Portland happens to be one of the major cities along the west coast and for many a jackpot destination to live. On a given morning you can escape into sacred forests uncovering flowing rivers, fresh mountain water reservoirs, waterfalls or lakes. Greenery and Douglas-firs for miles on end. You get the reminiscent Los Angeles hills driving outside the city and occasionally you get the majestic Mt Hood casually in the distance.
The lifestyle here is very environmentally focused, which I absolutely love and is something I can relate with. Options for outdoor actives are infinite. Recycling is a focus, sustainable, green living, in general, is a focus. And if you read my Chicago recycling piece, you know that I am at ease with this. Oregon and Michigan are the only two states on the back of cans and bottles marked for that 10 cent deposit.
When I came to visit Matt during our long-distance dating, it wasn’t that I didn’t like it here it was that I just did not see myself making this “my home.” I approached living out here with a blank judgment, but there are the inevitable similarities that remind me of the state I grew up in — the small-town feel and suburbs lifestyle. Reasons why I left back home in the first place, simply because I always saw myself in a big city and still do.
Having been submerged in Chicago living for the past few years, the city of Portland is different. Instead of skyscrapers, you have bridges that take you 400 feet in the air at 40 miles an hour. Bars don’t stay open until 4 and a lot of food/coffee places close on the weekends? Good luck finding somewhere to eat anytime past 10 around here. Portland is known for “keeping it weird” something originated to promote individuality and self-expression and I will say it’s reflected. You truly feel like you can be whoever, do whatever and no one will give a fuck and still be nice to you. A different change of pace if you’re from a big city like LA or New York.
The cost of living is a huge pique of interest for a growing city like Portland. You have no sales tax and the minimum wage is at $12. Rent is kinda high in the city and is hard to find anything less than a $1000 around it which is a downfall. But again compared to the other cities along the west coast it is minimal.
You have major development that keeps growing in the city and outside of it because of massive corporations that have decided to station in The Beaver State. You have Nike, Intel, Columbia Sportswear, Adidas, R/West, Wieden + Kennedy, Tektronix, and IBM for the big ones. Nike pretty much owns the city of Beaverton.
This isn’t too far off from what I grew up with. Having BIG companies stationed in my hometown. But the difference is that Detroit is the Motown City for a damn reason. And we are sure as hell proud of it, bailout or not. It crawls in the DNA of the city and the metro area. From an outsider perspective living in it, Portland as a city is going through an identity crisis.
And what I’ve learned since being here is that there’s a notable migration of people coming to live here. I’m among many that have recently moved into the area and I have unbiasedly been grouped in as a transplant. There was a heavy relocating of Californians to Oregon within the last 5 years, notable to those from here. There have been so many people from Michigan alone that I have met out here. So it’s not just California, it’s from all over the country.
So you have the area being taken over by companies and outsiders, and becoming something of a major city. While in New York or Chicago it would be very casual to meet people not from there but for those that have lived in Oregon their whole lives, there is some sort of resentment towards the transplants. I don’t know if it’s because of the people or because of the byproduct of those moving into their sacred state. They’re also just dealing with their area being transformed into something that will make money. But who is actually benefiting from all of this?
As far as where I stand with living in Portland – it’s so beautiful and I’ve made friends with very awesome people. But having not been able to land a gig in my field, yet, I’m leaning towards moving further south the coast to LA where the job market is bigger.
Jane Theory 