Visiting Portland, OR - Advice from locals...

[Deleted]

So I'm thinking about visiting Portland to kind of feel out whether or not I want to move there. I live in Oakland right now and to stay in the "not gonna get shot" parts of Oak-town is a bit more costly than it should so I wanted to give Stumptown a shot & for a change of scenery.

Anyway - I'll be visiting Portlandia with the GF in April, if any FAN members are Portland locals or used to be- what are some things (non-touristy if possible) I should check out while I'm there?

[Cyno]

I hope you like hipsters.

[Deleted]

Feb 16, 2012 13:42:09 GMT -5 Cyno said:

I hope you like hipsters.

I work in San Francisco and the East Bay is lousy with them - can it really be any worse in Portland?

[breakdownthewalls]

IFC has this pretty good documentary on Portland now, called "Portlandia".

I kid, but yeah it's full of hipsters and old burn-outs.

[salsashark]

Man, hipsters can be pretty OK people. Considering all of the other subcultures and types of people there are out there, they don't so bad. But boy, this board despises hipsters.

[Deleted]

Feb 16, 2012 14:31:52 GMT -5 salsashark said:

Man, hipsters can be pretty OK people. Considering all of the other subcultures and types of people there are out there, they don't so bad. But boy, this board despises hipsters.

Some people have had really negative experiences with them.

It happens.

[Brandon Walsh is Insane.]

Visit the baseball stadium.

[Dr. T is an alien]

If you find yourself in the St. John's district, check out the bridge there but stay on Willamette Blvd., Lombard Ave., or Columbia Blvd. The side streets are not the best neighborhoods to be in.

Beaverton is a nice district. I lived there briefly and my mother spent about a decade there. The downtown area in Portland seemed even nicer than I remember when I drove through town a couple of years ago. I suppose that they must have focused on improving the area. The International Rose Garden was new and if I had the time I would have checked it out.

In general, the area is really nice. If I were single I probably would have moved back to the area. It is a short distance from so many nice things. I used to love to go to Lost Lake (a lake at the foot of Mt. Hood) to go camping. Multnomah Falls are beautiful. Driving the Columbia Gorge is breathtaking. It is a short drive from several rustic coastal cities that feel timeless. You can go skiing for a large period of the year while not having to deal with snow in the city itself. Seattle is a short trip away. Honestly, there isn't much that you would be wanting for if you did move there.

[Grandmaster C]

I've heard nothing but good things about Voodoo Doughnuts.

[Ducky Momo]

Why downgrade? Just move to Washington.

[Dr. T is an alien]

Feb 18, 2012 0:18:45 GMT -5 Grandmaster C said:

I've heard nothing but good things about Voodoo Doughnuts.

I don't remember much about any particular food places there. I remember loving Arctic Circle as a kid and eating at Burgerville, USA a lot as a teen.

[Dr. T is an alien]

Feb 18, 2012 0:30:01 GMT -5 Ducky Momo said:

Why downgrade? Just move to Washington.

From my experiences the only place in Washington that could compare favorably to Portland is Seattle, but then you would have to live in a more crowded area inside a lahar path for an active volcano. Best of luck with that.