The O.C. vs. Portland

Driving:
O.C. - traffic at all different times of the day, seven days a week. Streets are about 1/2 mile apart. Sidewalks....boy I miss those!

Portland - True rush hour in the AM and PM (except on the westside!), streets every 50ft, serious about the numbering and directions (i.e. - S.E. 120th Ave), seemingly no rule about which direction to park on a street - just drive down the street and pick a side to park on and don't worry about which direction you are facing, residential streets are cut throughs to main streets and are very narrow. Lots of bridges going high over rivers...occasionally scary, but I am afraid of heights. Left side freeway exits - thank goodness for my GPS! Driving - You don't really have to and, if you do, you cannot pump your own gas.

Shopping:
O.C. - Lots of chain stores, cashiers often get confused when you bring your own bag or opt not to use a bag at all.

Portland - They are thinking of outlawing disposable bags, lots of independently owned stores - chain stores are often avoided, no sales tax....need I say more???

Homeschooling:
O.C. - Lots of park days, some classes, strong state associations, lots of local networking. State conference lasts 3 days.

Portland - Outdoor park days?? - maybe in a couple of months, lots and lots of classes, parties, book clubs, year round indoor swimming weekly, ice skating, and indoor skating, people seem to just be starting to network, 2 smaller state organizations - though I wouldn't want to be on either ones bad side. Lots of group activities occur at people's houses rather than at public venues - very trusting and open. State conference lasts 1 day. Really, having a problem with the scheduling ---- certain days have more activities available than we could possibly participate in.

Weather:
O.C. - Seems to be feakishly wet lately.

Portland - Put a jacket on and you're fine!...but I wouldn't walk around in just a t-shirt. Saw a jogger in a tank top and short shorts...it was 47 degrees - still shaking my head!

People:
O.C. - Some of my most favorite people live there!

Portland - well, it is interesting. They are all freaky nice, as I have said. It is very mixed here outside the "Orange Curtain". Aside from Chinatown, all the businesses are very mixed representing lots of different ethnicities. Sunday, some quakers or menonites were walking to their service. In addition to all races and ethnicities... we also have a huge hippie population!(Shocker I know!) I have never seen so many men with long skinny beards and knit caps and women with dreds. My one HUGE complaint about the people, SO..SOoooo many of them here in downtown smoke. Fortunately, they don't allow it in businesses or restaurants. Really gross.

Views:
O.C. - If you work at it, you might find some good ones.

Portland - East is Mount Hood from most streets, North is Mount Saint Helen's. South there are hills/mountains that are very close and covered in trees with little houses poking through. Then there is Mount Adam's (haven't seen it yet and don't know which way to look yet). Freeways are lined with mass amounts of tall pines. Rivers and Waterfalls can be seen from freeways.

Bicycling:
O.C. - mostly something that kids do.

Portland - Loads of people bike to work and everywhere in between. They have clearly marked lanes on a lot of major streets. One the country roads, they tend to take over the lanes when in groups, so it can be a little irritating. Overall, just serious about their biking!

Animals/Wildlife:
O.C. - Pets and a lot of critters that work hard to hide in the concrete jungle.

Portland - You see the "hopping deer signs" (yes, you know what I am talking about. The signs that show a picture of a deer sort of leaping. It is what I call them anyway.). ANYWAY - you actually see the deer! Also there are a lot of farms with horses, llamas, sheep and more - often across the street and next door to houses we are looking at. Funny story - we looked at a house in West Linn that had llamas next door. They stared us down the entire time we were there....creeped me out, so we can't live there. LOL! Another house had nice llamas, so I don't know what the other's attitude was about.

T.V./newspaper news:
O.C. - Comparatively, general local, state, and world news.

Portland - Seriously, every little community event is news worthy. From the little old lady that turned 100, the lost cat up the tree, an elementary school play... OMG! I guess there is not enough murder and mayhem to fill out the news so you hear about every little thing. I'll have to post an example because you wouldn't believe it. The amateur hocky league (includes teenagers) gets televised and plays in an arena that is also the place where major concerts and the NBA games are held....and people actually buy tickets and go see them like it is the NHL. On other TV stations, you can actually watch school type plays. Really it is a big city, but, boy, do they think they are a small town!

The O.C.:
O.C. = Orange County
Portland: O.C. = Oregon City, not quite the "cool" place to be.

K's thoughts:
Portland - Pioneer Pizza - yum! And a discussion we have had EVERYDAY - "free beef". The Les Schwab tire stores offer "free beef" with every full set of tires. I guess the story is that they started in Central Oregon where they also have/had a cattle ranch, so it was a promotion. K reads the signs EVERY time we pass them and has to insert her comments, so if you want to get her going, just say "free beef" and she'll be off.

J-ster's future favorite part of Portland: Izzy's. We haven't gone yet but it is a buffet that features pizza, steak (beef! - not free), southern BBQ, and more. We will have to report back on how it is - I love research!