What a cool list! (You guys aren't back in Oregon are you?) I'll have to refer to this next time I head that way...

No, I just found that list.

soo, i wanna know what the big deal about Bend is. i havent read the whole thread. but ive heard things from various friends throughout the years about how great Bend is.

i despised Bend. hated it. wanted to get out soo fast. it's sprawl at it's finest (ie: worst) in m opinion.

i was totally bummed.

Did you not get out into the mountains or Deschutes river in/around Bend? Smith Rock is supposed to be some great climbing.

yeah i played a little bit around the surrounding area...which yes, is quite lovely and fun. but i had just heard the city itself was supposed to be totally snazzy, and it wasn't! :(

that's funny! With all the development catered toward retirees (golfing, spas, etc), I'm surprised someone would make that recommendation.

No major league baseball, but the AAA Beavers have peanut tofu skewers and veggie dogs at their ballpark? Amazing!

That is brilliant to have such foods at a ballpark!

No major league baseball, but the AAA Beavers have peanut tofu skewers and veggie dogs at their ballpark? Amazing!

And organic, fair-trade coffee. I love Portland. :D

We're currently trying to find a place to rent for 6-9 months while we look for a house to buy...does anyone have advice on renting a house/townhouse in the Portland area preferably as centralized as possible? We've been checking the rent.com-type sites, but I suspect there's some other resource that the locals use. My gf is going to be out there next week, and it'd be great to have a couple potential places lined up to visit but so far all we've mainly found apartments.

I have a sneaking suspicion that we're more likely to find a place driving around looking for a 'House For Rent' sign than we are searching online, but maybe I'm being naive.

If it comes down to it, we don't have a problem getting an apartment, but between dealing with cruddy building management and hearing your neighbor flush the toilet we'd prefer not to.

http://portland.craigslist.org/apa

Description of portland neighborhoods: http://www.travelportland.com/media/acmedkit/urban_mosaic.html

if you want to live downtown, check out Goose Hollow, University district, downtown, pearl district, old town, northwest 23rd (good place for townhouses), and nob hill. Those are all on the west side and within walking distance (or a short streetcar ride) to downtown. Not many single-family homes, though. You'll want to look on the other side (east) of the river for that. If you want central, you dont' really want to go any further east than 39th. In NE, Alberta and Mississippi are cute neighborhoods. In SE, Clinton, Hawthorne, and Belmont are all great areas.

Most landlords will want a 1-year lease, though you might be able to find shorter ones - or sublet. Also, driving around is a GREAT idea. I found two places that way.

good luck!

okay, i'm going to be in portland in about a month and a half for a job interview but i get to spend a day in the city just hanging out.

what are a few good things to do/see and what are the 2-3 must go to veg restaurants that are also easily accessible for someone without a car?

also, if you live there/have lived there what are some good and bad points about the city/area?

THANKS!!!!

where are you staying? If you don't have a car, public transport in Portland will pretty much take you anywhere, and it's not very hard to figure out:

www.tri-met.org (http://www.tri-met.org)

Aside from veg restaurants, what do you want to see and what are you interested in? You're going in December, right? Downtown is decorated in white lights, which I think is kind of pretty (at least at night). Portland's very safe to walk around in by yourself even at night. But you might enjoy NW 23rd or SE Hawthorne for some window shopping. Saturday Market (http://www.portlandsaturdaymarket.com/) is open on weekends (both Sat & Sun) and is always fun to go to.

For restaurants, see my link above as well as this guide put together by the owners of a vegan grocery store in the city: http://www.foodfightgrocery.com/pdxguide.html. Again, most places are easily accessible especially if they're downtown or are in Portland west of 82nd st. VegeThai is probably my favorite portland all-veg restaurant but to be honest with you - Portland has so many "veg friendly" places, I preferred to go there.

You might check out Higgins (http://higgins.ypguides.net/)downtown (on SW Jefferson & Broadway, just a few blocks south of Pioneer Square and a major lightrail stop). They always have at least a couple of vegetarian entrees, and their menus are seasonal and frequently rotate. Greg Higgins is one of "the" fathers of northwest cuisine and I've always had such a wonderful experience there. There is a casual bar (non smoking) off the dining room. You won't need reservations but it does get busy. Best to go in the afternoon and sit down with a nice meal and a glass of wine. Can't beat it really.

Have fun!

http://portland.craigslist.org
good luck!

Thanks, we found a great duplex near Hillsdale with craigslist. Places are going so fast, it was hard to find anything on the market over three days. The only way we got the place we did is because we were the first people to see it.

To anyone else needing a place, I would recommend getting the address and doing a virtual driveby with Google Maps (http://maps.google.com/). Nearly all of Portland has Street View enabled, so you can see what the neighborhoods look like from an on-the-street perspective like this:

http://img81.imageshack.us/img81/4594/gmapsbi8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

I'd use that in conjunction with the Portland CrimeMapper (http://www.gis.ci.portland.or.us/maps/police/), which lets you see the level of crime in the area by address or via a map. They also have a Google Earth crime layer that you can use to look around as well.

