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I would like to take a stab at that. I moved to Portland back in the late 70's. It was very different then but what city wasn't? Unfortunately, it has only been since the 90's that Portland has developed a reputation of being a city of Yuppsters but we have so much more. It's just that they are the ones who squeak the loudest and have become the media darlings because they get the most attention. They are also the ones who are the most colorful that bring in cash for certain Eastern "artists" who exploit their images.
But if you truly look beyond all of that, at the people who make up the majority of Portlanders, you will find just regular people going about their daily living. They act, look, talk and behave like pretty much anybody else anywhere. They are basically very nice people. You just have to get to know them and as in being a transplant anywhere, you have to make the first efforts and that takes time. Too many people move to another city expecting to be welcomed with open arms. I don't think that happens in very many places outside maybe the Midwest.
Remember, since Portland has gotten an undeserved reputation as a haven for malcontents, a lot of malcontents wind up here and expect to be treated like gold. When they are not, they are the loudest in their criticism. A jerk is a jerk no matter where they go. No one likes them. There is no reason why Portland should be any exception.
I think that someone set up a similar one of these Facebook pages for Bayonne NJ and that some suckers actually moved there based on how may 'likes' the page received.....
Did you set up a Facebook page about a city you know nothing about again? SillyBilly.
...But if you truly look beyond all of that, at the people who make up the majority of Portlanders, you will find just regular people going about their daily living. They act, look, talk and behave like pretty much anybody else anywhere. They are basically very nice people. You just have to get to know them and as in being a transplant anywhere, you have to make the first efforts and that takes time.
A jerk is a jerk no matter where they go. No one likes them. There is no reason why Portland should be any exception.
Truer words were never spoken (er... written). I challenge anyone to move to any city and not feel like an outsider for at least a little while.
It must be really hard to get every single one of the 600,000 Portlanders to be on the same page about giving newcomers the cold shoulder. Let alone all 2.2 million of us in the Portland MSA. Think of how hard it would be to arrange the meetings! It's a logistical nightmare!
Sometimes... just a suggestion... sometimes you gotta look at yourself.
-People here hate others from out of state. If you're out of state and don't like something go back out of state is the mentality.
I've lived here now for 15 years (7/1996-12/2003, 10/2005-now). I've been an active Meetup member and organizer for the last 5 years so I've met a lot of people since I first moved here. I know very few people who were actually born and raised here. Of the top of my head, I can only think of 4; two of whom I actually met in college in Idaho as opposed to here. The majority of the people I meet seem to be from the Midwest.
I don't think people are snooty, at least not the way I define it. I do think people have a tendency to just keep to themselves as they go about their business, however.
Did you set up a Facebook page about a city you know nothing about again? SillyBilly.
I'm thinking not. There's no mention as to how we all think the Pearl is the end all, be all of all things Portland and that we all kiss the ground and thank our lucky stars it exists when we set foot there. There's no mention of the "Silicon Forest" either, wherever that is.
But if you truly look beyond all of that, at the people who make up the majority of Portlanders, you will find just regular people going about their daily living. They act, look, talk and behave like pretty much anybody else anywhere. They are basically very nice people. You just have to get to know them and as in being a transplant anywhere, you have to make the first efforts and that takes time. Too many people move to another city expecting to be welcomed with open arms. I don't think that happens in very many places outside maybe the Midwest.
I think some people just get wrapped up in imagining that a certain new city will be a utopia for them, when in fact every city has a range of things going on. Like the posts on here where someone comes to Portland and is surprised to see that we have industrial areas and places that are a little rundown and warts and all instead of every neighborhood being NW 23rd or NE Alberta. It's like when you travel to even the most beautiful European city as a tourist, one will often think of the gleaming historic core and old buildings--yet to get there you often ride through fairly average suburbs or gritty industrial areas with people just trying to go about their lives--the parts of the city that aren't covered in the guidebooks and travel articles. Not everyone is going to be friendly to you right off the bat in a lot of places, people have things going on. All that considered, I've found people more likely than not to be helpful in Portland.
When I ride the MAX in the morning to work I see a mix of people, a fairly diverse group of teenagers riding the train to school, fairly average middle class people going to work, older people who might have lived around my neighborhood their whole lives, young transplants in their twenties, and yes a few sort of bedraggled derelicht types. Yet, in the popular imagination Portland is just Portlandia, a bunch of people fashioning themselves eccentric artists and living a life of leisure managing to survive without really working much if all and possibly with a pretentious attitude. There are people like that and it's a fun cliche to make fun of, but it's not the entirety of the city and plenty of people here are very average people just trying to make a living.
