If you haven't already checked it out, the Portland Mercury might have some relevant information. Craigslist is also pretty established there and could tell you a lot about housing and such.

I am thinking about moving down to Portland for school later this year so I'm checking some of this out too.

I understand it might not be possible but I would seriously try to get into a car somehow and see the surrounding area before you make a final decision about whether or not to move. The Oregon coast and parts of the Columbia River valley are shit your pants beautiful. There are also mountains and volcanos and giant trees etc. The natural surroundings are a big reason why people end up out here and a big part of the culture.

the only weird law i can recall is that if you have a car, you can't pump your own gas. it's a $50,000 fine for the gas station of you do. BUT i've always had to pump my own gas for my motorcycle. very strange.

bicyclists and peds have the upper hand here, according to the laws anyway. tho the laws of physics have the upper hand when a jacked up Ford pickup veers into the bike lane when you've got the right of way.

venues i like:
holocene, berbati's pan, satyricon (reopened after a few years!), meow meow, crystal ballroom, ash street saloon, roseland theatre. doug fir (check out their website) is a modern architect's dream, kind of a weird nw log cabin and mirrors interior. good sound in that place. tonic lounge is ok, their beer lines are always filthy tho.

think you can smoke in a number of these venues, tho i don't pay much attention to ability to smoke, i quit long ago. Tons of pubs you can smoke at tho.

my friends in bands practice primarily in basements, tho there are a number of decent practice spaces around.

suggest checking the Portland Mercury and Willamettte Week websites for that kinda info. And no, 'Willamette' is not pronounced like you would in a sane place, like Chicago. it's 'Will am it'..

h wrote:venues i like:
holocene, berbati's pan, satyricon (reopened after a few years!), meow meow, crystal ballroom, ash street saloon, roseland theatre. doug fir (check out their website) is a modern architect's dream, kind of a weird nw log cabin and mirrors interior. good sound in that place. tonic lounge is ok, their beer lines are always filthy tho.

I think Meow Meow became Loveland and there's also Food Hole (is that still around?), the S.S. Marie Antoinette, and the Hotel, too.

yeah that's right, meow meow disappeared. food hole is great! i saw hototogisu there. i don't get out like i used too..

kerble wrote:...the S.S. Marie Antoinette...

This is in Seattle, unless there is another one in Portland too. Could be.

This Food Hole sounds intriguing. I'm going to look for that the next time I go down there.

kerble wrote:
I think Meow Meow became Loveland...

which I'm pretty sure became Rotture. That space changes hands/names every year or so.

Food Hole went belly up. The owner moved to a different location so he could get a liquor license. Now there's practically nowhere for all-ages shows. Despite being 22, I still think that's lame.
But yo Kayte, if you don't mind rain you should totally move to Portland. It's fucking awesome here. Plus there are plenty of east coast and midwest ex-pats.

Oh, also the library system in Portland is great. You can put holds on things online and they e-mail you when they get to the library closest to you. Then you pick them up for free.

Hawthorne Theatre's fucking awesome, too. That's right by my house, actually. I've still got bruises from the Locust show I went to last Saturday. That was the only time I've had fun in a circle pit. Everybody was smiling.

Their highway system is far superior to the Twin Cities'.

I always thought the freeway system right around Portland was like some post-apocalyptic industrial disaster. It gets fucking nuts as soon as you arrive in town. Though I've never been to the Twin Cities.

Civil engineering aside, Portland's not bad. The 'self-righteous cycling hipster' is a prevalent demographic I could do without, and it's really concentrated once you get into the neighborhood of my college. That aside, I dig the weather and the balance between big city conveniences and small town atmosphere. I feel like I'm living in the suburbs, even though my house is about 2 miles from downtown.

Being underage makes the city a bit harder to love. But Lightning Bolt was kind enough to schedule an all-ages venue, so tomorrow night I will be living AMONG THE GODS.

And I must throw in mention of MOVIE MADNESS, which is a monolith of a rental store that the film-obscurists tremble to behold. $2 rentals! How can you not endorse it? And there's also Powell's, which sells fucktons of used books. But I (being broke) defer to the libraries first, which are excellent and free.

Conclusion: good place.