Portland peeps

[Deleted]

I LOVE it here. Seriously I have no complaints.

The weather isn't nearly as bad as people make it out to be IMO. Yes it can rain a lot and get grey in the winter, but overall it's pretty mild for the most part. And we have beautiful summers/falls. I'd take the rain over tons of feet of snow anyday.

I'd say it's a moderately priced cost of living. An urban one bedroom apartment will run you about 850-1100. There are a lot of free activities, it's a really active community so tons of stuff is always going on. It's becoming quite a foodie destination, but you can get awesome gourmet food for really cheap all of the city.

I like that it has all of the benefits of a city arts, festivals, shopping, great food, culture, but it still has a "small town feel." It's super fast to get around the city, parking is always easy to be found in most areas, etc.

There is lots of great green space and really fun neighborhoods to explore.

I've always felt really safe. There are a few seedy areas, but they are easy enough to avoid. I've walked home at 2am and felt fine (although still a bad idea).

Really the only thing I hate are the over abundance of hipsters (although they can be avoided) and that the guys here seem really shy. Like NO ONE I know has ever been approached by a guy. It's kinda weird. But then again I might just be going to the wrong places. People have had much success online dating here though without a bunch of weirdos.

I do sort of hate that so many things are focused on outdoor recreation. Like I enjoy enjoy drinking on patios, and a nice saunter through the forest, but intense day hikes and kayaking and the like aren't really my scene. I have found I've slowly started to appreciate some of the activities.

Feel free to fire away with any other questions. I love talking about my city!

[Deleted]

Yea the good news is that you can find the non-outdoor enthusiast types as well:)

People are super duper liberal and it's awesome. I'm not sure I even know a conservative personally now that I think about it.

Pretty much all of the neighborhoods here are exactly like you described. I don't really ever have to drive anywhere if I don't want. I LOVE the NW 23rd area (and based on what you've described I think you'd like it the best), but there is also Mississippi, Hawthorne, the Pearl (also an awesome choice) and even downtown is really livable.

Each neighborhood has a plethora of shops, restaurants, bars, groceries and other services you need. It's pretty amazing.

Feel free to keep the questions coming.

[starburst604]

Just had to chime in about the outdoorsy thing. So funny you say it, my friend moved to Boston after growing up in Portland. She said men would always ask her on hiking dates and she is SO non-outdoorsy. She was like I want to dress up and wear heels on a date, not hiking boots! I've visited Portland with her before and I echo that it's a great city. I love that it has the amenities of a city but it's easy to find green places as well and everything is easy to walk to. My friends that live there always seem to be having so much fun boating, wakeboarding etc. I would love to live in the Pearl.

[Deleted]

Aug 15, 2012 12:31:55 GMT -5 @redvelvet29 said:

OMG!!! I just looked at indeed to see if there were any jobs in case I wanted to switch and my company has an office in Lake Oswego? It doesn't seem to far from Portland. Perhaps I could work out some kind of deal where I have an office to go to a few days a week!

I am going to inquire with my bosses to see what is going on in that office!

That's really exciting!!! Lake Oswego is totally commutable from Portland, especially if you go via the back way. I'd say it's maybe 20 minutes? Up to 30 or so with traffic? I've known a lot of people who work in Lake Oswego and live in Portland.

[Deleted]

Aug 15, 2012 12:39:02 GMT -5 @redvelvet29 said:

[
It's good to know people are liberal... I was looking on match last night and someone in their profile wrote "Fox news is the best!!!"

Dude get out now! SCARY. Yea I mean I don't think you can really get much more liberal than Portland. I will note that Oregon as a whole is much more conservative than the Portland Metropolitan area.

[Deleted]

hahahahah. Well the other good thing is that Portland is VERY dog friendly. It's pretty awesome. People have them everywhere, there are lots of activities for them, etc.

[redredwine]

Aug 15, 2012 11:37:16 GMT -5 @redvelvet29 said:

So tell me about Portland... do you enjoy living there? LOVE LOVE LOVE IT! I moved here about 3 years ago from California (SOCal, needed to get out of there). Fell in love with it quickly...didn't look back!