I read about the "Seattle Freeze" but never experienced it there. Here in Portland though, it is hard to miss. I'm relocating from an area that sees a fair amount of transplants also, yet there is not nearly as much of a close minded attitude about it. I'll admit that because I work a lot, I don't get to interact with local people as much (physically) but in the comments for news articles, online communities.. people come off EXTREMELY crabby and childlike.
I tried to ignore it and just assume they're trolls but I constantly see this. Is this really the mentality of the area? It's really depressing seeing how these people say such things and constantly receive 20 upvotes or whatever.
Uh-oh. Better put on your flack jacket pal. The locals will not be happy with you discussing their town in that manner.
I've lived here now for 15 years (7/1996-12/2003, 10/2005-now). I've been an active Meetup member and organizer for the last 5 years so I've met a lot of people since I first moved here. I know very few people who were actually born and raised here. Of the top of my head, I can only think of 4; two of whom I actually met in college in Idaho as opposed to here. The majority of the people I meet seem to be from the Midwest.
I don't think people are snooty, at least not the way I define it. I do think people have a tendency to just keep to themselves as they go about their business, however.
Most of the friends I've made that grew up here I met in college before moving here as well.
The fact that this town is so full of people from other places though is why I find it funny we people say "the locals" aren't friendly to transplants. In certain social situations or workplaces the majority is going to be people who transplanted from somewhere else at one point.
I think some people just get wrapped up in imagining that a certain new city will be a utopia for them, when in fact every city has a range of things going on.
When I was young and dumb on my first professional job, they sent me to Dallas, TX. Before arriving, I remember imagining that everyone must wear cowboy hats, of course, because it's Dallas. I couldn't have been more wrong.
I've travelled a lot since then, including a little international travel, and while it's true that the stereotypes of places have a grain of truth to them, the true heart of any city isn't made up by the population that matches the stereotype. It's that core population that are just making their way through the day, working, spending time with their friends and families, and not paying any attention to trends like skinny shorts, hipster glasses, or smoking a pipe.
I think some people just get wrapped up in imagining that a certain new city will be a utopia for them, when in fact every city has a range of things going on. Like the posts on here where someone comes to Portland and is surprised to see that we have industrial areas and places that are a little rundown and warts and all instead of every neighborhood being NW 23rd or NE Alberta. It's like when you travel to even the most beautiful European city as a tourist, one will often think of the gleaming historic core and old buildings--yet to get there you often ride through fairly average suburbs or gritty industrial areas with people just trying to go about their lives--the parts of the city that aren't covered in the guidebooks and travel articles. Not everyone is going to be friendly to you right off the bat in a lot of places, people have things going on. All that considered, I've found people more likely than not to be helpful in Portland.
When I ride the MAX in the morning to work I see a mix of people, a fairly diverse group of teenagers riding the train to school, fairly average middle class people going to work, older people who might have lived around my neighborhood their whole lives, young transplants in their twenties, and yes a few sort of bedraggled derelicht types. Yet, in the popular imagination Portland is just Portlandia, a bunch of people fashioning themselves eccentric artists and living a life of leisure managing to survive without really working much if all and possibly with a pretentious attitude. There are people like that and it's a fun cliche to make fun of, but it's not the entirety of the city and plenty of people here are very average people just trying to make a living.
Great comments. I frequently take the Belmont bus in the late morning on my way to the Legacy Medical Complex in NW Portland from my stop in SE. I see a very different group of people on that bus than one would see in the Pearl or shown on "Portlandia" or whom I suspect many people on this forum will ever see. These are especially not people those who do not live in Portland would have an image of as Portlanders and yet they are just as much Portlanders as anyone else living here.
They are rough looking, poor and ill kempt. They are often people talking aloud and not on cell phones either. They are people one would not be surprised to find on Chicago or New York streets or subways except they live right here. They are also regular looking people; old, young, middle aged, students. They are look like anyone you would see anywhere just simply going about their business. There are people who are on crutches and in wheelchairs too.
People often have images of cities as being one way or another. Portland is dominated by hipsters, Chicago has gangs that control all of the city, New Yorkers are all like people on Seinfeld, Cleveland is all slum areas, California is either all stoners or beautiful wealthy people, the South consists of nothing but bigots. All are stereotypes with nothing in between. But no place consists of just one type of person exclusively and that goes for Portland.
Portland has its unique features. Most cities do. But as you say, on the whole, if you travel the city during the non-rush hours, especially by bus if you can find one that goes through city neighborhoods, you can imagine yourself being in most cities of Portland's size with the people being pretty much alike.
Oh, and to address the snooty issue a bit further, I have found some of the friendliest people riding the bus. For those who don't have their noses stuck in their Iphones, sometimes just a comment can lead to a very interesting conversation with a stranger.
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There's no mention of the "Silicon Forest" either, wherever that is.
