Portland, Oregon: Tell Me About It, Won't You?

[terry]

Because my girlfriend is a cartoonist/comic artist (and a darn good one!), she is very keen on moving to the Portland, Oregon area because of the Art Community there. Currently, she resides in Tucson, Arizona with her folks while I'm here in Los Angeles working on my degree in Cinema/Television.

Those of you in the know: will a Cinema/Television degree be of any use in Portland? Is there a film industry of any kind there? Keep in mind, I'd be happy scrubbing toilets so long as I'm with my Sweetie, but I'm just asking as a practical matter.

[StreetDreamer83]

I don't have any first-hand experience, but I know that if I had the opportunity to move to Portland, I'd do it without a second thought.

Matt

[terry]

Not exactly the information I was looking for, but good on yer.

Actually, it being the Microbrewery Capital of the USA is quite a tempting reason to at least pay it a visit.

[mummifiedstalin]

I've been to Portland twice. It was very fun to visit. I also got invited to a "homeless party" each time I went there. No joke. And this wasn't a "help the homeless" thing. This was some homeless guy (of which I saw quite a few) walking up and inviting me to a homeless party. I didn't know, and still don't, what that meant.

[Chuck]

Mum, was it a BYO?

[mummifiedstalin]

Heh, not sure.

I will give Portland this, though: the big-ass Powell's Books downtown. That place is worth a trip by itself.

[Mighty Jack]

I hate Portland. I know people love the city but I find it a grimy, rainy and dreary place. And difficult to navigate. BUT, people are generally friendly so that's a bit of light on the landscape.

It has a very strong music community (that's my thing) and I hear it's good for theater people. But film, man I don't know if anywhere in the North West is real strong on film. maybe some editing jobs. Animation used to be a big deal in Oregon and that might be an option to look into.

[callipygias]

Apr 2, 2009 18:12:21 GMT -5 terry said:

will a Cinema/Television degree be of any use in Portland? Is there a film industry of any kind there?

We have as much local TV stuff as the next fairly large town, and at least once or twice a year our office gets all in a tizzy about the big stars that show up to shoot their movie here (Harrison Ford & Brendan Fraser are here currently), but I'm not aware of any permanent film industry. That doesn't mean much though, as I don't pay attention to... well, much of anything, really. I didn't even know we had a rep for cartoonists and graphic novelists and that kind of thing until this thread caused me to ask the office oracle.

Now for the "tell me all about it" part.

Like MJ indicated, there's a big music scene around Portland, and we have a fantastic symphony and decent opera if you care for that sort of thing. Many art galleries downtown and TONS of music stores. If you play guitar your jaw will drop when you go into Portland Music. If you like reading your jaw will drop when you walk into Powell's Books (the store Mummi mentioned). Then it'll drop again as you find more and more gymnasium size rooms full of books. Then it'll drop again as you realize there are 3 or 4 more floors of the same.

Great hiking all over the place. The Columbia River Gorge is within 20 minutes of the city where you can hike trails rated from "easy" (paved, even) to "what-the-hell-was-I-thinking?" (Starvation Creek Trail) and see falls like these:








We have a great Japanese Garden



with one of the coolest maples you'll ever see:





I'm not sure what else to mention. We have lots of hairy chicks, but if you bring your own that's not a concern. We're about an hour away from Mt Hood and about 2 from the coast.


Now the important Things:

--They're called the Oregon State University beavers. Don't laugh.
--It's pronounced 'Oh-ruh-gun, not Oh-ree-'gahn.
--Traffic on the West Side is a bitch.
--We leech off Seattle's pro baseball and football teams, and in exchange offer them access to California.
--The Oregon coast is cold as hell. A good thing only in July & August.
--We have VERY good public transportation.
--If you identify yourselves as artists you'll be greeted by our local art authority:

Apr 2, 2009 18:12:21 GMT -5 terry said:

I'd be happy scrubbing toilets.

Come to Oregon. We'll fulfill your wildest dreams.

[terry]

Thanks! You've certainly given me a lot to think about!

[inlovewithcrow]

I lived in the Willamette Valley (will-LAM-it, to continue the pronunciation lessons), but south of callipygias by a bit. Oregon is a beautiful state. I still feel like a volunteer employee of the tourism commission when I start to talk about it. You truly have to see Crater Lake, the rose gardens in Portland in June, the rocky coast, how the Cascades rise from almost sea level along the river up to astonishing heights tipped with glaciers. If you live there, you may experience an actual volcanic explosion first hand, but not dangerously close. It's an area also riddled with tectonic faults--every bit as likely to get a big earthquake as San Francisco, but not as many of those steady medium size quakes that made living in the Bay Area or LA such an adrenaline rush.

