GRM-ers of Portland, OR, what's so great about it?

So the company I work for may have a permanent opportunity for me in Portland, OR that would likely involve a decent raise and nice title. I got to visit the city for a little over a week for work back in 2013 and absolutely loved it. I have been getting sick of the Midwest and I've lived in Milwaukee for my entire adult life, so I'm thinking it would be a nice change of pace to pick up and move out west. When I visited I loved the scenery, the nightlife, the climate sounds much more tolerable than Wisconsin, they have great beer, and the huge number of rust free cars is a big draw too! I also know a fair number of GRM-types here live in and around the city, so I figured I would see if anyone has any commentary on the city or anything else I should consider before moving.

The facility I would be working in is at the northeast corner of the city, and I have no idea what part of town I would start looking for a place to live. Hopefully there are pockets where the cost of living isn't too ridiculous. I saw a lot of cool cars when I was out there, but didn't really do any looking into the motorsports scene. PIR looks like a fun track, are there any other nice road courses in the area? It seems like a great place to be a car guy, really. And no sales tax, either! If my employer makes it worth my while it seems like it'd be a win-win.

Folks of the Northwest, tell me what's so great about it!

Ill be watching this thread as well, I am applying for a couple positions in Portland

i think you have to be "weird" and own a Subaru of some flavor to live there.

Born and raised in Portland and no matter where I visit, I love coming home.

Vancouver Washington usually has the best cost of living compared to Portland, with the lack of income tax in Washington and the urban sprawl means places are slightly cheaper per square foot. The drawback is that you get to fight the traffic across one of the two bridges across the Colimbia river and that is a PITA.

I live in SE where the cost of living isn't too bad and I can avoid the worst of the traffic using side roads, etc. I'm also far enough out that I can have a decent pace with a garage and no HOA, etc. but it worry too much about druggies stealing my stuff. if I were to choose again, I'd look at St. John's or Milwaukie as they are smaller suburbs with decent homes available and lots of local places to eat.

Lots of tracks (PIR, Pacific Raceways, ORP, The Ridge and Spokane) and events (Track Days, Road Races, Autocross, Rallycross, Rally, Hillclimbs, Cars & Coffee, Car shows, etc.) in the area, check out where2race.com for lots of events and venues to enjoy.

The beach is about 2 hours away and the mountain is about 2 hours away. Lots of mountain bike trails and road bike events throughout the spring/summer. Windsurfing in the Gorge, paddle boarding, even surfing on the coast. Fishing and hunting as well.

Winter time weather can kinda suck for folks not use to gray and rain and if you have mold or other plant allergies be prepared to have to deal with that.

Beer culture is huge of course as is the wine industry. Lots of brewery's and wineries available for tours and some places are getting into distilled spirits now as well.

Aside from biking, there's lots of hiking trails, including places like Mt Tabor and Forest Park as well as the entire Columbia Gorge area.

Lots of fun windy back roads in the forests to enjoy, lots of car clubs do cruises and meets all over the spring/summer.

Basically we pack lots and lots of fun into the few months of nice weather we get and either continue that fun during the fall/winter or we hibernate.

If anyone makes a trip out here, let us know and we'll try to meet up for a cold beverage of choice and maybe show you around if you'd like.

novaderrik wrote: i think you have to be "weird" and own a Subaru of some flavor to live there.

I don't. I dislike Subaru's and I'm not terribly weird. I was also born and raised here. Those Portlandia jackasses are Californian rejects who can KMA!

I live in Seattle. It is nice, but expensive, to live in a place with great scenery and excellent job prospects.

I would go there just for this!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVI5b87675Y

30 minutes away.

'nuff said

In reply to bgkast:

Yep, I got to drive some of the roads in a E36 M3ty Passat rental last time I was there, it was awesome!

turboswede wrote:

novaderrik wrote: i think you have to be "weird" and own a Subaru of some flavor to live there.

I don't. I dislike Subaru's and I'm not terribly weird. I was also born and raised here. Those Portlandia jackasses are Californian rejects who can KMA!

