Southeast Portland

My first week in Portland, aka PDX, was a whirlwind as I strived to balance moving into my new apartment, job hunting, and exploring. Built in 1913, The Clarkton is a quiet two-story nine-unit building located in the Southeast quadrant's Buckman neighborhood. Tucked in the back corner of the first floor is my new home for the next year. The private one-bedroom unit has a lot of character and natural light (mostly afternoon). It is 600 square feet--twice the size of my last apartment. Needless to say, I feel lost in the space, and overwhelmed by the task of furnishing it. Still, all of my neighbors--especially the felines--are very friendly! More pictures to come.

Portland is geographically divided into four--sometimes five--quadrants. The Willamette River (pronounced "Will-AM-it") divides the city vertically, while Burnside St. is the horizontal split.  Most Portlanders describe the west side as more traditional and historic, while the east side is considered to be the quirkier and more eclectic half. The east side is also very bike-friendly and more affordable. In general, getting around on bike is often just as fast as driving due to relentless traffic. The city is also equipped with an excellent public transit system. So far, I have found it fairly easy to navigate the city's grid-style layout. Hills and bridges are the most obvious differences from Denver.

Southeast Portland covers a wide area, from Burnside St. down to Milwaukie and all the way east to Gresham. The inner Southeast is famous for funky streets like Belmont St., Hawthorne Blvd., and Division St. where there’s no shortage of shopping, entertainment, great local food, and colorful street art. Thriving small businesses are plentiful, especially in the food cart community (often grouped into "pods").

 

Quaint streets are lined with a wide variety of colorful trees and flowers. In addition to new construction, the Southeast is full of Victorian era homes, large 1920s bungalows, and Spanish-style homes. The region is also home to affluent neighborhoods like Ladd’s Addition and Laurelhurst.

Laurelhurst Park is located half a mile east of my apartment. 30 acres of towering old trees provide a stark contrast to my previous backyard at Cheesman Park. Though hillier than Denver, Portland sits at a significantly lower elevation (I still get winded on jogs and steep hikes).

 

The late-summer weather has been ideal--70s and mostly sunny (cooler than what I'm used to, but a welcomed change nonetheless). I am repeatedly warned, however, of the inevitable winter gloom.

  

The vegan scene is a dream come true. In fact, Portland is home to the world's first vegan mini strip mall! My first night in the town, my college friend, Kyle, and I split a delicious thai pizza at Pizzicato. My first attempt to find community was a vegan wine and cheese happy hour, where I met a handful of vibrant, young vegan ladies.

Lake Oswego is a wealthy community 20 minutes southwest of town. My aunt Judy, who lives "across the river" in Vancouver, WA, invited me to the weekly farmer's market where she demos nutrient dense nut butters from Nut-Tritious Foods. Farmer's markets are abundant in Portland. It was wonderful to reunite with family, and to stock my kitchen with fresh, local produce. As an added bonus, the entertainment that day starred a captivating performance by a local flamenco group (throwback to my Spanish roots)!



Finally, with regards to the job front, I've had several interviews with no success yet. It was a risky decision to relocate without a job--and undoubtedly stressful to be presently unemployed--but I luckily saved up enough to "weather the storm" as I continue to network and seek alternate forms of income. For now, I remain hopeful that things will work out.

As I explained in The Adopted Coloradan, I left Denver in search of a change of pace. That begs the questions, then, of, "Why Portland?" The answer is baked into a combination of factors: the culture, the food and drink scene, the ocean, the opportunity to explore the West Coast... but most importantly, a mysterious but meaningful intuition of being drawn here. So with that, Elena Rose has taken the leap to find her way through The City of Roses.