educate me on Portland, OR

Jared at Pelican Parts · 08-13-2005, 05:58 PM

gonna be heading up there next week, considering a move. Was curious if anyone can offer any suggestions of places to check out? Seems really cool up there, figure it might be a nice change from Los Angeles.

singpilot · 08-13-2005, 07:47 PM

Jared;

Am considering a move there myself. I did a contract gig at Hillsboro airport west of Portland couple of years ago. Almost rural setting, but still only a 20 to 40 minute drive to town. Rural is still available not too far out. If you want to live in town, there are some really bohemian neighborhoods where you would not need a car.

Michael.

artplumber · 08-13-2005, 08:07 PM

Don't go there this time of year for a "look see". Go in December & then again in March. Be prepared to buy a UV/blue lamp for the winter, and either tan or get ready to be sunburned when you vacation somewhere with sun in the winter. Best option is to have a summer home in the NW if it gets too hot in the southern climes. Also, grow some gills.

Michael, same advice especially coming from Nevada. And the Sunset Hwy sucks almost all the time.

ps. One of the most annoying things is you can't pump your own gas in the entire state. Doesn't seem like much, but when you're in a hurry (or driving the P-car), those guys take forever, or don't particularly take care of your car (bang the nozzles around).

singpilot · 08-13-2005, 08:10 PM

Pete, I do remember that. Same in NJ (the gas jockey thing). Why is that?

I do also remember the traffic. But if I was flying out of Hillsboro, and living west, I wouldn't have to deal with that. And flying for a living, you get to climb up into the sun every day.

I am considering it.

artplumber · 08-13-2005, 08:28 PM

It's supposed to create entry level jobs, and supposedly prevents spills from overfilling the tank (never mind that half the time the attendants spill themselves). It really is about the time, you can spend an extra 10-20 minutes at the pumps if there is one person working an 8 pump station, and all the pumps are going the same time.

To do anything interesting you have to get on the Sunset or drive on TV highway into Beaverton. The rural roads are fun when they are dry, but depending on which road can be major traffic.

The thing about the housing is that it's hard to get elbowroom, because the land-use planning commission maximizes domiciles/acre in the suburban communities. This leads to lots of attached homes, many homes on small lots. Plenty of $1mil homes on <1/3 acre in Beaverton. Otherwise, the rural homes are 50 acres or more. (There are exceptions in the 1-10 acre range that were divided before the commission began).

Prob from a private pilot standpoint the airport is very nice because it's pretty good size, service everything from homebuilt choppers to some of the larger business jets (Intel). Has a large rotary wing & fixed wing school. Also has a reasonable airshow once a year (which might be a bad thing too).

The gray skies were really a killer though. 50% rain in Oct & 50% rain in April/May. All the other winter months were >70% rain. Summer doesn't really start until July. But who knows what will happen w/global warming & all.

velomann · 08-13-2005, 09:25 PM

nice thing about the private pilot thing though is that you can go just an hour north to scappoose and have a nice airport to go in and out of with no control tower, short commute to p-town, and get the larger 10 acre parcels! flying p-town is actually very nice all the way around once you are out of the p-town control zones. some friends of mine run the north side of the troutdale airport which again, short commute, very nice area surrounding.

Porsche-O-Phile · Porsche-O-Phile's Garage

Rainy, cold, miserable. 10 months a year.

When the weather is nice (which ain't often) it's gorgeous, but mostly it rains like hell. When I used to fly freight I took a transfer up there - as a pilot I'll say it's a great experience and it'll make a helluva good instrument pilot out of you. If you ain't instrument rated, get so. Now. Or you'll never fly.

It really is quite pretty up there, but too cold and WAY too rainy / dreary for me. The economy was pretty lousy when I was there also (not much in the line of work, my wife got laid off shortly after moving there and we ended up moving back to SoCal since there were no jobs). I guess the NW took a pretty bad hit after the dot-com collapse - only worse place was silicon valley from what I heard from people. . .

I literally noted over 53 days CONSECUTIVE when I encountered some form of precipitation. Hope you like rain. . .

On another good / positive note, the housing is (or was) actually somewhat affordable though.

Jared at Pelican Parts · 08-13-2005, 09:50 PM

The bohemian lifestyle is really appealing at this point as L.A. is kind of sucking the life out of me and I'd like to be in a more intellectual, artsy kind of place for a few years. Would actually appreciate more of a public transit kind of place, drive the Porsche out in the forest on the weekends (sounds great) Actually enjoy mountain weather, so thats really not a concern.