I was there this summer. What a freak show. The "locals" said they would migrate south to "home base" when the weather got a little cooler. My personal favorite was the dude trying to get my hard earned change "for food" while he had a fat doob hanging out of his mouth.

As a former rally guy from Olympia WA who now lives in WI I would say the lack of rust and subsequent glut of funky old steel is what I miss the most as a car guy. Whether it was 80s Subaru or 60s Saab you can find it in the northwest. Check out BaT if you don't believe

kazoospec wrote:

turboswede wrote:

novaderrik wrote: i think you have to be "weird" and own a Subaru of some flavor to live there.

I don't. I dislike Subaru's and I'm not terribly weird. I was also born and raised here. Those Portlandia jackasses are Californian rejects who can KMA!

I was there this summer. What a freak show. The "locals" said they would migrate south to "home base" when the weather got a little cooler. My personal favorite was the dude trying to get my hard earned change "for food" while he had a fat doob hanging out of his mouth.

Yeah, downtown is an odd place to hang out at times. There are parts of working downtown I miss (summer + girls + lunch at waterfront park = instant stress relief). The bums and street kids are just BS and just ignore them. The rest of the time, downtown is not a place I choose to go due to the cost of parking, the lack of parking and the general lack anything interesting for me to do there (I'm not into clubbing or being clubbed).

It was funny there was a guy who "ran" all of the beggars in town (the guys hanging out at the freeway onramps, etc.) and he'd get a cut of their collections everyday. Dude was rolling bank before they finally busted him.

I love Portland. I just don't live there yet.

Like live music? it is everywhere.

Like food? Everywhere

Enjoy a more secular region? It is for you.

Play music? Great music stores all over

Enjoy car culture? Lots of it all over.

I am only 120 miles south in a rather liberal city but I am amazed at how much more liberal it is there (a good thing in my book) Here in Eugene there are billboards all over with scare you into a church, you will burn in hell if you don't repent type slogans. Up in portland there are "freedom from religion foundation" billboards all over. I find this refreshing.

Portland hosts one of the largest automotive swap meets in the country every april, The all british field meet later in the summer, Vintage racing events, frequent bracket racing and lots of drag racing. A great cars and coffee scene and vintage cars on every block.

The roads here are built for rain. High crowns to shed the water. This means during the very few times that snow happens the roads are treacherous. there is no infrastructure to deal with it and no one keeps snow tires in the garage when needed. Snow will shut the city down but it is rare and doesn't stick around long.

Hipsters? Yep a lot of them. Other than the creepy mustaches I really don't mind. Not sure if the local conditions created the hipsters or the hipsters and their predecessors created the local conditions. Either way it is symbiotic. One can't exist without the other.

I love the city. I love Nong's Khao Man Gai, I love Old Town Music, I love the swap meet, I love the bars, I love the way the folks who go to see live music don't just show up for the one band they want to see and leave. They support all the bands, cheering and keeping that room packed. I love the fact that everyone seems friendly. Try and walk a dog around any of the neighborhoods and count the number of conversations you get into. I average 4 a block in the SE side. Here folks avert their eyes and scurry past.

Hmmm... I just had a really good way to see what it is like there. Check out the Fred Meyer on Hawthorne st and compare it to the Kroger that you are most familiar with. It would really give you an idea of the regional differences.

Just as soon as the shop I work at relocates, or I open a PDX extension I will be there.

