster and can't really see myself walking around Portland with skin tight jeans and onitsuka tiger's on. That being said, those are the type of people i more gravitate towards because i really don't fit in with the top 40 crowd because i'm kind of a weird/quirky guy.

I want to move out there because i really fell in love with the way portland felt as a city... with such a lack of chain restaurants around and such a small city feel for how big it is! I see myself doing lots of things outside and exploring geographically as much as possible. My sister already lives out there in the NE (by killingsworth and 15th). My goals for living there are to just meet new people and start to be a twenty-something. Get any job i can find and grab a cheap room for rent until i find a decent job.

So to sum up: Do you see me fitting in there and where might someone like me live?

[Nell Plotts]

You can live anywhere and be happy. Come with a job in hand.

[philwithbeard]

No problem. Portland is very much live and let live.

What is a problem? Someone wants to impose their lifestyle on others; for example Hipsters forcing others (like you) to get tattooed and dress goth isn't really acceptable here. Works both ways.

BTW, I'm sure your sister will tell you, jobs are hard to come by unless you have a specific skill. 20-somethings looking for survival jobs are in the LONG line at the employment office.

Also, ask your sister on her opinion on meeting young 20-something females here in Portland. This site has had long threads on how bad the ratio of males to females are here in Portland. (Maybe I should add the qualifications reported "Dateable" males vs reported "Dateable" females as both sides in that debate are complaining loudly about quality as well as quantity.)

If you do make it here, for my part anyway, I welcome you.

[billpelt]

Good to know. I'd be coming there with a degree in Business management and a builders license and 2-3 years of building/construction experience so I'd be looking to get a job in some kind of trade like that. Or maybe flip a house on my own to kind of take the job thing into my own hands. Or do woodworking on the side/out of a garage.

Is the ratio that bad? Like are all the good girls just always taken or what?

[DoctorRain]

Originally Posted by philwithbeard

No problem. Portland is very much live and let live.

What is a problem? Someone wants to impose their lifestyle on others; for example Hipsters forcing others (like you) to get tattooed and dress goth isn't really acceptable here. Works both ways.

BTW, I'm sure your sister will tell you, jobs are hard to come by unless you have a specific skill. 20-somethings looking for survival jobs are in the LONG line at the employment office.

Also, ask your sister on her opinion on meeting young 20-something females here in Portland. This site has had long threads on how bad the ratio of males to females are here in Portland. (Maybe I should add the qualifications reported "Dateable" males vs reported "Dateable" females as both sides in that debate are complaining loudly about quality as well as quantity.)

If you do make it here, for my part anyway, I welcome you.

Quick question Phil, what if its not a "survival job" you're looking for, but what if its say a massage therapy job.

[philwithbeard]

Originally Posted by DoctorRain

Quick question Phil, what if its not a "survival job" you're looking for, but what if its say a massage therapy job.

As far as I know, Portland is full up on massage therapist, and then some. Not saying a MT won't find work, 'cause I don't know the job market (independent shop market?) for a MT. But there sure seems to be a lot of TM's all around PDX sharing what little market there is.

Side note, and maybe off topic:
Portland is a very high rated bicycle riding community and a large biker population. A couple of times I have seen bikers down along side the road rubbing their lower leg muscles and such, as if the biker had some sort of leg cramp. Do massage therapists ever specialize in 'biker's leg', 'charlie horse cramps', or other leg ailments that might afflict bikers?

And is it just my false impression that it just appears this 'biker leg' syndrome is more concentrated among middle-aged males with expensive bikes who look like they work in an office (pasty faced and clean cut) and can be more easily spotted on a sunny Sunday afternoon, around the hilly parts of Portland's parks and trails? Most likely this is just a false impression on my part.

Phil

[Xanathos]

Portland has a HUGE ratio of people...who try really hard to be hipsters.

The number of *actual* hipsters, however, is quite small.

[DoctorRain]

Originally Posted by philwithbeard

As far as I know, Portland is full up on massage therapist, and then some. Not saying a MT won't find work, 'cause I don't know the job market (independent shop market?) for a MT. But there sure seems to be a lot of TM's all around PDX sharing what little market there is.

Side note, and maybe off topic:
Portland is a very high rated bicycle riding community and a large biker population. A couple of times I have seen bikers down along side the road rubbing their lower leg muscles and such, as if the biker had some sort of leg cramp. Do massage therapists ever specialize in 'biker's leg', 'charlie horse cramps', or other leg ailments that might afflict bikers?

And is it just my false impression that it just appears this 'biker leg' syndrome is more concentrated among middle-aged males with expensive bikes who look like they work in an office (pasty faced and clean cut) and can be more easily spotted on a sunny Sunday afternoon, around the hilly parts of Portland's parks and trails? Most likely this is just a false impression on my part.

Phil

Yea they say the same in the nearest city to me (Tampa) that there is an overload of them. When my school helps find me a job, I will know better how that market is and that should somewhat answer my question about Portland depending on how smooth that goes.

[Leisesturm]

Originally Posted by philwithbeard

Side note, and maybe off topic:
Portland is a very high rated bicycle riding community and a large biker population. A couple of times I have seen bikers down along side the road rubbing their lower leg muscles and such, as if the biker had some sort of leg cramp. Do massage therapists ever specialize in 'biker's leg', 'charlie horse cramps', or other leg ailments that might afflict bikers?

And is it just my false impression that it just appears this 'biker leg' syndrome is more concentrated among middle-aged males with expensive bikes who look like they work in an office (pasty faced and clean cut) and can be more easily spotted on a sunny Sunday afternoon, around the hilly parts of Portland's parks and trails? Most likely this is just a false impression on my part.

Phil

I'm thinking they either have their saddles (seats) too high or else they are low on calcium, potassium or some other ionic salt. You might yell that out to them next time you spot one. I'll leave it to you to package the public service announcement in a snappy sound bite that can be delivered quickly. Sadly, neither ailment seems likely to be aided by massage therapy and in any case that type of male would never, ever be found lying on a massage table to actually get a massage.. ...

H

[philwithbeard]

Originally Posted by Leisesturm

..... You might yell that out to them next time you spot one. I'll leave it to you to package the public service announcement in a snappy sound bite that can be delivered quickly.....

What?
At my age?
Nah, let'm suffer on the side of the road..
I'll just gleefully enjoy watching the PAIN through my green envious eyes since I can't ride a bike with my bad ankle and knee.
It's been since 1979 that I have lived in a city as bike friendly as Portland, and now I'm too old to enjoy the biking.
Let'm suffer.