The National show out at Edgefield was a dope night. Everyone had a good time it seems. Traffic wasn’t bad coming home. A solid Saturday evening in the early summer.
Just got back from a quick bike ride loop on both sides of the waterfront and saw:
- A large group of cyclists gathering by the steel bridge/east bank esplanade for what I think was the “Howl at the Moon” Pedalpalooza ride.
- An older guy grooving on rollerblades under the Burnside Bridge while listening to marching bands waiting to start the rose parade
- A 12 foot wide boombox float and DJ playing Pump Up the Jam in the Rose Parade to a way way bigger crowd compared to last year.
- 40+ people in mismatched Roman Toga outfits chilling and drinking beers by the entrance to Poets Beach.
- Some kind of underground jam band concert under I-5 on Salmon next to the East Bank Esplanade, with a pretty sizable crowd.
Actually thought about making a similar post here. Incredible vibes all around, and very different compared to previous years.
I was walking in front of the Pearl LA fitness when I saw a well-groomed, mid-60 year old fully nude man walking down the street so there's that.
Shout-out to the cyclist who catcalled him as I walked by also.
Oh, that’s legal here? Cool. When I lived in Frankfurt, there was this 70+ year old guy who only wore sneakers. Nude grocery run in February? Sure, why not?
iirc it's legal to *be* nude as a form of protest, but it's not legal to *get* nude because that counts as lewd behavior? usually just utilized for the naked bike ride, but certain local beaches are known for various levels of nudity as well
I must have seen them when they were on their way. They were all crossing the street at SW 14th and SW Montgomery. Looked like they were already having a good time
It feels like actually summer. The past few haven't felt like "portland summer", but this one does. Really feels like I'm coming out of my shell. Very nice.
Even the weather feels like a real Portland summer. Hot during the day, not too hot though. And it cools down nicely at night. Please stay like this all summer.
Yesterday there was a guy watering that pile of rubber that keeps burning (Lmaooooo) by the broadway bridge. He was doing air guitar with his hose and it made me so happy to see something that felt very old Portland. Hahah. That guy ruled!!!!
Completely agree. Took the kids downtown about an hour before the parade started. Partner called me asking how the crowd was, and I responded “feels like a Rose Festival Saturday night circa 1995 but way, way more crowded.”
I moved from Portland to Hood River a couple years ago. I have to come into the city once or twice every month to do shopping, see my doctor, visit friends etc. My trip there last Thursday was so pleasant. I didn’t have any negative interactions with drivers. I only saw one tent the entire time I was traversing the city (it was outside of Laurelhurst Park). Everyone I interacted with seemed to be in a good mood. It was a really nice day.
I live in Portland but I am currently in Denver on vacation. All I gotta say is this trip has definitely proved to me that Portland isn't abnormal. Denver for sure has the same problems. Scarily enough we had a shooting right outside our hotel the first night we were here. (I'm staying in the CBD)
Dude for real! 100%. I just passed through Denver yesterday on a connecting flight and the man next to me was telling me about how the second we touch down in Denver, he was gonna have to race to the impound lot because his car had gotten stolen while he was away in Portland. He was like “they don’t do anything about here and they just keep getting away with it.”
I was like “oh sounds familiar 🥴”
Yeah, huge +1 to this. There’s a really big difference between “yeah we’re experiencing a pretty bad version of this thing that’s happening all over” vs “we are uniquely fucked somehow”. I think people really tend toward that doomer latter version but it’s much more like the former version. I personally think we will pull through and I feel like I’m seeing more evidence of that, even though it’ll probably be a long and uneven process.
I live in So Cali presently. You should ride the Metro down there. Like the shitshow that was the MAX in 2021. I've started driving into downtown LA once a week when I have to go into the office instead of taking the metro. I haven't seen anything too weird on the MAX for a year now. Dad was attacked by some crazy on the MAX in early 2022 (thank you to the two big guys who grabbed the c-word). Since then he hasn't had any problems and I haven't seen anything scary for a year now.
It was WONDERFUL downtown last night! Dad and I even walked to the much-less-psycho Safeway about 10:30 and not a c-word in sight! Where do they go when the "normies" fill downtown?
And by c-word of course I mean the one that is banned on this site. lol
We tried to go to somewhere on e Hastings last summer and noped out before getting there… it made old town look like a kindergarten. But tbf, that was the ONLY problem area in all of Vancouver. The rest of the city was spotless and very nice.
Whoa we were also in Van BC for Christmas and we were literally saying we hadn’t seen many tents as we went to go get dim sum. Took a turn and holy shit… the tent city went on for what seemed like a few miles. Took those words back real quick.
I lived in SF during the recession and from what my friends who still live there tell me, it is so much worse right now, like total fucking anarchy. And it's so hard to do anything about it because, a lot like Portland, EVERYONE has a voice and an opinion so nothing ever gets done there! Do you know how many votes they had to replace that damaged Bay Bridge??? Like 3 or 4 before work ever got done. I love that city but sometimes it is more dysfunctional than the Duggars!
>I live in Portland but I am currently in Denver on vacation. All I gotta say is this trip has definitely proved to me that Portland isn't abnormal. Denver for sure has the same problems. Scarily enough we had a shooting right outside our hotel the first night we were here. (I'm staying in the CBD)
Absolutely! Was just talking about how basically the former pres put a target on Portland's back for issues nearly every major city was facing due to the combo of covid killing downtowns, fentanyl on the rise, and housing inflation. but since we became the spotlight of a right wing campaign, it hit morale, and reentrenched people to be really cynical about it, which also made folks less likely to go out and about and make the city bette.r I hope we're making a turn!!!
I was in Salt Lake City last weekend and felt that vibe of “oh good, it’s not just us”. I also felt the relief coming home to Portland after being on I-5 all day with the rednecks.
Was just in Denver last weekend and I noticed that they had a houseless communities but they were only in specific areas, no camps or tents in random places, or along the the highways, and their downtown was very clean, no trash anywhere. I hope Portlands Downtown can clean up more because it still is sketchy af for a stroll.
You want to talk difficult downtown problems, y'all should read about ["The Zone" in downtown Phoenix.](https://www.azfamily.com/2023/05/10/city-phoenix-starts-first-phase-clearing-zone-near-downtown-phoenix/) It's an encampment in their downtown with anywhere between *750-900* people that they were just recently court-ordered to clean up. That is some real Mad Max shit and not in a sexy Tina Turner way.
I love this post. I love Portland. I love the mountains, and the ocean, and the gorge. I love catching a show downtown and watching the sunrise from pittock mansion. I love drinking perfect coffee and eating cheap perfect food.
I love this post. ❤️
Whether you guys care to admit this or not, the city looks way better bathed in 16 hours of sunlight per day. Shit looks bleak here in the winter. People are out and about more frequently because of it.
It makes a huge difference.
I’ve been living in Chicago for the past 18 months due to work but will be moving back to PDX at the end of this month. As a Portland native, it makes me so happy to hear this. I feel like things took a definitively dark turn after those murders on the MAX (was it 2017?) and continued to slide downhill until Covid hit and shit really hit the fan. Throughout Covid and up until the point I left it felt the city had just kind of collectively lost hope - the depression and overall malaise was tangible. I’m not naive - I know the city has always had (and will continue to have) problems and challenges, but just knowing there are signs of peoples’ spirits lifting makes me feel so good.
I remember having a panic attack at work after that happened. Not fathoming how something like that could happen here. And then it did indeed get worse.
I’m sorry to hear that, you weren’t alone in feeling that way by any means. A lot of us use public transit every day, it could have just as easily happened to any of us which was terrifying. I remember thinking I didn’t know if I would have had the courage to step up like those guys did if I had been there instead.
