You Just Keep Swinging

You Just Keep Swinging

I haven't touch this blog in a year. The original plan was to write a longer narrative about moving to Oregon and all the adventures we had. Somewhere life got in the way and my attention was shifted to just surviving. I have mentioned that uprooting your life and moving across the country takes guts and a whole lot of “want to.” Getting established here has been harder. The only reason I'm back really is because a good friend of mine told me my writing was solid and that I probably had something to say. I'm not sure if either of those statements is true but I'll take it at face value and take a another crack at it.

I know that our forefathers came to Oregon to get a new start. The weather here is mild and the land fertile. There are plenty of farms away from the city that still live their lives like people did 100 years ago. A lot of them still think that way as well. I have found there are three kinds of people in Oregon: people from Oregon, people that live in Portland, and people from somewhere else.

The people that I have interacted with that tend to be born and raised in Oregon have a way about them. They can be stand-off-ish, passive-aggresive, and unfriendly as hell. Being from the South, that has been a hard thing for me to get my head around. Where I come from, people can be all those things but they tend to be in the minority. Here it can take a long time for people to warm up to you. They call it “breaking in.” We live close to a Albertson's grocery store. It's within walking distance and I go there all the time. One of the managers there just spoke with me about the weather a day ago. He even smiled. I almost had a heart-attack. I mean this guy has done nothing but glare at me for a whole year and now a couple of days before I am moving, he smiles and chats about the weather. That's Oregon. When I was first exposed to the phenomenon, I used to ask the person I was talking to if they were native to Oregon...I was always right. The signs are easy to spot once you know what you're looking for.

Portlanders on the other hand are completely different. They tend to be young. If they are older they swing more towards the hippy side of the spectrum. They have a youthful energy about everything and are passionate about a variety of different subjects. They tend to be open and easy to talk to. I can half difficulty connecting with them at times since it's such a swing from Oregoners. I have to concentrate really hard or spend a couple hours in the city. Either way, they are open and friendly for the most part, take a lot of pride in the city, and are a endless source of entertainment. If I could afford a decent place to live in Portland I would just to be next to these energetic people.

As for the rest of us, those that have come from other places to live here, we exist somewhere in the middle. I can usually tell when someone is from out of town. We tend to click right away. These types of people are usually people that have traveled somewhat and know how to make connections with others. There are a lot of people form California here. Oregoners hate people form California as a rule because they are driving the price of everything up so the story goes. I really don't know. I think natives hate anyone from out of town just as a rule. At least until the previously mentioned “breaking in” period has expired. Usually about a year or so.

I have been kicking around the idea of writing something like “A Noobs Guide to Portland” or some sort of survival guide for living here. There are so many things that we had to learn the hard way. Things as seemingly benign as knowing where the Tri-Met stops are and where they go. Are street cars really faster than walking? What are the rules regarding bikes and pedestrians? Are food carts safe to eat from? What are the best places to park downtown and how much should I pay? Basic things like that.

I haven't written this many words in a long time. This is a super high-level overview of what we have seen here. I have more stories about living here then I do about getting out here. We are moving to a new place tomorrow and as I write these words I am having a strong sense of dejavu. So I guess it was meant to be. Things are still tough for us but we are made of tough stuff. Starting your life from zero is always hard but sometimes it just has to be that way. I have no regrets about coming here. I don't know how long we will stay but if I leave it will be on my terms. Oregon will not spit me out, I will not allow it.

Keep the same mindset and follow your dreams. Don't ever be a slave to a life you hate or let the things you own, own you.