Rain. Oppressive government, Multnomah county is on its way to being the highest taxed in the state. Bicycles have been given pedestrian rights. The roads are crumbling. Rain. PIRaceway is doomed (mostly dormant) and will likely be closed soon. Bunch of friggin liberals voted a blatant crook back into the governors chair (the rest of the state voted against him). Rain. Police presence on the road has doubled in the last 5, they are tasked with creating revenue job #1. Rain. Get a good GPS navigation of the metro area is treacherous, many roads that cross on the map dont connect, as one is a bridge. Do you like baseball? Too bad the stadium is now a soccer field. Even though there are an abundance of classic cars, it is not a car friendly place, narrow streets anything parked on the street gets hit eventually. Rain. Dont get a place at the bottom of a hill or on the outside of a corner, when the streets freeze everyone will be sliding into your stuff. East side seems to have a higher crime rate. NE is a wind tunnel. Rain. First city south has a kangaroo court (Happy Valley). Clackamas, Oregon City, Estacada, Tigard, Tualatin, Banks, anywhere in Yamhill county are much nicer areas. Beaverton is revenue hungry, Hillsboro = Hillsburrito, Cornelius = Cornholio. Rain. I could go on but to simplify, Avoid the metro area, Accept the commute or better yet live and work outside the Metro as rush hour commuting is giving up a big chunk of your life. Otherwise ride the bus, metro, or bicycle and you will fit right in with the skinny_jeaned_goofy_facial_hair crowd, weaving your way through the pan handlers on every corner. Every homeless on the west coast must live here. Did I mention the rain?

Great place to invest in real estate, it's receiving the spillover of Silly Valley gentrification now.

GameboyRMH wrote: Great place to invest in real estate, it's receiving the spillover of Silly Valley gentrification now.

Ehh. The investment in the nw is strong but Idaho snd Utah have more runway for actual growth. The stuff in this area is already so over priced i am afraid to buy.

In reply to bentwrench:

Chip on your shoulder, much?

SlickDizzy wrote: In reply to bentwrench: Chip on your shoulder, much?

The place does have some very hot cold opinions about it. The rain and gray ain't bad. You're from the Midwest and should be fine with it. The panhandlers and bums are out of control. I've been hassled so many times and it's crazy. Usually they need some kind of detox or mental help but can't get it. The areas are super friendly to them and the weather is mild so they continue to roll in. When they start effecting tourist dollars, tipping point may be soon, something will be done. The legalized pot brought in more than I can count.

My oldest son and a nephew live there and I visited once. One thing I have to say is VooDoo donuts.

Another thing. Cool vacations are relatively cheaper here. Flights to Hawaii out of seatac can be found for cheapish. Bc is close. The west side of the state is wonderful. Plan on one vacation a year during February. That's when everyone leaves to go someplace sunny. In the summer everyone sticks around because it is so nice.

One thing I did notice when I was last out there, is that there seems to be a HUGE difference between the kids who move out there with no job and no plan because "Portland is cool" and the regular people who live and work in the city because of what it has to offer. I might be a younger dude with some hipster-ish tendencies, but I can definitely see how one could be turned off by the sense of entitlement a lot of the youth seem to have...

Also, I did have the privilege of dodging human poop on the sidewalk in Old Town, I know and understand the homeless thing...it's definitely an issue but I'll take it over the rampant racial segregation and police brutality I've been living with for almost a decade now here in Milwaukee.

Fueled by Caffeine wrote:

SlickDizzy wrote: In reply to bentwrench: Chip on your shoulder, much?

The place does have some very hot cold opinions about it. The rain and gray ain't bad. You're from the Midwest and should be fine with it. The panhandlers and bums are out of control. I've been hassled so many times and it's crazy. Usually they need some kind of detox or mental help but can't get it. The areas are super friendly to them and the weather is mild so they continue to roll in. When they start effecting tourist dollars, tipping point may be soon, something will be done. The legalized pot brought in more than I can count.

As an "outsider", trust me, you are well past the "tipping point" when it comes to affecting tourist $$$$'s, at least in the downtown area. I was there for a week this summer for a work-related conference. I'm generally not intimidated by whole homeless/mentally ill/street begging thing. I've worked in a smallish city with the "nicest" homeless shelter within several hundred miles and one of two functioning dedicated mental hospitals in the state, so I'm not really new to the dynamic. Downtown Portland was the worst place I've ever experienced for being hassled for spare change, getting yelled at by random, unstable nut-balls and stepping over stoned out cretins pretty much everywhere you went. And by a fairly large margin. The whole "keep Portland weird" campaign is one of the more glaring redundancies I've recently seen. Several of the people I traveled with pretty much wouldn't leave the hotel unescorted, day or night.