Oregon's state legislature made some law (I'm too lazy to look it up) about mandatory public art and public buildings, and this means that Portland's streets are full of works of arts. I remember downtown being like a sculpture garden (Oregon also has the very coolest capitol building in the country.) Lovely architecture. Summers are gorgeous. I fish--fishing is terific. I hike--hiking is terrific.

Portland is a liberal city, artsy, but relatively safe as big cities go. It's the whitest (skin tone, I mean) city I've ever been in, which was weird to me, as I grew up near St. Louis, which is like 90% black. There are more native americans in Oregon than a lot of states. Oh, and if you care, you get the Right to Die by assisted physician suicide as an Oregon citizen. Oh, right, and one of the higher minimum wages. Oh right, and you never ever again have to pump your own gas. Indeed, they won't let you! No sales tax. (So income tax is high, but this benefits poor folks.) Great libraries, good universities.

The thing for me--the only thing in fact--that drove me out of the place was the flipping rain. It rains. And it rains and it rains and it rains, most years, every day for six months. People have foot-tall moss on their roofs if they don't get up there and zinc it at least every other year. Never buy/rent in a building with a flat roof--it'll leak on ya. I had a long haired dog, and the water on the sidewalks wicked up his fur and the condo smelled like wet dog six months out of the year. At the end, there, I actually had days where I woke to the rain and just screamed into a pillow out of frustration: Not again! I bore it without pain for 6 years, but the last two years, I was not in a good mood when it rained. And it rained a lot.

Snow is rare. 100 degrees is rare. It's a town where a rainproof jacket over a sweater will do you most of the winter.

Oh, and recycling. Man, I miss the way Oregonians recycle. Callipygias can tell you more specifics, but they make it easy, easy, easy. The roadways are almost 100% free of trash. Oregonians care about the environment, for economic as well as moral reasons.

[BilLumberg]

Born and raised here. Actually I have never been anywhere else for more than four days. So I really have nothing to compare it to. A bit sheltered I guess. If you like the color green, you will love Portland. I actually find opening the windows and listening to the rain very soothing. If you want to go to a movie theater and watch a movie while drinking a pitcher of excellent beer while waiting for your pizza to be delivered to your seat (there are tables between the rows of seats so there is lots of leg room). Thats available. We have everything from hippys to rednecks. You are just as likely to be driving behind a VW bus with liberal bumper stickers all over it, as a pickup truck with a dead elk in the back and a confederate flag in the rear window.

I must say that we do have a kick ass library system though.

As for finding a job in your skilled profession, sadly I have no advice as I do not work in that field.

I personally will live here my whole life.

P.S. - Just to let you know I am officially a "weird guy". Most oregonians are perfectly normal.

[doctorz]

They have a vintage Tiki Bar there that I'm dying to visit one day (The Alibi). That says it all for the coolness of Portland for me. My brother in law lived there for a few years and may move back after his stint in the FBI is over. I'd love to go back for a visit.

Other neat things about Portland and Oregon:

Portland once housed the 24 hour church of Elvis.

The state legislature almost voted in"Louie, Louie" as the state song.

[mrsphyllistorgo]

I lived in Oregon for much of my life, and my husband and I honeymooned there. Impressions:

Lots of good restaurants.

Call and check that the zoo/OMNI/ whatever is open BEFORE you head out--hours fluctuate wildly with tourist seasons.

Portland is FLAT. Laugh, but coming from hilly Seattle, it really messed with our timing. We'd decide to go to the weekend market (tons of fun if you want to buy Tshirts, rocks with inspirational messages, or jam) and plan a half hour to get there, and the extremely efficient trolley would plant us there in two minutes! So we'd decide to kill the morning walking to Chinatown, and get there in ten. Nice, but you go through all your "We're gonna do this!" stuff in about a day and a half.

Powell's books is the bomb, but go early or late. As huge as it is, it still gets really crowded and can be a bit claustrophobic.

The riverfront is beautiful and well worth a stroll.

[Mighty Jack]

I do like the park there in Portland, with the Japanese Garden. And my unhappiness in the city of Portland aside, Oregon is beautiful. Bandon on the coast in one of my favorite places to see the ocean. (and of course, there's touring the Tlllamoock cheese factory! MM tasty)

[inlovewithcrow]

Ooh, Powells, I FORGOT! Lol, how can one forget Powell's? And Tillamook ice cream also rocks.