What I Love, Hate, Like, Dislike about Portland Oregon (Hillsboro: house, transfer)

[DoctorRain]

Originally Posted by iamscott

It's trendy to say you're living green, it takes commitment to actually do it!

Well I would be a doer, not just a preacher. Its just hard to do if you currently live in areas further from everywhere else. See the idea of going green would be indeed put into action if it were up to me and I could do it regularly. Things take time to manifest though ( like my move to Portland in the future).

[DoctorRain]

Originally Posted by Yankeemama

There are a great deal of people who use their bikes to commute to work, use public transportation regularly, and walk neighborhood to neighborhood. It is very safe to be a pedestrian here. We chose to buy in the neighborhood that we did so we could do all of the above if needed without a great deal of stress. We use one car regularly for a family of four. People are moving here specifically because Portland makes it a lot easier to do these things than other cities. The great local, organic produce, meats, cheeses, dairy, and other grocery items are so plentiful here and makes living the "buy local" lifestyle possible. We moved from a place where groceries were more than twice the price so we wound up shopping at Costco and using two refrigerators so we could afford quality food. I shop regularly at Whole Foods, New Seasons, and other speciality markets and it is still cheaper than our last City and State. Portland is by no means perfect, but I do feel that the "green lifestyle" is alive and well.

I hear in Portland, groceries are double everywhere. Where did you come from if grocery stores are even more than Portland? California?
Whole foods is considered expensive everywhere else. Its easier to shop there if you arent a materialistic person though and do make a living wage. I will say that. They have beer for regular price often times too.
Oh and question, ever get the 365 coffee or the French Roast kind? Its good and not too much.
Its nice to hear that you can live off one vehicle for four people. Some people have one car per person. Very common where I live currently actually.

[Yankeemama]

Phil- I agree with your post, too. Infrastructure is key. I am somewhat in the middle too but am trying to reduce my carbon foot print and teach my kids to do so as well. Lunar Delta- We moved from HI. Crazy food costs. Don't get me started!

[Yankeemama]

Originally Posted by DoctorRain

I hear in Portland, groceries are double everywhere. Where did you come from if grocery stores are even more than Portland? California?
Whole foods is considered expensive everywhere else. Its easier to shop there if you arent a materialistic person though and do make a living wage. I will say that. They have beer for regular price often times too.
Oh and question, ever get the 365 coffee or the French Roast kind? Its good and not too much.
Its nice to hear that you can live off one vehicle for four people. Some people have one car per person. Very common where I live currently actually.

Yup! The 365 Brand has a great deal of variety at really good prices. New Seasons has great quality brands and a hot food section that is great. I look for specials but secret is to cook at home. I cook for my family and save quite a bit of money. BTW, I love the 365 coffee, as well. Try the Pacific Rim and the breakfast blend( can't remember the name) which are very flavorful and comes ground for a no-brainer. I am a big believer in high quality food and try to give my kids the least processed food that I can. I take the stroller out on Saturday with the toddler and big kid walks along to the Hollywood Farmer's Market. We do that a few times a week to the Hollywood Whole Foods. Of course, we bring our own bags. Don't get Phil started on the bags!

[PNW-type-gal]

Originally Posted by DoctorRain

I hear in Portland, groceries are double everywhere. Where did you come from if grocery stores are even more than Portland? California?
Whole foods is considered expensive everywhere else.

I don't know where you "hear" all this stuff, but it would be good to check your sources for some accuracy. Groceries are certainly not "double" other places.
Whole Foods/New Seasons are considered expensive here, too.

[ianp82]

I think that Portland is a beautiful city with a lot of interesting people. I am, however, moving back to the east coast after a couple of years living here. For me, I find Portland just a bit too laid back. Not as laid back as Austin and Savannah (where I lived for several years) but just not quite what I am used to and what I prefer. Also, I find that most drivers in Portland seem to drive as though they are taking their drivers test. Very very slow and very hesitant. Don't get me wrong, this is much preferred to reckless driving - but I won't lie, it drives me nuts.

. . . I could also do without the hipsters and other distinct groups of people. Sometimes I feel like I am in high school with all the goths, hipsters, hippies, etc. There is something about seeing a 35 year old goth that just depresses me. Again, that's just me. It's far from a "problem." When it comes to the important stuff, I think Portland gets it right.

[philwithbeard]

Originally Posted by ianp82

....... I am, however, moving back to the east coast after a couple of years living here. For me, I find Portland just a bit too laid back.......

