4 ms·

Everytime someone says Portland, this article comes to mind: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/07/20/the-really-big-one https://www.newyorker.com/magazine

Everytime someone says Portland, this article comes to mind: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/07/20/the-really-big-one https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/07/20/the-really-big... My friends in Portland are all intentionally dismissive about it and for that reason I'd never suggest Portland to anybody I care about as a place to live.

jimbob45 6y ago
The traffic is the #1 reason not to move to Portland. It's a six-lane city that only had three lanes planned for. Sure, the drivers may be better than Florida but at least Florida (outside Orlando) wasn't designed with confusing lanes the width of half a car.
- badtuple 6y ago
  Agreed that Portland isn't a great place for cars. However I think if we grow healthily as a city we can maximize public transportation, expand the MAX and street car, have dedicated bus lanes, and make it so that it isn't a problem. The suburbs can't escape cars, but I bet we can make Portland proper a utopia for pedestrians. I already barely use cars. It's wonderful compared to Orlando (where I happened to grow up).
  - jimbob45 6y ago
    It's so ironic that Portland has some of the worst street infrastructure and yet some of the best rail infrastructure. I agree that expanding MAX would greatly help the situation.
    - code_duck 6y ago
      The city does not want to encourage people to drive more. Quite the opposite, in fact.
    - honkycat 6y ago
      It is not ironic, it is 100% intentional. The city does not want to buy into the "build more lanes" ponzi scheme because it cannibalizes the livability of the city, and communities near large highways shrivel up and die. The city has a growth boundary and there are a ton of national parks and awesome nature. There is nowhere to expand to, so we have to use the land we have available to us.
- code_duck 6y ago
  The best solution for this is to live in the neighborhood you enjoy and don't travel much. Portland is very walkable/bike friendly and has many vibrant districts all over the city which have everything you need.
- valuearb 6y ago
  Don’t forget taxes! I moved out of PDX because of both, still return a month a year but man, the traffic is so awful.
badtuple 6y ago
I'm dismissive of it for sure. Portland and the PNW in general is so gorgeous and full of great creative people who know how to be themselves. I'm not going to avoid it and live life in fear of something that may or may not happen. When the big one does hit though, there's definitely a long list of people who are going to be totally entitled to a good "I told you so".
tim333 6y ago
Portland's a long way from the coast.
- anonuser123456 6y ago
  Portland is not in the extreme hazard zone, but it will experience sustained (3-5 minutes) of shaking that will be strong enough to reduce much of the city to rubble. The city is predominantly build with unreinforced masonry that will crumble.
code_duck 6y ago
The threat of an earthquake which may happen anytime between now and 500 years from now doesn't bother me. It seems better than living somewhere with frequent flooding, tornadoes or hurricanes like many people do.

jimbob45 6y ago

The traffic is the #1 reason not to move to Portland. It's a six-lane city that only had three lanes planned for. Sure, the drivers may be better than Florida but at least Florida (outside Orlando) wasn't designed with confusing lanes the width of half a car.

badtuple 6y ago
Agreed that Portland isn't a great place for cars. However I think if we grow healthily as a city we can maximize public transportation, expand the MAX and street car, have dedicated bus lanes, and make it so that it isn't a problem. The suburbs can't escape cars, but I bet we can make Portland proper a utopia for pedestrians. I already barely use cars. It's wonderful compared to Orlando (where I happened to grow up).
- jimbob45 6y ago
  It's so ironic that Portland has some of the worst street infrastructure and yet some of the best rail infrastructure. I agree that expanding MAX would greatly help the situation.
  - code_duck 6y ago
    The city does not want to encourage people to drive more. Quite the opposite, in fact.
  - honkycat 6y ago
    It is not ironic, it is 100% intentional. The city does not want to buy into the "build more lanes" ponzi scheme because it cannibalizes the livability of the city, and communities near large highways shrivel up and die. The city has a growth boundary and there are a ton of national parks and awesome nature. There is nowhere to expand to, so we have to use the land we have available to us.
code_duck 6y ago
The best solution for this is to live in the neighborhood you enjoy and don't travel much. Portland is very walkable/bike friendly and has many vibrant districts all over the city which have everything you need.
valuearb 6y ago
Don’t forget taxes! I moved out of PDX because of both, still return a month a year but man, the traffic is so awful.

badtuple 6y ago

I'm dismissive of it for sure. Portland and the PNW in general is so gorgeous and full of great creative people who know how to be themselves. I'm not going to avoid it and live life in fear of something that may or may not happen. When the big one does hit though, there's definitely a long list of people who are going to be totally entitled to a good "I told you so".

tim333 6y ago

Portland's a long way from the coast.

anonuser123456 6y ago
Portland is not in the extreme hazard zone, but it will experience sustained (3-5 minutes) of shaking that will be strong enough to reduce much of the city to rubble. The city is predominantly build with unreinforced masonry that will crumble.

code_duck 6y ago

The threat of an earthquake which may happen anytime between now and 500 years from now doesn't bother me. It seems better than living somewhere with frequent flooding, tornadoes or hurricanes like many people do.