Living in Portland Oregon?

[Doctor Jack]

I have recently been thinking about what I will do if Romney wins this election (not that i really think that will happen). At first I was thinking I could move to Vancouver. I have some friends that i went to school with that I could open up a practice with, and everything would be dandy. The problem though is that moving to a different country is quite a hassle, it could take a long time to get everything straightened out. So I have been thinking, is there a place in the U.S. that is in its own liberal bubble, where I could think of myself more as a citizen of that community instead of living in the United States. I have thought of two places, first is Hawaii, which is so far away that it is practically in its own little world and Portland Oregon. I went to porland once and I did like it. In a lot of ways the people there seemed to be doing their own thing and it felt more like an international city than being in the U.S. I am wondering, if I lived there could I finally escape the rednecks, the racists, the biblethumpers, the republicans that i have had to deal with my entire life?

[Angry Dragon]

1. Alaska??

[Doctor Jack]

2. I am going to get away from republicans if I go to Alaska?

That doesn't sound right

[Angry Dragon]

4. Big state--- few people

[Doctor Jack]

8. Got ya

I like being around people, I just don't like being in the heart of Romney country, like i am right now. I would like to be in a place filled with like minded individuals where i don't have to argue with everyone about whether Jesus will stop teen pregnancy if we all just pray hard enough.

[Viva_La_Revolution]

3. we still have those types here

but much, much fewer, and they mostly stay in their holes.

Welcome to pdx!

[Doctor Jack]

6. Do you ever feel like you can detach yourself from national politics?

I would like to be able to say "it doesn't matter very much who the president is right now, this city is going to stay remain a liberal paradise no matter who is in the white house."

It would be amazing if I could just tune out Washington politics and no longer feel like it has much of an impact on my life, because the city and state where I am living is a firewall to those policies. I know i would be affected a bit no matter where I go in this country but it would be great if it was kept to a minimum.

[Viva_La_Revolution]

12. I figure if 'civilization crumbles'...

Portland will be the capitol of Cascadia

So yeah, I feel a little secluded here, a little safer.

[caraher]

14. Isn't Oregon also known as

California's Canada?

[sanatanadharma]

17. No, it's Washington's California...

...Portlandia, it is said, is the sum total of the narcissism of small differences. Keep Portland weird is the rallying cry.
I say, when I walk the streets there in my dhoti and kurta, I'm likely the only male in the city so dressed (pun intended).

[ellisonz]

18. Dude

As a Reedie, I will weird you the fuck out .

Welcome to DU.

[grasswire]

19. hahaha! A Reedie on DU. nt

[ellisonz]

21. I know right.

[Redlo Nosrep]

5. Portland is Good but Also Consider...

Eugene, Seattle, and that old standby: Berkeley

Are you an urbanite, suburbanite, or ruralista in what kind of home life you'd be looking for?

I've also heard Lawrence, Kansas and Ann Arbor, Michigan being very liberal, smaller towns.

[Doctor Jack]

7. Definitely a city dweller

I grew up in the suburbs and absolutely hated it. I lived in Chicago for awhile but ended up outside of the city again for med school and then work. It is starting to wear on me again. I can see the chicago skyline from my house right now but it is still suburban for me.

I think i would go with the northwest. I love the weather. I hate hot summers and cold winters.

I would also consider Seattle but I love the idea of Oregon's very liberal free speech laws and commitment to things like clean mass transit and environmental issues. If Seattle is the same way I will definitely look into it.

[Redlo Nosrep]

11. Welcome, Then, From a Lifelong PNW-er!

I've lived in Oregon and Washington for 60-some years and have seen plenty of changes, not all of them good, of course. But I wouldn't live in any other area of the country, being prejudiced that the PNW is THE BEST!

You'll do yourself a favor if you go to City Data and start some serious research on the parameters you're looking for in a home city. They have EVERYTHING you could possibly want to know about any area, demographically speaking. And the Oregon forum is full of good folks who will be happy to answer your specific questions.

One caveat (from someone with webbed feet and moss growing in the crevices): You must be able to deal with months of gray, drizzly weather here without getting cabin fever or going postal from the lack of sun. But, hey, since you're a doc, that should be no problem since you can arrange your schedule to hop down to Cancun whenever the rain gets to be too much.

Good luck, and keep us posted on what you decide.

[cliffordu]

9. Portland Oregon COULD be

THE great American city at this point.

You can live there without a car, the neighborhoods are human scaled and if you like the great outdoors at ALL, there is the largest park inside city limits in the US....at 5100+ acres. Forest Park.

http://www.portlandonline.com/parks/finder/index.cfm?PropertyID=127&action=ViewPark

Seriously - spend a week there and you'll never want to leave.

I currently live 50 miles south and will be moving back when my lease is up next June.

[sanatanadharma]

16. And I, 100 miles south of Portland...

...desire to move there; having oft visited over two decades. It is a city of discrete livable (and some less so) neighborhoods with bus and rail transit, plus countless hard core cyclists, motorists, homeless, tweekers, occupiers, criminals, less liberal souls, an anti-gay church, everything included in weird Portland; surrounded by the conservative Oregon of resource extraction through logging, fishing, ranching, mining, gambling, having been the first non-americans to stake claims...

[caraher]

13. The dream of the '90s is alive...

in Portland!

It's where young people go to retire!

"Portlandia" humor aside, I really liked it when I visited. The irony is my RW brother lives there and hates it, and I'm living in a rural part of a "red" state crawling with teabaggers.

[Arugula Latte]

15. I've lived here since the mid-90s and it has helped me keep my sanity for the past several years.

We moved here in part to construct a life free of Republicans. It has worked out nicely.

Yes, you can pretty much stay in a very liberal bubble here, and it is a bit of Scandinavia in the US of A. You can get out into nature very easily (and, yes, some wingnuts as soon as you get out of the city, but generally not too scary unless you go to Eastern Oregon). The coast is beautiful, a relatively easy drive, and has many pockets of liberalism (i.e. Manzanita -- cute, cool little town). Central Oregon is stunningly beautiful and has an amazing variety of climates/scenery (Bend, Sisters, etc. are nice little towns). Good luck!

Yes, it rains a lot, and when it's not raining it's often grey. Summers are heavenly and not humid. Good luck.

If you go to Hawaii, check out the town of Paia on the north coast of Maui.

I've also lived in Berkeley and I love that town.

[grasswire]

20. you might prefer Eugene

It is quite a bit more lefty than Portland. I grew up in Portland; I live in a burb. It is the best city in America, IMO (and I have lived in some other cities).

But Eugene is definitely more free speech-y and progressive.