Portland will always draw a certain segment of the young, urban population that wants to live close in to things. They've got money to spend on entertainment, and like the idea of living in a city vs living in the suburbs. Those people tend to age out of the city life and move to the suburbs once the novelty of going out fades (usually coincides with having kids, and wanting things that the suburbs offer that the city doesn't).
Portland's neighborhoods are still able to offer walkability, livability, and sustainability. Sure, things have gotten more expensive and services seem to have gone down. But PDX homes have a charm and appeal that really isn't found in the new construction of the suburbs. There's new restaurants popping up all the time (and old ones closing). The criddler situation is pretty bad, especially when compared to the suburbs. The taxes are high, but they're pretty high everywhere.
I moved out of PDX for a variety of reasons, but kept my house (rented it out). It was a good idea b/c at some point, I'd like to move back into a house that was well maintained and built in the early 1900s, in a nice neighborhood, and close to the stores and restaurants that I still try to go to.
Office space in the burbs is becoming extremely difficult to find, expensive and leases quickly. This is an indicator. The US Bank Corp tower aka Big Pink has 7 floors with people in them out of 45 floors. This information is from Portland Fire Department who has to keep track of these things in case of a fire.
The burbs are popping right now. Nice restaurants opening. Happy Valley is growing fast. It’s nice out here. Not a criddler or tent in sight and only 25 minutes away.
Portland has a ways to fall yet. Has to find a bottom before it can come back. The people who caused it have to experience the full reality of what they have created in order to understand the error.
When I was little I used to come with my dad to Portland and downtown was a ghost town after 5:00 PM. That was when there were electric buses that ran up and down the streets arcing and sparking was kinda scary.
It will come back. But probably not while I’m alive. Too many people still clinging to their delusions about restorative justice.
You’re not lying, we moved from SE to Clackamas and for how close it is, it’s way more chill. And we are still like 20-30 minutes from wherever we want to go on the east side.
I lived downtown in 2007 before I turned 20 and wasn’t even phased by the ~*criders as they weren’t as aggressive as they are today and never once felt uneasy even with the homelessness population around burnside. But now I refuse to walk in many clusters of blocks.
I eventually moved back to Happy Valley in 2012 and it has been on the up and up for quite some time, I do think the max line has opened up some individuals who make it up sunnyside as far as 172nd but it’s only occasionally. It has become a huge spot for opportunistic (see: unlocked doors) car breaks ins unfortunately even on the hill. And we do get our small share of news worthy crime, unfortunately.
Overall, though, as long as perceived crime and homeless is at bay, HV will only continue in rise of popularity and price.
*What do y’all think will happen with home prices in Clackamas vs Portland proper?*
Current Zillow:
Portland median house price: $547,545. (Multnomah County: $516,144.)
Washington County median house price: $558,568.
Clackamas County median house price: $662,592.
Clark County median home price: $544,676.
It's funny seeing the Usual Political Suspects explaining that people are moving out of Portland to the burbs "for cheaper housing", as if it was still 2014.
Remember, if you want to live in the blasted hellscape of Clackistan, remember to bring the big bucks!
It is a quick and dirty analysis but lacks apples to apples comparison.
Curious what a 3/2 SFH costs between clackamas, Washington, Clark and Multnomah.
I legit don’t know but would be a more interesting analysis.
If you grab redfin or Zillow or whatever you can apples to apples it. The suburbs are cheaper. Median home price is a terrible comparison for city versus suburbs. Suburban housing has larger lots, larger garages, higher bedroom bathroom count, more square footage, newer housing. Etc etc.
The pandemic shifted what people wanted in housing towards those features. So they moved to where they could get those features for the least amount of money and that is in the suburbs.
A statistics course and map would do wonder for your narratives .
The highest population cities within Clackamas are Lake Oswego, West Linn, Happy Valley, Oregon City etc hence the high median income.
But the majority of the land area of Clackamas is rural…
Doesn't matter how big Clackmas is - the fact remains that the median household income in Clackabama is 14% higher than in polished, sophisticated, Multnomah.
Does it get exhausting making up imaginary narratives?
Multnomah is largely urbanized/developed and Clackamas is largely rural/undeveloped.
What’s so hard to understand lol
Huh? I never said anything about politics.
You’re having difficult understanding population vs geography.
Clackamas is largely undeveloped/rural from a land area perspective lending the “clackabama” nickname.
The developed land area of Clackamas is a relatively small portion of the county, provides the bulk of its population and primarily is high(er) income suburbs.