Nearly all of Portland has Street View enabled, so you can see what the neighborhoods look like from an on-the-street perspective like this:

http://img81.imageshack.us/img81/4594/gmapsbi8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)


Oh sure, use one of the crappier neighborhoods in the city! :lol:
I probably would have picked something like this:
http://s146.photobucket.com/albums/r259/Dirty-Martini/?action=view&current=picture.jpg


LOL

has anyone been to the chinese place called Lotus Garden in eugene? its all veggie i geuss.

Lotus Garden rocks...

Also my favorites in Eugene:

Evergreen Indian Cuisine - They have buffet during the day... mmmmm, endless source of Indian food.... :D
And
Ta Ra Rin Thai Cuisine - Love Thai food!

Lotus Garden rocks...

Also my favorites in Eugene:

Evergreen Indian Cuisine - They have buffet during the day... mmmmm, endless source of Indian food.... :D
And
Ta Ra Rin Thai Cuisine - Love Thai food!

those places are all veggie too?!

Hi everyone!! I'm planning to move near Portland next summer but have never been to Oregon. Any suggestions on surrounding areas close to Portland where the cost of living isn't too expensive? Thanks!! Peace & Love!!

My husband and I are uprooting ourselves from the wonderful Midwest (gag) and making the venture to Portland in July. I'm finishing a culinary program here, and am hoping to get a job at a veg restaurant. We know no one in Portland, and I've never even been there. I'm looking to find ways to network with people before moving out there and to learn more about the city.
Help anyone?

My husband and I are uprooting ourselves from the wonderful Midwest (gag) and making the venture to Portland in July. I'm finishing a culinary program here, and am hoping to get a job at a veg restaurant.

Hey there. I made the move FROM portland TO the midwest (kansas city) and love it out here. :)

Good luck. Though there are a lot of veg & veg-friendly restaurants in portland, there are also a lot of vegetarians & people who want to work at said places.

Portland is a "creative" city, highly educated, and a desirable place to live. The job market is competitive and typically over-qualified (ie, college degrees desired for admin jobs). Food service isn't well-paid and is, again, competitive.

Craigslist is HUGELY popular in portland. I'd suggest looking at groups on there or something similar and getting to know people online.

Once you're out there, what I would suggest is just getting into the food industry any way you can, then network. Portland really is a city of "who you know"... I don't think oneness posts on here anymore, but she might lurk. Might be worth sending her a PM and asking her. She is a vegan & works in the food industry in portland (not at a veg place). I know it took her a long time to find work.

I live in Portland and I LOVE it!!! We have a great vegan community in Portland and it's just a beautiful city overall. Come visit anytime!

Hey everyone!

I just put in my application for Lewis and Clark Law School (I hope I get in!). I didn't really think of coming to Portland before because it was so far away (I live in New England). But the more I think about it and hear how veggie friendly it is, the more I like the idea of spending three years of law school there... and who knows... perhaps living there.

I REALLY want to move to Portland, I have for years!! I don't know anyone there and I'm not sure how to go about getting a place, finding a job etc. I moved to Florida about 5 years not knowing anyone and not having a job but I guess it just gets scarier to do things like that the older you become!

I've said it before, I'll say it again.

Portland is a hard place to find a good, well-paying job.

I highly recommend having something lined up before moving out there, if you can. Of course the jobs are there, it's just that there is a lot of competition and it takes a while to land a job. Portland is a highly-educated city, meaning you're competing with people who have college and graduate degrees for jobs that don't require them (like doing phone support).

Don't mean to scare anyone, it's just that it's not a city where a workforce is in high demand.

Take a look on www.oregonlive.com or www.jobdango.com for some portland area jobs. That should help.

Thanks Dirty Martini that's what I figured and is another reason it's a lot scarier to do things like this once your older and have bills and debt to worry about!!

Living in Portland is completely rad, everything everyone ever hoped it would be and more. I'm a native Portlander and I've imported my fair share (at least four) new Portlanders is my short lifetime (I'm 24). It's a great size, really involved, kind-hearted, alternative neighborly denizens, rockin fun things to do (it seems there's a protest for something that is fun like a parade going on every saturday) tons of farmer's markets, free art shows, bike paths, and YES, it does have most microbreweries of ANY city in the world except Munich, Germany. Good beer, good herb, good eats, good fun, good people.

That said, I am trying to get the hell out of here.

Too many people (mostly californians and new englanders) have made a rush on moving to Portland in the past 10 years, and it pains me to watch my beloved city wilt before my eyes. For the first time ever, downtown reeks of gas and cars, and the air is thick and ugly. Prices on everything are superinflated. Rent and property prices in particular are getting deadly. I've even noticed a change in the police! It's much less, "Run along home, drunken neighbor!" and more stately and hardlined. The kind of people you meet in Portland is changing, too--- only about 1 in 4 of the people you ask at random are even from Portland! The rest are recent imports....

While most of the new people are cool, and that is why they have come to Portland, there are many who came for the relatively cheap home prices (compared to LA and San Francisco) or whatever who are lame-- really lame, and the overally quality-of-experience hanging out with random Portlanders just ain't what it used to be. I don't like it.

Take a tip from an insider-- I'm outta here.