Yes, I believe the stabbing happened late May 2017 (maybe memorial weekend?), and i agree for me things got... dark after that. I'm glad I'm around to see spirits lifting.
My partner and I rented Nike Bikes and biked from the inner NE down to the waterfront, then through the Pearl and Slabtowm and up NW Cornell to the tunnel.
I thought the West Side looked great. The Waterfront area was super clean. We passed by Mothers old restaurant which made me sad. But so many places in the Pearl I hadn’t seen.
We love biking and do it regularly, but on more standard East Side routes. Getting to see other parts of town is always fun.
And if you haven’t rented a Nike eBike yet go try one. They’re really fun and super convenient.
I agree. To everyone that said “screw this I’m moving to X” a couple years ago my comment was always, “I’m going to stay and fight the issues”.
I feel like we are winning. I still think it’s a bit crappy but better than it was and getting to how it used to be.
Good on you! Doing what’s easy and doing what’s right & noble are often at odds. Volunteering even once a month with a local group gets my fighting boots on the ground and I feel so rewarded afterwards.
Moved here a year ago, landing in an inner NE neighborhood people were fleeing to Lake Oswego from. I don’t get it. I admit I cannot appreciate the change from the last decade, but I can tell you the positives of this town vastly outweigh its challenges. I’ve lived a few places and haven’t seen quite the potential that exists in this space. We’re really lucky. I’m glad long-timers and natives are encouraged. I still get a lot of hesitancy and mistrust of Portland from my suburban coworkers, who mostly lament the changes to downtown, which I gather were where the majority of the negative impacts of the Covid era landed. That said, I still see a ton of vibrancy and resolve from the majority of Portlandians I encounter. There’s too much beauty here to let it go to waste. It’s hard being under the national spotlight as an easy foil to a would be authoritarian. We’re getting through it, even if challenges persist.
The neighborhoods, particularly on the east side, offer a ton of beauty and convenience that are pretty much unparalleled in the US. Despite the issues, we can’t take that for granted. Portland is great today, and has so much potential for the future.
If the city can it get together to enforce laws and maintain some semblance of order this will be true. As much as Portlanders want things to get better we’re at the mercy of city government and infrastructure managing the systems that exist and creating better ones so that we can actually function in this city and enjoy what it has to offer.
Thank you for a positive post! My wife and I were in Portland from WA for the long Mem Day Weekend, and we also noticed something different about the feel of the city.
I think it’s definitely healing, better than it was a year ago!
And Not to be a downer, but lest we forget the city purposefully cleans up for big public events like this. That isn’t an everyday look
I have been noticing things improving little by little for the last year. It is slow so I think it is hard to recognize, but night and day compared to the apocalypse of 2021/2022. We have a long way to go, but I definitely feel a tail wind. I have also noticed a visible uptick in police presence which I have not seen in a long time.
As an out-of-stater who's soon to move to downtown Portland,.. any advice?.. I'm a middle age male who already lives in a downtown area (on same street as 2 existing homeless shelters),.. so I'm used to crazy things happening 24-7.
This one for sure. We lived in Albuquerque, Chicago and Oakland. The level of reaction vs the reality was always a bit lopsided. I think some folks moved to PDX during peak safety/excess policing/hyper gentrification days and they didn’t know what to do when the city took a hard turn back toward its grimy past. It’s fine. Has great parts (IMO 90% of the city), has rough parts…big difference to me between PDX and other cities? Lots of people are trying to make Portland a livable city. That’s very nice…
Totally. I feel like there is a bigger expectation that everything should be nice and safe here -- which is good, I guess. Whereas the vibe in many in other cities is that shit is just gonna happen sometimes. That doesn't mean that you're cool with shit going down, but it doesn't shake your confidence in the city as a whole when it does.
Oh yeah. That’s a great observation. There’s always been something off to me about folks thinking they should be able to do whatever they want in any corner of the city. That is just not the case in most major cities.
The focused attack by a group in the right wing to twist and ramp up how bad it was also didnt help.
A section wanted Portland to be an example of the "left" failing and worked towards that messaging.
They also sent various goons to toss gass on the fire every so often to ramp up street wars for news stories.
Yeah as someone who has lived here a long time but is not from PNW, I think there’s a kind of a small town mentality a lot of people can have - like people really scared about normal city stuff. If you’re used to other downtowns you’ll very likely be fine.
The apartment I got is in the ParkPlazaPDX building south Park Ave (south of downtown?).. from what I can gather on crime maps and homeless camp maps and other data sources I've found,.. it seems acceptable enough ? (considering I currently live in a 70yr old meat-locker building on the same street as 2 shelters. I think no matter how this pans out will be a move up for me).
Yeah, thats the impression I’m getting. I honestly dont feel deserving (lucking into a good job opportunity, lucking into a good Apt location). I’m thanking the universe pretty much every day currently. ;) … Now I just gotta tie things up here in my old place and survive the 1,200 mile road trip. I’m ready to explore the PNW !.. (never lived anywhere near the ocean)
You're right on the PSU campus effectively, which is a good spot in terms of things to do. Make sure to check out the Pearl, Slab Town, and NW District neighborhoods. And make sure to take some time to venture to farther places in the city - St. Johns, 82nd (for the food!), Sellwood-Milwaukie-Riverview, Powell Butte. You're gonna have a good time.
I am loving this thread right now. I get so frustrated by the doom and gloom attitude, and "Portland is dying" sentiment I hear almost on a loop at this point. If people took a minute to travel outside of their Portland bubble, they'd understand that it's not been just a Portland problem. Through it all I haven't lost any love for this city, and I'm soaking up all the Portland love in this thread.
I agree with you. I hope we can return to arguing about things that matter! Where is the best pizza? What’s the route of the naked bike ride this year? And if you live on that route, are you happy or annoyed about it? We barely even talk about Ted Wheeler anymore… what’s happened to us??
It's the beginning of summer guys, that's always when PDX is at its best. Always tons of events around this time and collective joy that summer is here. I agree with the upward trend tho, feels like covid malaise is finally gone and more events, businesses, and mental healths are back.
Kinda irresponsible to claim there’s a serial killer on the loose before anything is actually known, you can inflict real terror on the population by spreading rumors like that.
Edit: https://www.fbi.gov/stats-services/publications/serial-murder#:~:text=Serial%20murder%20is%20a%20relatively,committed%20in%20any%20given%20year.
Serial killings are very rare, less than 1% of any given murders in a year, yet like they say on this link, the public has a vastly outsized interest in it. One of the many reasons jumping to conclusions is bad, the public’s likely to run for it despite being a very low chance…
Would you rather…face six murderers within 100 miles of each other, or one serial killer who murdered six women?
The dead bodies are a fact, and these are your options.
Preference has nothing to do with it. It most likely is unconnected killings, the vast majority of all murders are not by serial killers, they account for less than 1% of all murders... There has been no evidence presented to show a connection. Unfortunately, there’s way more than six murderers within 100 miles of you, given we have more than six murders a year within 100 miles…
It’s irresponsible for people to jump to conclusions like they immediately have.
It’s 6 women. 3 in Portland and 3 outside of town. But I’ve read several articles on it. If the public doesn’t know it’s because they’re not current on local news.
It’s incredibly dangerous and stupid for people to jump to the conclusion it’s a serial killer before literally any evidence is linked. It happens all the time, public jumping to conclusions before anything is suspected. Irresponsible and people posting this shit have zero awareness of the impact of their blathering. https://apnews.com/article/fact-check-seattle-serial-killer-rumors-029323914288
It’s like you’ve never heard of Dunning-or-Kruger. Why don’t you consume a handful of documentaries and podcasts and raise your fearful paranoia to new highs like an ADULT
Usually? Citation fucking needed, the VAST majority of murders are not done by serial killers, I’m thinking if you actually did the statistics on that, you’d find they’re finding bodies in the woods all the time that aren’t attributable to serial killing.