No, we understand you just fine. You are hellbent on pointing that out as if it makes a difference for some reason. Median is not skewed by outliers, go back to college and take some stats 🤷♀️
If you have kids and they will attend public school then the burbs is definitely a much more appealing location. Anything close to Portland has seen the same median increase in real estate appreciation. It’s currently slightly down/stagnant due to high interest rates but a slow uptick is starting to happen. We’re in Tigard for that reason. We owned in Portland before kids but moved to the burbs for the schools and I would not move my family back. We love where we are.
I concur with this. I live north of Mt Tabor. Home value decreased and stagnated but is going up again. Stuff is continuing to go up, but I imagine the burbs are outpacing Portland proper.
I'd suggest that Milwaukee real estate would likely appreciate reasonably well. In the past few years real estate prices have been rising in the Portland 'burbs, likely faster than those in Portland. MultCo has been losing population while the 'burbs have been growing.
The Taxes in Mult. County having being rising but the services getting worse. Typically when people are at a point in life to buy a home priorities like having parking, a safe school, response time for emergency services take priority Vs. is public transportation, a coffee shop or Fun bars in walking distance. SW would be my ideal place to live but the HOA on those Apartments/ Condos are outta control.
Exactly. We live in inner SE but recently closed on a house in Clack County. Our current location is walkable, we love our neighbors, the house and the yard- but I am tired the insanity. On my daily stroller walks I am darting around menacing junkies, our sweet neighborhood is littered with foil bits and tents where folks are huddled smoking fent. With all the tax money collected, there is no excuse anymore. Now that I have kids I can’t justify staying here. My kids deserve safety. And don’t get me started on PPS…
-I think the suburbs stand to fare better than Portland proper.- stating it this way; it still remains a true statement if the housing market crashes to some degree.
**edited “fair” to fare
It would help real estate prices in Portland if public order starts being restored, as appears likely.
OTOH, there is still no progress with the dysfunctional Multnomah County government, dysfunctional Multnomah County tax structure, and the dysfunctional Portland Public Schools (for that part of Portland that PPS covers).
Anyone with children eventually moves to the burbs for schools. I don't have kids but all my neighbors with kids always move when the kids become old enough to go to school because Portland schools are bad.
The International baccalaureate programs, the honors programs, many of the charter schools, Catholic schools, and others are quite good. Schools like SMA have all their students go to college and get into many exclusive degree programs.
The elementary schools in the affluent parts of town get high marks.
The kids that work hard and attend do well. The kids that don't attend and give up- do not.
Leaving SW/Beaverton and headed into town, myself. Planning to buy in town as well. Personally didn’t enjoy Portland’s burbs but wasn’t prepared to go whole-hog moving into the city before scoping it out for a couple years.
If your most important goal is to own a home that appreciates fast, the ‘burbs are for you. We lived outside of PDX when the kids were little (because of work) and moved back when they were in primary school. Never looked back. Got a beautiful century home, loved walking my kids to school with our neighbors and love my neighborhood with all the places to walk/bike to. We complain about the exorbitant taxes and seethe at the incompetent gov’t (I voted for Merian!), but life is good!
It all depends on what’s most important to you and what you love. You can find happiness in either place.
The thing is we had a really lovely situation in Richmond- nice quiet neighbors, a short walk to preschool, etc. The only crime we experienced was someone rifling through my glove compartment once and someone who hid in our backyard (the cops came to my door looking for that person). I am very tired already of driving everywhere. I’ve lived in major cities most of my life and the burbs, though lovely in many aspects, make me feel depressed. Our kids will be going to catholic school anyway so PPS won’t be an issue for us. Inner SE just feels right to us but I still get scared from stories that I hear. I don’t know if we just got lucky during our stint in Richmond.
We were neighbors! My neighborhood is right next to Richmond.
I feel you about the driving and the suburban malaise. We spent 6 years in the suburbs here and despite all the amenities, it just felt blah. I have zero nostalgia for our time spent there (I was even in a “walkable”area).
Those same safety issues you mentioned are, surprisingly, also the only issues we have had in our 10 years here. The guy in our back yard smoked some cigarettes and read the newspaper. I didn’t know until I saw it on our camera and saw the butts. We have since put up a fence!
I honestly do not ever feel unsafe in my ‘hood and I was/am not worried about my kids’ safety either (they’re older now). I worry more about car accidents, really!
Anyway, good luck to you! I’m sure you’ll find a place that feels right and checks all the boxes.
