Oregon: Pros & Cons?

[Backseat Killer]

I am thinking of doing something a little crazy and am hoping y'all can help provide some insight on living in Oregon. Anyone that has spent time there, let me know the dirty truth!

[National Kato]

Admittedly, I've only been there once to visit my brother who lives in Ashland. But I can say this:

Pros: It's beautiful.
Cons: Medford has a meth problem

That's all I got. Sorry.

[Entropy]

Been here forever...what city in Oregon? That will have a huge impact on the weather and the culture. I've lived in Eugene and Portland. Both are rainy 7 months out of the year with mild and gorgeous summers. The people in the big cities are what I would politely label as left-wingish

If you love beer you'll never want to leave.

Oregon is a great state if you can tolerate the long rainy months. It's very clean and laid back. You're always an hour from the coast or an hour from the slopes.

I'm trying to think of complaints I here from people who have moved here for work...

Too rainy
Very little diversity (Portland is one of the whitest places in the US)
Too many hipsters
No nightlife (clubs)

[Purple Santa]

Well Karak lives there. Pro and Con on that is how you take the man

Hopefully he comes in to comment on living there. He has told me lots of good stuff about the place. Well besides that he lives there.

[biosc1]

My wife and I love visiting Portland. It's one of those places where you can easily go "I want to live there". Great neighbourhoods (and beer, as mentioned...my god...the beer), great food (tons of fantastic restaurants). Feels very pedestrian/cyclist friendly, though I may be wrong....we walked everywhere.

Weather is the same as Vancouver and Seattle, so you do get rain, but it stays nice and green

Pros: El Gaucho!

Cons: The hipsters...my god, they are a plague on that city

[Purple Santa]

Originally Posted by biosc1

Cons: The hipsters...my god, they are a plague on that city

I thought Mags lived in MN not OR?

[J Arcane]

I love Oregon. There's no place in the US I'd rather live than Portland. It's a wonderful city, it has every thing a nerd with no car needs. Amazing public transport, awesome geek stores, an arcade that's also a bar and has multiplayer Pac-Man, hugenormous bookstores, awesome food in all kinds of varieties for affordable prices, and shitloads of cool things to do and see. And all with a certain 90s grunge, slightly decaying industrial vibe that is basically everything I love.

Western Oregon in general, especially the Willamette Valley, is pretty much right up my street climate wise. Green everywhere, temperate climate, rarely snows but often rains, bearably warm in the summer and never too cold in the winter. Eugene is where I'm going next year, to go to University of Oregon, and I look forward to it because it's a neat town, so damn many trees everywhere and a bus system almost labyrinthine in it's thoroughness.

I don't recommend Central and Eastern Oregon in general though. Bend is fucking expensive, full of assclown yuppies and shitty festivals full of bead tents that fuck up traffic for days, the bus system blows goat balls, it's not nearly as green because we cut down all the damn trees a century ago and let the desert take over, the urban planning is a nightmare run by incompetent Californians. It's basically a wannabe Aspen full of L.A.'s rejects and jobless ski bums, and the surrounding towns are just depressing little burbs with no economy and nothing to do but get piss drunk and fuck your sister. Eastern Oregon is just one big expanse of absolutely nothing but the occasional sheepfucking farmer or Maharishi, you really don't wanna go out that way unless you like absolute solitude and don't mind paying for an AirLife membership because the nearest decent hospital is hundreds of miles away.

The coast is pretty underpopulated as well, and has the added bonus of being incredibly cold, windy, and raining about 98% of the time. It's beautiful though, in that sad, gray, Shipping News kind of way, I just don't think I'd ever want to live there. It's a short drive from anywhere in the Willamette Valley to the coast, and that's enough for me.

On the whole, I love this state, I'm just in the wrong part of it for me. It is my absolute hope to make a life in Portland once I graduate, or at least to retire there when I am old and have nothing to do but play D&D in the old folks home.

[Entropy]

Originally Posted by biosc1

Pros: El Gaucho!

This...THIS!!!!

My favorite steakhouse... table-side Caesar is to die for.

[J Arcane]

Originally Posted by Krispy

I take it you are going to pursue TV in Portland then. Good luck!

Heh. In all likelihood I won't be so lucky. I figure it'll be a part of the job search but I'll also be looking at SF and Vancouver and NYC. There IS production work in film and TV in Portland, just obviously not as much as certain other places.

A guy can dream, can't he?

[Entropy]

Originally Posted by J Arcane

Heh. In all likelihood I won't be so lucky. I figure it'll be a part of the job search but I'll also be looking at SF and Vancouver. There IS production work in film and TV in Portland, just obviously not as much as certain other places.

A guy can dream, can't he?