I've got some friends up there in SE Portland, so i was thinking of visiting them and checking the place out.

HardDrive · 12:59 AM

Greaaaaaaaat. Another Californian moving to the NW to drive up housing prices, import governmental chaos and spurn the growth of 'macro biotic sushi' restaurants.

You like artsy? Portland is good, Seattle is better. I like Portland, but its actually not a very big town. Artsy yes, cosmopolitan....not so much. I dig Seattle because it has the best of both. The weather is better in Seattle as well. Not sure why, but Portland gets mega rain. Seattle does to, but it seems more spread out. Portland goes on nice healthy 30 day raining spells. I either case, prepare for a drastic change from LA. IT RAINS.

btw....I LOVE it up here. I have lived all over the country, and I have found home.

What field are you in?

RoninLB · 08-13-2005, 10:05 PM

the forest gets real nice not to far SE of Portland. RE prices have been moving state wide as the boomers buy in.

vash · vash's Garage

my sister went to law school there, so i visited alot. very granola, but i loved it. i found a great sushi place there, so i figure if i had to, i could set up camp easily. i think the weather would make me sad after awhile.

you ever look at a USA map? it is mind blowing how many cool cities we have. it would be tuff to find a great place to live, too many choices. i had a friend move to philly, and loves it. i wish i was a nomad.

artplumber · 08-14-2005, 04:04 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Jared Fenton
Actually enjoy mountain weather, so thats really not a concern.

I've got some friends up there in SE Portland, so i was thinking of visiting them and checking the place out.

Jared,
Seriously, go there in the winter, not now when it's nice. Don't know what you mean about mountain weather, doesn't really get freezing/snowing cold there, just damp and dreary. I lived in England & remember it fondly, but cannot deal with the gray now. I'd much prefer colder/snow with sun than gray. As to the comparo's to Seattle, they both get about the same inches/yr (Portland is a little less), Portland gets cooler and warmer than Seattle, P is smaller w/less traffic/home prices, less arts, and less well-to-do than Seattle. See for yourself, they're only 2 hrs apart.

Oh, there have been periods >month(s) long when I couldn't wash/wax the car because of the rain.

pwd72s · 05:48 PM

Politically? Go to San Francisco, then turn left...is that what folks describe as "bohemian"? Tons of bald guys with their gray hair in a ponytail, birkenstock sandles during the summer, Nike air whatever during the winter. Tie dye making a comeback...and Peter nailed it weather wise during the winter. No joke, it rains a LOT here...we go months without seeing the sun, only gray skies with low clouds, or rain...highs in the mid 40's, cooling off to nights in the mid 30's . Right now? Gorgeous weather! Maybe a bit too warm, close to 100 today.

amity914 · 08-14-2005, 10:33 PM

Whats not to like about Portland. 1 hour from the beach, 1 hour from skiing. Not too big of a city and not too small. Other than lack of law enforcement, a meth epidemic, and 10 months of rain, its a pretty nice place to live.

Hiedi

artplumber · 08-15-2005, 05:11 PM

You forgot windsurfing & kiteboarding (with dry suits)!

techweenie · techweenie's Garage

If you move there (which I advise against) ditch the California plates as soon as possible. Never mention California. Never. You're from... ah... France. Yeah, that's it.

amity914 · 08-15-2005, 07:11 PM

If you like scenic stuff, then take a drive up the historic highway to multnomah falls. If you like hiking, I reccomend the trail at horsetail falls. There is so much to do in the Portland area. Bring a camera.

HIEDI

Porsche-O-Phile · Porsche-O-Phile's Garage

And bring a lot of bug spray. Unlike California, Oregon has bugs. Big'uns.

pwd72s · 08-16-2005, 09:23 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by techweenie
If you move there (which I advise against) ditch the California plates as soon as possible. Never mention California. Never. You're from... ah... France. Yeah, that's it.

No joke...Portland is more politically in tune with Paris than L.A. Better yet, ditch the car completely, ride a bicycle rain or shine. The Sunday past, the city closed off roads and bridges, created a bottleneck on I-5. Why? So thousands of bicycle kooks could do a "bridge tour" ....What a mess! Oh well, it's only once a year. Motorists would be well advised to stay away until the mess clears.

RoninLB · 08-16-2005, 09:28 AM

the cougars aren't as people fearless as in N Calif but one never knows. An outer clothing strap with 2 knifes handy to either hand isn't a bad idea. Many times you can fight them off you. Sleeping with cougars in your area prevents boredom for sure. It's best to stroll around with someone less intimidating than yourself, especially at night, because like all cats they hit the most vulnerable.