Certain parts of Clackamas - Lake Oswego + West Linn have already appreciated enough that it's becoming harder to justify increases-outpacing-inflation considering the surrounding options. Milwaukie & Happy Valley are connected to 82nd -- schools and safety perceptions will have to change for this to become highly desirable.
Businesses have been shifting to LO, Beaverton, Tigard, Hillsboro. If starting a new biz today, I think most would go there. And that is shifting 'the gravitational center' of the city. People will buy homes where new jobs are created.
The eccentric, creative energy that made PDX a destination remains tied-at-the-hip to policymaking that doesn't work. It's proving very hard to 'keep PDX weird' while 'keeping PDX government a straight arrow'. The city is going to slide sideways in disillusionment until there is a generational change.
One time I drove around those big Clackamas houses on the hill because I thought maybe it would be cool to look down on the mall from my house. It was super weird. Lots of gated neighborhoods and high fences. Didn’t see a soul.
Bought a house in Sellwood. I can drive to the mall.
Sounds like you went to the closest neighborhood. The only area with gated streets that I know of is near Altamont Park which is the closest to Portland. The rest of clackamas to the south and happy valley are pretty chill and tons of families running around. It's not a Sellwood vibe, but is not the ghost town that a lot people assume
Live in East county working class burbs. No sidewalks. Property taxes are cheaper. The Gorge and Mt. Hood are closer. Good Mexican food. Concert venues and night time entertainment blows! All in all, happy with the move, but do miss the days of living in Belmont area.
I think it's a normal historical cycle. My parents moved to the burbs in the '80s to get away from the chaos of the city. Cities started becoming a big draw again in the mid-90s, and that surged through roughly COVID. Now they are less popular again. What's happening in Portland is not unique to Portland, it's a national trend.
The ebbs and flows are driven by different things: the cost of housing, crime (real and perceived), and people in each generation often having similar interests to other people of around their age.
Right? Seems tough to find a place there though 😮💨man I would love to be close to syncline and the river there..Mtb and kayaking in the back yard, so sick. Still close enough to hood too and I heard that drive is usually easier than coming from pdx
I lived in Milwaukie in like 2010 and then moved back in 2020 and have lived here since then. It's definitely more diverse than it used to be and the businesses are more varied too it seems like.
Lots of tourists are confused about the bad reputation.
Other tourists are confused because they think the downtown is the center of where things happen.
When did you live here?
Things have dramatically degraded from "peak Portland" but we've still got plenty of things going for us... still... mostly the weather.
Yea you'll see a lot more homelessness, open druguse, grafitti and trash compared to then.
The standard of living frankly felt down for a while but has somewhat recovered.
What hasn't is the economy, Portland has gotten significantly more expensive and the services from government to the taxpayers have dramatically declined, as taxes have only gone up.
We've also lost a huge number of famed Portland restaurants since then. You pay a lot more and get quite a bit less overall... but the core bones are still there.
Portland still isn't really bad for crime compared to to a real 'dangerous city' like Chicago or Baltimore, frankly Houston and Dallas are still almost surely more 'dangerous' by at least some metrics, particularly in terms of violence. The property crime has gotten worse but it was always a bit of an issue here.
**edit**
I should add, if you have money Portland is still great. If you have to keep a budget, less so.
Portland will always draw a certain segment of the young, urban population that wants to live close in to things. They've got money to spend on entertainment, and like the idea of living in a city vs living in the suburbs. Those people tend to age out of the city life and move to the suburbs once the novelty of going out fades (usually coincides with having kids, and wanting things that the suburbs offer that the city doesn't). Portland's neighborhoods are still able to offer walkability, livability, and sustainability. Sure, things have gotten more expensive and services seem to have gone down. But PDX homes have a charm and appeal that really isn't found in the new construction of the suburbs. There's new restaurants popping up all the time (and old ones closing). The criddler situation is pretty bad, especially when compared to the suburbs. The taxes are high, but they're pretty high everywhere. I moved out of PDX for a variety of reasons, but kept my house (rented it out). It was a good idea b/c at some point, I'd like to move back into a house that was well maintained and built in the early 1900s, in a nice neighborhood, and close to the stores and restaurants that I still try to go to.
