What I Love, Hate, Like, Dislike about Portland Oregon (insurance, condo)
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I love the feel in Portland, all the parks, and you don't have to drive far from the city to enjoy outdoor activities. The people for the most part are friendly.
What I HATE: All Protesters, all the Guys that wear skinny jeans, hippies, homeless people and street kids. lol!!!
Oh yeah? I don't find emaciated hipsters with tatoos, men with out-of-control beards, nor the "Vanilla Marley" white dreadlocked guys very attractive. Guess that makes me impossibly picky.
Does EVERYONE on this board try to find dates at the DMV?
I have to agree with you there. Giving someone homeless a food token rather than money is not going to solve that person's drug addiction or alcoholism. When I give, to whomever or whatever, I figure when the money passes hands from mine to theirs my control over it is done.
But WHY would someone want to say hello to some random person on the street? I smile back when that happens and even initiate smiling at people, but why talk to a stranger if you don't have to?
Bahaha
I have a sneaking suspicion the person you are quoting was talking about , people in their neighborhood. You know, people you've seen around but don't know yet.
i found out not that long ago, why people in other states initiate conversations and small talk with those in the neighborhood. It's to share info about what 's going on in the world around us. I had a neighbor for a few years who used to do a lot of visiting with neighbors and others around, and pretty much whom we might call a busybody. But the deal was, I found out all kinds of stuff from her, that I would never have known. Some of it was rather valuable in terms of keeping abreast of things that affected me or others.
My family never talks to each other. Other people I know rarely shoot the breeze, or engage in chitchat that -- guess what-- often leads to deeper stuff, valuable stuff. Information sharing is an invaluable tool that for millenia at least, has helped human beings to keep on top of things, through mere awareness of those we share the locality with. Whether we are in agreement with them about everything or not. It is a part of civil society that helps keep things on an even keel, and helps us not miss out on opportunities. Oregon is a place where the natives and long term imports, are simply not that socially evolved, or we have forgotten what our more tribal/ socialized ancestors knew . How to behave like neighbors and / or like an actual kindred society of people.
It's kind of like, when my English ancestors came over on the Mayflower and shortly thereafter, to the wilds of New England. They were so busy surviving in the backwoods, they had no book but the Bible (which got either stolen or burned by the "Indians", true story), and they had no teachers or school then. So for about two generations, they forgot how to read, could only do math. So they didn't even remember how to exactly spell their name. They had to learn all over again after the schoolhouses started cropping up on the frontiers.
So, after the early Portland/ Oregon settlers came West, and even quite a few decades later, I swear, something similar has happened. We forget what the value of community, and sharing, and communicating, and neighborliness, is all about. When it is such an invaluable tool. Not to blame anyone. But, since most of us came here and were strangers , transplants from somewhere else, we have a natural aversion to these total strangers we bear no seeming relation to. It would be so different if people had mostly lived in their little towns or neighborhoods for at least a couple generations. That's what makes us different too- the fact we are not well rooted yet, and people move around a lot. Many have NO relatives anywhere within a few hundred miles at least, maybe a couple thousand miles. This creates a certain character that is different from places where people's families have lived for a good long while.
We must recall how to treat each other like neighbors, and utilize the Golden Rule. i also suspect part of the problem is that we do have a lot of hostile and unfriendly people around, whether they are rich or poor; so we hesitate to trust, and wisely so. But it might not hurt to just be civil and at least say good day once in awhile. Women in other places actually have others over for tea, or coffee klatches. With rules sometimes- like, the old Victorian 20 minute rule- visit with one person for only 20 minutes or less, at tea time. Remember that what comes around goes around, and so kindness and civility should be the order of the day. Maybe we could start something good.
Last edited by 2bpurrfect; 05-06-2010 at 09:31 PM..
I have to agree with you there. Giving someone homeless a food token rather than money is not going to solve that person's drug addiction or alcoholism. When I give, to whomever or whatever, I figure when the money passes hands from mine to theirs my control over it is done.
the point of giving a food token would be, because you want to help them get food and not drugs. so it would be a good thing to do.
but yes, i wish that portland took better care of homeless, and i mean the average out of work poor person without a home; because they already emphasize the druggy street people, in giving shelter. But the huge $ millions the city collects for housing the poor, really is wasted on overly expensive building projects that produce very few units compared to how many are actually needed.
see the new housing authority of portland thread i started. it's not the housing authority's thread, it is ABOUT the housing authority and all related issues. not that it has any posts yet except my opening one!
the point of giving a food token would be, because you want to help them get food and not drugs. so it would be a good thing to do.
but yes, i wish that portland took better care of homeless, and i mean the average out of work poor person without a home; because they already emphasize the druggy street people, in giving shelter. But the huge $ millions the city collects for housing the poor, really is wasted on overly expensive building projects that produce very few units compared to how many are actually needed.
see the new housing authority of portland thread i started. it's not the housing authority's thread, it is ABOUT the housing authority and all related issues. not that it has any posts yet except my opening one!
