Greetings Earthlings! As many of you know, I recently relocated from Portland, Oregon to Fort Wayne, Indiana, and a lot of folks have asked,
The Bagdad on Hawthorne! Sooo good!!
“Why would you leave Portland? It’s such a cool and artsy place.”
Well, after reading a recent article in the Willamette Week entitled:
“They Left: Portland Is Losing Some of Its Biggest Fans,” I decided just for fun, to write my own response.
I moved because:
I wanted to buy a house! Portland--and everywhere else in the Pacific Northwest, was just too expensive for this artist of humble means.
My favorite thrift store, “Great Good Stuff” burnt down and so did that awesome Lebanese restaurant next door.
Things I will miss:
Powell’s on Hawthorne was the best! I loved drawing at the coffee shop there; The Fresh Pot.
Restaurants that serve vegan food, and especially the cookies and stuff at Sweet Pea Bakery
Local art supply stores like Columbia Art and Drafting
Powell’s on Hawthorne…. Actually, all of Hawthorne because it’s my favorite street in the world.
The culture, man
Also that cute coffee shop in Lad’s Addition. They also have great vegan cookies too btw.
Timet! Such great public transit, and so walkable (I don’t drive a car)
All the crows and rain
My family and friends, duh!!!!
Things I will not miss:
Ugh
Having your stuff (anything: van, bike, backpack, hacky sack) stolen.
Methheads with machetes and Junkies with open wounds at Fred Meyer
All the shootings!
Stepping in human shit
EXTREME politics (and I am sure every person in Portland now hates me for even suggesting that I dislike the politics because you are either with us or against us because it’s fucking EXTREME bro!!)
Homeless camps in parks, underpasses, and most walkable parts of the city…of course it’s sad, but with the combination of drugs and mental health...
Murdery China Town and almost all of downtown in general, which sucks because it felt so cool as a kid.
Portlandia…the statue, not the show.
I still love Portland though, and I plan on visiting a lot. And once again: If the housing prices were more reasonable, we would have never moved, even with the problems. Thanks for coming by!!
In my next post, I will talk about why we chose Fort Wayne, and how the move has panned out for us. Life after Portland, haha.