Well, if you change your mind later in life, we'll still be here. Most likely won't have changed much, except the tattoo thing will be over, and only the oldsters will have them....
...... And, ah, If you find a place that sells a really great cannoli,
can you just enjoy one in remembrance of what Portland don't have?

[DoctorRain]

Originally Posted by PNW-type-gal

I don't know where you "hear" all this stuff, but it would be good to check your sources for some accuracy. Groceries are certainly not "double" other places.
Whole Foods/New Seasons are considered expensive here, too.

Ah some made it kinda sound like Whole foods could have been cheaper there. Regular grocery stores also arent double? Maybe things like meat are. I only go by the things I read and some have said grocery shopping is high in Portland.

[mp943]

I visited Portland last week, and came off with a pretty positive view of the city.

Likes:
1) No sales tax!
2) Very, very bike friendly.
3) Good public transportation
4) Laid back attitude
5) Very eco-minded
6) Walking in downtown Portland is very easy and everything seems to be really close to each other.
7) No pro baseball or football teams, so no blind, rampant followers. I didn't see a single sports jersey in Portland. I like that.
8) Restaurants (street food vendors, El Gauchos, Jake's Grill, Voodoo Donuts, Henry's)
9) Powell's Books
10) Henry Weinhard's sodas!
10) The greenery.
11) Strong 3G and 4G signals.
12) Nearby mountains.
13) The traffic -- The drivers were not crazy, honking their horns all the time, and yielded to pedestrians. Forget ever seeing that in the aggressive downtown Chicago where a taxi will be happy to run over you and everyone is constantly testing their car horns.
14) It has to be said again -- Very bike friendly. I loved seeing all of the bike racks and dedicated bike lanes.

Dislikes:
1) Numerous vagrants - I've been to downtown Chicago many times, where there are a handful of panhandlers, but the number of people sitting/sleeping on the sidewalks in Portland was amazing. From what I've read in other articles and comments, this is common for Portland.
2) Cloudy weather - the week I was in Portland, each day tended to have a mix of clouds and sun, so it wasn't too bad. Even on days it rained, the sun would come out later. In Chicago, it tends to get cloudy and stay that way all day…sometimes for many days. I've joked, "If I wanted to live in a cloudy city, I'd move to Portland."
3) Other taxes? - I grew up in Montana, so I'm used to no sales tax, but realizing that the state government needs to be creative in other ways to extract the tax dollars. I've heard numerous cases that the property taxes are high, but have never heard how "high" is "high"? I did notice that the gas prices were higher than other places, though. But with the public transportation and bike paths, that can be avoided to a particular degree.
4) Parking situation - Downtown Portland reminded me of a smaller, cleaner version of downtown Chicago, including the pain and price of parking. However, the decent public transportation helps to negate this issue.

I've looked at various places around the country to live, and Portland was once briefly on that list, but I'm not sure how well I'd do with the cloudy weather. From the people I spoke to, the amount of snow is very minimal, but 9 months of rainy weather may get to me. As one person said, "We pay for our green [with the rain]." But in the short time I was there, I felt a lot more of a kinship with Portland than I ever have with Chicago.

[mp943]

Originally Posted by ianp82

I think that Portland is a beautiful city with a lot of interesting people. I am, however, moving back to the east coast after a couple of years living here. For me, I find Portland just a bit too laid back. Not as laid back as Austin and Savannah (where I lived for several years) but just not quite what I am used to and what I prefer. Also, I find that most drivers in Portland seem to drive as though they are taking their drivers test. Very very slow and very hesitant. Don't get me wrong, this is much preferred to reckless driving - but I won't lie, it drives me nuts.

That was one thing I loved about Portland. The traffic wasn't completely nuts. The only time I saw anyone honking their horn was when a bus was honking at a car that was driving in the dedicated bus lane. Past that, I saw many cases where a driver would pause and let pedestrians cross. That is a good case for the laid back attitude.

. . . I could also do without the hipsters and other distinct groups of people. Sometimes I feel like I am in high school with all the goths, hipsters, hippies, etc. There is something about seeing a 35 year old goth that just depresses me. Again, that's just me. It's far from a "problem." When it comes to the important stuff, I think Portland gets it right.

I also noticed there seemed to be a larger number of hippies/granolas/alternatives. One woman flying from Portland was quite a piece of art with the numerous tattoos, piercings, and wide holes in her ear lobes. Certainly not something I would personally do, but it certainly gives Portland a distinct flavor, something not all cities can claim.