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Old 01-11-2012, 06:25 PM
 
Location: Lakewood OH
21,695 posts, read 28,376,800 times
Reputation: 35862

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Quote:
Now you're probably asking yourselves why I decided to move here right? I was lied too. I was told it was a completely different story. A "friend" of mine told me all these great things and made it seem opposite. When I visited for a bit it seemed pretty decent. I guess some things you can only pick up on by living some place though huh?
I am going to pick out this complaint over all your others for a specific reason. Merely visiting a place will not tell you if it is 100% for anyone. Believing hype in the form of a TV show, word-of-mouth or other media will not tell them you either. These are all sources of possibilities for dissatisfaction in a new city.

I totally agree with your second sentence " I guess some things you can only pick up on by living some place though huh? " is right on target. That is why you have to approach a new place with an open mind. So many potential transplantees post what they are trying to get away from in their hometowns without checking to see if any of these same or similar conditions also exist here. But because they want to believe the grass is greener, they assume all their heart's desire will be waiting for them in their new place.

So it is not necessary for you to diss Portland because you found it wasn't for you. It's fine for many people; just not your cup 'o tea. The most important thing to keep in mind when relocating is that there will be a possibility it isn't the place for you after all. So okay, move on. No hard feelings. It didn't work is the best reason to leave. You don't have to leave a trail of negative behind you.

 
Old 01-15-2012, 01:21 PM
 
27 posts, read 34,885 times
Reputation: 32
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bayarea4 View Post
I hope that Portlanders reading this will not judge all Californians by this guy's sour attitude. My husband is a native, so I've spent a lot of time in Portland. I fell in love with your city from the first time I laid eyes on it, and 30 years later I still think it's an amazing city. I would live there in a heartbeat if I didn't have family and roots in the Bay Area.
Can you move back to the Bay Area? People like you are what destroyed Portland. Portland used to be cheap and very cool. Granted, Californians are not the only ones at fault for Portland's living standard decline. You also have people from the Midwest, South and the East Coast for their share of the blame. I really miss Portland the way it was back in 1991 when people were down to earth, humble. You could find an apartment for $195 for a studio. It was so cheap, and there was no traffic once so ever. It's too bad!
 
Old 01-15-2012, 01:48 PM
 
Location: San Francisco
21,480 posts, read 8,667,598 times
Reputation: 64636
Quote:
Originally Posted by leg of lamb View Post
Can you move back to the Bay Area? People like you are what destroyed Portland. Portland used to be cheap and very cool. Granted, Californians are not the only ones at fault for Portland's living standard decline. You also have people from the Midwest, South and the East Coast for their share of the blame. I really miss Portland the way it was back in 1991 when people were down to earth, humble. You could find an apartment for $195 for a studio. It was so cheap, and there was no traffic once so ever. It's too bad!
leg of lamb, I can't "move back to the Bay Area" because I never left. My husband was born and raised in Portland, and my mother-in-law lived there until her death. When she was still alive we visited Portland as often as possible. I was charmed by your city and I was always reluctant to leave. "People like me" poured tourist dollars into the Portland economy for over 20 years but are in no way responsible for the rising real estate prices. I'm sorry that things aren't as cheap as they used to be, but I still think Portland is a very cool place with a lot of very cool people.
 
Old 01-15-2012, 02:05 PM
 
9,961 posts, read 17,477,729 times
Reputation: 9193
Quote:
Originally Posted by leg of lamb View Post
Can you move back to the Bay Area? People like you are what destroyed Portland. Portland used to be cheap and very cool. Granted, Californians are not the only ones at fault for Portland's living standard decline. You also have people from the Midwest, South and the East Coast for their share of the blame. I really miss Portland the way it was back in 1991 when people were down to earth, humble. You could find an apartment for $195 for a studio. It was so cheap, and there was no traffic once so ever. It's too bad!
Yes, we know--everywhere in the USA was cheaper and cooler and had less traffic and less people 20-30 years--right? Can everyone move back to the place they were born in and then we can stop the free flow of people around the USA in some sort of Stalinist central planning scheme?

Leg of Lamb, you're over in other forums talking about living in Los Angeles in the 1980s. If you lived in LA(either as a native or transplant) where do you get the gall to complain about transplants to Portland?
 
Old 01-15-2012, 02:34 PM
 
Location: Pacific NW
6,413 posts, read 12,114,326 times
Reputation: 5860
Quote:
Originally Posted by leg of lamb View Post
Can you move back to the Bay Area? People like you are what destroyed Portland. Portland used to be cheap and very cool. Granted, Californians are not the only ones at fault for Portland's living standard decline. You also have people from the Midwest, South and the East Coast for their share of the blame. I really miss Portland the way it was back in 1991 when people were down to earth, humble. You could find an apartment for $195 for a studio. It was so cheap, and there was no traffic once so ever. It's too bad!
You think it was paradise in 1991, and then the Californians ruined it? I'd say that's about 20 years too late (if you even want to go with the whole "ruining it" story). You do know that it was Tom McCall who was governor when all the furor over the "come visit but don't stay" controversy happened. He was governor from 1967-1975.

I would, though, dispute the $195. My first apartment, back in 1973, I paid $95 a month. Of course, I was making $1 an hour at the time. And looking at a 1987 copy of the Oregonian (that's as recent as the library has online), downtown studios were advertised in the $200-250 range.

