ok, well what about Portland, Oregon?

It's a fun town to visit, though, especially for midnight drunken scooter races.

- hundreds of streets and all of them named!

- parks, with trees, paths and park benches!

- automobiles in fantastic profusion from every corner of the world!

- a river flowing smack dab through the middle of town with both color and texture!

- lots of people! At last count, nearly 450,000 of the crapulent bastards!

This list does not even begin to scratch the surface of this wonderful metropolis. We even have places where you may purchase hot, ready-made food for take-away, a sky that varies from day to day, and residential neighborhoods full of houses. Our exciting "downtown" area has awesome buildings multiple storeys high, including many with elevators. In P-Town the fun never ends!

And for Powells, which I've only visited virtually, as should you all.

Will I actually be the first, besides Douglas, to say something serious and positive about PDX?

For its price of livin', Portland's probably one of the best American cities to live in. Despite it being a west coast city, the weather can get downright FUCKING MISERABLE at times.. like during the ice storms in winter, and days like, oh, today.. where it's (check's Yahoo weather page) 96F/35C with 60% humidity... (ok ok so maybe not miserable compared to the east coast)

Portland's a fair sized city but it does feel even smaller for some reason. It's a nice arty drinkin' town. Musically -- well, if you can ignore the Dandies or Jackie O Motherfucker or the Epoxies easily enough, you'll find a nice variety of stuff to see, befriend, etc. (Minmae and Celesteville as one of several examples)

Like the rest of the northwest, it's kinda hippie/kinda swarthy occasionally.

Gareth, if you're looking at the Northwest.. and for something cheaper than Seattle (not that Seattle is super expensive, but compared the rest of the immediate region, it's pretty pricey), you should also check out Vancouver...(Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada that is -- not to be confused with Vancouver, Washington, which is confusingly enough right next to Portland, OR... )

The truth of the matter is, if we didn't give them away, the creeps would pile up in the streets in unsightly heaps, along with all myriads of god-strangled kittens. As it is, heavy machinery sweeps the streets every night, pushing the creeps under freeway overpasses, but they won't stay put like the dead kittens do.

OR-e-guin

Not Ore-GAWN

Portland likes to refer to itself as a world class city. I think that is becuase they want to charge 1st class prices. If you compare Portland to any major city in the U.S. it will fall short in diversity, and culture (although a lot of white kids like to drive around volvos with "honour diversity" bumper stickers).

Portland is a place to hide from the rest of the world. It is not an engaging city. It is however a good base to engage in a lot of different outdoor activities.

If you do not like gray wet weather most of the year you will not like Portland for long.

I have lived in Portland for 9 years and am considering moving back to Chicago or to some other big city.

Portland likes to refer to itself as a world class city. I think that is becuase they want to charge 1st class prices. If you compare Portland to any major city in the U.S. it will fall short in diversity, and culture (although a lot of white kids like to drive around volvos with "honour diversity" bumper stickers).

Portland is a place to hide from the rest of the world. It is not an engaging city. It is however a good base to engage in a lot of different outdoor activities.

If you do not like gray wet weather most of the year you will not like Portland for long.

I have lived in Portland for 9 years and am considering moving back to Chicago or to some other big city.

Portland likes to refer to itself as a world class city. I think that is becuase they want to charge 1st class prices. If you compare Portland to any major city in the U.S. it will fall short in diversity, and culture (although a lot of white kids like to drive around volvos with "honour diversity" bumper stickers).

Portland is a place to hide from the rest of the world. It is not an engaging city. It is however a good base to engage in a lot of different outdoor activities.

If you do not like gray wet weather most of the year you will not like Portland for long.

I have lived in Portland for 9 years and am considering moving back to Chicago or to some other big city.

Portland likes to refer to itself as a world class city. I think that is becuase they want to charge 1st class prices. If you compare Portland to any major city in the U.S. it will fall short in diversity, and culture (although a lot of white kids like to drive around volvos with "honour diversity" bumper stickers).

Portland is a place to hide from the rest of the world. It is not an engaging city. It is however a good base to engage in a lot of different outdoor activities.

If you do not like gray wet weather most of the year you will not like Portland for long.

I have lived in Portland for 9 years and am considering moving back to Chicago or to some other big city.

Portland likes to refer to itself as a world class city. I think that is becuase they want to charge 1st class prices. If you compare Portland to any major city in the U.S. it will fall short in diversity, and culture (although a lot of white kids like to drive around volvos with "honour diversity" bumper stickers).

