Moving to Portland soon

Welcome Nick!

First piece of advice: Don't tell people you're from California. (lots of transplants here, but some Natives would prefer you bring your tourism $$$ and keep your address elsewhere.)

Second piece of advice: Get your lane splitting out of your system. Its a No No here.

Third: Don't move to Gresham. (Ptown suburb) (sorry Gresham folks, but you know it sucks there.)

Fourth: Bring me some In and Out burger!!!!

PS. I'm a commuter, weekend twisty, snowboarding, NW ptowner. You have good taste

 

It may help. keep that fact close at hand just in case.

Totally suburbia, but more square foot of newer (usually) buildings for less $$$ but its further from Mt. Hood. The trick is keep close to freeway access and you can get pretty much anywhere with a lot less hassle.

Portland drivers HATE anyone that may get in front of them while they barely do the speed limit.

:thefinge:

 

Beaverton is the burbs. It is not a bad place (Neither is Gresham) just not the city. I would say try and live close to where you are working for a few months and then decide what part of the city you like, there are all sorts of vibes.

Don't lane split here. Drivers don't expect it and it will anger them. I am sure if you encountered LEO while doing this you would meet an officer.


Have Fun!

 

Where to start with this one. Oregon drivers are among the worst - if not the worst - in the country. Lest you think I’m being provincial, I will readily admit that Washington drivers are a very close second.

Be prepared for some very unusual roadway behavior. Camping in the left lane, inexplicable lane changes, merging onto the freeway at a walking pace, and above all else, driving while distracted by thoughts of a utopian society, community farming, organic produce, the solstice, what to wear for burning man, the best socks to wear with Birkenstocks, how to hug trees without getting splinters, the man keeping you down, where to stand on your soapbox, why your hemp clothes are all itchy, communing with nature, etc. are all techniques taught in drivers ed there.

Keep an open mind about odd behavior in general. You're moving to the capitol of weird. Lots of very cool folks, but also some very, very odd ducks as well. Watch a few episodes of Portlandia. Most outsiders think it is a sketch comedy. It’s not. It’s actually a documentary and is a pretty accurate account of what you can expect.

Finally, be sure to stop in for a steak at the Acropolis. It is a unique experience.

Welcome the PNW. Enjoy!

 

Welcome to the area. You're definitely in for some snowboarding, but I hope you aren't looking for much in the way of steep fluffy pow. Hood gets pretty soggy snow and is relatively flat. We've got great parks though!

If you ever want to shred, I live up here right at the base of Mt Hood now, and I work at a resort up here and would be happy to show you around a smidge.

 

Dam I miss those burgers off Capitol Ave. in San Jose. non-stop vehicles going through that place.

The french fries? eh....not so good.

Planet Tai (restaraunt) in Vancouver has some KILLER Cashew Chicken w/ that Jasmine? rice...mmm...mmm.mmm.. The one good asian food type place in the area. Really good stuff. I believe they used to be in downtown Vancouver, but the chef has a degree and it's cooking like you would do at home if you were an Iron chef . In San Jose, for me, it would be Jade China takeout!!

ONe more thing. The way they design the streets up here is funky...those crosswalks w/ their long vertical stripes are perfect for a motorcycle in wet weather.

 

To my understanding if it is already plated and has a liscence plate on it you should be good to go.

They do require a VIN inspection here in Oregon, so the only thing I would be concerned about would be if the VIN on the frame specifically said not highway legal / street legal or something to that affect.

If you ride dirt you're welcome to join a bunch of us who ride dirt

 

the people that say stay away from gresham are idiots and dont know what the fuck they are talking about. rockwood is what they really mean to say stay away from. east gresham is pretty good.

oregon drivers are assholes that cant actually drive worth shit, best of luck.

and watch out for people from other areas that like to come into the portland threads and shit all over them, they should be posting any second. once again, best of luck.

 

:mfclap: Oh, man, that was perfect:mfclap:

 

On the positive side, folks up here are more polite than down there...there is actually more different weather patterns (be prepared to ride more in the wet and develop those skill) so much that is seems that Mother Nature for the past 2 years has been on PMS and off her schitzo meds at the smae time. Definite miss In and Out and if you are willing, we will get a massive order together for you to overnight..we buy and you fly.

 

"steak and legs"

 

The bethany area or hillsboro, have cheap places and are easy to get to some good riding.

 

I split lanes sometimes on 26 heading toward the tunnel when it's jammed up, or on I-5 coming down from Burlingame during rush hour but I don't recommend it.

Oregon drivers do not understand that the turn signal is used to signal one's intent to turn/change lanes. Criminy people, I can frigging see that you ARE turning, you're supposed to notify people in advance. Especially on the freeway, the turn signal gets flicked on as part of the turning of the wheel. Expect people to come to a complete stop in the #1 lane for no apparent reason. At a four way stop you might as well just split lanes to the front and streak through because you could be there all frickin day waiting for everyone. "Oh should I go? No, someone else might want to go." X 4. Deadlock.

NW is nice, spent a few years near Uptown and liked it a lot. I'm loving South Waterfront which is close to John's landing. John's landing is a nice area - got the river, Willammette Park, fairly easy to get to/from anywhere except, for the next few years, Sellwood.

 

uh yeah.

that is really annoying. i just take cuts. if you don't understand the "right" of way--gtfo my way.