Specifically what kind of work? I have a very close friend who has been working in Portland as cinematographer for around 10 years (went to film school in BC).

I might be able to pass on useful info or leads.

[J Arcane]

Originally Posted by Entropy

Specifically what kind of work? I have a very close friend who has been working in Portland as cinematographer for around 10 years (went to film school in BC).

I might be able to pass on useful info or leads.

Nothing specific about it. I'd like to get into directing eventually, but I want to keep my options open. At this point I've still got more than a few years of school ahead of me anyway.

[Karak]

Originally Posted by J Arcane

I love Oregon. There's no place in the US I'd rather live than Portland. It's a wonderful city, it has every thing a nerd with no car needs. Amazing public transport, awesome geek stores, an arcade that's also a bar and has multiplayer Pac-Man, hugenormous bookstores, awesome food in all kinds of varieties for affordable prices, and shitloads of cool things to do and see. And all with a certain 90s grunge, slightly decaying industrial vibe that is basically everything I love.

Western Oregon in general, especially the Willamette Valley, is pretty much right up my street climate wise. Green everywhere, temperate climate, rarely snows but often rains, bearably warm in the summer and never too cold in the winter. Eugene is where I'm going next year, to go to University of Oregon, and I look forward to it because it's a neat town, so damn many trees everywhere and a bus system almost labyrinthine in it's thoroughness.

This makes me happy. Finally a CoGer who can come and enjoy the fruits of working hard for 13 years to buy mantoys to fill out my home. Can't wait until you come...because I frankly hate Eugene. Mostly because a good deal of the people here are not gamers. I will invite you over, we can play some vids and I can BBQ...even though I think you have a special diet that requires specific things I can cook ANYTHING over a fire and make it taste excellent. Or so I tell myself.
We can also get some DND started which would make my life pretty complete right about now.

As for Oregon in general. I love it. But I love wind and rain and blustery days, and summers are great, just a month or 2 shorter than everywhere else. Though that seems to be changing in the last decade. I love the entire vibe of the place.

I just dislike Eugene for the neohipsters and almost nazi-like attitude towards politics and the desire to have every conversation revolve around it. But I have lived in Oregon for all 37 years of my life and I honestly can't think of any reason I would ever move.

As Purple said, I live here so maybe thats a deal breaker right there. Because if a CoGer moves to Oregon they simply have to attend a Karak BBQ and game gathering. Its in the state legislature. Rule 69 Article Awesome.

[zarathstra]

Try not to die of dysentery on the way there.

[Zanzibar]

Oregon: Pros and Cons?

Pros: Rose's Restaurant and Bakery. Specifically the Cinnamon Roll French Toast breakfast.

Cons: You will die because that's all you will eat, every day, for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Until you die.

The Pros have it.

[muddi900]

[Backseat Killer]

We have been checking out pictures of the beaches and forests out there and they are like nothing I've ever seen in Texas! I think I could get used to rain and mild summers - I've lived in Texas for 33 years and haven't really seen too much rain the past few years and have no idea what a 'mild' summer is. Is that when the temperature doesn't hit 110?

It also seems that I'll get to see what NW BBQ is like

[Karak]

Originally Posted by Backseat Killer

We have been checking out pictures of the beaches and forests out there and they are like nothing I've ever seen in Texas! I think I could get used to rain and mild summers - I've lived in Texas for 33 years and haven't really seen too much rain the past few years and have no idea what a 'mild' summer is. Is that when the temperature doesn't hit 110?

It also seems that I'll get to see what NW BBQ is like

Ya it hits 110 maybe 1 year out of 10. HOWEVER, when it does get hot, its a bit humid. I hate heat so to me a summer of 70 is too hot and I run to the beach. But again I like rain and wind a great deal. Nothing like going to the beach at night when the wind is just kicking up and watching it blow through the trees.

And yes, a NW bbq is like no other doing it right now. Its raining, got steaks on, playing around with the dogs on the deck. I really can't explain how nice it is.

The forests, and trails, and camping are also excellent and it is great to just jump in a car and drive down a road, park the car and go for a walk in the forest without worrying too much about having your car stolen

At the very least you guys should come and visit and see if you like it. I think you would.

[Shieldmaiden]

Karak, if you were that desperate for a CoGer to come over and enjoy games and BBQ with you, you should have told me.

[Hawkzombie]

I need to plan a trip just to visit Karak. It's only a 3hr drive from my folk's place

[PathMaster]

Originally Posted by zarathstra

Try not to die of dysentery on the way there.

I saw the title and I thought of this.

Oregon actually sounds similar to where I live in Upstate NY, except I assume my weather is on the more extreme vs Oregon. Not a huge fan of the rain though. Prefer my sun.

Sounds like Oregon would be a blast though.