Excuse you! I’m the main character in my very own true crime story. Let me live out my fantasy!
This is just like my favorite true crime podcast where I listen to the hosts, who I have a parasocial relationship with, drink wine and discuss if BTK or Dahmer was better in bed.
I bet if we think hard enough about the clues then we can catch him. Then Mr. Wheeler will give me the key to the city!
Now excuse me while I go back to refreshing my NextDoor feed.
man i really wanted to put this post on blast for the usual weekly “hey i saw portland today and it was great” that we get here all the time, which is honestly insulting to those of us having our lives literally ruined by the rapid increase of issues here…. but i took my time and read your post and…
i actually agree with you
i hope the trend continues
Hah glad to see there was something there that felt accurate. Important / key point being things are definitely a long ways from perfect, but I do think that it feels like we’re at least dusting ourselves off a little after a real shitshow of a last couple years. I could get my car stolen tomorrow and take it all back - but I just feel we’re adapting and moving forward in a way I really did not feel a year ago
Omg I hope so deeply that this is true. I’m on the east coast right now because I needed a break from Portland but I would love to come back to a classic magical Portland summer. Fingers crossed 🤞🏼
I went for a 7 mile run Tuesday all around the east side. Great neighborhood after neighborhood. Friday night on Mississippi felt a little like Nashville or new Orleans. Great City. Lucky to have Starbucks most other places in this country
I'm feeling it too, and it's great! I really hope it lasts past this glorious summer weather we're having - as a city we tend to act like we're rolling every time the sun comes out.
I walked from the riverplace esplanade across the Hawthorne Bridge, past OMSI and onto the tilikum crossing bridge back to where I started and it was amazing walk, no deranged maniacs tweaking out, no gunshots or riots, just everyone else cycling/walking and enjoying their evening. I think the media just exaggerates and makes Portland seem like a cesspool war zone when it's really not that bad and the only real issue is the unaffordable housing and lack of drug addiction/mental health counseling that leads into this whole mess of tents everywhere and theft
Great to hear! I hope and think it (slowly) is.
I had some friends in town this weekend and we were all over SE and NE. It had been years since I experienced the city as a tourist. I have to say it made me appreciate the great areas in Portland again. We would have headed downtown but I live on the Eastside and we didn't have time. There was a real magic in the air with this weather and they had a BLAST!
It was absolutely gorgeous downtown yesterday. Great food, drinks, people out loving life, the city sparkling. Go do the things and make this beautiful place glow.
I feel like Portland has a much worse reputation than it deserves because Fox News basically runs a 24/7 smear campaign against the city in order to promote their agenda and no one bothers to argue back because we really don't want those kind of people to come here anyway.
We could just as easily explain that Portland is ahead of rural Mississippi in pretty much every quality of life metric, but I don't think anyone here cares and we generally have better things to do than watch political propaganda all day anyway.
Mississippi actually has made some shocking strides in education. Crazy, I know, but it's interesting to see how stuff changes:
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/31/opinion/mississippi-education-poverty.html
You get the point though, despite how bad things look sometimes, I think it's important to keep some perspective and remember although things aren't the way that they used to be, we are still doing better than most of the country overall. Most of the problems that you're seeing are issues that the entire country is struggling with and they generally don't have quick and easy solutions.
I think we're good in some things, bad in others. The source of many people's frustration is how good it was for the last decade so by comparison it feels a lot worse.
I totally agree with the sentiment in the comments that the shit we're seeing here is being seen everywhere: inflation + stagnant wages + resurgence of fascism = more crime/unhoused folks/ unhinged folks. Portland isn't the anomaly the news wants us to be.
I also feel a little conflicted. I've ventured out more this spring than I have since March 2020 and I truly can't figure out if things are worse or I'm just so removed from reality as a wfh/non-partying b* that I forgot how bad it used to be? But I've eaten on a couple restaurant patios and attended the county fair at Oaks Park and did a Columbia Slough paddle event and like...it's so nice to see people and be "part of society" but also...the vibe is off? There are big ass trucks being assholes no matter where I try to drive and I feel like I have to run forensics on their bumper stickers to figure out if they're trying to gay bash me or are just an asshole driver. Every destination I've had in the last few weeks has people who are very very desperately down on their luck camping and/or flying a sign nearby. The general public feels volatile as hell, like very unpredictable?
I've been here for 18 years and spent 9 of those working retail on Hawthorne, so I'm not under the delusion that Portland was any kind of paradise pre-pandemic. But I also don't know what we're "on our way back" to...like it was inequitable and p racist before and now it's sorta desperate and v racist?
I want to believe "we're back" - I just think it's more likely the vitamin D drunkenness that all Portlanders are subject to in late spring/early summer. I'm down to be proven wrong here - I def feel we're in a collective trauma response after the pandemic so I don't trust my own perception of things anymore than I trust OP's.
I've lived in the metro area for my entire life, lets just say pre-2000s and "earlier". I don't believe the city is "back", but it is improving and that is important to note when so many were doom and gloom a year ago. Feels like we've got another year or two of improvements like we've seen to get back to what things were like in 2019.
In a way that concerns me, I think you and OP are both right. I do see the liveliness of the city coming back. But it also feels a bit cursed.
Like, idk, maybe the "not mandated locked-down but should be, so the only people occupying public spaces are Trump cultists and the restaurant/service workers they're abusing" phase of pandemic management was a really bad idea. It went on just long enough to increase these people's belief that they own the place. I see a lot more QAnon rants in public now.
Also you can't get a cup of hot coffee after 7 pm anymore.
This is something I’ve noticed about myself too— I’m not out in these streets anymore so I don’t know what’s going on. No offense to you PPE-but I feel like I don’t know where the good restaurants are anymore or coffee shops or when things are happening (like rose festival apparently??) because I’ve been inside and out of it for so long. Like the city has definitely changed but so have I…
We drove down yesterday on a whim and had the best time! Great weather, great vibe from everyone we talked to or saw and was honestly really surprised how great the city looked! It’s been about 10 years since I’ve visited your fabulous city and was so excited to see it well and thriving. Can’t wait to come back soon!
I was at Bertie Lou's for breakfast yesterday and then went from there up through Westmoreland. I didn't see anything unusual at all. So I also call BS.
Agree completely, OP. I was recently reminiscing about how amazing Portland felt when I got here 10 years ago and how I was worried it might never feel that way again. Last night, I watched those concerns melt away. Portland felt exactly as it did when I was in awe all those years ago.
We booed the people in the Fox12 news car and they coal rolled not only us but everyone else on the block near 4th and Washington including a lot of kids. Can we please keep them out of the parade next year?
Downtown had such great vibes yesterday. It’s been a while since it actually FELT like that as much as we all kept wishing it into existence over the past few years. City fair felt like it was half of what it used to be but the array of beers made up for that fact. Good job everyone !
I feel the same way. I feel like I’m hearing less of the negative nellys online these days. Especially the ones that don’t even fucking live here. LONG LIVE PORTLAND!
I spent the day walking around my new 'hood of Sullivan's Gulch, then wandered from my current place down to Revolution Hall and stumbled upon the Spring Beer and Wine Fest! Was a great day to get out in Portland. (But my feet hurt since I stupidly did all of that in flip-flops.)
We took part in the Irvington neighborhood yard sale yesterday and it was awesome. We must have had hundreds of people come through. Good vibes all around.