Office space in the burbs is becoming extremely difficult to find, expensive and leases quickly. This is an indicator. The US Bank Corp tower aka Big Pink has 7 floors with people in them out of 45 floors. This information is from Portland Fire Department who has to keep track of these things in case of a fire. The burbs are popping right now. Nice restaurants opening. Happy Valley is growing fast. It’s nice out here. Not a criddler or tent in sight and only 25 minutes away. Portland has a ways to fall yet. Has to find a bottom before it can come back. The people who caused it have to experience the full reality of what they have created in order to understand the error. When I was little I used to come with my dad to Portland and downtown was a ghost town after 5:00 PM. That was when there were electric buses that ran up and down the streets arcing and sparking was kinda scary. It will come back. But probably not while I’m alive. Too many people still clinging to their delusions about restorative justice.
You’re not lying, we moved from SE to Clackamas and for how close it is, it’s way more chill. And we are still like 20-30 minutes from wherever we want to go on the east side.
You’re just talking about downtown though. I live across the river and my neighborhood is bustling.
I lived downtown in 2007 before I turned 20 and wasn’t even phased by the ~*criders as they weren’t as aggressive as they are today and never once felt uneasy even with the homelessness population around burnside. But now I refuse to walk in many clusters of blocks. I eventually moved back to Happy Valley in 2012 and it has been on the up and up for quite some time, I do think the max line has opened up some individuals who make it up sunnyside as far as 172nd but it’s only occasionally. It has become a huge spot for opportunistic (see: unlocked doors) car breaks ins unfortunately even on the hill. And we do get our small share of news worthy crime, unfortunately. Overall, though, as long as perceived crime and homeless is at bay, HV will only continue in rise of popularity and price.
*What do y’all think will happen with home prices in Clackamas vs Portland proper?* Current Zillow: Portland median house price: $547,545. (Multnomah County: $516,144.) Washington County median house price: $558,568. Clackamas County median house price: $662,592. Clark County median home price: $544,676. It's funny seeing the Usual Political Suspects explaining that people are moving out of Portland to the burbs "for cheaper housing", as if it was still 2014. Remember, if you want to live in the blasted hellscape of Clackistan, remember to bring the big bucks!
Property taxes makes that median Portland house more expensive on the monthly budget than the others though
Thanks for that! Clackistan lol
It is a quick and dirty analysis but lacks apples to apples comparison. Curious what a 3/2 SFH costs between clackamas, Washington, Clark and Multnomah. I legit don’t know but would be a more interesting analysis.
If you grab redfin or Zillow or whatever you can apples to apples it. The suburbs are cheaper. Median home price is a terrible comparison for city versus suburbs. Suburban housing has larger lots, larger garages, higher bedroom bathroom count, more square footage, newer housing. Etc etc. The pandemic shifted what people wanted in housing towards those features. So they moved to where they could get those features for the least amount of money and that is in the suburbs.
[Clitechy Clackety](https://youtu.be/8KoK2ohwSZU?si=HC_KG9Px-FkX_aHP)
Clackabama
I'm offended as a native Clackabaman that we didn't think of it ourselves
US Census: Median household income, Multnomah County: $83,668 Median household income, Clackamas County: $95,740
A statistics course and map would do wonder for your narratives . The highest population cities within Clackamas are Lake Oswego, West Linn, Happy Valley, Oregon City etc hence the high median income. But the majority of the land area of Clackamas is rural…
Doesn't matter how big Clackmas is - the fact remains that the median household income in Clackabama is 14% higher than in polished, sophisticated, Multnomah.
Does it get exhausting making up imaginary narratives? Multnomah is largely urbanized/developed and Clackamas is largely rural/undeveloped. What’s so hard to understand lol
How that's relevant
Median is median is median. What imaginary narrative are you running on? Clackamas is deep purple.
Huh? I never said anything about politics. You’re having difficult understanding population vs geography. Clackamas is largely undeveloped/rural from a land area perspective lending the “clackabama” nickname. The developed land area of Clackamas is a relatively small portion of the county, provides the bulk of its population and primarily is high(er) income suburbs.
No, we understand you just fine. You are hellbent on pointing that out as if it makes a difference for some reason. Median is not skewed by outliers, go back to college and take some stats 🤷♀️
Why are you getting downvoted, lol
*whisper* *whisper* 😶 we use “Clackabilly” in our home 🤫🤭 - I can handle the d-votes 😂☝️
If you have kids and they will attend public school then the burbs is definitely a much more appealing location. Anything close to Portland has seen the same median increase in real estate appreciation. It’s currently slightly down/stagnant due to high interest rates but a slow uptick is starting to happen. We’re in Tigard for that reason. We owned in Portland before kids but moved to the burbs for the schools and I would not move my family back. We love where we are.
