Is all of Portland really this depressingly bad? (Adrian: best city, house)

[jojo4]

Actually I did live in the Envoy about 10 years ago. It's right next to Washington park entrance and that was a lot of fun too. Not a renter anymore though and houses are way too expensive in that area.
That 2bd/1 bath unit we rented for $850 (10 years ago) a month got converted into a $370,000 condo....

[tiffela74]

Ive been all over Portland most of my life. My mom worked for 20+years across the street from the womans clinic on Lovejoy, I worked at MAC, my ex MIL works off 4th, and we lived for years just out of town. My husband also used to do the garbage/recylce routes throughout Portland,(and after a few YEARS of that, he says that the posts above w/the aggressive bums everywhere are a huge exaggeration) so we've really been all over the city. Its got it wonderful parts, and also the areas where I would prefer to avoid. A lot of what you see, just like anywhere, has an awful lot to do with the person who is the one observing. You can take the same 2 people down the same street, and one will comment on the beautiful old homes, the flowers in bloom, the lack of litter on the streets and the 5 friendly people that smiled and/or said hello as they walked past....and oh yeah, that guy sitting on the bench, who was obviously homeless and begging for money.....the other person wont see anything but that nasty old bum harrassing them for their money....
Yes, there are homeless people in Portland, but there are not aggressive bums on every corner...thats quite the exaggeration...
and Portland IS great, hip, friendly and fun, for the right people. And those people do stretch across the board from those who are living in small, studio apartments paycheck to paycheck, up though those lucky souls who live in the huge beautiful homes and can afford the best in life. Many many in between as well. obviously many people love living in Portland, its still growing in leaps and bounds, and is one of the few places in the country where demand for homes is still keeping prices up.
you know, i went up to Seattle a few times. Once, as a 4day visit w/a BF when we were concidering a move there too...he had lived there before and wanted to show off Seattle to its best. Well, when we were there, in the better part of town I must say, w/a stunning view of the Space Needle, a guy was stabbed directly outside our hotel window, turns out during a drug deal gone bad. While walking along a truly lovely area looking at some apartments, I was grabbed by what I believe was a homeless person ( i didnt ask, i was too busy trying to get my b##b back from him), when we tried to ask some people for directions to an eatery, we were told to "get yourself a G#@@#M map" and to top it off, our car broke down and ironically enough, the ONLY person to finally stop and help us, was a friendly soul from Oregon. And I was at least open minded enough to still concider that this was a short visit, and not to trash an entire city on our experiences there that mini-vacation. Obviously, Im still in Oregon, and quite happy about it, but as negative as my experience up there was, I still don't call the entire city a Dump....that would just be ignorant of me I believe.
How sad to have spent your money and time and have nothing but bitterness to talk of. Im glad for you and your family that you didnt just move here and then find yourself so full of hate and misery here. I hope you find your happy place.
Tiffany

[MJinAustin]

Originally Posted by YoAdrian

We're on vacation in Portland right now, and we are seriously underwhelmed so far. The scenery out in the countryside is some of the most beautiful I've ever seen, anywhere, but the city has so far given us the creeps.

We parked down along Naito Parkway to head to the Saturday Market, and one of the first things my wife saw as we left the parking garage is some guy crouched behind a bush, taking a dump. I smelled urine in at least three spots along the streets, and I saw one kid whip it out and take a leak at a park down by the Portland Building. There was some lunatic wandering around Pioneer Courthouse Square, wearing gloves and a winter coat on a nearly 80-degree day, stopping every few steps to look skyward, gesture, mumble something to himself, turn, take a few steps, and do the same thing all over again. There were bums everywhere, and lots of them were kids.

I giggled reading this. We just returned from 10 days in Portland and Seattle. It was about my 4th visit to Portland. I don't think I've smelled as much urine in NYC as I have in downtown Portland!...but we had to walk downtown to go to the farmer's market and I HAD to have a Voodoo Donut. Maybe it doesn't smell so much in the rainy season if the rain washes it all out the to river? Delightful thought.

Like you, I was also surprised at the number of young bums...but I think Portland is a haven for young drug users and those who want to live an alternative lifestyle. They think it's cool and Portland must be a cool place to do it.

I can best describe downtown Portland as "gritty". It has its odd charms, but it's definitely a place that shows its ugly side as proudly as its new glass condo high-rises. I think native Portlanders like it.

As a place to live (our plan is to move next summer), I too prefer Seattle to Portland despite the traffic and higher cost of living. We figured the high WA sales tax would cost us about $1500/yr and the high OR income tax would cost us $11000/yr. That's $900 a month that can go into a home in Seattle, that would otherwise go into Oregon's treasury. Seems to be consensus also that pay in Portland is considerably less. I'm getting OT...but the point is that I agree that the travel magazines' majestic long-lens pictures of Portland with Mount Hood in the background don't really tell the true story of what Portland really is.

[jghoo]

Originally Posted by MJinAustin

I can best describe downtown Portland as "gritty". It has its odd charms, but it's definitely a place that shows its ugly side as proudly as its new glass condo high-rises. I think native Portlanders like it.

I'm getting OT...but the point is that I agree that the travel magazines' majestic long-lens pictures of Portland with Mount Hood in the background don't really tell the true story of what Portland really is.