I was down there the other day in the Pearl - 5th time in 3 years I went downtown - it definitely had a different vibe - laid back, comfortable and safe. We're healing. Now we need The Elk back.
Went to the parade last night. Sat in front of the federal building. The last time I was there was during the protests. Kinda felt like a full circle moment, in a good way. I was happy to be back downtown in the city that I love surrounded by ppl having fun. Anyway, the parade was great. Poison Waters was gorgeous and the crowd responded in kind. Loved all the kids running wild in the street. My only complaint is for the high school marching band kids that have perform some old Dixieland song. It’s like you can guess the age of the band director by the song choice. I never did band but I’m sure there are many contemporary tunes the kids would enjoy learning. Am I right?
I love to hear this. Working on SW 5th & Washington I certainly get jaded at times but I am so nostalgic for those old Portland days and I too have witnessed a few lately since the sun has been out. Loving to see it.
I was at the Nascar race yesterday at PIR and the radio announcers couldn't stop raving about how beautiful it was. Granted, on a sunny day with Mt Hood in the background we all are like "duh of course it's gorgeous here" but last week's race was in Charlotte NC where it's so humid and hot you basically take a bath in your own sweat. But still, we got a good thing going up here.
Oh yeah, I was in downtown today and visited the art museum, plus walked down the park blocks. Saw a few homeless people taking a nap but it was quiet, clean and totally normal.
We have a beautiful, beautiful city -- it can and should be the envy of every other place in America.
I had some friends in from out of town, and after the parade we tried to get a Lyft out of downtown (spoiler, we ended up taking the bus) and it was the first time since I have lived here that I was actually concerned for me and my friend’s safety.
One guy threatened to fight us for no reason (said it wouldn’t be a fair fight… which I am guessing means he was holding a weapon), saw multiple people screaming that they were going to / wanted to kill people, fent zombies on nearly every corner, etc.
Until we have actual mental health resources, rehabs that make it easy for people to enroll in and cops who actually care, Idk how downtown will ever “be back”. I love Portland, but I’m not going downtown after sunset maybe ever again. Call me lame, downvote me… but last night was like a horror movie after the parade. I feel for everyone who lives and works late shifts down there.
I’ve been thinking the same thing lately. I hope this momentum builds and keeps going. A good scrub down of the grime, trash and graffiti would go a really long way. Lowering rents to attract businesses back and bring the creatives in again would help too. This city is and always has been special.
Portland is gonna Portland, but I don’t think we should fall for the McMenamins trick of ignoring the mediocrity of the beer and saying “it’s getting better” instead.
In my limited travels yesterday I saw a guy scrapping up a PT Cruiser in the PCC Cascade parking lot and a one-tent camp set up in a parking space on the street. Earlier in the week I got run off the bike path by a man speeding a pickup truck down the Columbia Slough trail. There’s a long way to go.
We were going thru downtown just a few days ago from a doctors office in Beaverton. We saw nothing like this. I'm very sorry to report that.
I saw attempts at clearing some camps, but also saw lots of single camps that didn't have even a slight chance of ever being clean again, the trash was so embedded on the hillside.
I don't know what you are eating these days, but I think I might want some.
(I'm not trying to be mean here, but a lovely spring day has its own magic. We don't get many of them here. It was nice to sit on my yard bench and watch my dogs play in the grass. I get it. But Portland, and prob every city of the same size, needs to get a workout, needs to find REAL solutions.)
I still wouldn't be caught dead in downtown. I was there 2 months ago and almost got stabbed by a homeless lady at pioneer courthouse Square. Fuck that shit.
I don’t know about that. There was just a shoot out with semi automatic weapons in the middle of the afternoon yesterday in my neighborhood and 4 people got shot…
This happens every year. They spiff it up for Rose Festival. Camps and sidewalks are swept more consistently. Trash is picked up more often. The event draws a lot of people from the area who wouldn't normally come downtown, which has the effect of scattering the homeless/addicts/mentally ill even further.
Then the event ends, everyone goes back and home, and we're right back where we were, only worse because it's summer, the trash and human waste smells worse than ever, and even those who might have bitten the bullet and accepted some form of shelter during the winter months are now out on the street again 24/7.
Just a few weeks ago it was crystal clear that Portland's decline is, if anything, accelerating. Once the Rose Festival runs its course, the same trend will pick right back up. Things don't just magically get better. You can't keep doing the same thing, operating under the same failed policies, and expect that things will change.
The National show out at Edgefield was a dope night. Everyone had a good time it seems. Traffic wasn’t bad coming home. A solid Saturday evening in the early summer.
It was so good! Can’t believe how far he walked out into the crowd. How long was that cord??
The poor fellas trying to keep him from getting tangled! Didn’t think he’d still do that now he’s older, but he didn’t disappoint.
I thought it looked like that guy was reeling in a fish 😆
He does it every show, kind of his thing. I thought he kept it kinda close this time.
I’d love to see a video. I miss this Portland.
he does that every show I think!
And that moon 🌝on the drive home!
Just got back from a quick bike ride loop on both sides of the waterfront and saw: - A large group of cyclists gathering by the steel bridge/east bank esplanade for what I think was the “Howl at the Moon” Pedalpalooza ride. - An older guy grooving on rollerblades under the Burnside Bridge while listening to marching bands waiting to start the rose parade - A 12 foot wide boombox float and DJ playing Pump Up the Jam in the Rose Parade to a way way bigger crowd compared to last year. - 40+ people in mismatched Roman Toga outfits chilling and drinking beers by the entrance to Poets Beach. - Some kind of underground jam band concert under I-5 on Salmon next to the East Bank Esplanade, with a pretty sizable crowd. Actually thought about making a similar post here. Incredible vibes all around, and very different compared to previous years.
I also cycled around the waterfront this evening! I felt an energy from this city that I haven’t in a while.
I was walking in front of the Pearl LA fitness when I saw a well-groomed, mid-60 year old fully nude man walking down the street so there's that. Shout-out to the cyclist who catcalled him as I walked by also.
I’ve seen this guy! He’s super chill
Oh, that’s legal here? Cool. When I lived in Frankfurt, there was this 70+ year old guy who only wore sneakers. Nude grocery run in February? Sure, why not?
iirc it's legal to *be* nude as a form of protest, but it's not legal to *get* nude because that counts as lewd behavior? usually just utilized for the naked bike ride, but certain local beaches are known for various levels of nudity as well
Nackte Jörg is a cultural institution
Fuck yeah, this is what I am talking about. Thanks for sharing your experience.
It was good portland vibes day for sure.
I saw the toga people at Poets beach too! I wonder what was going on.
I'm pretty sure the Toga people ran the Starlight 5k.
Toga hash! And then I think a bunch of the runners crashed the parade too.
I must have seen them when they were on their way. They were all crossing the street at SW 14th and SW Montgomery. Looked like they were already having a good time
A beautiful full moon, drawing us all to howl in our ways!
We’re back
It feels like actually summer. The past few haven't felt like "portland summer", but this one does. Really feels like I'm coming out of my shell. Very nice.
Even the weather feels like a real Portland summer. Hot during the day, not too hot though. And it cools down nicely at night. Please stay like this all summer.
Seriously, it's reminding me of what summers were like during the 90s
But this would have been july in the 90’s..
Yeah I mean summer still hasn’t even started yet. May was the hottest ever recorded. The weather is nice but also highly disturbing to me..
well that's the problem, it's only early June. I'm keeping my expectations for low temperatures ... uh, well, low.
Can’t be summer without brew fest RIP
It does!! It feels amazing. So happy to see our city coming back and feeling safer
Yesterday there was a guy watering that pile of rubber that keeps burning (Lmaooooo) by the broadway bridge. He was doing air guitar with his hose and it made me so happy to see something that felt very old Portland. Hahah. That guy ruled!!!!