That said, its an interesting place. The true "locals" are friendly, laid back, decent folks. As an example, we were looking for the city rose garden, got lost and asked the first random person we saw outdoors for directions. Not only did he give us directions, he actually drove us there since we weren't really all that close. I was able to get out into the "burbs" a little since I have relatives that live locally and really liked the area, the people and the local "vibe".

BTW - not to "nit pick", but a three year old with a crayon and a map could have done a better job laying out the city and the traffic flow. That would make me absolutely crazy.

I'm an east coast transplant I've been here for almost 10 years now. I would NEVER move back!

Rain - Hahahahahahaha... it is propaganda that it is ALWAYS rainy, and grey here. Oregonians invented it to keep Southern Californians in southern Cal!!!

Look up rain fall totals... they don't exceed many other places. Look up gray days, while there are more grey days, the grey is usually connected to warmer winter weather... my favorite weather thing to say when I moved here... "When you say it was 20 degrees in Portland, you didn't have to ask if it was above zero or not" coming from NE Pa, I remember MANY sub zero days... here nothing like that.

As far as snow...it doesn't happen that often, but get use to a day, to 3 days off when it does snow in Portland... snow removal is pretty much non existent.

As far as parking... a home with a driveway and garage solves most of the street parking issues.

huge map of Portland neighborhoods - http://www.pdx.edu/sites/www.pdx.edu.prc/files/PDX_Hoods.jpg

I live in SW PDX(Collins View on the map), about 3/4 mile due west of the Sellwood Bridge, 4 miles south of downtown. I have little crime here, no vagrants, but I do live near one of the many colleges(Lewis and Clark) and have to suffer with college students in the neighborhood. Their parties are a bit annoying, but nude 20's somethings ladies sunbathing in their backyards (next to mine) isn't a horrible thing...

I will say the roads are not getting better... and that if you want to drive anywhere in, or around town it must be done between 9:30am, and 11, and then again from 1 to about 3. Then not again until after 6:30. Weekends aren't too bad.

As to the eclectic cars in this area... much of its very true.

bentwrench wrote: Rain.

Yeah, its the Pacific Northwest! Duh!

bentwrench wrote: Oppressive government, Multnomah county is on its way to being the highest taxed in the state.

Simple. Don't berkeleying live in Multnomah County. Oregon just kicked out the Governor due to being a lying dirtbag. The populace is unhappy and change is on the way. Just look at the opposition to the BS Road Repair Tax. People are holding the idiots in the City Council to task for wasting money on everything by basic maintenance and will not approve any added fees or taxes for things they already have money for.

bentwrench wrote: Bicycles have been given pedestrian rights.

Not really. They only have pedestrian rights when they are off their bikes at a crossing. Cops do ticket them for being idiots (not enough, but it is happening) and bikers are learning to pay attention and share the road properly as are the drivers. Those that don't, learn the hard way unfortunately. The whole "Portland Nice" thing of stopping for bikes crossing on bike lanes is just something you have to accept that other drivers will do.

bentwrench wrote: PIRaceway is doomed (mostly dormant) and will likely be closed soon.

Really? http://portlandraceway.com/?/events/calendar

I beg to differ. Its the only. I repeat, ONLY City park that actually makes a profit and has done so for years. It isn't as if there is anything else they can do with the land as it is a superfund clean up site and part of the flood plane. Same with the golf course next door and the bird sanctuary, etc. The last time the city tried to build anything other than a park there, it didn't end well:

http://portlandraceway.com/?/about/history

bentwrench wrote: Bunch of friggin liberals voted a blatant crook back into the governors chair (the rest of the state voted against him).

The people have spoken and have kicked him out of the Governor's chair:

http://www.oregonlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2015/02/oregon_governor_john_kitzhaber_3.html

bentwrench wrote: Police presence on the road has doubled in the last 5, they are tasked with creating revenue job #1.

