10 Reasons Why I am Moving to Portland, Oregon
In a couple of months, I am going to move to Portland, Oregon. After extensive research and careful thought, I think that Portland would be a good place to set up my business. The reason why, is because my business is not doing so well here in Texas. In fact, it would be a lot easier to do business in Portland then it would be to try to do business in Houston. There are several reasons why but I am going to try to explain the most pertinent to my current situation.
- I’ve always disliked Texas - People who have known me will tell you (if they remember) that I was hellbent to get out of Texas. And honestly, who wouldn’t be? I’ve always disliked Texas and the humid heat is just one of the many reasons why I hate it. I want to move to a more northernly area.
- I have rarely had a white Christmas - It rarely snowed in Texas. And when it did, it usually wasn’t much. In fact, I remember it snowing at Jack in the Box once but that was it. I will now be able to have a white Christmas every year and while there are pains that come with a white Christmas, you cannot deny the joy it brings just to play in the snow. I loved a lot of it when I was in Calgary and now, I am going to be moving into another Northernly area where it is likely to snow. And because I will be living in an apartment and I don’t have personal effects that would need to be shoveled out, I won’t have to shovel snow outside. Nice.
- Public Transit is much better - In Portland, the public transit service (dubbed Tri Met) is actually better than the Metro system that Houston has or Calgary Transit. It may take a bit of getting used to (based on what I saw when I got off the Amtrak) but Calgary Transit took a lot of getting used to as well. And once I got used to it, I was able to use it more and more effectively. Plus, it runs to Beaverton and Gresham as well. This is really a good thing because it would allow me to get in touch with a lot more people and do a lot more work for other businesses. Also, Portland has it’s own airport, Amtrak station and Greyhound station. This give it a much stronger transportation infrastructure.
- Cold calling would be much more effective - I love to cold call local businesses. People in local businesses tend to pay a bit more because they want to fuel the local economy and help keep local businesses alive. Plus, I love getting to meet my clients and they usually find me to be a very likable and personable guy. In fact, every time I met with Nicholi at the Tim Hortons in Crowfoot was fun.
- Lots of cool people - The people who run Panic, Janrain, Swift Communications and a lot of other cool little businesses all have shop in Portland. There is also this really cool Internet cafe that I found when I was in Portland and even the personnel at the Bank of America branch in Portland were nicer. In fact, there were these people who were hanging out and smoking around the Greyhound station and I found that they were some of the most helpful people in Portland. Really nice place.
- Ability to find a good data centre - If you are looking to set up your own dedicated server, you HAVE to live near it if you are thinking of going colocation. When I get my Xserve, I plan to have it colocated in Portland. This way, if something is fucked up, I don’t have to worry about it much. I can do everything I can to resolve the problem as quickly as humanly possible. This means I will only suffer a minimal amount of downtime while I cure whatever is ailing the server.
- A stronger energy - There was just this energy about Portland that made me feel like I could do so much there and yet, I would not have done enough. I loved this energy and took a while to explore the city and tried to get things done. And I did manage to do a lot in Portland, with luggage in tow. Imagine how much better it would be if I didn’t have 4 pieces of luggage that I had to carry around.
- Nicer people - Generally, people were a lot nicer in Portland than I would have expected. One thing I loved about Portland was how nice the people were. I talked with a number of people and I asked each one the same stupid question of getting around the city. They were nice enough to stop and help me. Now, that is just plain awesome. I can’t wait to live there and who knows? Maybe I might just like living there and forget all about my immigration to Canada? Not likely, but it does seem like a nice enough place.
- Not everything is a chain - One thing I’ve noticed about Portland’s downtown area, it doesn’t have a lot of chain restaurants. Maybe the city is like that too. Of course, that’s probably not the case, but hey - one can dream. Plus, chain restaurants are not all bad. I really LOVE Taco Bell and I was very happy when I found one in Calgary. Of course, it only stayed open until 3pm and it was in the Transcanada Tower
- Oregon seems more environmentally friendly - I heard that in Oregon, there are environmental laws that make it so there cannot be self-service pumps. I can see the logic behind this and I fully respect it. I mean, it is awesome when there is a governmental level that actually gives a shit about the environment. Now all we have to do is start getting the Oregon government to start using Hemp-based paper and it would be all kinds of awesome. ^_^
- Oregon isn’t homophobic - Okay, this doesn’t affect me directly, but it just feels wrong when the Government tries to tell you who you can or can’t love. Or how about when they tell you who you can or can’t marry? There are still sodomy laws around but fortunately, they are dying down. And I believe this is a step in the right direction, because there are so many gay couples that are perfect for each other. And to deny them the right to marriage is just wrong.