And traffic? I used to commute daily to town from Milwaukie. It took at a minimum, 30 minutes to drive it during rush hour. Nowadays it takes 15 minutes because of traffic improvements. I don't think that rush-hour traffic is any worse today than it used to be. There is more traffic all hours of the day, though.
 
Old 01-15-2012, 03:08 PM
 
Location: Portland, OR
1,012 posts, read 1,540,168 times
Reputation: 523
Why are there so many trolls in the Portland forum?

I also don't understand the sentiment that people should stick to their own kind and never move from their hometown. Very strange...
 
Old 01-15-2012, 04:40 PM
 
Location: Eugene, OR.
94 posts, read 182,388 times
Reputation: 47
Portland really looks like a neat city. From Eugene, I've been able to visit several times. I've notice that Portland seems to have a Gentle Spirit feeling in the area, which I think attracts a lot of people.

A bit of History as to why PDX & Oregon is the way it is Today:
Oregon in General (PDX included) has never recovered from the Recession in the 80's.
Before then, people used to live a very peaceful/simple life (I've witnessed this in parts of the Mid-West) . 1 Man could easily find work, live comfortably, buy a house (even for 20k!), feed his family, etc. The wife (or in some cases husband lol) didn't have to work, but could, & often did for vacation money, etc.
If your dad worked at a mill, factory, etc. you usually had a job there after graduating from hs.
Everyone knew each other.

Then Californians started moving in, and slowly that lifestyle started disappearing. They paid Way to much for property (raising the rates), Constantly Suied for the dumbest reasons known to man lol, and got CA type bills/laws/ordinances passed.

CA laws started passing, recession in the 80's started bout the same time, and the Mills/jobs disappeared to South America.
And that simple life disappeared also.

It's like they didn't even stop once to think that this is a different state!!! It's not named California (although now adays it feels like Mini-CA lol) lol. It's a different lifestyle here lol. At least it was for me when I moved up here back in the day. If nothing else you can't pump your own gas here lol.

So long as the Laws in CA work as well as they do there (lol lol lol), they won't work here!

We went from being skilled craftmens with good paying jobs to a Welfare state with high unemployment, & working in the Service Industry.

And our cost of living is still going up to this very day!!! Hence why the min. wage went up again this month to 8.80/hr. Never thought I'd see that one lol. When I first moved here I was extremely excited about min. wage @ 7.25/hr, and my first job here paid me 7.50/hr lol.

It is actually really sad. OR should be the state with the lowest unemployment rate in the Country! However, I think it will never happen...CA Laws....
Like say if we had an Oil Boom like in ND, we'd have Green House people Royally upset & desperately trying & probably succeeding in stopping it.

Do your Homework before moving here, or anywhere else!

I still love Oregon. It'll always have a soft spot in my Heart. & Am excited about hopefully moving to PDX

Last edited by jj85; 01-15-2012 at 05:51 PM..
 
Old 01-15-2012, 06:49 PM
 
Location: Pacific NW
6,413 posts, read 12,114,326 times
Reputation: 5860
I don't know what you are speaking of when you talk about "California Laws," but being a life-long resident, I can fairly confidently say that if Oregonians thought anything was a "California Law" it probably wouldn't be passed.

The bucolic mill-based community you're speaking of was true for the valley, but it's not ever what Portland was. Except for the years of WWII, with the shipyards, it's never been a factory town. Growing up, I don't think I knew of more than a couple people who did any sort of factory work.
 
Old 01-16-2012, 07:05 PM
 
920 posts, read 2,808,936 times
Reputation: 504
Quote:
Originally Posted by jj85 View Post
Californians started moving in, and slowly that lifestyle started disappearing. They paid Way to much for property (raising the rates), Constantly Suied for the dumbest reasons known to man lol, and got CA type bills/laws/ordinances passed.
Californians as scapegoat -- what an original concept! I'm a Californian who has been in Oregon for more than 20 years. I paid five digits for my home, and I was way too busy going to college or working to "Constantly Suied."

Quote:
CA laws started passing, recession in the 80's started bout the same time, and the Mills/jobs disappeared to South America.
And that simple life disappeared also.
Which California laws are you referring to? You are aware the recession in the 1980s was a national recession, not just an Oregon one? Mill jobs have disappeared all over America, thanks to Federal policies, not state ones. Exactly how Californians are to blame for that?

Quote:
It's a different lifestyle here lol. At least it was for me when I moved up here back in the day.
So, where are you from? Since you don't appear to be originally from Oregon, why do you not see yourself as part of the problems you point out?

Quote:
OR should be the state with the lowest unemployment rate in the Country! However, I think it will never happen...CA Laws....
Oregon has never had the lowest unemployment rate in the country. How are "CA Laws" to blame? Wouldn't that be Oregon laws?
 
Old 01-16-2012, 07:18 PM
 
920 posts, read 2,808,936 times
Reputation: 504
Quote:
Originally Posted by jayuso View Post

The stupid hate on Californians, let it go!

The whole smug factor "'I'm so much more open-minded than you are, which is why I don't listen to a thing you say."

The hipster culture, those who think they are the coolest thing since sliced bread. With the overly arrogant attitude in coffee shops.
I do agree with you on these three issues, and they are some of the things I don't like about Portland, either. No place is perfect, including Portland. I hope you find a place better suited to you.

Portland is just like any place -- it has its pros and cons, but I don't understand the "circling the wagons" mentality whenever someone dares to point out a negative thing about it. Granted, it's very rude to move somewhere and loudly bash everything about it, but Portland seems so defensive that it can't even bear to hear one or two bad things.
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