Aloha from Los Angeles

[Leo Lakio]

Re: Aloha from Los Angeles

Well, I've decided to move to Portland. I have an opportunity to practice some acupuncture there (as a volunteer) while pursuing my own work.

Best of luck - keep us informed on where you end up and how things go for you.

[mungbeansoup]

Re: Aloha from Los Angeles

See you when you get back to SoCal. Once you're used to Los Angeles weather only Hawaii would be an improvement. Nearly everyone I know who went to Oregon or Washington or Arizona or Nevada came back to Cali.

Perhaps. But I have a reason to move to the NW and if I stay in LA, I have to shell out $1,000 to take California's acupuncture license exam, as well as complete 50 CEUs every *2 years* (extremely expensive) to renew my license (as opposed to 40 CEUs every 4 years), deal with a high cost of living, poor urban planning, etc, crumbling state's infrastructure, etc etc. No thanks. I'd move back only if I couldn't make it anywhere else. Weather? Well, I love sunshine like anyone else, but I currently live about a mile from the coast--it's cloudy half the time anyway. Dry, but overcast.

[mungbeansoup]

Re: Aloha from Los Angeles

Living in the downtown area might be very expensive (especially around NW 23rd, also known by locals as "Trendy Third"). The Pearl District is being yuppified (that's where the artists used to be able to find cheap studio space). It's pretty easy to get around downtown because most of it is walkable and they do have a better transportation system than Seattle does at the moment. Most of my experience with Portland is in the NW District.

Here's something about the Portland neighborhoods that might help you.

Good luck.

Miulang

P.S. If you haven't already, check on www.oregonian.com (the Portland newspaper...you have to sign up to be able to access most of the paper, including the real estate section).

Thanks for the info!

[mungbeansoup]

Re: Aloha from Los Angeles

Hey all,

It's been a while since I posted. I just returned from a quick trip to Portland (Feb. 15-17th). Glad to say that I *missed* the rain. Perhaps that's a good sign?

I liked Portland very much. Very pretty, not much traffic metro-side (at least compared to LA or Honolulu), safe and cheap. Oh yeah, I loved that MAX! Overall, I thought that people were friendly. I did notice, however, that it is much LESS diverse than California! Chinatown had no chinese! No real complaints, I suppose, because I thought folks were nice.

But that compells me to ask: where are the locals? And were are the Asians and Polynesians? Please don't tell me they live in the sticks. I went to Umajwayas in Beaverton (gotta love that MAX) and in Beaverton I saw a Filipino market and a Korean realty in addition to Uwajimayas. Do APAs or locals live in the city?

[pzarquon]

Re: Aloha from Los Angeles

Welcome back! Glad you had a positive experience in Portland.

As to diversity, your observations are interesting. When I visited, I didn't feel particularly out of place (as an Asian). It wasn't Honolulu, but it wasn't Nebraska, either. Regardless of pigmentation, I did see a noticable populace of "earthy crunchy" types, but that wasn't exactly a bad thing.

The only disconcerting experience relating to ethnic issues I had there was when I started chatting with a guy on the MAX and he asked if I lived in Beverton. My friend who I was visiting said it was like assuming a black person in New York lived in the Bronx, but saw it as mostly funny rather than offensive. It did make me pay closer attention to how different groups interacted well, but seemed to have set up delineated neighborhoods/territories.

Of course, that happens everywhere, including Hawaii.

[mungbeansoup]

Re: Aloha from Los Angeles

Ok, I'm here in Portland. Arrived last week. I ate a Noho's and Bamboo Grove. So where's all DA LOCAL PEOPLE??? And don't say BEAVERTON
Pls. reply.

[Miulang]

Re: Aloha from Los Angeles

Get Mokihana who lives in Boring, OR (love that name!) and Kaimake someplace in Portland. Best place to hook up with expats is to go to www.ohanalanai.com. There's a thread over there about finding local grinds in the Portland area. Not as many places as in Seattle, but there are some. And yeah, get plenty expats in Beaverton because that's where Uwajimaya is!

There's a Maui Camp 3 restaurant somewhere on the East side of town (down by Milwaukie) too that Mokihana says is good.

Miulang

P.S. There's a monthly newspaper called the Northwest Hawai'i Times that you can read online. The web version is one month behind the printed version and doesn't contain ads, but the content is the same as the print version. Leo Lakio who posts here is the music editor.