People who moved from the Bay area-- do you miss it or is life truly better in PDX? (Portland: fit in, to buy)

[Dentontxboy]

Isn't orange County more Republican than L.A.?

[Yankeemama]

Originally Posted by psichick

I just thought it was funny that all the women I know want to leave. Not saying it's all women though, but like someone else mentioned, it's who we meet, right? And I'm not really complaining about the transplants, per se, just bummed about how fast it changed. Seriously, living in Hillsboro (Orenco/Tanasbourne) is like living in SoCal. I left SoCal for a reason. I think that's why the men I dated don't mind me being from CA, not because I hate Californians or transplants, but because I don't want the California lifestyle. Oh, and yes, most of the people who complain the loudest about the transplants....are transplants (well, in my world they are). Granted, they've been here for awhile, but still. I guess it's like all the people who complain about the immigrants, when, let's be real, most of us are immigrants ourselves. Haha.

I know if Intel left, the economy here would come crashing down. I'm not saying they're horrible, but I just wonder if they offered a salary that went with our COL, if it would make a difference. I mean, why pay someone more money, for a lateral position change, than what they made in SF?

I live next door to you in Beaverton, which is called CA Lite by a lot of judgey Portlanders. After living in trendy NE Portland with a ton of transplants from everywhere now I live in Beaverton with about half transplants and half Oregonians. Many Oregon born Beavertonians here are from Beaverton and some are from all over Oregon. They seem to be well adjusted people and have deep ties to the community. Many of my kids' teachers are Oregonians. These Oregon women have given so much to my kids. They embraced all of their students, children of transplants, and all. Your sample sizes seem quite small and I cant say that one town, like Hillsboro, is representative of the Portland Metro. Maybe I am just being picky but your comments seemed to be putting down Oregon women. As for Intel... I am glad that here is a major employer here but maybe that's because I am a home owner and my kids' schools are in WA County.

[Yankeemama]

Originally Posted by Dentontxboy

Isn't orange County more Republican than L.A.?

Orange County is THE Republican Calpital of CA! How do you think Republican presidents get elected in CA? Orange County is the complete opposite of SF in every way. And LA proper is diverse, full of creative types with dynamic neighborhoods and yes, LA is liberal. OC is where Irvine and Anaheim, Laguna Beach are located. Google Irvine.

[Metlakatla]

Originally Posted by psichick

I gotta say, this was a fun thread to read. My BF is from Oregon and has lived in Marin County (no clue if that's the Bay Area or what). The other day, he was getting irate with me because I was being combative, not purposefully, but because I didn't agree with him at all regarding Californians. And that's when we stopped and realized that when he talks about Californians, he's thinking about the NorCal people or Los Angeles (as a city/metro area). When I talk about Californians, I'm thinking more about Orange County, maybe south LA county, but that's about it. Heck, we Californians know how much we refuse to be associated with the "other" part of our own state! Heck, OC and LA county people are so very different.

So with that. I have had people make comments about me being from California, nothing major and all in jest (or at least that's how it came off). The men that I have dated tease me, but are okay with it. They all love that I can drive like a true SoCal girl (take that however you want).

The funniest thing is.....when I lived in SoCal and people would complain about things like traffic, smog, people, etc, I'd always say, "feel free to leave, we won't miss you". I say the same thing about anyone who complains about the PNW (I don't care where they're from).

Interestingly, the guys I have dated that were born/raised here (actually, most of them were, interesting) all said the same thing, that I'm acceptable (being from SoCal) because I moved here for the RIGHT reasons and I am more of an Oregonian than most transplants. And almost every female woman born/raised here that I know.....wants to leave because the hate the weather (cold), but don't because their family is here. The men I have met, born/raised here, love the weather and don't plan on leaving the PNW.

That's my experience. Personally, I don't like what all the influx of people have done to Portland since I've moved here. It's changed a LOT in the 3 years I've been here. And the traffic, jeez, yuck! The Portland I wanted to move to is pretty much gone. Personally, I blame the big companies, like Intel, who offer a wage HIGHER than that in the big cities. I'm not talking with a COL adjustment, I'm talking pure dollars. Those are probably the people who came here, for the money, and complain all the time about everything and are just waiting it out until they can move back home. I've met a lot of them lately, being in Hillsboro and selling some items to people who just moved here. They all stated they came for the money and to "check it out". Maybe in 1.5 years they'll all leave. This is when we need extreme weather, not this moderate stuff. Haha.