Of course the best thing to do, like the homeless, is to throw more money at the problem: "The PDC made Williams' company a loan in 2007 to design a building. To date, the firm has borrowed $1.9 million. As part of the 2006 contract, the city also agreed to let Williams' company develop the building for a $1.7 million fee. The firm did not have to compete in a public bid against nonprofit developers, as is typically required.
Since then, the real estate bust drove off private investors needed to help pay for the deal, and City Hall's changing priorities caused further delays. In 2007, Erik Sten, then a city commissioner, changed the project's concept to house homeless veterans. The switch meant the city's poorest residents would have a home in South Waterfront. But it also required even bigger public subsidies, from a budgeted $10 million for one building in 2003 to more than $30 million today.
Still, Margaret Van Vliet, the city's housing director, is eager to start the 209-unit building. She announced last month that construction would begin in November. That's an aggressive schedule given that the city still needs to find a nonprofit to operate the building and lock up financing in a struggling market."
There you go. Margaret's on the job. Move along now, nothing here to see.
I think that's pretty funny. At least he has a sense of humor. Last Christmas, I saw a guy with a sign reading, "Have egg, need nog." I'd have given him some nog, if I'd had any, just for originality.
If they're intelligent enough to make a sign like that, they're intelligent enough to be working a real job.
I wonder if you are having problems with Portland or Portland is having problems with you. I suspect the former.
You're probably just too sophisticated for our little part of the world.
I guess the other 500,000 ignorant, myopic Portlanders just don't and never will measure up to your lofty standards. hyuck hyuck.
Thanks for trying us out, and I'm sorry we let you down.
Ya'all come back now, hear?
First CACKLE of the day. High-Five! I used to be one of those silk blouse wool skirt high heeled cuties. Now I livein Oregon and I take too many photos of the alpacas at the nearby farm while driving my old jalopy wearing kick clothing.
My impression of Portland may different than some others because I have only lived here for three years, and in the inner NE/Alberta area. The responses do seem to vary by demographic and by the location one lives in. I never moved here because it was a hip place. I just ended up here after throwing away a decent job (by recent grad standards) to, in all honesty, get away from my family.
I got very lucky in that I found a wonderful sub-letter who became a close friend, then found a cheap apartment a month afterward a couple blocks down from her house. If not for those two blessings and the people I have met I would have gone a long time ago.
Let me underline right here that I have met some AMAZING people here, locals and transplants alike. I like people, so they usually like me unless they are just plain miserable, or stuck up. I think, wherever one goes that there will always be good people, people in so much pain that they make life suck for the rest of us and a very small amount that are so far gone that they need a miracle to bring them back. People can be jerks, but my advice is to just move on, find good people and get out of the house. I have heard about Portland people being cold, two-faced or passive-aggressive...and for a while I thought that some of the were. The people here do seem to try to avoid conflict at all costs, and it can be maddening coming from a more direct culture, but I remembered that my Grandmother's family from Canada was that way. They are just polite, peaceable and really want to size you up a bit before letting you "in".
I really think it's a waste to see Portland and Oregon go so far. Taxes, schmaxes...it's a beautiful state and will be prime real estate once BC/ SEATAC/and SFO become a real megalopolis. You have real, committed people making a wonderful community, a very well-educated workforce and access to I-5.
I am going to say some things about how hard it can be to stay here...But first I have to say that people here know how to make some good lemonade. I have never seen civic and community involvement on such as scale as this, even though the efforts can seem fruitless.
I have to say that the job situation sucks. I have had to take survival jobs where I have been treated more poorly than ever before. I'm not stuck up about working hard as I have worked since I was 14, then worked full time through college. I have been laid off for lack of work (not fired) THREE times since I moved here and would feel completely demoralized had I not realized this was indicative of a larger economic malaise in Oregon. One could say, "Move"....but it's not looking much better anywhere else. At this point I can hardly afford to move. If you cannot budget, be creative about making money,find a way to live within your means or accept work that is a leap below the ladder compared to where you used to live, you may be one unhappy camper.
The quicker you suck it up the better it will be. If you are paying more than a third of your income for housing, don't have a decent credit score and do not have cash reserves for at least 3 months don't even think moving here will be pretty, even if you are are a well-educated professional. The rent is high for compared to what you may be making, it only went higher as more people were pushed out of their homes due to the recession. Your rent for a house may also be making a dent in someone's mortgage and *surprise*, you have to move because the owner foreclosed.This happens ALL the time.
