Post: #1

I have a job interview there in a few weeks. Everyone I talked to so far has
had good things to say about the company. Hopefully they will pay well

I've never been to Oregon.

RVF opinions on the place?

Whats cost of living like?

Post: #2

-One of the highest concentration of hipsters in the country
-Tons of smelly bums peeing on the street and just living on the sidewalk like they own the place (they do own the place in certain parts)
-Some interesting local sights to see
-Powell's bookstore is great
-Food culture can be very good, but this also contributes to a high concentration of foodie idiots
-No sales tax
-Tends to be walkable in the downtown area and there's a tramline
-Aren't allowed to pump your own gas unless it's a 2-wheeled vehicle
-Can be insular

Post: #3

philosophical_recovery pretty much nailed it. In addition what he said, I'll add look out for thieves. Pickpockets and car break-ins are very common. Know several people it has happened to in the Greater Portland area. Always lock your car doors. Always. Don't leave anything of value visible from within the cabin. Put it in the trunk. The bums and homeless people there will break in to steal a $30 walmart jacket just to hawk it on Cragislist and buy drugs with the proceeds.

On the bright side, if you love craft beer, you'll be in heaven. Also, Oregon has some beautiful countryside if you're the outdoors type. Hiking for personal fitness and date opportunities abound.

Post: #4

Cons:
Cost of living is absolutely horrible, a couple years ago I would of said move to an outskirt town to commute from - this is not a viable option anymore for a newcomer, as prices of everything from real estate to rental has gone through the roof.

Portland is about the least Red Pill place you could ever move to, one of the most liberal places in the entire country.

Yes it is Craft Beer Heaven, just remember Craft Beer addiction = man boobs, dulled senses, weak muscles and soft gut.
Also the weather is shit here.

Pros:
As previously mentioned we have great hiking, fishing, hunting, basically anything outdoorsy.
Also an awesome Mixed Martial Arts Community, expect to find a lot of legit Dojo's.
Strip Club, Dive Bar and Dispensary on every single corner, sometimes even in between!

For the right situation would I move?
In a heartbeat.

Post: #5

Hows the general girl situation?

I'm in the CO right now and I've had enough craft beer to last me a lifetime, i don't smoke pot but I do like MMA.

Post: #6

(01-02-2017 09:52 PM)ms224 Wrote:  Hows the general girl situation?

I'm in the CO right now and I've had enough craft beer to last me a lifetime, i don't smoke pot but I do like MMA.

I've been married since before I found this forum, so I'll let someone else chime in on the 1st question.

About MMA, it is seriously awesome.
Chael Sonnen hosts a Submission Underground Grappling event at the Roseland Theater for only $20 a ticket and since the venue only holds 1,400 people, there isn't a bad seat in the entire house.
Less than a month ago I watched Meisha Tate vs. Jessica Eye and Jon Jones vs. Dan Henderson, was glorious.

Post: #7

What about actual gyms to go train?

Whats the ocean like? I've never seen the Pacific

Post: #8

Rain and/or fog for 6 months during the winter. Keep the heat up in your apartment, or you will get mildew. If you want to dry out, go east across the Cascades and you will be in sagebrush country within 80 miles.

Post: #9

I was in Portland only once, but I was pretty impressed. All the city streets seemed to be two lane, with one lane reserved for busses.

This meant there was no real need for a car in the city. Paradoxically, since you don't need a car, the streets weren't packed with people consumed with road rage since others wouldn't GET OUT OF THEIR WAY.
Thus, I could drive downtown and park right near where I wanted which is not usual in most large American cities.

The only thing I was a little disappointed about was the glorious Mt Hood, which loomed in the distance and was begging to be bicycled and climbed by a manly liberal like me, as far as I know is only accessed by one highway from the city.

So if you ride your bike out that way, you've got people speeding by on your trip to Mt Hood which ruins the fun.

I pretty much started ignoring American girls at about 50 years old since the quality I could get in Asia was about 3 levels higher.

Post: #10

I spent a couple weekends in Portland last year. It was a nice city with friendly people. It's a growing 2nd tier city with transplants from other states.

More companies are moving there from Seattle & SF Bay Area. Job growth will be robust.

I was surprised with the quality of girls vs. Seattle. The latter will present a strong SJW presence.

