Did I get an accurate impression of Portland? (Burns: attorney, unemployment)

[CAjerseychick]

Originally Posted by Yankeemama

I agree with your post except for the ten minutes door to door only because I lived a lot closer to downtown and no way on a Saturday night will you be IN downtown from your neighborhood in ten minutes. Have a good night!

I was thinking of the WonderBallroom which is on this side, but tonight we are going accross to another venue so will report back- I still don't think it will be over 15 mins.

Also having flex schedules, we rarely go out OUT (like to a major venue)- (or far, I guess, there is too much to do in a 5 min radius) on weekend nights, lol, so it will be different tonight I am sure, I think my quote in general was after hours traffic to shows was pretty sweet (light) not specifically about weekends-
we aren't exactly weekend warriors...

PS I guess one thing to know about the Portland area, is that there are shows, music, nice things to do every night of the week- one of our favorite little places to hear music is in a downstairs tiny bar, close to Powell's- and monday nights is one of our favorite times to go...

[CAjerseychick]

reporting back, before its lights out,lol- 14 mins door to door (venue was NW6th street)- 16mins including parking, and thats for a saturday night- show was awesome, traffic was busier (alittle bit, cause there really wasnt any) on the way home.....


Portland is a very liveable city!

[SumTingy]

Originally Posted by Minervah

Unfortunately this is spilling into neighborhoods as well. My elderly friend who lives in the Buckman neighborhood tells me there are times she has to step over people laying on the sidewalk. The Hawthorne Safeway had to take the nice patio furniture off their patio due to people trying to camp out there. Likewise the Starbucks inside the Safeway had to do the same.

I worry about this friend because I know from experience older people, especially women, are prime targets for harassment and threats.

Another friend who lives a couple blocks from 34th and Hawthorne gets people pooping in her backyard and trying to camp out there.

The best places to live in Portland are probably the farther out neighborhoods where these things are not seen as much as in the close in ones.

No thanks. We don’t need more of the Portland attitude here. I/We live in the outer burbs for a reason. The people living in that Portland area created the “utopia” by voting in the politicians who created this mess. I hope the elected powers forces all of them to stay. Afterall, they seem to want Socialism. Let them live socialism.

[ccjarider]

Originally Posted by CAjerseychick

ALso, you folks who complain about bums, are heartless.

There but for the grace of GOD go you. It's luck of the draw what biology you get, what family you are born in to.

For cryin out loud - stop with that silly ,nonsensical argument about being heartless because many of us refuse to accept deranged behavior and bad choices as a valid lifestyle.

Your coddling and throwing tax payer money at bad ideas has been tried all over the West Coast for decades and FAILED. Time for tough love.

Further the hobos and bums are not just in downtown. They are all over the city.

[Minervah]

Originally Posted by CAjerseychick

downtown Portland is a small fraction of Portland metro- like 20 square blocks? right, so why judge the entire area by that?

We are heading down there in a few hours for a show, it will take 10 mins from our front door, probably get parking right in front of the venue, enjoy, then home to a lovely lovely neighborhood (I have to slow down to say hello to our neighbors just driving through) and all is good. Walked to a nice brew pub for lunch too.


ALso, you folks who complain about bums, are heartless.

There but for the grace of GOD go you. It's luck of the draw what biology you get, what family you are born in to.

You are lumping all homeless people into one group and calling them “bums.”

It shows you know very little about the various types of people who have made up the homeless population in Portland over the years. The “grace of god go you?” There have been a few people on this very forum who posted at one time they found themselves homeless. I was very close to being in that position myself which is one of reasons I left Portland.

The complaints are I think for the most part about the fairly recent people who have fallen under the homeless category who are nothing more than theives and worse. It’s like having the Travelers and Tweekers and the like around full time rather than just in the summertime.

Yes some of the homeless are just those who are down on their luck and are not bums. Others are downright criminals. The people responsible for running the city have not done their job of sorting it all out.

[Yankeemama]

Originally Posted by Minervah

You are lumping all homeless people into one group and calling them “bums.”