Unless you are absolutely sure you are ready to sign on for a mortgage and can afford to weather out this economy or have a pretty solid career do not even think about buying here, either. There is an abundance of talent here and we are all easily replaceable. There is a culture of fear, because people really do have to pay their bills. But, may last temp job was wonderful. While I was there I was treated so well and met some great people. They had to lay us off because they were not making any money, but they totally restored my faith in humanity.
There are a lot a lot of people on drugs here, and a lot of homeless. Maybe I'm sheltered, naive, whatever...but I have never seen anything like it before in my life. I think it’s a symptom that we would all be wise to take heed of. I see a small city with very pronounced class divisions, and a rapidly shrinking middle-class. There is a lot of poverty here. I don't have children but based on what I have seen, I would not want to send my children to public schools here unless I lived in certain parts of town. It is very sad.
The lack of sunshine can be soul-crushing if one does not make a concerted effort to go outside, rain or shine. I have had SADD since coming here and have to force myself to get out. If I could afford a car, it would be nice...but unless I am making enough to justify the expense of an automobile I will not get one. In my mind, I make more money taking a $10 an hour job close-in than a $15 an hour job in Tualatin with a car and a 30 minute-1 hr commute. Luckily, I live close-in and have no problems with Tri-Met now, but I had a HARD time getting used to it.
The women here do have a reputation for being frumpy- they dress for practicality. I thought they were a sight when I first moved here. I ditched the heels (rain, public transportation), anything other than light make-up (runs down one's face), and put on a little weight (Carbs boost serotonin, no one wants to walk in murk). But people here do dress schlubby compared to some standards. The wealthier just wear nicer casual wear, REI and Boho chic. You cannot afford to wear bad shoes or clothing ill-suited for the weather when you are walking outdoors or working downtown-where there is no parking. I shop clearance racks, good sales and thrift stores. It can be odd when one is used to more East Coast attire. The dress codes are lax by comparison. It’s kind of nice because no one is going to pay you enough to dress well for work anyhow.
People here seem to come and go, perhaps this is because I live in a more seasonal/artsy area. Perhaps some people who come here run out of money and leave. Perhaps this is why people seemed so distant at first-they are maybe wondering if they should even take the time to get to know you.
It can be hard to form lasting attachments here, especially when you are kind of square for 29 and not a member of some societal fringe or some in-crowd. These people can be great, or annoying depending on your tolerance level for a young airbag who thinks they are “too cool for school” when they are what…30? Pearls, swine. The invasive questions and assumptions by certain people about your politics can get annoying, but are no one's business. There are a lot of trust fund anarchists who will call you the tool of the man because you have to work...You will probably avoid these people if you can afford to live in a better neighborhood, or am older than I.
This does seem to be a holding-pen area for new twentysomethings. It's a great place to be young ,a student, an artist, freaky, weird, gay, a musician, but not so great once you want a boring existence with a decent job or a husband. Portland offers little stability if you are not already established, and is not a great place for a career.
We do have excellent food, wonderful beer to make you forget how crappy your job and the weather is, and a nice outdoorsy life. Plenty of farmer’s markets, ethnic grocers and cheap eats abound for the thrifty home cook. Happy hours and food carts are wonderful, too.
This neighborhood is rapidly gentrifying. I have watched it change so fast in the last three years. This used to be cracktown 5 years ago. Houses that look like junk heaps to me are going for 300k, and the ones that someone remodeled and probably lost money on are going for around 400-500k. In a recession, I may add! It might be a good bet for an upper-middle class retiree, a creative class sort, or someone who telecommutes from a city with exorbitant property values. If you can invest without being a speculator and can stomach the idea of being part of a community, consider that your home will only appraise as the SFO/PDX/SEATAC/BC corridor grows.
Please don't subject yourself to the pain you will experience if you absolutely must have a certain standard of living by moving here. It may sound good coming from other areas, but remember that the prevailing wages here are abysmal, and most people have to meld together 3 jobs to make their mortgage or rent.There are places that need your talent and living beyond your means is not glamorous. It is nice to see kids playing in the streets, block parties and real community involvement here when many people started moving into gated communities elsewhere.
If you are a senior and like an artsy fun city and want world-class care there is OHSU, Emmanuel Legacy and Providence. I love Providence! If you want to create business, come here.
For the most part, I like it here because I want to and I’m stubborn. I found a wonderful group of real friends, I like my neighbors, have a good boyfriend and am going back to college. It is very nice to be so blessed, but I know that I may have to move in order to take care of business once I graduate, because I just cannot afford to go to school again, the let my resume rot while I cannot get any "experience" . Sorry guys, no trust fund, have bills! If I do have to leave I will take what I have learned from NE Portlanders about taking charge of a community with me.
Last edited by wandering_starseed; 06-19-2010 at 10:17 AM..
Reason: typo
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HEY, i figured out why!