I'm not into nature. I prefer cosmopolitan city near the water. I wanted to validate if this was a granola hippy city.

Portland has new bars opening when I was there in the summer. They're hipster chic. Girls were feminine and cute. I went to the area just east of the river. You can walk from each venue or a short Uber ride.

March - Wet and cold. Felt like Europe.
July - Very warm. Beautiful weather.

Venues:
White Owl Social Club
Dig a Pony
Departure (Same as in Denver)

Very good resturants and reasonable.

Ironically, there's a junkie park in center of the city near the police station. Downtown was beautiful with a lot of trees.

Post: #11

(01-02-2017 09:52 PM)ms224 Wrote:  Hows the general girl situation?

I'm in the CO right now and I've had enough craft beer to last me a lifetime, i don't smoke pot but I do like MMA.

Which city in CO are you?

Post: #12

(01-02-2017 10:33 PM)ms224 Wrote:  What about actual gyms to go train?

Whats the ocean like? I've never seen the Pacific

It is very competitive, quality affordable gyms are everywhere.

The Mixed Martial Arts Dojo I goto is open 6 days a week, 12 hours a day and is only $50 a month.
All classes are included in the price, except for big name Instructor Seminars.
I actually donate extra money to them every month because I feel it is too cheap for what I get out of it.

The beach and ocean are beautiful in late June, July, August and early September.
All other times of the year it is brutally windy, still breathtaking though!

Great Clamming, Crabbing, Fishing, etc...

Post: #13

I worked in Portland for about 5 months last year, and can echo what everyone else has said in this thread.

My biggest beef with Portland is the misconception that is a "bike" "walk" friendly city. Sure anyone can install bike paths and bike lanes, which there are a bunch of in PDX, but the quadrant system of the city (broken in to NE,NW,SW,SE) makes it horrifically inefficient to get from one part of the city to another without a car. Even with a car it is difficult because of insane traffic. Which leads to my next point:

The city is heavily neighborhood driven, which clouds the waters further. There are cool neighborhoods like: Alberta St, Hawthorne St, Division St, Burnside St, NW 21st, etc. But for all intents and purposes, they are all the same. Same kinds of dive bars, same kinds of coffee shops, same kinds of restaurants. The sheer volume of bars/cafes thins out the clientele per establishment which makes picking bars for gaming a pure lottery system, with lots of FOMO and FOBO.

I thought downtown nightlife in the Pearl District was a waste of time, there are like 6 clubs or so, with long ass lines, $10-$20 covers, and mediocre bitchy suburb talent.

Talent: below average. Too many tattoos, piercings (personally, nothing kills my boner faster than a bull ring), pixie cuts, and dyed hair.

I can't comment on day game, since my days were spent inside the lovely confines of a waste water treatment plant.

Since I don't wanna sound like a total downer, I'll list some positive aspects of the city I did like:

-Great Asian food. Whether it truly is or isn't Little Vietnam the area around 82nd Ave and Division St. has fantastic and abundant Vietnamese (and Korean) food.

-Food in general in PDX is great, especially on a (company per diem!) Surprisingly good pizza for the west coast (this is coming from a NY/NJ pizza purist)

-Went to a Blazers playoff game. Great arena, easy to get to, and the people know how to support their team. Timbers games are the same way from what I hear.

-Someone mentioned Powell's. Yes! this place is fantastic. Going out to the cafe to read is popular here, which I can appreciate.

-'Now for something completely different, but this may be my favorite part about Oregon. Let's say you're waiting at a red light, and the opposing traffic's light finally turns yellow. You start getting amped up to go, but your timing is completely thrown off by the damned delay between when the light finally turns red, and your light turns green. This is not a problem in PDX! Lights turn green almost instantaneously at 4 way traffic lights, which is fantastic for the antsy on-edge drivers like myself!

I hope this is a good rundown for you. I'll answer more specifics if you have any.

Post: #14

(01-03-2017 10:36 AM)Chunnel Wrote:  I worked in Portland for about 5 months last year, and can echo what everyone else has said in this thread.

