I wanted to share this article I read this morning by the New York Times: Frugal Portland. I’m getting used to reading articles about the charm of Portland, but this one talks about the affordability too and highlights some great options on things to do and places to eat if you’re on a budget.

We’re at 3 weeks from moving day. The POD is in front of our house… yet to be filled but we’re packing up a storm. We’ve scheduled a Yard Sale for May 23rd, so if you’re in the St. Louis area mark your calendar!

This week I made a lot of calls changing our address.. seven magazines, two catalogs, several bank/finance accounts, etc. Remember if you change your banking address you are also changing your billing address… something to consider when you make a lot of online purchases like I do, since your order won’t validate if that information isn’t correct.

One thing we’re trying to figure out now is drivers licenses in Oregon. We are bringing our (49cc) scooters with us. In Missouri, if the scooter is 49cc or under you don’t have to get it licensed or insured. However in Oregon you have to get it licensed and insured if it’s above 35cc. The thing is, we know where we’re staying when we get there is temporary. If we go and get drivers licenses the second we move to Portland, the address on it will be wrong within a few months. And if I call my insurance company to get insurance on the scooters, I’ll have to change the address for all our other lines of insurance… which, again, will have to be changed within a few months.

My preference would be to wait on all of that til we find our permanent home. But we want to ride our scooters when we get there… it’ll be perfect scooter weather. I wonder if there’s any way to avoid the hassle above and still get a license plate for the scooter. Like, can I get an Oregon scooter license plate without an Oregon drivers license? Anyway, that’s where we’re at on that.

Portland Tattoo © ohhh_yeah808

I found this link today: Guide to Food Carts in Portland

This may seem silly but I am really excited about food carts in Portland. There, I said it.  It’s just that nowhere I’ve lived had food carts. Saint Louis for example only has ten food vendor permits for the city. PERIOD. Like, that’s all. And they don’t work near each other and there’s not really a selection. From the few I’ve happened to spot they were just hot dogs.

When we visited Portland last October we were in SE (I forget which neighborhood) and happened upon a parking lot with 4 or 5 trucks selling tacos, gyros, and I think one even had Chinese food. Aside from a cheap and fast meal, I think there’s something so wonderful about the EXPERIENCE of it all. I’ve been to other large cities with abundance of street vendors – New York, Paris.. it creates activity and urban camaraderie.

And if I am over-romanticizing the experience of buying food from a small room on wheels, whatever. The whole point of this entry comes down to poutine.

Poutine.

Pronounced poo-teen, it’s a popular junk food in some parts of Canada. It’s french fries covered with cheese curds covered with spiced gravy. I have never had real Canadian poutine, but ever since I learned of it I have been in awe of such a concept of culinary perfection. I have tried to make it myself, but I’m sure it’s not right. For one, cheese curds are difficult to impossible to come by where I live. Chese curds aren’t like curdled cheese (gross), they are just bite-size pieces of cheese that look and taste kind of like mozzarella. They make squeaky sounds in your mouth when you chew on them.

Apparently cheese curds have a very short shelf-life so unless you live somewhere with a demand for them, good luck finding them because it’s not worth it to the vendors to stock them. Luckily I have a connection in Wisconsin, cheese capital of the US, who comes to Saint Louis occasionally bearing curds.

But the other ingredient, spiced gravy, is the part I can’t nail. From my thorough research (haha) I have learned that there is a certain Canadian brand of gravy that makes the poutine. Any ol’ gravy won’t do.

So anyway, you can only imagine my reaction when I learned a couple of months ago that… brace yourself… Portland has a Poutine Truck. A food vendor selling Poutine. Holy Hell.

I don’t know if it will be “real” poutine but I feel so validated just knowing it exists for purchase there. And within arm’s reach until I can make a pilgrimage to Canada.

Potato Champion
Located at the NE corner of SE 12th and Hawthorne Blvd
wed – sat > 8pm – 3am – LATE NIGHT POUTINE YOU GUYS
sun/mon/tues > closed

Official web site featuring picture of awesome trophy exploding with fries.