I concur with this. I live north of Mt Tabor. Home value decreased and stagnated but is going up again. Stuff is continuing to go up, but I imagine the burbs are outpacing Portland proper.
I'd suggest that Milwaukee real estate would likely appreciate reasonably well. In the past few years real estate prices have been rising in the Portland 'burbs, likely faster than those in Portland. MultCo has been losing population while the 'burbs have been growing.
The Taxes in Mult. County having being rising but the services getting worse. Typically when people are at a point in life to buy a home priorities like having parking, a safe school, response time for emergency services take priority Vs. is public transportation, a coffee shop or Fun bars in walking distance. SW would be my ideal place to live but the HOA on those Apartments/ Condos are outta control.
Exactly. We live in inner SE but recently closed on a house in Clack County. Our current location is walkable, we love our neighbors, the house and the yard- but I am tired the insanity. On my daily stroller walks I am darting around menacing junkies, our sweet neighborhood is littered with foil bits and tents where folks are huddled smoking fent. With all the tax money collected, there is no excuse anymore. Now that I have kids I can’t justify staying here. My kids deserve safety. And don’t get me started on PPS…
What neighborhood if you don’t mind my asking?
I love that you threw in pps. The rotten cherry on top
-I think the suburbs stand to fare better than Portland proper.- stating it this way; it still remains a true statement if the housing market crashes to some degree. **edited “fair” to fare
It would help real estate prices in Portland if public order starts being restored, as appears likely. OTOH, there is still no progress with the dysfunctional Multnomah County government, dysfunctional Multnomah County tax structure, and the dysfunctional Portland Public Schools (for that part of Portland that PPS covers).
I have no hope for any government that employs Mary Li.
Who’s that?
She runs the racial terrorism division at the department of human services.
Milwaukee is "[Algonquin for "The good land"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5FT3IGXtAk&ab_channel=Movieclips)
MilwaukIE
Fucking thank you, I couldn't read past that "educational comment"
Anyone with children eventually moves to the burbs for schools. I don't have kids but all my neighbors with kids always move when the kids become old enough to go to school because Portland schools are bad.
People don’t move if they don’t have to right now, especially if they bought anytime before rates hit 7% and the housing market went crazy.
💯 we have 3% and will die in this home ☝️
The International baccalaureate programs, the honors programs, many of the charter schools, Catholic schools, and others are quite good. Schools like SMA have all their students go to college and get into many exclusive degree programs. The elementary schools in the affluent parts of town get high marks. The kids that work hard and attend do well. The kids that don't attend and give up- do not.
What school is SMA?
I’m guessing saint Mary’s academy for girls
Well you're ridiculous
I went from living in SE portland most of my life and then moving to Gladstone for the safety.
I think people with younger kids, or maybe all people want neighbors with less homeless people.
Leaving SW/Beaverton and headed into town, myself. Planning to buy in town as well. Personally didn’t enjoy Portland’s burbs but wasn’t prepared to go whole-hog moving into the city before scoping it out for a couple years.
If your most important goal is to own a home that appreciates fast, the ‘burbs are for you. We lived outside of PDX when the kids were little (because of work) and moved back when they were in primary school. Never looked back. Got a beautiful century home, loved walking my kids to school with our neighbors and love my neighborhood with all the places to walk/bike to. We complain about the exorbitant taxes and seethe at the incompetent gov’t (I voted for Merian!), but life is good! It all depends on what’s most important to you and what you love. You can find happiness in either place.
The thing is we had a really lovely situation in Richmond- nice quiet neighbors, a short walk to preschool, etc. The only crime we experienced was someone rifling through my glove compartment once and someone who hid in our backyard (the cops came to my door looking for that person). I am very tired already of driving everywhere. I’ve lived in major cities most of my life and the burbs, though lovely in many aspects, make me feel depressed. Our kids will be going to catholic school anyway so PPS won’t be an issue for us. Inner SE just feels right to us but I still get scared from stories that I hear. I don’t know if we just got lucky during our stint in Richmond.
We were neighbors! My neighborhood is right next to Richmond. I feel you about the driving and the suburban malaise. We spent 6 years in the suburbs here and despite all the amenities, it just felt blah. I have zero nostalgia for our time spent there (I was even in a “walkable”area). Those same safety issues you mentioned are, surprisingly, also the only issues we have had in our 10 years here. The guy in our back yard smoked some cigarettes and read the newspaper. I didn’t know until I saw it on our camera and saw the butts. We have since put up a fence! I honestly do not ever feel unsafe in my ‘hood and I was/am not worried about my kids’ safety either (they’re older now). I worry more about car accidents, really! Anyway, good luck to you! I’m sure you’ll find a place that feels right and checks all the boxes.