Case in point. ^^^

I was born and raised here and have no desire to leave because of the weather. My friends who were born and raised here have no desire to leave because of the weather. You've been here three years and have already started complaining about how much it's changed since you moved here.

[Dentontxboy]

Originally Posted by Yankeemama

Orange County is THE Republican Calpital of CA! How do you think Republican presidents get elected in CA? Orange County is the complete opposite of SF in every way. And LA proper is diverse, full of creative types with dynamic neighborhoods and yes, LA is liberal. OC is where Irvine and Anaheim, Laguna Beach are located. Google Irvine.

That's pretty out there.

[harrishawke]

Isn't the Bay Area basically unlivable by now? Unless your foreign, a computer programmer, and make a healthy six figure salary, I just don't see how you can afford to live there.

[rodentraiser]

I came up to the PNW in 2001 after getting priced out of Bay Area. Before that, I had been in California since 1974. I would really like to go back and see if it's changed so much or if it only seems changed because I haven't been there for so long.

And I think people take being from California, or Oregon, or Washington way too seriously.

Honestly, when I moved up to Washington state, I never thought once about being an outsider from California. All 4 sets of my great-grandparents left their respective countries and came to North America for a better life. One set of grandparents moved down from Canada and northern Minnesota and the other grandparents went to southern Minnesota from outside Chicago, with the result that my parents met in the Twin Cities. When I left home, I did just did what they did and went further west and when I needed to make a better life for myself, I moved again. It just so happened that the only direction I could move in this time was north.

That was the only thought in my mind and I couldn't have cared less about the politics, the liberalness (or lack thereof), or anything else. I wasn't in the least interested in turning the PNW into another California. Now that I've lived here for 15 years, I find there are some things l liked better in the Bay Area and some things I like better here.

Would I go back to California if I could afford it? I don't know. Will I stay here? I don't know about that, either. The only thing I do know for sure is I don't want to ever live in Minnesota again.

[rodentraiser]

Originally Posted by harrishawke

Isn't the Bay Area basically unlivable by now? Unless your foreign, a computer programmer, and make a healthy six figure salary, I just don't see how you can afford to live there.

If you make half a million a year, it's probably not too bad living out there. I always lived on the fringes, out by Calero reservoir and in the Los Gatos foothills. I rarely got stuck in a traffic jam because I knew when those formed and avoided driving at that time (I was lucky) or I either drove against traffic.

My hobbies and interests brought me to places a lot of people in the Bay Area never get to see. Helping my friends work up their endurance horses let me ride with them all over the Santa Cruz Mts. Working out with the DART group, I was able to participate in their summer drills at the Air Force radar station on Mt. Umunhum. Belonging to an astronomy club allowed me to access some isolated areas, like Loma Prieta and Loma Chiquita. Showing my dogs allowed me walk the grounds of Pebble Beach. And if you have um, weird hobbies, to put it bluntly, like mine (raising and showing mice, collecting model horses, building dollhouses, dog training), there are always a group of people who do the same things with whom you can share your interests. I don't find that so much in the PNW.

If I had been a regular commuter driving to Cupertino every day and driving back, with nothing to do but barhop on weekends, it would have been very boring and to me, totally unlivable there.

[Yankeemama]

Originally Posted by harrishawke

Isn't the Bay Area basically unlivable by now? Unless your foreign, a computer programmer, and make a healthy six figure salary, I just don't see how you can afford to live there.

I have family still in SF and in the Bay Area as does my husband. We may move back after our kids finish school but that's at least ten years from now.

[Nell Plotts]

Originally Posted by psichick

....

I know if Intel left, the economy here would come crashing down. I'm not saying they're horrible, but I just wonder if they offered a salary that went with our COL, if it would make a difference. I mean, why pay someone more money, for a lateral position change, than what they made in SF?

Obviously you haven't tried to raise a family (housing, schools) in the Silicon Valley.