Completely agree. Took the kids downtown about an hour before the parade started. Partner called me asking how the crowd was, and I responded “feels like a Rose Festival Saturday night circa 1995 but way, way more crowded.”
This is a nice thread. I hope this is all true.
I was hanging in the central east side (Morrison/Grand) and there were tons of people out in that area too. It’s true
I moved from Portland to Hood River a couple years ago. I have to come into the city once or twice every month to do shopping, see my doctor, visit friends etc. My trip there last Thursday was so pleasant. I didn’t have any negative interactions with drivers. I only saw one tent the entire time I was traversing the city (it was outside of Laurelhurst Park). Everyone I interacted with seemed to be in a good mood. It was a really nice day.
I want to believe.
I live in Portland but I am currently in Denver on vacation. All I gotta say is this trip has definitely proved to me that Portland isn't abnormal. Denver for sure has the same problems. Scarily enough we had a shooting right outside our hotel the first night we were here. (I'm staying in the CBD)
Dude for real! 100%. I just passed through Denver yesterday on a connecting flight and the man next to me was telling me about how the second we touch down in Denver, he was gonna have to race to the impound lot because his car had gotten stolen while he was away in Portland. He was like “they don’t do anything about here and they just keep getting away with it.” I was like “oh sounds familiar 🥴”
Yeah, huge +1 to this. There’s a really big difference between “yeah we’re experiencing a pretty bad version of this thing that’s happening all over” vs “we are uniquely fucked somehow”. I think people really tend toward that doomer latter version but it’s much more like the former version. I personally think we will pull through and I feel like I’m seeing more evidence of that, even though it’ll probably be a long and uneven process.
100%. I'm not worried about Portland. It's still a beautiful city. We'll be OK.
Yes we will.
Oh hey there ( ° ͜ʖ °)
ಠ_ಠ
I live in So Cali presently. You should ride the Metro down there. Like the shitshow that was the MAX in 2021. I've started driving into downtown LA once a week when I have to go into the office instead of taking the metro. I haven't seen anything too weird on the MAX for a year now. Dad was attacked by some crazy on the MAX in early 2022 (thank you to the two big guys who grabbed the c-word). Since then he hasn't had any problems and I haven't seen anything scary for a year now. It was WONDERFUL downtown last night! Dad and I even walked to the much-less-psycho Safeway about 10:30 and not a c-word in sight! Where do they go when the "normies" fill downtown? And by c-word of course I mean the one that is banned on this site. lol
I took a trip to the bay area and holy shit. Portland doesn't hold a candle to parts of Oakland and San Francisco.
I was in Vancouver BC around Xmas time last year and fuuuuuck it was bad. Like Old Town but a million times worse.
We tried to go to somewhere on e Hastings last summer and noped out before getting there… it made old town look like a kindergarten. But tbf, that was the ONLY problem area in all of Vancouver. The rest of the city was spotless and very nice.
Whoa we were also in Van BC for Christmas and we were literally saying we hadn’t seen many tents as we went to go get dim sum. Took a turn and holy shit… the tent city went on for what seemed like a few miles. Took those words back real quick.
I was there last week and it was spotless.
One of my former coworkers owns a business in downtown San Jose and what he describes is way worse than what we're seeing here.
I lived in SF during the recession and from what my friends who still live there tell me, it is so much worse right now, like total fucking anarchy. And it's so hard to do anything about it because, a lot like Portland, EVERYONE has a voice and an opinion so nothing ever gets done there! Do you know how many votes they had to replace that damaged Bay Bridge??? Like 3 or 4 before work ever got done. I love that city but sometimes it is more dysfunctional than the Duggars!
Weird, I was all over SF last summer and it seemed significantly better/cleaner than PDX. Didn’t spend any time in Oakland though.
After visiting Denver, San Diego, and Van BC I also concluded it isn’t just us. It’s a problem everywhere.
>I live in Portland but I am currently in Denver on vacation. All I gotta say is this trip has definitely proved to me that Portland isn't abnormal. Denver for sure has the same problems. Scarily enough we had a shooting right outside our hotel the first night we were here. (I'm staying in the CBD) Absolutely! Was just talking about how basically the former pres put a target on Portland's back for issues nearly every major city was facing due to the combo of covid killing downtowns, fentanyl on the rise, and housing inflation. but since we became the spotlight of a right wing campaign, it hit morale, and reentrenched people to be really cynical about it, which also made folks less likely to go out and about and make the city bette.r I hope we're making a turn!!!
I was in Salt Lake City last weekend and felt that vibe of “oh good, it’s not just us”. I also felt the relief coming home to Portland after being on I-5 all day with the rednecks.
Was just in Denver last weekend and I noticed that they had a houseless communities but they were only in specific areas, no camps or tents in random places, or along the the highways, and their downtown was very clean, no trash anywhere. I hope Portlands Downtown can clean up more because it still is sketchy af for a stroll.
You want to talk difficult downtown problems, y'all should read about ["The Zone" in downtown Phoenix.](https://www.azfamily.com/2023/05/10/city-phoenix-starts-first-phase-clearing-zone-near-downtown-phoenix/) It's an encampment in their downtown with anywhere between *750-900* people that they were just recently court-ordered to clean up. That is some real Mad Max shit and not in a sexy Tina Turner way.
I agree, tons of people out and it’s so nice to see.
I love this post. I love Portland. I love the mountains, and the ocean, and the gorge. I love catching a show downtown and watching the sunrise from pittock mansion. I love drinking perfect coffee and eating cheap perfect food. I love this post. ❤️
Whether you guys care to admit this or not, the city looks way better bathed in 16 hours of sunlight per day. Shit looks bleak here in the winter. People are out and about more frequently because of it. It makes a huge difference.
I’ve been living in Chicago for the past 18 months due to work but will be moving back to PDX at the end of this month. As a Portland native, it makes me so happy to hear this. I feel like things took a definitively dark turn after those murders on the MAX (was it 2017?) and continued to slide downhill until Covid hit and shit really hit the fan. Throughout Covid and up until the point I left it felt the city had just kind of collectively lost hope - the depression and overall malaise was tangible. I’m not naive - I know the city has always had (and will continue to have) problems and challenges, but just knowing there are signs of peoples’ spirits lifting makes me feel so good.
I remember having a panic attack at work after that happened. Not fathoming how something like that could happen here. And then it did indeed get worse.
I’m sorry to hear that, you weren’t alone in feeling that way by any means. A lot of us use public transit every day, it could have just as easily happened to any of us which was terrifying. I remember thinking I didn’t know if I would have had the courage to step up like those guys did if I had been there instead.
Yes, I believe the stabbing happened late May 2017 (maybe memorial weekend?), and i agree for me things got... dark after that. I'm glad I'm around to see spirits lifting.
Yes, I totally agree. That was horrifying. We are not accustomed to things like that here.
I completely agree. I have been about town a few times in the past couple months. There’s a bit of a buzz around town these days.
Agree. Feels like people are re-enlivening Portland. I really hope it keeps up.
My partner and I rented Nike Bikes and biked from the inner NE down to the waterfront, then through the Pearl and Slabtowm and up NW Cornell to the tunnel. I thought the West Side looked great. The Waterfront area was super clean. We passed by Mothers old restaurant which made me sad. But so many places in the Pearl I hadn’t seen. We love biking and do it regularly, but on more standard East Side routes. Getting to see other parts of town is always fun. And if you haven’t rented a Nike eBike yet go try one. They’re really fun and super convenient.
