Comments on: Why You’ll Love Portland, Oregon

By: Why I Love Omaha | CenterNetworks

Why I Love Omaha | CenterNetworks — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 20:32:29 +0000

[...] special thanks to Rick Turoczy of Portland for reaching out to me to include Omaha in the mix of other great cities! After the [...]

By: Jmartens

Jmartens — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 18:11:14 +0000

#2 is misleading. We actually get less than 50 inches of rain per year. less than Seattle, less than some places in Hawaii! In fact, our winters are relatively dry, is the spring time that we get most of our rain. It’s cloudy frequently during the 9 months you mention but it is ridiculous to say it rains every day. Just not true.

#3 Specifically to your comment about Indian people…come out to Hillsboro where I live and work and you will see plenty. Hillsboro is a suburb of about 85,000 people and home to Intel and many other tech companies. I frequently find myself able to count the white people on 1 hand in some areas around here. Hillsboro is also called “Hillsburrito” but some because of the large Latino population.

Yes, many area’s of Portland are almost entirely white but the city is also one of the most racially welcoming cities in the country. Some Portlanders make such a big deal about being accepting and open that it gets down right annoying.

By: RG

RG — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 04:23:42 +0000

I spent ~1.5 years in Portland recently. The positive parts are written about ad infinitum here and in every business magazine trumpeting the 22 Best Places For Business, so I won’t add to those. But there are a few things nobody from Portland seems willing to discuss:

1) Lack of real jobs. Seriously, this is a big issue for folks over 25.
2) The rain. It rains every day for about 9 months. The weather is terrible.
3) Portland is one of the whitest cities in the country. Seriously, if you visit go out in The Pearl, or downtown, or wherever. You can count the nonwhite people on one hand. You will not see any Indian people. Nonwhite women are as rare as unicorns.

This stuff may or may not matter to you, but it deserves to be said.

By: John Bartley

John Bartley — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 03:16:53 +0000

And, let’s not forget the unique computer-refurbishing collective, Freegeek.org

By: Akshay

Akshay — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 22:02:40 +0000

Yes and No.
I am currently in Portland and we started our company here (Mugasha) about a year ago. Cost wise, its much cheaper to live here which definitely reduces burn-rate. The community is pretty cool, lots of awesome people who are constantly throwing local tech events. Lot of designers and developers (creatives) in the area.

What is missing? For one. Statup types. Most people I have come across in Portland don’t seem to be the type that would build companies. People seem to be working on mostly side-projects. The community is very “social media” driven and there is not a lot of chatter going around on about how do you build businesses?

Second, would be. Mentorship. It has been fairly difficult for us to find people who have been there and done it. People who have built companies in the past. There are no VC’s here. Very few angels here, at least angels who are focused in the web/tech space.

I think Portland is a great place to start a project. Potentially meet co-founders. Although, It’s hard for me to say that I would continue to build my company here.

By: Charles

Charles — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 18:02:54 +0000

I agree wit this. I loved the 2 years I spent in Portland. However, the sad reality is that I can do better and have more long-term opportunities in San Francisco.

Although, I would like to return to Portland once the economy improves a little.

By: anon

anon — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 17:22:01 +0000

Another great part of Portland is the endless entertainment in the town’s mayorial goings on. You can also enjoy the beautiful rivers ,just dont swim in them after a rainfall, the river is used as the downtown’s sewage overflow and even after a billion dollar state boondogle it won’t be fixed. But good old green Portland keeps building up the downtown fueling most of the growth with smugness and other people’s money.

As a former governor of Oregon once suggested “visit but don’t stay”.

By: Tony

Tony — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 17:06:58 +0000

Yeah, only thing is that there are no jobs here.
Even all the shitty jobs are taken.