If you lived in Portland already, you'd say there were no more cheap neighborhoods, but if you moved there from Williamsburg or Berkeley you'd find it affordable. If you're moving there because it's "cheaper" than Seattle, it's not.
The days of cheap rent, easy jobs and lots of free time ended a decade ago.
The urban growth boundary around Portland (and the rilly kewl arts scene) resulted in most of the inner city being priced out of the reach of well, you know, the poor people who used to live there. I think St. Johns is the last "cheap" neighborhood for aspiring couples, maybe around Montavilla, 82nd ave. All those cute hip streets; Hawthorne, Belmont, Division, Alberta and Mississippi? Getting kinda spendy for the locals. Californians LOVE it though.
Now that the economy is tanking, the hipsters who so wisely purchased property after 9-11 are scrambling to stock their homes with roommates to offset their insane mortgages.
Who knows, maybe Steve Malkmus, Isaac Brock or Britt Daniel will be looking for housemates come spring and you'll luck out.
A friend from Montreal observed that
any one thing from Portland moved to another town would be great; a bicycle collective, anarchist bookstore, vegan cafe, but there's so much of it in one place that it's its own sort of imperialism.
The hipster paper is the Portland Mercury. Between that and craigslist you should be able to get a sense of the local culture online.
I am worried the environment won't be bleak and urban enough for me... I find the abandoned, burned out buildings, of say, Detroit, sort of eerily compelling...
If you like rain and industrial ambiance, may I suggest Tacoma? Bellingham's a fun little city too. If you're committed to not paying sales tax, Astoria might be a good fit. Hood River is pretty zesty and The Dalles yearns to become an art colony. Ashland is not very affordable, but there are two girls for every boy there and even more hippy hegemony than Eugene. Eugene is best avoided unless you like hayfever.
The rain in recent years has blown the minds of lifelong residents. If you have
any seasonal affective disorders, be sure to pay the Lightbulb Lady at Sunlan a visit when you arrive and illuminate your digs with full spectrum bulbs.
If you're attached to the changing seasons, the Pacific Northwest might not be the best choice as the weather is basically green or grey. No snow, not much fall color. Your winter clothes smell like dishrags and none of the old houses are insulated. Either they had different weather back then or so much wood they just kept their stoves roaring all winter. If you're renting check your prospects for mold. Spring is long and very pretty. Summer is a brief dry out period before the Fall rains.
A few years ago when the state quarter was being designed, one proposal depicted former Governor Tom McCall in a "talk to the hand" gesture with the inscription "Don't Even Visit". If you do make the move, practice saying ORE-gun (not Ory-gon) and will-AMET ( not WILLA-met) so the locals don't automatically hate you. If you ARE from California, come up with a different cover story.
Fun things about PDX
Disasters on Mt Hood.
The Bridges
Forest Park
Voodoo Doughnuts
Farmer's Market
Daphnes, Rhodies and Roses.
Goodwill As-Is
Powells Books
The Swifts swirling the Chapman School smokestack at sunset
Rebuilding Center
The Perfume House
A gimlet discussion of Portland can be found on this forum
http://www.jimgoad.net/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.cgi?board=news
and here's the Icke-ian Valley Girl perspective:
http://forum.noblerealms.org/viewtopic.php?id=1337
Get informed about Little Beirut. I got tired of the police murdering black women and assaulting my disabled friends, but if you're into fixed gear bicycles and tattoo collecting it's THA BOMB!
Annie Aronburg
by §ê¢rꆧ » Sat Jan 12, 2008 2:15 am 
I find the abandoned, burned out buildings, of say, Detroit, sort of eerily compelling...
That Montavilla neighborhood looks attractive.