Is the weather really terrible? Meh, it depends. YES, it RAINS here! Just like you've heard. But I think overall it's less "gray" than Seattle. The spring/summers make it worth it, it's SO green and beautiful here. And we get a few small heat waves in the summer, just enough IMO. Coming from CA, i love the seasons here. I put up wtih the rain just fine.

Is it expensive? Coming from CA? Not really. It's still more expensive, than say...Oklahoma. But It's also a more desirable place to live. I just moved into an old house in a nice part of town and pay less than $1000 (but it's an old funky house, nothin fancy). The 'burbs are a little more reasonble. I was paying $850 for a nice 2 bed. in the suburbs.

Is it safe? Totally depends on where you are. As a whole, I'd say yes. But I lived in a major city in CA, so I'm used to a varity of demographics and socioeconomic levels that deem things "safe" or not. I take public transportation regularly (their system here is really good) and have also felt pretty sfe, but you of course have to be smart about it. Some areas are better than others, as with any major city.

What do you love and hate about it?
What I love most is that people are friendly here! I LOVE this and miss it when I go anywhere else. I also loved how relaxed and comfortable it is...I don't have to dress a certain way or anything like that. I can wear or be whoever and fit right in. Unlike PDX, I love how focused it is on outdoors and how great the access is, as I'm an outdoorsy kinda gal. It's "green" and a huge focus on local and sustainable businesses, which I also like. Great food, breweries, nearby wineries. Dog friendly. The city itself is not too big, not too small. Just right.

Hate? Not much. Slow drivers? Lame boys? Yah...alot of hipsters, too.

Lake Oswego is a really nice place. Expensive and older demographic, but nice and near the lake is really neat. It's kinda a pain to get to/get from though.

Oh, and to note: If you've seen Portlandia, yes, it's kinda like that. It's weird in a way that's only Portland. I didnt' realize this until I just recently moved into a very Portlandia neighborhood...I just have to laugh. I love this town and don't see myself moving anywhere else for a long time.

Feel free to ask away, too!

[Deleted]

RedV, based on what I know about you, I'd say Vancouver probably isn't the best spot for you. It is good for families and the like, but you'd want to be in the city. Also I don't think you'd save on the income tax unless you actually worked in Washington. But I may be wrong on that.

[Deleted]

Aug 15, 2012 17:52:22 GMT -5 @redvelvet29 said:

Aug 15, 2012 17:43:41 GMT -5 @pdx18 said:

RedV, based on what I know about you, I'd say Vancouver probably isn't the best spot for you. It is good for families and the like, but you'd want to be in the city. Also I don't think you'd save on the income tax unless you actually worked in Washington. But I may be wrong on that.

Yeah... I think Portland is a better spot for me... It sounds so perfect!

I will need to take a long weekend and drive out there and see if I could really picture it! It's not that far from Boise

I'd be happy to show you around!

[starrieskies]

Total lurker busting in, I hope you don't mind.

I had one employee with our company who lived in Portland, but worked at our office in Washington. We had to deduct the Oregon State income tax from his earnings since he lived there. I'm not sure if the reverse is true, but my brother's XW lives in Vancouver and works in Portland. I can ask her if you'd like.

FWIW, I live about 2 hours north of Portland, and every time I drive there I am reminded of how much I really like it. I love where I live too, but there's just something about Portland that puts me at ease.

[redredwine]

Aug 15, 2012 16:04:24 GMT -5 @redvelvet29 said:

Aug 15, 2012 15:43:03 GMT -5 redredwine said:

Interesting! It sounds like you really love it too!

where is so cal did you live? I lived in LA for awhile.. went to high school there and then lived there for 7 years or so after school and I don't want to move back there

I lived in San Diego...people think I am crazy for moving away from there, but to me? PDX beats SD so many times over. SD is pretty, has some neat places, nice weather (that gets boring to me, personally) but honestly the people and focus on superficiality really got to me. It wasn't somewhere I wanted to raise children.

[blackkitty]

I spent 3 months in Portland for work many years ago and I absolutely loved it! It pretty much rained the entire three months I was there but it's still an amazing place and I drove to the coast once and it was so beautiful. I was actually in Lake Oswego.