Possible move to Portland. Help.

[The Cactus Leaguer]

Originally Posted by PDXKompressor

I most recently moved here from LA area and want to offer you an unbiased opinion. I have found that people in Portland for the most part are very biased against Latinos. I am white so maybe they feel it's an acceptable topic to say some very rude and denigrating things about some of the Mexican families in the area, but it's pretty disgusting and something I DID NOT expect from all the posts I read online before moving here.

I am always reading comments on automotive forums I belong to that say things like "if you have a problem with latino's then don't take your car to this shop" etc. My belief is that even those who believe they are open minded are simply ignorant, and I mean that by the actual definition of the word, and just have never been around people who aren't white. The good news is that Portland is quickly becoming more and more diverse, but I wanted to be very honest with you and my experiences. If I am white and have seen this kind of discrimination, i can't imagine what my Mexican brothers and sisters have to put up with.

Wow! Really? I'm very sorry to hear that.

Granted, I am not Latino, but from my personal observations I would rate the Portland very low on the scale for anti-Latino bias compared to other areas along the west coast and in Arizona.

Here in Hillsboro I hear the occasional snarky "Hills-burrito" comment, but I feel like the Latino culture is embraced out here for the most part.

[figmalt]

Originally Posted by The Cactus Leaguer

Here in Hillsboro I hear the occasional snarky "Hills-burrito" comment, but I feel like the Latino culture is embraced out here for the most part.

Agree. From my experience, most of the snarky comments using "Hills-burrito" come from outside of Hillsboro. This is not to say that people in Hillsboro don't use the term, but it's done more in a self-joking way. It's one thing for a person who lives there to acknowledge, that yes, there is a high Hispanic population, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. It's another for someone who has no real experience with the city to trash-talk it by using "Hills-burrito."

Kind of a funny story - my brother and I were on a malt kick, and he wanted to find a malt flavored soda pop (Malta) that was not available in his area. We suggested that he try a local super mercado. We went in about 15 minutes to closing on a Saturday night, and most of the employees had limited English, and we had limited Spanish, but everyone was super nice and very helpful, and we came out with a lot more than just Malta.

I'm sure I have a point in there somewhere, probably something like it's easy to denigrate something (or someone) if you always limit your interactions and take a superior attitude. Different is just different, it's not necessarily better or worse.

[pathrunner]

Originally Posted by LeftCoastee

Orange County also has quite a few TV shows based on the shallowness of its people. I'd rather get rained on.

Oh, how I relate to those words... if only my body could deal with the damp and cold. Having grown up near (not in) Orange County, at a time when it wasn't ruined, I so relate to those words.

My personal idea of hell is shallow people in their "tanks" gunning for each other on the Southern California freeways in 100-degree heat. No thanks! I'll take people who don't know how to merge onto a freeway any day over that. I remember sitting on an Orange County freeway after a wonderful day at Laguna. Stopped for hours on the 5 freeway in Santa Ana in a 67 Ford Mercury convertible sucking up all the exhaust fumes.

Still, I think transplants here need to really think about how the weather is going to affect them. After 7 years, I'm pretty much done. Mostly due to the health problems caused by the ubiqitous damp and cold (arthritis and lung issues).


By the way no peanut gallery comments about California transplants! I was born here at Emanuel waaay before it was taken over by Legacy.

[pathrunner]

Originally Posted by ceeglass

... If someone moves here from Portland, we say welcome, enjoy the weather and you're gonna love being at the beach in the a.m., snowboarding in the afternoon and hitting Palm Springs for dinner to discuss whether it should be Disneyland, Sea World, Magic Mtn., or Universal City you visit next. ...

You sound like my ex-husband, which is why he's an ex. People spend more time driving to those destinations and finding parking than they do actually enjoying those places. Trust me I know. I started boycotting Disneyland when the kids were over 5. Had enough.

Now just where in SoCal can someone beach, snowboard and hit Palm Springs all in one day unless they start at 5 or 6am?!

Life in California can be so much more than about amusement parks and shopping centers like Fashion Island.