Moving to Portland, OR

After living in the SF Bay Area for 23 years, I can safely conclude (without prejudice) it just plain sucks.:shakehead Too expensive, too congested, too unsafe, too prejudiced, I can go on and on... Not to mention the Hayward fault is overdue for The Big One... supposed to make Katrina look like nothing.



Well I visited my brother in Portland, OR this past summer, and I've decided to move there. It was a life changing experience. It's a beautiful city with LOTS of good eats, places to visit and the natural beauty is amazing. It reminded me of a cleaner, safer, San Francisco that didn't smell like pee (LOL), and to top it all off the people are very friendly.



That last one sold me. People were actually nice.



TriMet is the best public transport system I've used in the US, (and that's coming from someone from Japan). It actually works. The buses are on time, they're clean, and dare I say it, inviting. I can go anywhere from the suburbs to downtown in a few minutes on the bus. Try that with BART, AC Transit or MUNI, lol.



Yes there are homeless people, lots of them... but something was missing from the usual american big city. It didn't smell like urine in public. Here's why: I walked into a public restroom and it was sparkling clean. No pee/poop/tp on the ground or seat, it was actually nice (this was almost every time I visited their facilities). Not only are these lavatories well maintained, but the homeless are using those instead of the street corner or gutter. GENIUS.



Another thing that struck me as odd: If a homeless guy asks for change and you say sorry, cant help you, theyll reply with thanks, have a nice day and never bother you again.



I loved Multnomah Falls and the surrounding areas. It was like a slice of heaven was placed there by God himself. I can spend hours there and never be bored. Cannon Beach made me forget about Santa Cruz and Stinson Beach (as much as I love those locales). Haystack Rock, the sea creatures, the view... The Japanese Garden was beyond beautiful, and the Rose Garden (not the arena, lol), well it speaks for itself.



Don't get me started on the women.:naughty: There were beautiful women in pencil-cut suits walking around everywhere in downtown, as well as the more casually dressed ones. Lunch time at the downtown eateries (the little carts) were a perfect meeting ground for this kind of activity. Whatever the case they were very easy to talk to, and to top it off they were very kind and unpretentious.



Speaking of good eats, those little food cart cities are AMAZING. Samurai Bento (on SW Alder St) is by far my favorite, but oh my- there are so many to choose from and 95% of them actually serve good (as in tasty and well priced) food. You just can't go wrong with them! And some of them are open 'til 1 AM. Oh my.



To make a long story short, it felt just right. I felt right at home, and I had never been there in my entire life. Not once did I feel like I was in danger, and I felt very comfortable wherever I went. It was a no-brainer for me, I decided I was moving. I've decided March 2012 was my moving date.



That said, are there any folks living in/around Portland? What are your favorite things about the city? Any tips/quirks I should know about before moving up there?

Not sure why there's a double post, but oh well. A simple side effect of the board resurrecting from the dead.

Still haven't made the move, but the plan is still intact. This Wednesday (March 23) will be exactly 1 year until I move to Portland.

One (and only one) thing holds me back now- the Cascadia Subduction Zone slipping anytime soon. Supposed to be a 9.0 and the Pacific NW is overdue for a big one. Don't get me wrong, I would rather go through a huge tremor up there than go through one here in Northern California.

Yeah, the Cascadia Subduction Zone is a scary thing. I'll take my chances with the Hayward Fault and the San Andreas, which is a little over half a mile from my house in Daly City, compared to the CSZ. Look at what just happened in Japan. I can totally see a similar scenario happening in the CSZ and the PNW.

I can understand your decision. My family and I went to San Francisco for vacation several years ago. Beautiful place, but definitely not somewhere I'd want to live. We went all over, tons of different places, even off the beaten track, and didn't meet very many friendly people. Left the city and went north on, what is it, Highway 1 (right on the edge of the ocean), to some little town up the coast, and the people there were much, much nicer to us "tourist folk."

I remember very high prices, the cool (freakin' cold) weather, the rude people, the trollies and the public bathrooms.

Part of the problem with San Francisco is that it is a tourist attraction. I've had my fair share of rude tourists walking around our streets thinking that they own the place. I've found that most people in most of the large cities that I've been to tend to not be overly friendly and that the smaller the town the more friendly the people are. That's not always the case, though.

Welcome to Oregon!

My wife works at OHSU in Portland. The aerial tram over I-5 is neat.

One thing that's good about living in a place that's famous for earthquakes is that they design and build everything to be somewhat resistant to them so there's not so much damage from a pretty big one. If you're afraid of the "big one" in the northwest you should worry even more 'cuz their building codes may not be a match for a strong temblor.
I really like "The Gorge" which is an hour or so east of Portland. If I were to move to Oregon I would live in Hood River, very cool place. Of course, living there you also have to worry about volcanos erupting. There's always something.
I'm pretty happy in Santa Cruz, we had our "big one" back in '89, and a nice little Tsunami last week.

Congratulations on your decision. It's funny how we see the positives where we want to see them. I grew up in southern Oregon and decided 3 years ago that I wasn't going to live my adult life there. Having a sister in P-town, the move north would have been simple, but north of Roseburg (ie:Eugene, Corvallis, Salem) the rain just never ends! When I went to school in Eugene, we're talking 6 months of rain season. Just gloom, over-cast, sprinkle, and pour. Dry pavement is a rarity. I would say cold factor is different from the Bay (oh yeah, I ended up moving to the bay area). The peninsula has it's chill from the wind factor, but up north it's cold the instant you walk out the door. Weather in the bay is quite mild compared to up there. Aside from that, I like portlandia. Agree with the cool eateries and the nice people. Although every city has there fair share of snarky individuals

Dont know if you're into beer, but portland is definitely the place to be if you are. Most micro brews per capita in u.s. Or world or something like that. At any rate, great beer! Good luck with your move and you can't go wrong with Bridgeport brewery!

dudemar,

I've been living in the Portland area since I got out of the Navy in '97, although none of that in the Downtown area. I guess this is a pretty good city as far as cities go. Fairly clean, fairly safe and lots of good eats and brews.