All photos are really lies. think about it. a tiny slice that omits anything not perfect for the shot.
Portland or Seattle, thats easy for me. Portland is the big winner, Way more culture. Canon beach/Seaside very close. Restaurant heritage in Portland is way superior to Seattle. the Saturday market is amazing. No i didnt say the bums around are amazing. Seattle's Pike street market just plain sux. Panhandlers? Try Seattles Pioneer square area, just as bad as Portland. Seattle waterfront is like a broken record after a few visits. The Portland strip joints, yea kinda weird they have been around since I was a kid though (60s-70s)sadly there aren't enough "pretty girls" to go around. Not as many when I was growin up. The mass transit in Portland actually exists. Seattle cant accomplish anything. If you are a microsoft person Seattle is the place to be. If you are outside the box Portland is the place to be. Vancouver is really just a suburb of Portland always has been always will be. People work in Portland and live in Vancouver so they don't have to pay income tax. The commute because of only 2 bridges is grizzly now however.

20yrs in Portland. 20yrs in Seattle

[5chevin5]

I left PDX a little over 2 years ago....after a lengthy and well traveled time through the city and suburbs.

Did I miss the memo that the rose city would now look like the scenes of the movie "Escape from New York"....

YoAdrian, you have ever right to have the opinion you do of PDX, if that is truly how you see it. However posting your opinion so negatively after such a short tourist based stay, you must have expected some backlash from residents on this site? You mentioned that you had been reading this forum for a year, so some of the positive things said here must have made your decision to look at Portland as an option, so I must assume you have seen how previous negative or incendiary driven posts are received here.....yet you still post and are surprised or expected something different.

Take the advise earlier and dont consider it as a move option, even though you wanted it to be so badly. Im sure there is place for you somewhere in the world. That is not meant to be snotty, but truly there are other cities to choose from that have more (or less in this case) of what you need for your happiness factor. I applaud your willingness to at least visit before a move, so many people on this forum say "Im moving next week to xxxx and I have never been there... what is it like? You came, you saw, you did not like and never will....Time for Plan B.

Good Luck with your search for a new home.
5

[EnricoV]

Originally Posted by MJinAustin

As a place to live (our plan is to move next summer), I too prefer Seattle to Portland despite the traffic and higher cost of living. We figured the high WA sales tax would cost us about $1500/yr and the high OR income tax would cost us $11000/yr. That's $900 a month that can go into a home in Seattle, that would otherwise go into Oregon's treasury. Seems to be consensus also that pay in Portland is considerably less. I'm getting OT...but the point is that I agree that the travel magazines' majestic long-lens pictures of Portland with Mount Hood in the background don't really tell the true story of what Portland really is.

I hope you have a lot of lee-way in what you figure your tax savings to be, as a Washington Don't think you'll be saving anything, and overextend yourself.

This website ranked Washington's rate of tax at 34%, 9th in the US. Oregon's was 30.7%, 31st in the US. Those were the 2007 figures.

[SeattlitefromNC]

Originally Posted by EnricoV

I hope you have a lot of lee-way in what you figure your tax savings to be, as a Washington Don't think you'll be saving anything, and overextend yourself.

This website ranked Washington's rate of tax at 34%, 9th in the US. Oregon's was 30.7%, 31st in the US. Those were the 2007 figures.

WA has higher taxes on businesses. Portland has a higher tax burden than the rest of OR with regards to business, though it is not as high as WA.

However, as far as personal income is concerned, the 9% income tax is a huge blow to your average taxpayer. The more you make, the more OR racks up. I can see why someone would balk at that number. That's nearly a tenth of your income gone before you can touch it, and that's on top of FICA.

Having come from WA, it's a huge shock and I'm not sure I can get past it.

[jghoo]

Originally Posted by SeattlitefromNC

WA has higher taxes on businesses. Portland has a higher tax burden than the rest of OR with regards to business, though it is not as high as WA.

However, as far as personal income is concerned, the 9% income tax is a huge blow to your average taxpayer. The more you make, the more OR racks up. I can see why someone would balk at that number. That's nearly a tenth of your income gone before you can touch it, and that's on top of FICA.

Having come from WA, it's a huge shock and I'm not sure I can get past it.

Folks never have a problem driving to Portland for big ticket items so they can get around washington's nearly 10% sales tax. Do they?

[Adrian71]

Oh, and as for the tar-paper shacks comment, I wasn't the one who said it was the "African American" part of town. Funny, huh? Putting words in my mouth? I didn't know or care about the pigmentation of the people who lived there. To the contrary, the tourist guides sold the area as the arts district. We went there to dine at Vita Cafe. I expected hip, arty, and cool. Instead, I saw a tacky neighborhood with graffiti, some windows boarded up, others with bars on them, and one desperate side street that looked like a slum. How that got changed into my passing judgment on Portland's "African Americans," I have no idea.

The more distance I get from it all, the more I think that Portland is a little town trying desperately to be a big, trendy cosmopolitan city, but failing miserably. Seattle is what Portland could be -- or perhaps even wants to be -- but it just isn't. Not even close.

[oldtintype]

Well, I'm sure glad you aren't bitter.