Blacks in PDX (Portland, Green, Hood River: camping, sales tax, living in)

[Nell Plotts]

Jobs. Having the skills for the jobs that do exist.

[greenlite]

Originally Posted by Nell Plotts

Jobs. Having the skills for the jobs that do exist.

but many blacks move down south for professional jobs

[Nell Plotts]

Move from where?

Part of the problem is that Portland has a lot of professionals looking for employment opportunities. Recruiters don't have to go far to find a qualified applicant pool. Black professionals who live in the mid-west or the south don't look in Portland for a couple reasons: it is a long way from friends and family; they don't know where to look.

Employers who have affirmative action programs will network into national Black professional organizations but in my experience (and I really have that experience) that rarely produce an applicant. Even saying NIKE doesn't produce a lot of interest unless they are interested in the industry.

Here is what happened after WWII when the shipyards closed: Blacks moved to the automobile industry. Their friends and families recruited them. Whites didn't have the same network and most of them had friends and family in the northwest.

White, Black, Asian, Hispanic, Native American... it is all about networks not exclusion.

[Steve Pickering]

Originally Posted by rass33

The small percentage of blacks in Portland still seem to be concentrated in N/NE Portland. Many have moved out of Portland all together into Gresham, Beaverton and Hillsboro. I see very few blacks living in my outer SE neighborhood.

Gentrification hasn't changed that much. I lived at 16th and Alberta and recent visits looked to be about the same mix. It was never all black. I will say Gresham, Beaverton and Hillsboro, are blacker today than the past, but that only diluted the overall Portland black population as it has not increased percentage wise. And I , like many, lump those cities in as just another Portland neighborhood.

As for the SE Neighborhoods, it's like Gary Indiana and Portage Indiana. Segregation by taxation.

[Deezus]

Originally Posted by greenlite

but many blacks move down south for professional jobs

A lot more blacks move South these days(many from the Northeast or Midwest) though because black culture dominates down there and you still have the highest numbers of blacks in the nation(and job growth and a cheaper cost of living as well). It's like asking why don't a higher number of black professionals moving to Denver or San Jose when those cities have had good job growth recently. I had black co-workers and friends in Portland who grew up here and they talked about moving down South to Virginia or Georgia(and a lot of them still had family in the South, since they were only a generation or two removed from someone who moved from the region).

Here is where black people live in the US, notice that outside a few urban centers, there's not a high percentage anywhere in the western US.

http://www.raconline.org/racmaps/map...blackafram.png

[UberDuper]

Deezus - thanks for your input! I'll be (hopefully) commuting between the Hood River/Dalles area and the Tri-Cities area, since work is between the two (and I don't want to live too far east of work). Co-workers are mostly living in Kennewick/Pasco/Richland, but it doesn't seem like I'd like it as much. Plus there are WA taxes, which aren't much different than where I am, but if I could opt for so I'd like to I've been seeing a lot of 3 and 4 bd houses for rent, which I definitely don't need. I'd opt for a couple hundred dollars more a month if it meant being where I'd like, but I have provincial leanings too, so something rustic is not entirely out of the question, as long as it's not too far from work or totally Gummo. It's just tough knowing these sorts of things without spending a good deal of time there.

[urbanlife78]

Originally Posted by greenlite

so what prevents more blacks from moving to portland area? and not everywhere is segregated, some nj towns are diverse like montclair

Don't know, why to people migrate anywhere?

[hamellr]

Originally Posted by greenlite

so what prevents more blacks from moving to portland area? and not everywhere is segregated, some nj towns are diverse like montclair

The same things that keep anyone else from moving here. "High" cost of living. Lack of jobs. Weather.

[Deezus]

Originally Posted by UberDuper

Deezus - thanks for your input! I'll be (hopefully) commuting between the Hood River/Dalles area and the Tri-Cities area, since work is between the two (and I don't want to live too far east of work). Co-workers are mostly living in Kennewick/Pasco/Richland, but it doesn't seem like I'd like it as much. Plus there are WA taxes, which aren't much different than where I am, but if I could opt for so I'd like to I've been seeing a lot of 3 and 4 bd houses for rent, which I definitely don't need. I'd opt for a couple hundred dollars more a month if it meant being where I'd like, but I have provincial leanings too, so something rustic is not entirely out of the question, as long as it's not too far from work or totally Gummo. It's just tough knowing these sorts of things without spending a good deal of time there.

One thing you might want to consider is that if you work in Washington and live in Oregon you still have to pay Oregon state income taxes, but if you work in Washington and live in Washington you don't have to pay any income taxes. Even if you thought of moving to Hood River, you could possibly live right across the river on the Washington side in White Salmon(though Hood River is a nicer town overall) and then shop in Oregon with no sales tax.

I think though for what you're looking for, it sounds like the Hood River area would probably be the best option in that area. The Dalles always just seems really sleepy when I travel through there, though it's slowly changing a little. And Hood River is a little closer to Portland(it's only about an hour drive) so it's an easy trip--with a lot more options of stuff to do.

[greenlite]

Originally Posted by hamellr

The same things that keep anyone else from moving here. "High" cost of living. Lack of jobs. Weather.

yet portland area is still growing fast