Agree! It’s felt SO much better lately
I agree. To everyone that said “screw this I’m moving to X” a couple years ago my comment was always, “I’m going to stay and fight the issues”. I feel like we are winning. I still think it’s a bit crappy but better than it was and getting to how it used to be.
I always laugh when people say “I’m moving to Canada!” Ya, good luck with that LOL
Good on you! Doing what’s easy and doing what’s right & noble are often at odds. Volunteering even once a month with a local group gets my fighting boots on the ground and I feel so rewarded afterwards.
Moved here a year ago, landing in an inner NE neighborhood people were fleeing to Lake Oswego from. I don’t get it. I admit I cannot appreciate the change from the last decade, but I can tell you the positives of this town vastly outweigh its challenges. I’ve lived a few places and haven’t seen quite the potential that exists in this space. We’re really lucky. I’m glad long-timers and natives are encouraged. I still get a lot of hesitancy and mistrust of Portland from my suburban coworkers, who mostly lament the changes to downtown, which I gather were where the majority of the negative impacts of the Covid era landed. That said, I still see a ton of vibrancy and resolve from the majority of Portlandians I encounter. There’s too much beauty here to let it go to waste. It’s hard being under the national spotlight as an easy foil to a would be authoritarian. We’re getting through it, even if challenges persist.
The neighborhoods, particularly on the east side, offer a ton of beauty and convenience that are pretty much unparalleled in the US. Despite the issues, we can’t take that for granted. Portland is great today, and has so much potential for the future.
If the city can it get together to enforce laws and maintain some semblance of order this will be true. As much as Portlanders want things to get better we’re at the mercy of city government and infrastructure managing the systems that exist and creating better ones so that we can actually function in this city and enjoy what it has to offer.
Thank you for a positive post! My wife and I were in Portland from WA for the long Mem Day Weekend, and we also noticed something different about the feel of the city.
Let's keep this going.. as a native Portlander for decades!! I believe
I think it’s definitely healing, better than it was a year ago! And Not to be a downer, but lest we forget the city purposefully cleans up for big public events like this. That isn’t an everyday look
True! I’m downtown daily and the cleanup started prior to the cinco de mayo celebration and then picked up again the last few weeks.
I have been noticing things improving little by little for the last year. It is slow so I think it is hard to recognize, but night and day compared to the apocalypse of 2021/2022. We have a long way to go, but I definitely feel a tail wind. I have also noticed a visible uptick in police presence which I have not seen in a long time.
This city is bumpin’, for sho
I agree. But I also live downtown and it still feels like living in a zombie apocalypse after dark.
As an out-of-stater who's soon to move to downtown Portland,.. any advice?.. I'm a middle age male who already lives in a downtown area (on same street as 2 existing homeless shelters),.. so I'm used to crazy things happening 24-7.
It's fine. We moved from DC to Portland in 2020 and kind of chuckled at the level of hysteria people would work themselves into around here
This one for sure. We lived in Albuquerque, Chicago and Oakland. The level of reaction vs the reality was always a bit lopsided. I think some folks moved to PDX during peak safety/excess policing/hyper gentrification days and they didn’t know what to do when the city took a hard turn back toward its grimy past. It’s fine. Has great parts (IMO 90% of the city), has rough parts…big difference to me between PDX and other cities? Lots of people are trying to make Portland a livable city. That’s very nice…
Totally. I feel like there is a bigger expectation that everything should be nice and safe here -- which is good, I guess. Whereas the vibe in many in other cities is that shit is just gonna happen sometimes. That doesn't mean that you're cool with shit going down, but it doesn't shake your confidence in the city as a whole when it does.
Oh yeah. That’s a great observation. There’s always been something off to me about folks thinking they should be able to do whatever they want in any corner of the city. That is just not the case in most major cities.
The focused attack by a group in the right wing to twist and ramp up how bad it was also didnt help. A section wanted Portland to be an example of the "left" failing and worked towards that messaging. They also sent various goons to toss gass on the fire every so often to ramp up street wars for news stories.
Yeah as someone who has lived here a long time but is not from PNW, I think there’s a kind of a small town mentality a lot of people can have - like people really scared about normal city stuff. If you’re used to other downtowns you’ll very likely be fine.
Same. Came from downtown LA and when people talk about the supposed hellscape of downtown PDX, I either think it’s cute or intentionally misleading.
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The apartment I got is in the ParkPlazaPDX building south Park Ave (south of downtown?).. from what I can gather on crime maps and homeless camp maps and other data sources I've found,.. it seems acceptable enough ? (considering I currently live in a 70yr old meat-locker building on the same street as 2 shelters. I think no matter how this pans out will be a move up for me).
Ohh lovely. You will have such a nice walk to the farmers market and the river front. Great location in my opinion.
Yeah, thats the impression I’m getting. I honestly dont feel deserving (lucking into a good job opportunity, lucking into a good Apt location). I’m thanking the universe pretty much every day currently. ;) … Now I just gotta tie things up here in my old place and survive the 1,200 mile road trip. I’m ready to explore the PNW !.. (never lived anywhere near the ocean)
You're right on the PSU campus effectively, which is a good spot in terms of things to do. Make sure to check out the Pearl, Slab Town, and NW District neighborhoods. And make sure to take some time to venture to farther places in the city - St. Johns, 82nd (for the food!), Sellwood-Milwaukie-Riverview, Powell Butte. You're gonna have a good time.
Thank You!
I am loving this thread right now. I get so frustrated by the doom and gloom attitude, and "Portland is dying" sentiment I hear almost on a loop at this point. If people took a minute to travel outside of their Portland bubble, they'd understand that it's not been just a Portland problem. Through it all I haven't lost any love for this city, and I'm soaking up all the Portland love in this thread.
I agree with you. I hope we can return to arguing about things that matter! Where is the best pizza? What’s the route of the naked bike ride this year? And if you live on that route, are you happy or annoyed about it? We barely even talk about Ted Wheeler anymore… what’s happened to us??
It's rose festival.... if it continues past that, I'll believe.
Had a flock of naked folks ride by today. Full moon ride, I think. Was thay perfect combo of horrifying and delightful.
Thanks for coming to the parade! Hope you had a good time! It was a nice night for it :)
I drove downtown yesterday and thought the same thing. So much action, people eating out, the Saturday market. It was lively!
It's the beginning of summer guys, that's always when PDX is at its best. Always tons of events around this time and collective joy that summer is here. I agree with the upward trend tho, feels like covid malaise is finally gone and more events, businesses, and mental healths are back.
Now if they just catch the serial killer on the loose it'll be a great summer!
Kinda irresponsible to claim there’s a serial killer on the loose before anything is actually known, you can inflict real terror on the population by spreading rumors like that. Edit: https://www.fbi.gov/stats-services/publications/serial-murder#:~:text=Serial%20murder%20is%20a%20relatively,committed%20in%20any%20given%20year. Serial killings are very rare, less than 1% of any given murders in a year, yet like they say on this link, the public has a vastly outsized interest in it. One of the many reasons jumping to conclusions is bad, the public’s likely to run for it despite being a very low chance…
Would you rather…face six murderers within 100 miles of each other, or one serial killer who murdered six women? The dead bodies are a fact, and these are your options.
This is one hell of a customer survey question.
Preference has nothing to do with it. It most likely is unconnected killings, the vast majority of all murders are not by serial killers, they account for less than 1% of all murders... There has been no evidence presented to show a connection. Unfortunately, there’s way more than six murderers within 100 miles of you, given we have more than six murders a year within 100 miles… It’s irresponsible for people to jump to conclusions like they immediately have.
Three women's bodies found in the woods in rapid succession is usually a serial killer and at least is something the public should know about.
I’ve gotten several news alerts about it. The news is talking about it.