Tags: That Other Life
May 22nd, 2007 at 1:01 pm
Kyle,
Those are some good reasons. Although, I think you you’d be wise to not hold your breath waiting for a white Christmas in Portland. These only really happen inland and in the northeastern US and Canada… where they are rare there too.
-Anon
May 22nd, 2007 at 9:52 pm
I look forward to your arrival! Portland is a badass town, if I do say so myself. My boyfriend and I are native Portlanders, you can ask me anything about the city and I’ll probably know the answer, and if I don’t, the boy usually will.
RabidCureFan
May 25th, 2007 at 4:29 pm
C’mon up! I moved here from West Michigan a couple years ago, and I love it! It rarely snows here, but it’s only a couple hours drive to the mountains where there’s plenty of snow. As for the rest of what you had to say, right on target. We also have the most civil road-ragers.
May 31st, 2007 at 5:26 am
Welcome (in advance) to Portland from an Oregon native. I was going to point out that here, on the Valley floor, we don’t get snow so much, but someone already pointed that out, and besides, you have the mountains at your back door (which someone else pointed out).
Bear in mind that nothing works perfectly anywhere: Portland gets it right most of the time. And while we, in the main, refuse to hound our gay friends and neighbors into silence, we unfortunately are afflicted with a sizeable-enough contingent of the small and simple-minded that they try to make everyone else discriminate against them. A sizable number of us, however, refuse to go along. There’s still work to do on that front.
Anywhoozle, welcome to the Rose City, the Great Northwet. I’m thinking you’ll enjoy being one of us. Or, as someone else once said “If I owned Hell and Texas, I’d live in Hell and rent out Texas.”
May 31st, 2007 at 10:02 am
Hey, glad to hear you’re moving to Stumptown. Hope you like riding a bicycle, ’cause that’s the easiest way to get around town. It isn’t perfect here, but I think we’re a long way ahead of most other places in many aspects. Welcome.
May 31st, 2007 at 11:08 am
I’m glad you enjoyed our city! People are right about the snowy Christmases, if we do get snow it tends to be in the early part of the year. You’re right on about all the others though, Portland is a small but not too small, it’s green, we’re polite, we’re tolerant, we like to get outdoors, we have cool shops, we have a young hip alterna-vibe in many parts of the city, and in time Portland is going to be a great place to do business. And you really can’t find many better spots to raise a family.
May 31st, 2007 at 5:59 pm
yea, i heard all that stuff too before i moved here — and fell for it just as hard as you did. you’re screwed if you dont live/work on the straight line that MAX is …… the suburbs and inner residential areas are SORELY underserved. These supposed ‘cool’ people that you remark of are just as closed-minded and judgemental as the texans you’re getting away from. sure, they may be close minded liberals, (i would define myself as a ‘liberal’) but once you have to constantly being assaulted by their crazy ideas (and then fund them with your property taxes), you’ll be thinking differently. the people of portland love portland because they like being ‘big fish in a little pond’ and are too scared to actually move away and try the other great cities in america. as for the ‘not homophobic’ thing, think again - i am a gay man living in a state that voted down gay marriage by a wide margin. sure, they have domestic partnership laws, but they dont start for another year , and the conservatives in this state (there are TONS) have sworn to get it on the ballot, which they will. as for the economy …….. i’ll let you find that out on your own. it is so up and down it could change 10 times before you get here — my point is portland, and oregon for that matter, is not that nirvana that people say it is. i moved here from the midwest and have been struggling with the whole reality vs. reputation since i have been here. so, good luck! bring your bike and your raincoat………
June 1st, 2007 at 2:55 am
Welcome from a native Texan! I grew up in Santa Fe and lived off the loop for about a year while I worked at the Galleria and went to UH.
I now very happily live in Gresham.
I must say you’re more likely to have a white Thanksgiving than a white Christmas. We’ve even had snow on my birthday (the “true” Christmas - Jan 6) and even on St. Patty’s Day.