My biggest beef with Portland is the misconception that is a "bike" "walk" friendly city. Sure anyone can install bike paths and bike lanes, which there are a bunch of in PDX, but the quadrant system of the city (broken in to NE,NW,SW,SE) makes it horrifically inefficient to get from one part of the city to another without a car. Even with a car it is difficult because of insane traffic. Which leads to my next point:

The city is heavily neighborhood driven, which clouds the waters further. There are cool neighborhoods like: Alberta St, Hawthorne St, Division St, Burnside St, NW 21st, etc. But for all intents and purposes, they are all the same. Same kinds of dive bars, same kinds of coffee shops, same kinds of restaurants. The sheer volume of bars/cafes thins out the clientele per establishment which makes picking bars for gaming a pure lottery system, with lots of FOMO and FOBO.

I thought downtown nightlife in the Pearl District was a waste of time, there are like 6 clubs or so, with long ass lines, $10-$20 covers, and mediocre bitchy suburb talent.

Talent: below average. Too many tattoos, piercings (personally, nothing kills my boner faster than a bull ring), pixie cuts, and dyed hair.

I can't comment on day game, since my days were spent inside the lovely confines of a waste water treatment plant.

Since I don't wanna sound like a total downer, I'll list some positive aspects of the city I did like:

-Great Asian food. Whether it truly is or isn't Little Vietnam the area around 82nd Ave and Division St. has fantastic and abundant Vietnamese (and Korean) food.

-Food in general in PDX is great, especially on a (company per diem!) Surprisingly good pizza for the west coast (this is coming from a NY/NJ pizza purist)

-Went to a Blazers playoff game. Great arena, easy to get to, and the people know how to support their team. Timbers games are the same way from what I hear.

-Someone mentioned Powell's. Yes! this place is fantastic. Going out to the cafe to read is popular here, which I can appreciate.

-'Now for something completely different, but this may be my favorite part about Oregon. Let's say you're waiting at a red light, and the opposing traffic's light finally turns yellow. You start getting amped up to go, but your timing is completely thrown off by the damned delay between when the light finally turns red, and your light turns green. This is not a problem in PDX! Lights turn green almost instantaneously at 4 way traffic lights, which is fantastic for the antsy on-edge drivers like myself!

I hope this is a good rundown for you. I'll answer more specifics if you have any.

This is a very accurate breakdown, yes the Moda Center (formerly known as the Rose Garden) is an awesome Stadium.
Parking is a breeze, fans are truly inspired!
I saw a UFC event there a few months back and the Staff was so fun and loose, they let me and my wife into the VIP area after the event to get pictures with all the Fighters/Refs/Commentators.

Also like I previously mentioned, I have been married with kids since before I found this forum, so I am not out Gaming.
However as a man I notice the same thing Chunnel said above.
Portland has an over abundance of ugly women.
They are tatted, pierced, hair-dyed, overweight, etc...

To find the less feminist women go visit surrounding towns like Beaverton, Tigard, Hillsboro or Tualatin.
These are all within 20 to 30 minute drive from Portland.

Generally:
Beaverton - Middle Class/Rich, White, Asian and Indian girls.
Tigard - Poor, White and Black girls.
Hillsboro - Poor, Latino girls. (also known as Hillsburrito)
Tualatin - Middle Class/Rich, White girls.
Lake Oswego - Rich/Extremely Wealthy, White and Asian girls.

Post: #15

I have lived in several not so great urban environments, and my experience has been that if you keep your eyes open, and learn the rules, you can pretty much get along most places.

Portland and Eugene, the two largest cities in Oregon are kind of a wild card however in this respect. I find the people in both places to be highly unpredictable, and very often you have no idea who is going to flip out or why.

I don't know if nationally Portland ranks high on violent crime, though anecdotally, I have known a couple of guys who moved out of Portland because they thought it was too violent. One guy was from Miami, and one was from NYC.

I have hung out in Portland, lived in Eugene, and both places kind of give me the creeps. People in Oregon can be the friendliest in the world, and then, suddenly, out of the blue, they can go nuts on you and you aren't sure why.

If you are comfortable with this kind of unpredictability, it isn't boring, you might be okay there because there are benefits as posters above have mentioned.

My pet theory about Oregon is that the state in general is pretty sparsely populated, and people are used to being around people like themselves, or people who think like they do, and when they move to the cities it freaks them out because they have never had to live and work with people who think in very different ways than them. They just can't get over it, the concept of agreeing to disagree being somehow beyond them.