I'm more of a county guy myself and truly enjoy the surrounding areas more than the city. Like what no-knock said, do be aware that the sun goes on vacation some time around October and doesn't come back until around June. The rain usually stops on July 5th. Since the "warm" season is so short around here, it seems like everyone in the area is outside hiking, biking, driving or doing whatever else they can when the sun shines so don't expect any quiet, peaceful solitude when out on the trails.

Some of my biggest peeves are the arrogant bicyclists that ride in the roadway and clog up traffic. They refuse to use the bike lanes that all the taxpayers provide and will violently defend their "right" to ride in the road. The Saturday Market is great as long as you're not allergic to patchouli oil.

For my family and I it is the long grey winters that are really getting us down. I grew up in San Jose / Morgan Hill so I know what nice weather is like.

If you have any specific questions feel free to let me know and I'll be happy to help.

Mike

Thanks Mike. Morgan Hill is very pretty, I used to work for a company headquartered there. During one summer I commuted from Hayward to Morgan Hill via 880 and 101S. It's actually a pretty fun drive, except for the junctions/bottlenecks where people slow down for no reason. Would live there too but it's a bit pricey.

I love the rain if it's consistent, and I understand Portland has a lot that! I always wanted to live in a place where it rains a lot, and I think I found it. I also can't stand bicyclists who don't follow rules of the road. As a cyclist myself it pains me to see people making up wacky rules as they ride along.




On a different note, I was planning my move-out date to be March 23, 2012 but I quit my job as a special needs teacher 2 months ago. I wanted to work for about a year to save $12,000, but plans were scaled back and put on hold.

The good news is I recently got a new job teaching folks how to drive. I have to stick with them for a year, but that's ok because the summers will offer more hours anyhow. It also means I'm set for a year, and more cash in my pocket until I move out. I'll probably end up moving to Portland around September 2012, if not a bit later.

Still very excited about moving to Portland!

dudemar, it sounds like you've got a fairly good impression of Portland so far.

Having lived here for some years, I can say that it's not a bad city to live in. If you're more a suburbs type, there is plenty of that, allowing for lots of elbow room and far less traffic. If you're a downtown type, the Urban Growth Boundary and decent transit system has allowed for a lot of growth and vibrancy in the city center for folks that like it, with living spots very near places to work. As well, if you're a "nature" type, you can select a good spot at a number of places where huge parks, forests or the wilds are just a hop-skip away. It's a great place to live with a bicycle, or without anything but the metro rail, street cars and buses. And it's hard to beat the huge number of restaurants. It is indeed much like San Francisco, but without the stink and frightened, angry people.

I was looking at Google Maps and saw a very interesting name for a town nearby Portland: Idiotville! After the obligatory jokes and looking into it, it actually looks very pretty. Probably wouldn't mind living there myself!

Too bad it's a ghost town. Anyone visit there before?


I also thought I'd add a list of my favorite food carts/eats I loved. Has anyone been to any of these? Feel free to add any other tasty eats:

****'s Kitchen- Don't get me started on their burgers served rare
Samurai Bento- everything on their menu reminds me of home
Sugar Mama's- the BEST breakfast food I've EVER eaten
Döner Kebab
Jarra's Ethiopian Restaurant

dudemar said:

I was looking at Google Maps and saw a very interesting name for a town nearby Portland: Idiotville! After the obligatory jokes and looking into it, it actually looks very pretty. Probably wouldn't mind living there myself!

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I've been along Hwy 6, Hwy 53, Nestucca River Rd. and a handful of other remote roads through the coastal range of mountains. Parts are incredibly rugged and remote. According to the brief write-up in WikiPedia, it was named for the nearby Idiot Creek and the fact that the place was "so remote that only an idiot would live there." That can be said of many spots in the coastal range. What can be said for all such places is that they're impossible to get into or out of when the weather turns ugly, given how whole hillsides tend to move elsewhere fairly often, out that-a-way. "Idiotville" sounds like a perfectly appropriate name for it.

Send us a postcard when you find a place. :nana:

pnwoutdoors said:

Send us a postcard when you find a place. :nana:

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Har Har. I saw a video on Youtube and from the looks it's probably a bit of an adventure to visit. Check it out, looks really pretty!

Only been to Samarai Bento once, I remember it being good.

Voodoo Donuts isn't bad either. Pass on the Spaghetti Factory, frankly I think Applebees and the Olive Garden are better. The spumoni icecream is good.

San Francisco does have it's downsides for sure but remember what happened to that doctor lady from the TV series LOST after she moved to Portland, she was sent to the Island and you may suffer the same fate. Actually, an island might not be a bad choice but Oregon is amazingly beautiful. All the best whichever way you choose, just watch out for the wild boar and the polar bears.

Has anyone been to the Pacific Pie Company? Heard they had a grand opening for their bigger, newer location. My favorite is the Beef + Stout.

saabgoblin said:

All the best whichever way you choose, just watch out for the wild boar and the polar bears.

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Both are good when properly cooked.

Just curious but are there any CPF gatherings in/around Portland?