It shows you know very little about the various types of people who have made up the homeless population in Portland over the years. The “grace of god go you?” There have been a few people on this very forum who posted at one time they found themselves homeless. I was very close to being in that position myself which is one of reasons I left Portland.

The complaints are I think for the most part about the fairly recent people who have fallen under the homeless category who are nothing more than theives and worse. It’s like having the Travelers and Tweekers and the like around full time rather than just in the summertime.

Yes some of the homeless are just those who are down on their luck and are not bums. Others are downright criminals. The people responsible for running the city have not done their job of sorting it all out.

I have read or heard on OPB that a building in Old Town will be used by the city to house homeless which is a start. Finally, Portland is moving in a proactive direction but it’s true that you will see tents off the freeway in places that you didn’t see maybe a year ago like right near Lincoln High School near 26. I was shocked to see that a month ago and I noticed a lot of tents along 84 near Lloyd right up to the Hollywood exit.

[CAjerseychick]

Originally Posted by Minervah

You are lumping all homeless people into one group and calling them “bums.”

It shows you know very little about the various types of people who have made up the homeless population in Portland over the years. The “grace of god go you?” There have been a few people on this very forum who posted at one time they found themselves homeless. I was very close to being in that position myself which is one of reasons I left Portland.

The complaints are I think for the most part about the fairly recent people who have fallen under the homeless category who are nothing more than theives and worse. It’s like having the Travelers and Tweekers and the like around full time rather than just in the summertime.

Yes some of the homeless are just those who are down on their luck and are not bums. Others are downright criminals. The people responsible for running the city have not done their job of sorting it all out.

heck we have a misunderstanding I was quoting another poster on "bums" that is NOT how I think, but others....

we will have to agree to disagree, after all I am here and dealing with these issues every day ( RVs, zombie houses, etc)...


but still I refuse to see other humans as bums.
defend myself heck yeah ... but still they arent bums, they are trying to survive, as are we all, the best we can...

[CAjerseychick]

Originally Posted by ccjarider

For cryin out loud - stop with that silly ,nonsensical argument about being heartless because many of us refuse to accept deranged behavior and bad choices as a valid lifestyle.

Your coddling and throwing tax payer money at bad ideas has been tried all over the West Coast for decades and FAILED. Time for tough love.

Further the hobos and bums are not just in downtown. They are all over the city.

sorry you obviously have not worked with, become acquainted with people from this subset- ever had a family member struggle with ADDICTION, NO

I didnt think so.

my adopted brother did for years, and he now works for a fortune 500 and makes 6 figures...


just its really not an easy road, really

and they cost us plenty as taxpayers- maybe be we could as a country forgoe ONE 6million dollar warship to fund some rehab followup in the community settings....


How will tough love work exactly- ya wanna see homeless kids dying on the street? frozen "bums" on the sidewalk?

Could you really, walk by that, them, JUDGING with your nose in the air ?

(this, moderaters is NOT a personal attack but an honest question to all those positing the "tough love " and "coddling liberals " argument).

Have you seen actually what a 20 year old looks like with both his legs frozen off?

HAVE YOU?

[skiffrace]

Some homeless people are in their position due to circumstances beyond their control.
Some others are living that life as an alternate "lifestyle".

Telling those 2 apart is the difficult bit.

Still, the dramatic increase of the homeless populiation at the time when the economy is booming (as compared with, say Hoovervilles in the 30s) indicates which of the above is the prevailing reason for homelesness.

Giving booze to an an alcoholic, or drugs to an addict, or candy bars to overweight child is not an act of compassion.

Attacks of theatrical hysteria against common-sense are not convincing, either.

[pdxMIKEpdx]

Did anyone watch this last night?

Tent City, USA | KGW.com

And that's just the "safe" tent campers.

Not the truly disturbing homeless.

Since this forum is so PC and vanilla, I suggest that people visit the other Portland forum that has a thread on this particular subject (Plus many others concerning the problem--with real life experiences), so they can say they Redd all about-it. and realize it's a REAL PROBLEM here in Portland.

Hand wringing, virtue signaling, crying big tears and lecturing isn't going to solve anything.
It hasn't so far.
Portland has thrown millions and millions of dollars at the homeless crisis, and nothing has changed in thirty years.