I wouldn't live in Portland myself, although it can be pretty fun for a boozy night tearing around town, and if you could find a place you liked outside of town, and not too bad a commute, you could pick and choose when you went there, and it might not be too bad.

Post: #16

(01-03-2017 10:36 AM)Chunnel Wrote:  I worked in Portland for about 5 months last year, and can echo what everyone else has said in this thread.

<snip>

This post is very accurate, funny I was also working in Portland for 5 months or so about a year ago. It is like a cross of San Francisco and Seattle but with a younger and less affluent populace, I thought the talent was better there than either place as well from my limited time spent in the city itself. Plenty of cute young girls hiking all the time that are very receptive to being opened. As stated each neighborhood has its own vibe so if you do take the job I would do a lot of research on where you want to live and how you will get to work. Some neighborhoods have great nightlife, others not so much. I stayed in Irvington/Sullivan's Gulch.

Visiting for leisure and working are two different things, Portland does have traffic and it sucks. They seem more interested in making it a bicyclists paradise than fixing the traffic problems, just like Seattle. I spent most of my time outdoors hiking/climbing/skiing. The Hwy 26 is the only way in/out of Mt. Hood proper, sorry IKE. I would estimate that Portland and the rest of the PNW will continue their slide towards California style liberalism, except with worse weather. Honestly, it would take a very sweet deal to get me to move from anywhere in CO to Portland.

A couple of financial considerations, OR has no sales tax and WA has no income tax. Lot of folks live in Vancouver and commute to Portland.

Post: #17

Good data in this topic. I always liked Oregon but I lived there long before any hipsters.

Post: #18

Portland is on the tail end of their hot streak.

Also, let me correct myself. It's called "Porkland" and that's for a reason.

Portland is experiencing a HUGE influx of people. 41,000 last year alone (that's ~3,400 a month).

Portland is almost entirely geographically constrained by two rivers, the traffic is getting worse and worse every day because there's nowhere to expand to despite the city population growth well into the top 10 in the US.

It's going to only get worse, property values/rents only getting higher.

Pros:
* craft beer/foodie shit
* Tons of greenery in the surrounding state, plenty of hiking and natural areas
* No sales tax.

Cons:
* hippies/hipsters
* tattooed/pierced/fat women or traffic
* cold/rainy weather most of the year

The coast is beautiful, but the water is really cold and the weather isn't good, so it's not really that nice overall. Also, Portland is a couple hour drive from the coast.

Post: #19

Thanks for all the replies so far!

The actual job is in one of the suburbs of Portland.

Interesting comparisons between the CO and the OR.

Post: #20

(01-04-2017 10:20 PM)ms224 Wrote:  Thanks for all the replies so far!

The actual job is in one of the suburbs of Portland.

Interesting comparisons between the CO and the OR.

Is the interview with Intel? I have a friend who works there, and he loves it.

One place that guys haven't mentioned yet is the Willamette Valley. I'm somewhat of a wine snob, and having arguably the Top 3 wine regions in the country literally 20 minutes away is a huge plus.

Portland is like an SWPL wet dream. You have an elite wine region to the south, coast to the west, mountains to ski and hike to the east, and a big river for fish and to windsurf to the north. Plus coffee shops, donut shops, bars, breweries and restaurants to eat or drink at to your heart's content.

But I was shocked about the vagrancy going on there. My colleague's car got broken in to while we were there for business. The women are primarily fugly, so if you're single, you're going to be fighting fiercely for a normal-looking girl. Traffic is getting worse by the day. The city, just like most cities on the West Coast, has a smugness that makes me want to punch every neckbeard and nose-pierced weirdo in the face. No sales tax, but one of the highest income taxes in the country.

It's basically Brooklyn with less black people and jews, and much more nature surrounding you. Brooklyn's nice to go to once in a while to eat and drink, but to live where the hipsters spawn would slowly kill me inside.

Post: #21

Portland is great if you're settled down.

Single life there is terrible, everyone knows everyone in nightlife, the decent girls tend to marry very early or the hot ones all want to move to LA. There's also little to no culture there. Something like a Bruno Mars concert is a major event which people block out months in advance.