Portland is a place to hide from the rest of the world. It is not an engaging city. It is however a good base to engage in a lot of different outdoor activities.

If you do not like gray wet weather most of the year you will not like Portland for long.

I have lived in Portland for 9 years and am considering moving back to Chicago or to some other big city.

They're cheap if you're used to NYC/SF/Seattle, expensive if you're used to West Virginia or don't have a job. Which, of course, is a big problem, as the unemployment rate is, they keep saying, the highest in the nation. I'm not sure if that takes into account the people who make a bunch of money on the East Coast, move to Portland for 6 months, and then move back when the money runs out.

Portland likes to refer to itself as a world class city.

It does help to keep in mind that there's the Portland that most people think of -- the unwashed close-in southeast Portland that, in fall of 2000, had a Nader sign on every lawn -- and there's also the other Portland, where the mayor and her cronies get really excited about making downtown friendly to huge corporations and tearing down old building to make depressing overpriced and artsy "lofts". So. Nobody refers to Portland as a "world class city" except, well, those creepy people who think that it's good to be a "world class city".

Anyway, search: Stumptown coffee, Q Is For Choir record shop, the fact that everyone has a band and no one can make any money off their band, lots of beautiful bridges, the weather, a tiny city where you can walk or bike everywhere, lots of vegetarian food, no sales tax, etc.

Destroy: Politicians resting on a reputation built by people in the 70s, small-town dating pool (everyone knows everyone), everyone is lily white, the weather, events at the waterfront park that ruin your Sunday afternoon, people who come to Portland and expect it to be New York City or northern northern California, huge budget deficits, the Mercury, etc.

better hurry thouhg, I'm only here for another week.

I'm so proud of him.

I'm in Seattle now! Portland was good.

http://www.dirtyducktavern.com/

And this guide looks a little old, anything good? (I'm not quite a bear, but they're better company than some.)

http://www.oregonbears.org/PortlandGayLife/portlandgaylife-barsrestaurantsclubs.htm

Jeezus, bars closing at 1 on weeknights!?! When will civilization arrive??

Also, Starky's is a place you may want to check out. Nice, friendly neighborhood bar.

http://www.starkys.com/

I don't feel like I'm worthy enough to go to Starky's yet.

Town Lounge is nice and small, which generally makes the room feel "full". Very tiny stage, although the one show I went to see featured a band with 8 people in it, at least one of whom was put off to the side somewhere.

I think I have heard OK things about the Dirty Duck but I mostly only know the gay bar scene here through anecdotes. (The only place I've been to on that OregonBear list is Hobo's, which is sort of a piano bar/restaurant.) Joq's is right near my place, and it seems modest and nontwinkish enough from the outside, though I've never been in. This website suggests that they have food, which I can't imagine is recommended.

I've been thinking about trying to get Martin M. to go with me to brunch at Starky's someday. I have perhaps built it up too much in my head, though.

Friday April 7th
At the Towne Lounge in Portland
w/Boy Eats Drum Machine
--and--
Saturday April 8th
At the Voyeur in Olympia
w/LKN (http://www.myspace.com/LKN)
Quitty and Dan from The Light Year (http://www.myspace.com/thelightyear)
And Swan Island

love to see anyone that can make it

visiting until monday, my friends who live here took me to a vegan thai place earlier tonight. it was called kati thai, it was pretty good. we’ve been out a few times, the food is all good but damn ppl here seem to like their decadent nouveau comfort food! between french toast at a breakfast spot friday and jambalaya & hush puppies at a bar last night i’ve almost died of heartburn twice

I think the place in the house is Khun Pic's Bahn Thai, you have to show up a little bit before it opens because the couple that runs it and cooks all the food can only accommodate a few groups per evening. i don't remember how spicy it was but it was a wonderful meal, took about two hours to get the food but worth the wait.

damn this must be a sign i’m old, i can’t even imagine waiting two hours for food

speaking as some who once waited two hours in line for a bagel & poached egg sandwich in los angeles

Egg Slut?

damn dude! i mean, i like eggs as much as the next american, but … oh you mean the restaurant, yeah it was that place

Ha Ha, I was in GCM once and wanted to try it but the line was like 30-40 people so I noped out.

jambalaya & hush puppies at a bar last night i’ve almost died of heartburn twice

Roscoe's or Tiny Bubble Room?

the former

LOL. I think those are the only two bars in town where you can get jambalaya and hush puppies.

