Why is it so hard to make good friends in Portland? (Dallas: homes, neighborhoods)

[karlsch]

This final scene from the movie filmed in Oregon, especially in and around Brownsville, explains part of the friend problem: Stand By Me - Friends come in and out of your life.avi - YouTube

[gonpostal]

I have a 1968 Plymouth Roadrunner with a sweet 440 Super Commando that was my first car, handed down to me by my dad. When I hop in it and head out anywhere I have instant friends. If you ever see me driving up and down I-84 slightly over the speed limit, please don't call the cops.

[JakeDog]

Compared to the East Coast, Mid-West, California, and South, the PNW is not a welcoming culture. It's similar to Finland in the overall shyness. In most parts of the country NO ONE CARES WHERE YOU ARE FROM. I'm a native Oregonian and always laugh when I go back and visit and encounter the attitude of native versus non-native. WHO CARES? The answer- Oregonians who have never left the state and use it as an excuse to be unfriendly.

[EnricoV]

Shyness is not unwelcoming. Shyness is not unfriendly. Shyness is not a "native vs. non-native" attitude.

So what. Are Oregonians not supposed to ask where someone is from. But if they don't ask, they're snobbish and unfriendly? Bottom line ... you just can't win with some people.

[psichick]

Originally Posted by jjpop

At least now you live in a place where you're not considered weird.

I'm a lot like you, and when I lived in areas where I was surrounded by more extroverts, I often felt left out and wondering what was wrong with me. Living here, I realize there's never been anything wrong with my introversion.

I never thought about it that way. Granted though, because I'm "young", everyone has wondered why I chose LO, because you know, they expected me to 1. live in the Pearl (should 'the' be capitalized?), 2. get out to pubs/coffee houses almost every weekend, 3. or festivals, 4. get out every weekend. I've been asked this a lot from people I know and don't know. Obviously no one really knows me.

I feel like I'm letting them down when I tell them I haven't really gone out at all. But I'm enjoying it. I think I'd like to get out and take pictures of this beautiful place. But that would mean leaving my apartment. LOL.

[EnricoV]

How about joining a photography club, then. It's a good prompting to get yourself out, and take some photos. There are three in Portland listed on this page. One of them even in your neighborhood.

It's a good way to get out in the woods for some photography, not all by yourself.

[psichick]

Originally Posted by EnricoV

How about joining a photography club, then. It's a good prompting to get yourself out, and take some photos. There are three in Portland listed on this page. One of them even in your neighborhood.

It's a good way to get out in the woods for some photography, not all by yourself.

I didn't think about looking for specific clubs. I looked at some meetup groups for photography, golf, and dog related, but that was about it. I'll check out the clubs.

One issue I'm having right now....is that I want to be alone.
I know I'm wasting away the beautiful weather though. It's why I feel like I should get out.

[turquoise1]

Nothing wrong with wanting to be alone! It is certainly a beautiful place to enjoy your solitude. Maybe this is why there is a tradition of great writers here.

Before I had kids, I used to have a lot of time to enjoy this... now, not so much.

[jjpop]

Originally Posted by psichick

I didn't think about looking for specific clubs. I looked at some meetup groups for photography, golf, and dog related, but that was about it. I'll check out the clubs.

One issue I'm having right now....is that I want to be alone.
I know I'm wasting away the beautiful weather though. It's why I feel like I should get out.

Hey, if you want to be alone right now, don't beat yourself up about it! On the other hand, with this great weather, grabbing a water bottle and heading over to Tryon Creek State Park is never a bad idea.

[eeberlien]

Originally Posted by rass33

First off, who said the females I had over were white? You seem to be assuming things based on the fact that I'm an African American male living in Portland. Also, most of the small percentage of black men in Portland were born here so I don't understand your assertion that they came here to "hit on white women," I came to Portland because I attend grad school at PSU not to hit on any woman so that assertion was really ridiculous. I would be kind of ridiculous to travel 2,000 miles just to hit on white women when Chicago is full of white women, don't you think? You're either a jealous white man or a disgruntled black woman that's the only conclusion I can draw at this point.

Awesome dude, just an outstanding come back :-) I'm a white dude living in Salt Lake City Utah. I may have to move to Portland for work. Didn't want to know racisim like the other guys post still existed, (or perhaps I didn't want to know). Your post pleased me greatly :-) I can't stand people that hate for stupid reasons like race. The other guy to whom you responded to needs to wake up.