Post: #22

(01-05-2017 02:36 PM)Drazen Wrote:  Portland is great if you're settled down.

Single life there is terrible, everyone knows everyone in nightlife, the decent girls tend to marry very early or the hot ones all want to move to LA. There's also little to no culture there. Something like a Bruno Mars concert is a major event which people block out months in advance.

I feel like this could sum up a lot of smaller and mid-sized cities in the US that I hear about or have visited/lived in. Perhaps change LA to New York, Chicago, or another city depending on the part of the country.

Post: #23

(01-05-2017 01:58 PM)PUA_Rachacha Wrote:  

(01-04-2017 10:20 PM)ms224 Wrote:  Thanks for all the replies so far!

The actual job is in one of the suburbs of Portland.

Interesting comparisons between the CO and the OR.

Is the interview with Intel? I have a friend who works there, and he loves it.

One place that guys haven't mentioned yet is the Willamette Valley. I'm somewhat of a wine snob, and having arguably the Top 3 wine regions in the country literally 20 minutes away is a huge plus.

Portland is like an SWPL wet dream. You have an elite wine region to the south, coast to the west, mountains to ski and hike to the east, and a big river for fish and to windsurf to the north. Plus coffee shops, donut shops, bars, breweries and restaurants to eat or drink at to your heart's content.

But I was shocked about the vagrancy going on there. My colleague's car got broken in to while we were there for business. The women are primarily fugly, so if you're single, you're going to be fighting fiercely for a normal-looking girl. Traffic is getting worse by the day. The city, just like most cities on the West Coast, has a smugness that makes me want to punch every neckbeard and nose-pierced weirdo in the face. No sales tax, but one of the highest income taxes in the country.

It's basically Brooklyn with less black people and jews, and much more nature surrounding you. Brooklyn's nice to go to once in a while to eat and drink, but to live where the hipsters spawn would slowly kill me inside.

Not intel but not too far. I'd rather not say in open forum.

Is the hipstering that bad? I seem to recall, a long time ago , a pre-hipster Brooklyn. It wasn't that great.

I'm wondering about the smugness, colorado is getting drowned in it. I don't remember too much of that on the east coast, though maybe I've just been noticing it more.

Post: #24

Grew up a mile south of downtown until I was 18. Virulently liberal, increasing cost of living, lots of foliage makes for good hiking or just walking around when you're sick of pavement. I miss it to death. There's a submarine on the east side of the river (last non-nuclear boat in the USN) that you can tour which is pretty cool, I went to it several times during my childhood.

I feel like Portland and the Willamette Valley in general is home to a sheltered kind of liberal culture that survives only because the population is about 90% white and largely of local stock. It's little bit like a less frigid version of Scandinavia, perhaps. The minority population is increasing, perhaps we'll see a rightwards political shift as outsiders cause panic among the locals (fat chance given our passive temperament and liberalism being akin to a religious faith among the urban folk). Even my unmarried hippie aunt I lived with in Eugene doesn't like how Oregon is getting overrun by people from out of state.

Post: #25

(01-05-2017 10:18 PM)Lunostrelki Wrote:  Grew up a mile south of downtown until I was 18. Virulently liberal, increasing cost of living, lots of foliage makes for good hiking or just walking around when you're sick of pavement. I miss it to death. There's a submarine on the east side of the river (last non-nuclear boat in the USN) that you can tour which is pretty cool, I went to it several times during my childhood.

I feel like Portland and the Willamette Valley in general is home to a sheltered kind of liberal culture that survives only because the population is about 90% white and largely of local stock. It's little bit like a less frigid version of Scandinavia, perhaps. The minority population is increasing, perhaps we'll see a rightwards political shift as outsiders cause panic among the locals (fat chance given our passive temperament and liberalism being akin to a religious faith among the urban folk). Even my unmarried hippie aunt I lived with in Eugene doesn't like how Oregon is getting overrun by people from out of state.

The Liberalism in Portland is absolutely out of control.
If you are not openly and flagrantly Liberal, people will actually take notice and may even try to out you, very difficult to keep a low profile politically.
It is group think and brainwashing to a silly degree.
Oregon as a whole is not like this!
Step 1 mile out of Portland and politics vary widely.