Poutine Goodness © zorbs

Poutinegasm © LexnGer

When Peter and I made the decision last fall that we would move to Portland and started spreading the word, we got various reactions. One I did not expect was “I’m moving to Portland too!”

Not that we heard this a lot, but I was surprised to learn some of my friends had been thinking of Portland as a destination too. It’s not really that surprising when you think about it – it’s a popular city for many reasons and to the chagrin of some of its residents, I think, it is growing very fast. According to our tour guide the city is anticipated to triple in population in the next 25 years. The people of Portland resenting this growth aren’t without good reason. Many of the unique defining characteristics of the city are possible and fostered because of its size and careful city planning. Fast sprawl and growth can be to its detriment.

Two of my friends from Chicago were a couple planning to move to Portland later this year. They visited last week, so excited to scope out the city they had been reading about. They didn’t like it. They have decided to stay in Chicago. Portland did not amount to what they had in their minds.

I am, of course, selfishly disappointed. But I want them to find their place, and if Portland isn’t it, they shouldn’t be there. What didn’t they like about it? Sluggish, smug, not diverse enough. And, I think those are fair  remarks. I mean it’s a first impression, and it’s honest.

Going from Chicago (population 3 million) to Portland (population 1/2 million), it’s not surprising it’s less bustling. The smug factor? It’s a west coast liberal city, I too got the impression that there are homogeneous values and ideals, moreso than my Midwest swing state background. Lack of diversity was something Peter and I noticed right away when we got to Portland.  Portland is 18% non-white. By comparison, Saint Louis is 56% non-white and Memphis is 67% non-white. And those are the two cities I grew up in. I know diversity comes in many flavors beyond ethnicity, but it does make a difference.

My friends not loving Portland reminded me that what’s best for me is not best for everyone. When I was in college I loved my college so much, I raved about it. Based in part on my accolades not one but two of my friends from high school, unhappy at their current colleges, decided to transfer to my college. Both of them hated it and left within a year. I know it wasn’t totally my fault but I felt responsible. Ever since then I’ve always been a little wary of recommending something that might impact a big decision for someone. “But check it out yourself! Don’t take my word for it!” I warn. And it’s true.

I believe: You get out of a place (and life) what you put into it. You create the life you want to live.

The Broadway Street Steel Bridge © Jan Tik

Portland Downtown at Dawn © jikido-san

Japanese Garden © ahp_ibanez

There is no better way to get to know a city than to explore it. I plan to drive or bicycle around Portland and intentionally let myself get lost for this very purpose. Or seek out a destination and explore the surrounding neighborhoods. I have gotten a lot of great ideas of very unique destinations to seek from the book I have been reading Fugitive and Refugees: A Walk in Portland, Oregon by Chuck Palahniuk including the self-cleaning house and a radical sounding mausoleum. Another way to explore places I may not have gone on my own is to take walking tours.

Today I saw there is a new pamphlet highlighting the many gorgeous fountains in Portland in a leisurely 2 hour self-guided tour. Download it here (link is in the green box at the bottom). I can’t wait to enjoy this on a hot sunny day. Maybe let myself get cooled off in one of the fountains and then find a grassyspot to bask in the sun and air dry. Sounds glorious. Then again any warm weather fantasies sound great as we are all exhausting of this winter.

Ira Keller Forecourt Fountain © Alicia J. Rose

Salmon Street Springs Fountain © t3rmin4t0r

One of the many awesome things about Portland is the weekly Saturday Market, which actually happens on Saturday and Sunday. The Market just opened for 2009 as I read on one of my many Portland feeds, Neighborhood Notes.  Peter and I got to visit the Market in October 2008 and really enjoyed it. There were some colorful performers and wonderful crafters. There are over 350 artisans!

And I had the best gyro! Peter and I got some food from some of the many vendors and went down to the riverfront park to enjoy it.

Reminders of events like this keeps reinforcing our excitement… we can’t wait to get to Portland!

Portland Saturday Market - Photo © beaster725