Next time you're in town and wind up at Roscoes, ask for the sushi menu. They have some shared space with a decent sushi restaurant around the corner and you can order sushi if you're not in the mood for Southern. Vice versa you can order any of the many beers on tap at Roscoe's at the sushi place.

so I was in portland last summer for three days and found it really depressing. I think this was down to where we stayed (right at the edge of Chinatown); most of downtown seemed to have gone completely out of business and there was a huge amount of people shooting up heroin right at the entrance to the hotel. Going over the river to visit our friend was better, but I was left with an overwhelming feeling of "well I already live in the bay area so I'm not sure why any of this is better'. . . we did go up partially as reconnaissance to determine whether it would make sense to just sell our house and relocate to somewhere we wouldn't have much of a mortgage, and I guess that's still on the table. But other than some very great waffles, I was underwhelmed by almost everything. But I'm sure I'll be back up there again in the next year.

my friends had sushi, one thing i am definitely not short on at home is sushi / karaage etc. plus no sushi on a weekend etc. but it def looked like a better long term decision, in retrospect!

home = southern california

i am definitely here to see my friends vs see the town. it’s a cool town, makes me think of our own midtown / alternative lifestyle / gentrifier neighborhoods expanded to the size of a small city. or maybe oakland without the rest of the bay + extra pnw flavor. i ultimately get the same sort of claustrophobia here from lots of tall trees + lack of blue sky that i get in oakland, so glad my friends are cool

i try not to rank cities like restaurants on yelp if i can though, i’ll always be feeling like i live in the wrong place

Correct place to live is probably Jersey City or maybe Pittsburgh

my sister just left pittsburgh, it seemed very “oakland early 90s” in that lots of cool people were moving there who had been priced out of nyc (and idk where else, maybe chicago?). the only downside i could see to it was eastern ohio, west virginia and western pa

they lived walking distance uphill from the warhol museum, though walking up and down those hills seemed like certain death

I’ve walked up and down some of the steepest blocks in Seattle and I haven’t died so far

well clearly, if you’re here to post about it! you are
probably made of sterner stuff than me

anyone have anything they could say about salem, eugene or corvalis? general character / worthwhile or blah?

eugene and corvallis are college towns, eugene a large liberal arts school (increasingly sports-oriented over the last 20-25 years) and corvallis more science/agri-oriented, and the towns reflect that. I did undergrad in eugene so my memories are blurry and pretty much rooted in the 2000-2003 music scenes etc. corvallis i don't know much about, never had much reason to stop there when passing by or through. dated a woman from salem a few years back and it kinda has, like, old rust-belt city qualities? seems like a lot of sprawl, too, from stayton to independence. the main street/downtown area seemed to be going through a revitalization back then (2017ish?), and it's just as dreary as anywhere in the willamette valley (good thing imo)

thanks. i've noticed a fair amount of jobs in my line of work posted in salem, it being the capital and all (i do state gov records management), but know nothing about it. ultimately looking for somewhere relatively cheap, relatively liberal and with good trail running very close by. i think i've narrowed things down to oregon and colorado though haven't completely ruled out california.

yeah salem could be ideal for you! its in the valley so you're always gonna at worst be like an hour car ride from some trail run you've never seen and never imagined before and at best you'll have a 5-10 minute jog to a regular one you can do every other day or whatever you schedule is (barring weather, always). oregon gets pretty weird, politically, outside of the central cities and upper coast, it's the west after all, but i can assure you salem is relatively liberal and significantly cheaper than portland.

cool, thanks for the encouragement.

it's the west after all

I'd also add most OR state gov jobs are pretty cool about telecommuting so that might open up some options for you when looking for a place to live.

nice. that's the one good thing about my current job. just gotta save a few grand for moving costs. and get a job of course. would like to be out of slc by the end of next year if i can help it.

sometimes it snows in Portland

applying for a state of oregon 4rchives job in salem. probably a long shot and a move on credit in the next 3 months would be tough but i've gotta start practicing applications. salem ticks a lot of our boxes: more water, little snow, somewhat progressive (compared to ut4h), not as desirable (i.e. more affordable) but close to a major city, trail runs within 10 minutes. also it's a good job, entry level reference and digital access, hybrid remote, decent wage.

we visited l.a. last weekend, first time i'd really checked it out since library school 15 years ago. i loved it then but it's too crowded and expensive for us now, my friends with good library jobs there are in increasingly precarious situations, and idk i just don't feel like i can compete in a big city any more, i'm not career-hungry, i work to live, hate crowded gyms, i sleep 9 hours a night & i need more chill than that.