It’s 6 women. 3 in Portland and 3 outside of town. But I’ve read several articles on it. If the public doesn’t know it’s because they’re not current on local news.
It’s incredibly dangerous and stupid for people to jump to the conclusion it’s a serial killer before literally any evidence is linked. It happens all the time, public jumping to conclusions before anything is suspected. Irresponsible and people posting this shit have zero awareness of the impact of their blathering. https://apnews.com/article/fact-check-seattle-serial-killer-rumors-029323914288
It’s like you’ve never heard of Dunning-or-Kruger. Why don’t you consume a handful of documentaries and podcasts and raise your fearful paranoia to new highs like an ADULT
Usually? Citation fucking needed, the VAST majority of murders are not done by serial killers, I’m thinking if you actually did the statistics on that, you’d find they’re finding bodies in the woods all the time that aren’t attributable to serial killing.
Excuse you! I’m the main character in my very own true crime story. Let me live out my fantasy! This is just like my favorite true crime podcast where I listen to the hosts, who I have a parasocial relationship with, drink wine and discuss if BTK or Dahmer was better in bed. I bet if we think hard enough about the clues then we can catch him. Then Mr. Wheeler will give me the key to the city! Now excuse me while I go back to refreshing my NextDoor feed.
I’ve noticed it too!! The vibes are back
yup definitely feels like a new city is starting
man i really wanted to put this post on blast for the usual weekly “hey i saw portland today and it was great” that we get here all the time, which is honestly insulting to those of us having our lives literally ruined by the rapid increase of issues here…. but i took my time and read your post and… i actually agree with you i hope the trend continues
Hah glad to see there was something there that felt accurate. Important / key point being things are definitely a long ways from perfect, but I do think that it feels like we’re at least dusting ourselves off a little after a real shitshow of a last couple years. I could get my car stolen tomorrow and take it all back - but I just feel we’re adapting and moving forward in a way I really did not feel a year ago
Omg I hope so deeply that this is true. I’m on the east coast right now because I needed a break from Portland but I would love to come back to a classic magical Portland summer. Fingers crossed 🤞🏼
Yes let’s keep saying nice things about portland! There is still a lot of love for Portland here in Sweden.
Portland? Sweden? What?
I went for a 7 mile run Tuesday all around the east side. Great neighborhood after neighborhood. Friday night on Mississippi felt a little like Nashville or new Orleans. Great City. Lucky to have Starbucks most other places in this country
I'm all for cheer and morale... but fuck returning to the office. That's a status quo that's gotta go!
what we need is a place where all the remote workers can chill and hang out while working at their various evil companies
I felt this today too. Much love all!
Summer vibes hit the city good.
I spent yesterday biking around SE and to the Pickles game and I agree. The good weather setting in this early doesn’t hurt as well.
I'm feeling it too, and it's great! I really hope it lasts past this glorious summer weather we're having - as a city we tend to act like we're rolling every time the sun comes out.
I felt safer in numbers last night being on Broadway… had it not been for the parade I wouldn’t hang around old town/Broadway.
i feel like the waterfront campers got told to gtfo but still saw a ton of people passed out face down on the pavement.
I walked from the riverplace esplanade across the Hawthorne Bridge, past OMSI and onto the tilikum crossing bridge back to where I started and it was amazing walk, no deranged maniacs tweaking out, no gunshots or riots, just everyone else cycling/walking and enjoying their evening. I think the media just exaggerates and makes Portland seem like a cesspool war zone when it's really not that bad and the only real issue is the unaffordable housing and lack of drug addiction/mental health counseling that leads into this whole mess of tents everywhere and theft
It’s been so great downtown! Tours are filling up with visitors!
Great to hear! I hope and think it (slowly) is. I had some friends in town this weekend and we were all over SE and NE. It had been years since I experienced the city as a tourist. I have to say it made me appreciate the great areas in Portland again. We would have headed downtown but I live on the Eastside and we didn't have time. There was a real magic in the air with this weather and they had a BLAST!
It was absolutely gorgeous downtown yesterday. Great food, drinks, people out loving life, the city sparkling. Go do the things and make this beautiful place glow.
I feel like Portland has a much worse reputation than it deserves because Fox News basically runs a 24/7 smear campaign against the city in order to promote their agenda and no one bothers to argue back because we really don't want those kind of people to come here anyway. We could just as easily explain that Portland is ahead of rural Mississippi in pretty much every quality of life metric, but I don't think anyone here cares and we generally have better things to do than watch political propaganda all day anyway.
And this sub is regularly brigaded while content focuses mainly on crime.
Yeah, I highly doubt the people who sound like they're posting things parroting the stuff they hear on Fox actually live here.
Mississippi actually has made some shocking strides in education. Crazy, I know, but it's interesting to see how stuff changes: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/31/opinion/mississippi-education-poverty.html
You get the point though, despite how bad things look sometimes, I think it's important to keep some perspective and remember although things aren't the way that they used to be, we are still doing better than most of the country overall. Most of the problems that you're seeing are issues that the entire country is struggling with and they generally don't have quick and easy solutions.
I think we're good in some things, bad in others. The source of many people's frustration is how good it was for the last decade so by comparison it feels a lot worse.
I totally agree with the sentiment in the comments that the shit we're seeing here is being seen everywhere: inflation + stagnant wages + resurgence of fascism = more crime/unhoused folks/ unhinged folks. Portland isn't the anomaly the news wants us to be. I also feel a little conflicted. I've ventured out more this spring than I have since March 2020 and I truly can't figure out if things are worse or I'm just so removed from reality as a wfh/non-partying b* that I forgot how bad it used to be? But I've eaten on a couple restaurant patios and attended the county fair at Oaks Park and did a Columbia Slough paddle event and like...it's so nice to see people and be "part of society" but also...the vibe is off? There are big ass trucks being assholes no matter where I try to drive and I feel like I have to run forensics on their bumper stickers to figure out if they're trying to gay bash me or are just an asshole driver. Every destination I've had in the last few weeks has people who are very very desperately down on their luck camping and/or flying a sign nearby. The general public feels volatile as hell, like very unpredictable? I've been here for 18 years and spent 9 of those working retail on Hawthorne, so I'm not under the delusion that Portland was any kind of paradise pre-pandemic. But I also don't know what we're "on our way back" to...like it was inequitable and p racist before and now it's sorta desperate and v racist? I want to believe "we're back" - I just think it's more likely the vitamin D drunkenness that all Portlanders are subject to in late spring/early summer. I'm down to be proven wrong here - I def feel we're in a collective trauma response after the pandemic so I don't trust my own perception of things anymore than I trust OP's.
I've lived in the metro area for my entire life, lets just say pre-2000s and "earlier". I don't believe the city is "back", but it is improving and that is important to note when so many were doom and gloom a year ago. Feels like we've got another year or two of improvements like we've seen to get back to what things were like in 2019.
In a way that concerns me, I think you and OP are both right. I do see the liveliness of the city coming back. But it also feels a bit cursed. Like, idk, maybe the "not mandated locked-down but should be, so the only people occupying public spaces are Trump cultists and the restaurant/service workers they're abusing" phase of pandemic management was a really bad idea. It went on just long enough to increase these people's belief that they own the place. I see a lot more QAnon rants in public now. Also you can't get a cup of hot coffee after 7 pm anymore.
Outside Issues is a coffee shop open from 5 PM until midnight, Wednesday to Sunday :)
This is something I’ve noticed about myself too— I’m not out in these streets anymore so I don’t know what’s going on. No offense to you PPE-but I feel like I don’t know where the good restaurants are anymore or coffee shops or when things are happening (like rose festival apparently??) because I’ve been inside and out of it for so long. Like the city has definitely changed but so have I…
Wow - that's new to me, thanks! Glad to see that side of life bouncing back.