I drive from SE Portland to Vancouver and back everyday at 70mph without seeing a single cop. I also drive from Vancouver to Gresham via I84 everyday at 70mph and never see a cop. The OSP is hurting for budget and rarely patrols the highways and the city cops are busy on the side streets mostly.

bentwrench wrote: Get a good GPS navigation of the metro area is treacherous, many roads that cross on the map dont connect, as one is a bridge.

What? I've lived here forever and aside from the West Side being goofy due to all of the hills and Vancouver being a mess due to urban sprawl, I've not had a lot of problem getting around or finding places.

bentwrench wrote: Do you like baseball? Too bad the stadium is now a soccer field.

Good. The majority of people really like it and while I'm not happy about the deal that went on, it seems to be a better deal for the city overall.

bentwrench wrote: Even though there are an abundance of classic cars, it is not a car friendly place, narrow streets anything parked on the street gets hit eventually.

Never had that problem. Did have a friend lose a beautiful Supercharged MR-2 to a drunk driver who was being chased by the cops. I personally destroyed one of my GLH-T's racing a Honda by spinning it on SE 39th at 2am. Completely my fault and I paid the price for it. Stuff happens and that's what insurance is for and that's what garages are for (or live on a culdesac).

bentwrench wrote: Dont get a place at the bottom of a hill or on the outside of a corner, when the streets freeze everyone will be sliding into your stuff.

Most people who do live in situations like that are smart enough to place boulders or guard rails to keep people out of their property if things like that happen.

bentwrench wrote: East side seems to have a higher crime rate.

Don't live near the lightrail corridor or near SE 82nd and you'll be fine. I live on SE 63rd and the MAX is 30 blocks away and I've not had any issues with theft aside from one package stolen from my porch, which the cops took care of with help of FedEx.

bentwrench wrote: NE is a wind tunnel.

Yep. It is windy thanks to Mt. Hood and the Gorge and you're just splitting hairs.

bentwrench wrote: First city south has a kangaroo court (Happy Valley).

Happy Valley is in Clackamas County and I live near the border. I'm not sure what your point is here.

bentwrench wrote: Clackamas, Oregon City, Estacada, Tigard, Tualatin, Banks, anywhere in Yamhill county are much nicer areas.

Agree, to a point. Only if you enjoy being "in the sticks" and having to make runs "into town" for supplies.

bentwrench wrote: Beaverton is revenue hungry,

Yeah, the West Side metro area isn't my cup of tea, but you have to go through there to get to the beach, etc. The tax deferments they put into place to keep Intel and Nike there hurt them, but that's their problem.

bentwrench wrote: Hillsboro = Hillsburrito, Cornelius = Cornholio.

and Lake Oswego is sometimes called Lake NoNegro. Lots of places get funny names for various reasons. I'm not sure what your point is.

bentwrench wrote: I could go on but to simplify, Avoid the metro area, Accept the commute or better yet live and work outside the Metro as rush hour commuting is giving up a big chunk of your life.

Yep, its nice if you work within easy commute distance from where you live, but otherwise I already said to live a little further out.

bentwrench wrote: Otherwise ride the bus, metro, or bicycle and you will fit right in with the skinny_jeaned_goofy_facial_hair crowd, weaving your way through the pan handlers on every corner. Every homeless on the west coast must live here.

Huh, other than the patchouli and dreads or the funky beards and/or mustaches that some of the younger folks wear, I could care less about what people wear or do with their bodies. There's a historical backstory to the reason why homeless seems to be a problem in the area and like so many things reported by the media, its blown out of proportion for sensationalism while ignoring real solutions to the problems.

You're not exactly wrong with some of the things you've mentioned, but you're taking it too far and worrying about things that shouldn't matter to you in the long run.

GameboyRMH wrote: Great place to invest in real estate, it's receiving the spillover of Silly Valley gentrification now.

Bend certainly is with its 360-ish days of sunshine every year. A friend and her husband moved there to work for a solar panel company and are loving it.