Salem is a good call imo, prob the most underappreciated city in Oregon currently

Salem has its qualities, certainly. My partner’s family loves there.

My sis is a special collections librarian at Oregon St. in Corvallis, & she really loves it there. Her partner is from Salem area.

I worked the archives and special collections at Washington State for years, and there was a lot of connections and movement between other Pac12 / PNW area institutions. I know a lot of people who were at or moved on to university gigs at Idaho, UW, OSU, Oregon, and state jobs in Salem and Olympia.

Salem is the one I know the least but the person I know there kind of stumbled into it but really likes it.

My wife has worked for the state of Oregon for over a decade (although she works remotely/in an office in Portland). The benefits (esp. retirement and health insurance) are pretty great.

Meeting some friends here next Thursday to Monday. Any bars/breweries to see live music that don't require tix ahead of time?

Laurelthirst!
https://laurelthirst.com/

you are just barely missing Michael Hurley, sorry to say

Oh, damn!

Thanks for the recommendation. This looks great.

http://www.rontoms.net/sunday-sessions

The Rontoms Sunday sessions are a thing to see, free show, nice venue, not a dive bar, meant to be a sort of showcase for the Portland scene such as it is and they do a pretty good job, have shared a bill with Yuvees who are playing next and they are solid

Many other bars/venues with live music friendly to walk-ins as well, depending on what vibe you're after, happy to make a more specific recommendation regarding style/neighborhood but

https://nearhear.app/

keeps tabs on most of them, with little preview clips of the bands playing

That’s super helpful.

Especially interested in breweries with music in the afternoon or early evening.

Seconding Laurelthirst. Also Turn! Turn! Turn! has bands of all kinds every night.

Interesting question about breweries--not sure why none that come to mind double as music venues. But Migration Brewing's taproom is literally a block from Laurelthirst (and Laurelthirst itself has a great tap list).

yeah drawing a blank on breweries with live music somehow, I guess almost any bar has lots of fancy beer on tap but still, can't even think of one besides Lola's Room? and it seems like they only do music video dance parties lately

the turn turn turn has a very well curated vinyl/cassette shop in the back in addition to the live music, definitely worth a visit

Turn, Turn, Turn sounds very cool. We're meeting friends in Portland, so I may have to pick and choose my battles, but hope I can make it.

Visiting Portland for eight days (from New Zealand) mid-September - my partner lived there for a good chunk of time pre-Covid so will be visiting friends, but taking note of bookstore/music venue/food/etc recommendations upthread. Are any of the well-known big gardens/parks more or less suitable for a toddler?

absolutely, my daughter's fav when she was toddler age (a few years ago) was this:

https://www.portland.gov/parks/westmoreland-park

lots of weird stuff to clamber around on and a very large sandy area with water features? great times, cool neighborhood

she also enjoyed the hike up to "witches castle"

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stone_House_(Portland,_Oregon)

beautiful trail up a creek ripe for investigation, although this was mostly interesting for her I think because I tried to play it down (not really a castle, no witches) and then when we finally arrived there was a straight up coven of witches up there, all in long flowy dresses standing in a circle around candles and fancy bowls of who knows what

I cannot guarantee there will be actual witches if you visit

lol peak Portland

my fave store to dig for cheap used records in is Crossroads, over on the east side

I cannot guarantee there will be actual witches if you visit

― Florin Cuchares

can't rule it out, though... you never know what will happen in a public park. me and my primary went to a group hangout at a public park in pdx late this morning, lovely shady park, even though it was a hot day it was early enough that it hadn't gotten too hot yet, and the shade helped. it was fun. i, uh, don't know how you'd explain it to your toddler, etc, and no, i'm not going to go into more detail than that on a public board, but it was fun.

pdx folx, sorry i've been such a stranger lately... kind of been through some shit, i'm doing better now and am starting to sort of emerge from my shell... anybody who wants to hang out HMU in DM :)

Westmoreland Park looks great - cheers! Partner's v.familiar with the Stone House, apparently.

super cool! yeah, the stone house is pretty famous around here... i haven't been myself.

the city's changed a lot since the recently-passed daytime camping ban. still trying to wrap my head around it.