why is Portland so expensive? (transplants, 2014, insurance)

[EnricoV]

Like I said ... have a nice trip back to the 60s.

Personally, I'll take a city like Portland, where people are allowed to be who they want to be, and not have to conform to someone's narrow-minded idea of what they think they should be.

And I'm not sure that anyone said, or even implied, that Portland is normal ... just that it's preferable.

[oldtintype]

Originally Posted by Familyman6

Florida is a poo hole. No comparison.

Men act like men as is they don't wear skinny jeans, dress feminine, and actually work. A barista is not a job

Women would actually get ready for the day by putting on women like clothing. Not flannel, not having manly styles and hair, 3000 tattoos and face piercings,

Only people from Portland and outcasts that relocate think this place is normal. This is why we live in the SW side and rarely venture anywhere else around this liberal crazy city

Exaggerate much?

[Yankeemama]

Originally Posted by Familyman6

Florida is a poo hole. No comparison.

Men act like men as is they don't wear skinny jeans, dress feminine, and actually work. A barista is not a job

Women would actually get ready for the day by putting on women like clothing. Not flannel, not having manly styles and hair, 3000 tattoos and face piercings,

Only people from Portland and outcasts that relocate think this place is normal. This is why we live in the SW side and rarely venture anywhere else around this liberal crazy city

If you only hang out in the SW then maybe that is why you are unhappy. Get out. Meet people. I know people who go to church, people who hunt and fish, people who vote a Republican, people who never wear flannel, people who like crappy coffee like the brown water they can get "back home", people who fart, people who need to loosen up, people who have tattoos, people who don't have tattoos, people who wish they had tattoos but are too scared to get one...they are all here in Portland. You sound like a person who has decided to not like Portland and that is fine. Just realize that you believed the hype about Portland even after seven years of living here. There are all kinds of people here. You can't see that because you don't want to. BTW, I have lived all over as well as you and I have met people such as yourself everywhere. Try smiling every once in a while and maybe be nice to your neighborhood barista. You may find that you actually one thing in common with a skinny headed, tattooed person. Good luck.

[urbanlife78]

Originally Posted by Familyman6

You are spot on with the red state comment. You liberals are extremely difficult to be around.

And 9 months of rain is pretty spot on pal. I have lived here for 7 years and every year you locals say " this is the worst winter we have ever had". You usually start saying this in October and the rain doesn't stop til about June.
July, August and sept are nice then back to monsoon like conditions.

Is humidity not good for skinny jeans, flannel, dark black dyed hair and bicycles?

It sounds like Oregon is the wrong place for you, it would make sense to move to where you are happiest. I disagree with just about everything you have to say about Oregon, but that is because I love it there.

[urbanlife78]

Originally Posted by Yankeemama

If you only hang out in the SW then maybe that is why you are unhappy. Get out. Meet people. I know people who go to church, people who hunt and fish, people who vote a Republican, people who never wear flannel, people who like crappy coffee like the brown water they can get "back home", people who fart, people who need to loosen up, people who have tattoos, people who don't have tattoos, people who wish they had tattoos but are too scared to get one...they are all here in Portland. You sound like a person who has decided to not like Portland and that is fine. Just realize that you believed the hype about Portland even after seven years of living here. There are all kinds of people here. You can't see that because you don't want to. BTW, I have lived all over as well as you and I have met people such as yourself everywhere. Try smiling every once in a while and maybe be nice to your neighborhood barista. You may find that you actually one thing in common with a skinny headed, tattooed person. Good luck.

That is so true, there are so many different types of people in Portland, if the OP isn't finding these people, then that is on the OP for not trying. This basically sounds like an excuse rant to justify wanting to move, which is fine, people do that when they try to disconnect from an area, but it gets annoying when they find a random forum about a city just to rant about how much they hate it there.

[hamellr]

Originally Posted by Familyman6

And 9 months of rain is pretty spot on pal. I have lived here for 7 years and every year you locals say " this is the worst winter we have ever had". You usually start saying this in October and the rain doesn't stop til about June.
July, August and sept are nice then back to monsoon like conditions.

Except we were very close to facing a drought in late February this year. The first one since 1996.

[Familyman6]

You guys are right. Although I do not like living in Portland the people really are not bad and I apologize for sounding like a bigot. They are a lot different but that is ok. Actually, the more I thought about it, they are some of the nicest people I have met and have developed some great relationships here.

I still feel that the housing market and COL is ridiculous for no reason and the weather most definitely stinks. But that is all.

Rant is over and I apologize and thank you guys for the replies that made me take a good look in the mirror to realize it is my attitude that is the issue.

[urbanlife78]

Originally Posted by Familyman6

You guys are right. Although I do not like living in Portland the people really are not bad and I apologize for sounding like a bigot. They are a lot different but that is ok. Actually, the more I thought about it, they are some of the nicest people I have met and have developed some great relationships here.

I still feel that the housing market and COL is ridiculous for no reason and the weather most definitely stinks. But that is all.

Rant is over and I apologize and thank you guys for the replies that made me take a good look in the mirror to realize it is my attitude that is the issue.

I get why someone wouldn't like the Portland weather, but after two years of dealing with the weather in the Northeast, I can't wait to get back to my overcast weather in Portland.

If you have the ability to move to a place where you can be much happier, I say do it. No point in staying in a place you are unhappy with if you don't have to.

[Nell Plotts]

Our housing cost haven't always been this high, particularly in relationship to income.

A couple things have happened: middle income wages have stagnated, unemployment higher than our normal; during the housing bubble rents were low because lots of people bought houses and few apartments were constructed, then the bubble burst and these former renters were/are competing for the few available apartments. Result of these market forces: high rents when compared to income.

Once the bubble burst come construction ground to a standstill because contractors couldn't get construction loans. Well paid skilled workers moved from the Silicon Valley, in large part because of housing costs there, and are buying homes here. Market forces again driving up housing costs.

I wish we were a community where housing is cheap and wages are high. That isn't going to happen at least in my lifetime. When we baby boomers take a dirt nap then there may be an excess of housing available.

[classicanne]

It's so important to live where you will be happiest, if you possibly can.

I understand the appeal of SC; I lived there for 11 years in my early adulthood and loved it, but I think that was more because of the positive experiences going on in my life at the time than the place itself. I also understand being very displeased with where one lives, as I endured Florida for a very long time before I had the freedom to move anywhere I wanted.

Today I have been a Portland resident for 4 years, and it has been a very positive experience; Portland has lived up to its advertised assets and more. And I have encountered more kindness from people here in the past 4 years than any place I've ever lived. Sometimes I wish I'd moved here sooner, but perhaps I arrived at the time it was meant to be for me and that's why it's worked out so well.

I can only hope you moved to Portland as the result of a job transfer you couldn't get out of and not because of what you thought it might be like here, as you seem mightily disappointed. But I wish you well as you make your move back to where you feel you'd be happier.