This post gives me hope. Thank you.
I like it here
We drove down yesterday on a whim and had the best time! Great weather, great vibe from everyone we talked to or saw and was honestly really surprised how great the city looked! It’s been about 10 years since I’ve visited your fabulous city and was so excited to see it well and thriving. Can’t wait to come back soon!
I saw a naked man walking around yesterday as I was running some errands. No screaming, just strolling, so that was an improvement.
They just moved them all out of downtown for the week. We are feeling it in Sellwood
I was at Bertie Lou's for breakfast yesterday and then went from there up through Westmoreland. I didn't see anything unusual at all. So I also call BS.
Elaborate? I haven’t been to sellwood in awhile 👀
Where in Sellwood? I go through there everyday and call BS
Portland to me is what Spirit Lake was to Harry Truman. (Not that I am planning my eminent demise, just here forever/ til I die.)
Portland and its 13 cats. We won’t leave.
Agree completely, OP. I was recently reminiscing about how amazing Portland felt when I got here 10 years ago and how I was worried it might never feel that way again. Last night, I watched those concerns melt away. Portland felt exactly as it did when I was in awe all those years ago.
We booed the people in the Fox12 news car and they coal rolled not only us but everyone else on the block near 4th and Washington including a lot of kids. Can we please keep them out of the parade next year?
That tracks. And yeah why are they in the parade?
MF Lama was spittin'!!!
I went to a NASCAR race at pir which was weird and super fun and then was on 28th and burnside. All around great vibes.
Dude…. Portlands so sick 🤙🏻
Downtown had such great vibes yesterday. It’s been a while since it actually FELT like that as much as we all kept wishing it into existence over the past few years. City fair felt like it was half of what it used to be but the array of beers made up for that fact. Good job everyone !
I feel the same way. I feel like I’m hearing less of the negative nellys online these days. Especially the ones that don’t even fucking live here. LONG LIVE PORTLAND!
Such a good Saturday night. There was a DJ on Lindbergh’s Beach, people dancing and fire pits and flow toys until like 5a
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Agreed. Still a long way to go, but I feel very confident that we've already bottomed out and are on the way back up.
I spent the day walking around my new 'hood of Sullivan's Gulch, then wandered from my current place down to Revolution Hall and stumbled upon the Spring Beer and Wine Fest! Was a great day to get out in Portland. (But my feet hurt since I stupidly did all of that in flip-flops.)
We took part in the Irvington neighborhood yard sale yesterday and it was awesome. We must have had hundreds of people come through. Good vibes all around.
I was down there the other day in the Pearl - 5th time in 3 years I went downtown - it definitely had a different vibe - laid back, comfortable and safe. We're healing. Now we need The Elk back.
Went to the parade last night. Sat in front of the federal building. The last time I was there was during the protests. Kinda felt like a full circle moment, in a good way. I was happy to be back downtown in the city that I love surrounded by ppl having fun. Anyway, the parade was great. Poison Waters was gorgeous and the crowd responded in kind. Loved all the kids running wild in the street. My only complaint is for the high school marching band kids that have perform some old Dixieland song. It’s like you can guess the age of the band director by the song choice. I never did band but I’m sure there are many contemporary tunes the kids would enjoy learning. Am I right?
Guys!!! We gotta keep the people thinking it’s bad!! Booo Portland! It’s so bad here. Boo!
I love to hear this. Working on SW 5th & Washington I certainly get jaded at times but I am so nostalgic for those old Portland days and I too have witnessed a few lately since the sun has been out. Loving to see it.
I was at the Nascar race yesterday at PIR and the radio announcers couldn't stop raving about how beautiful it was. Granted, on a sunny day with Mt Hood in the background we all are like "duh of course it's gorgeous here" but last week's race was in Charlotte NC where it's so humid and hot you basically take a bath in your own sweat. But still, we got a good thing going up here. Oh yeah, I was in downtown today and visited the art museum, plus walked down the park blocks. Saw a few homeless people taking a nap but it was quiet, clean and totally normal. We have a beautiful, beautiful city -- it can and should be the envy of every other place in America.
Same
Ted wheeler must have figured out Reddit
I had some friends in from out of town, and after the parade we tried to get a Lyft out of downtown (spoiler, we ended up taking the bus) and it was the first time since I have lived here that I was actually concerned for me and my friend’s safety. One guy threatened to fight us for no reason (said it wouldn’t be a fair fight… which I am guessing means he was holding a weapon), saw multiple people screaming that they were going to / wanted to kill people, fent zombies on nearly every corner, etc. Until we have actual mental health resources, rehabs that make it easy for people to enroll in and cops who actually care, Idk how downtown will ever “be back”. I love Portland, but I’m not going downtown after sunset maybe ever again. Call me lame, downvote me… but last night was like a horror movie after the parade. I feel for everyone who lives and works late shifts down there.
I’ve been thinking the same thing lately. I hope this momentum builds and keeps going. A good scrub down of the grime, trash and graffiti would go a really long way. Lowering rents to attract businesses back and bring the creatives in again would help too. This city is and always has been special.
I'll make sure to tell the person who broke into my car this morning that you had a great vibe downtown. That'll solve everything.
Portland is gonna Portland, but I don’t think we should fall for the McMenamins trick of ignoring the mediocrity of the beer and saying “it’s getting better” instead. In my limited travels yesterday I saw a guy scrapping up a PT Cruiser in the PCC Cascade parking lot and a one-tent camp set up in a parking space on the street. Earlier in the week I got run off the bike path by a man speeding a pickup truck down the Columbia Slough trail. There’s a long way to go.
Pretty sure that PT Cruiser at PCC is there for fire dept training. They do that regularly and cut the tops off of vehicles for rescue training.
it's literally just a little bit of sunshine
Totally possible but I’ll take it anyway
We were going thru downtown just a few days ago from a doctors office in Beaverton. We saw nothing like this. I'm very sorry to report that. I saw attempts at clearing some camps, but also saw lots of single camps that didn't have even a slight chance of ever being clean again, the trash was so embedded on the hillside. I don't know what you are eating these days, but I think I might want some. (I'm not trying to be mean here, but a lovely spring day has its own magic. We don't get many of them here. It was nice to sit on my yard bench and watch my dogs play in the grass. I get it. But Portland, and prob every city of the same size, needs to get a workout, needs to find REAL solutions.)
Shhhhhhhhhh! Don’t tell anyone
Yes, and my rent just went from $1250 to $400!
Thank you City Council
I still wouldn't be caught dead in downtown. I was there 2 months ago and almost got stabbed by a homeless lady at pioneer courthouse Square. Fuck that shit.
“PORTLAND IS ON ITS WAY BACK!” *gets a serial killer*
I don’t know about that. There was just a shoot out with semi automatic weapons in the middle of the afternoon yesterday in my neighborhood and 4 people got shot…
This happens every year. They spiff it up for Rose Festival. Camps and sidewalks are swept more consistently. Trash is picked up more often. The event draws a lot of people from the area who wouldn't normally come downtown, which has the effect of scattering the homeless/addicts/mentally ill even further. Then the event ends, everyone goes back and home, and we're right back where we were, only worse because it's summer, the trash and human waste smells worse than ever, and even those who might have bitten the bullet and accepted some form of shelter during the winter months are now out on the street again 24/7. Just a few weeks ago it was crystal clear that Portland's decline is, if anything, accelerating. Once the Rose Festival runs its course, the same trend will pick right back up. Things don't just magically get better. You can't keep doing the same thing, operating under the same failed policies, and expect that things will change.