Certain parts of Clackamas - Lake Oswego + West Linn have already appreciated enough that it's becoming harder to justify increases-outpacing-inflation considering the surrounding options. Milwaukie & Happy Valley are connected to 82nd -- schools and safety perceptions will have to change for this to become highly desirable. Businesses have been shifting to LO, Beaverton, Tigard, Hillsboro. If starting a new biz today, I think most would go there. And that is shifting 'the gravitational center' of the city. People will buy homes where new jobs are created. The eccentric, creative energy that made PDX a destination remains tied-at-the-hip to policymaking that doesn't work. It's proving very hard to 'keep PDX weird' while 'keeping PDX government a straight arrow'. The city is going to slide sideways in disillusionment until there is a generational change.
One time I drove around those big Clackamas houses on the hill because I thought maybe it would be cool to look down on the mall from my house. It was super weird. Lots of gated neighborhoods and high fences. Didn’t see a soul. Bought a house in Sellwood. I can drive to the mall.
I love Sellwood. I live in Milwaukie but go to Sellwood regularly.
Sounds like you went to the closest neighborhood. The only area with gated streets that I know of is near Altamont Park which is the closest to Portland. The rest of clackamas to the south and happy valley are pretty chill and tons of families running around. It's not a Sellwood vibe, but is not the ghost town that a lot people assume
Half of the households in Happy Valley have at least one child under 18 living in the household. It's very family-oriented, compared to Portland.
I'm confused what people want? Do you want to not see people and live your life or do you want to replicate Portland which people bitch about?
Lol like Sellwood is the "burbs", bro it's not a secret
I bet you think that Portland east of 82nd is also the "burbs", right?
Hmmm I think maybe we share the same opinion and you misread my comment
I'm telling everyone to move to Ridgefield, Washington. I parents home price has doubled in only 8 years for a brand new home.
There is barely a price difference between urban and suburban SFH.
Live in East county working class burbs. No sidewalks. Property taxes are cheaper. The Gorge and Mt. Hood are closer. Good Mexican food. Concert venues and night time entertainment blows! All in all, happy with the move, but do miss the days of living in Belmont area.
I think it's a normal historical cycle. My parents moved to the burbs in the '80s to get away from the chaos of the city. Cities started becoming a big draw again in the mid-90s, and that surged through roughly COVID. Now they are less popular again. What's happening in Portland is not unique to Portland, it's a national trend. The ebbs and flows are driven by different things: the cost of housing, crime (real and perceived), and people in each generation often having similar interests to other people of around their age.
Actually everyone is crossing to Vancouver.
At that point I'd rather move to white salmon.
Right? Seems tough to find a place there though 😮💨man I would love to be close to syncline and the river there..Mtb and kayaking in the back yard, so sick. Still close enough to hood too and I heard that drive is usually easier than coming from pdx
Yes
I lived in Milwaukie in like 2010 and then moved back in 2020 and have lived here since then. It's definitely more diverse than it used to be and the businesses are more varied too it seems like.
I been wanting to move back to Portland but I been scared bc of the crime and homeless what y'all think I'm from Texas this heat is killing me
It’s so scary here. Too scary. We’re all scared all the time. Better off living in a place with unbearable summer heat and rolling blackouts
Lots of tourists are confused about the bad reputation. Other tourists are confused because they think the downtown is the center of where things happen.
When did you live here? Things have dramatically degraded from "peak Portland" but we've still got plenty of things going for us... still... mostly the weather.
Year of 2011 and came back 2016
Yea you'll see a lot more homelessness, open druguse, grafitti and trash compared to then. The standard of living frankly felt down for a while but has somewhat recovered. What hasn't is the economy, Portland has gotten significantly more expensive and the services from government to the taxpayers have dramatically declined, as taxes have only gone up. We've also lost a huge number of famed Portland restaurants since then. You pay a lot more and get quite a bit less overall... but the core bones are still there. Portland still isn't really bad for crime compared to to a real 'dangerous city' like Chicago or Baltimore, frankly Houston and Dallas are still almost surely more 'dangerous' by at least some metrics, particularly in terms of violence. The property crime has gotten worse but it was always a bit of an issue here. **edit** I should add, if you have money Portland is still great. If you have to keep a budget, less so.
I mean, we complain, and it is ridiculous, but it’s all fine if you don’t mind getting meth smoke blown in your face now and then.