Everyday things that are different in Portland (coupons, buy)

[Lahla]

Oregon sounds exactly like what I have been looking for.

Unfortunately, my daughter's asthma kicks in whenever the cold wind blows. So we are relocating from the midwest to someplace with temperate weather.

I wish I could take Oregon with us.

[PNW-type-gal]

We once had a thread that had local pronunciations in it - we should probably revive that or sticky it.

Oregon - ORY-gun
Willamette - will-AM-et
Aloha - ah-LOW-a
Couch St - KOOTCH

The spelling of Milwaukie - it ends in "ee" in the big city in the midwest, "ie" here.

"spendy" - expensive, particularly expensive for what it is.

"sucker hole" - look out the window, it's sunny! No, wait, it's just a sucker hole, a small break in the clouds, gone soon.

Rain Lore - if you can see Mt Hood (Mt. St Helens, whichever), it's going to rain. If you can't see Mt Hood, it IS raining.

Also, you know the saying "moss grows on the north side of a tree"? - don't use that here, it'll have you wandering in circles.


I'm having a slow morning, that's all I can think of......

[Dual Citizen CA-OR]

Originally Posted by gma221

Here are a few things I've noticed:

- The water is VERY soft. It takes a little extra scrubbing/rinsing to get all the soap residue off in the shower. I never realized we had hard water in Ohio until I visited Portland!...

For me one of the best everyday things is the water here. I prefer the taste of my tap water to bottled now.

[sayulita]

Originally Posted by Dual Citizen CA-OR

For me one of the best everyday things is the water here. I prefer the taste of my tap water to bottled now.

Amen! It boggles my mind to see so many people buying bottled water when ours is so delicious. I'm reminded how good it is everytime I go to some other city and drink their tap water.

[HondaCivet]

[quote=kapetrich;19354612]

Originally Posted by EnricoV

[*]My biggest surprise when I first visited Oregon were cars stopping to allow pedestrians to cross at intersections no matter what. Any time, anywhere......people stop. Actually, I was REALLY weirded out by this, especially when I was in Portland, but after moving here I learned it was essentially the law of the land........

Word to the wise to any Oregon travelers. Do NOT try this on the east coast. EVER.

Moving to Portland in the next few months but for now I'm still in Wisconsin . . . I'm pretty sure this is the law everywhere but I'll be damned if anyone seems to know that, maybe 5-10% of drivers actually do it here. In Madison there was always a war between pedestrians and cars . . . Cars trying to rush in front of pedestrians and refusing to stop, pedestrians walking out in front of cars when they aren't supposed to. I'm always surprised more people didn't get hit.

This is a great thread though, just the sort of stuff I was wondering about.

[SunJoaquin]

Originally Posted by Minervah

Nonsense! If you go downtown during rush hour especially you will see lots of umbrellas carried by people who are trying to keep their nice work clothes dry. And the umbrellas are very nice ones.

I also see them in my nieghborhood all the time.

I have always carried one and so has everyone else I know. If you like umbrellas, have one. No one but maybe tourists and newbies will think it's uncool.

Some people just prefer not to carry them. Sometimes with the wind blowing the rain sideways, that's the best idea. Raincoats are always good and many people, especially younger ones, wear very nice looking rain boots.s

LOL!!!! "Nonsense" is the exact same word that hit my mind as soon as I read that.

I, too, think a lot of people just don't like to carry their own. I have one at work and co-workers are always borrowing mine. I also pull my hoodie over my head a lot. But, yes, I often use them and don't give a rip what someone else thinks.

[SunJoaquin]

Very strict pedestrian rights laws here, as one poster pointed out, and the laws have tighened. If you're going to make a quick right turn while a pedestrian is walking across at his walk signal then you'd better not do it with a cop in sight.

[sayulita]

Originally Posted by SunJoaquin

LOL!!!! "Nonsense" is the exact same word that hit my mind as soon as I read that.

I, too, think a lot of people just don't like to carry their own. I have one at work and co-workers are always borrowing mine. I also pull my hoodie over my head a lot. But, yes, I often use them and don't give a rip what someone else thinks.

I agree. I have a very small, light travel umbrella that I tuck into my purse if the weather looks iffy, and a couple of larger sturdier ones in the car for downpours. They are very common during the winter months.

[pdxMIKEpdx]

Umbrellas are fine, if you want to use one go ahead.
The thing I hate most about umbrellas are the idiots that do that umbrella "twirl" thing to twirl off the water before they close it up. Everybody around them gets wet.

The big thing is NEVER EVER WEAR A BRIGHT YELLOW RAINCOAT, galoshes or rubber boots unless you are a little kid.
A big Portland fashion faux paux it is.


Something that's not a Portland thing but an Oregon thing is that it seems like north of Eugene is Coke country and south of Eugene is Pepsi country.
Next time you drive down south, look at all the pepsi signs on small town cafes and restaraunts.
Once you notice this, you will see it everywhere.
PEPSI PEPSI PEPSI. NO COKE.
The Pepsi folks seem to have the upper hand down there.

[philwithbeard]

But you still look like a tourist when you use an umbrella and the precipitation doesn't make 'splat' noise when the droplets hit the sidewalk. There are lots more, way more, people with hoodies, Gore-Tex type hats, and other rain gear head wear than umbrellas during light rain, drizzle, and misty conditions.