I've never been to Oregon as well, but I would agree with this statement.

Yeah, I think I could do worse than move to Portland.

See: http://cafeutne.org/towns/portlandor.html

On the other hand, my current home is #8 on that list.

There are 8 other U.S. cities you could choose to live in and still be okay. That's reassuring.

wow that looks like it kicks ass. can ms. !@#$%! and i crash at your place man? we're excellent guests. :D

Mmm, portable steaks (drools)

You bet. Provided I have a place. I need to find a job. My wife and I might be living in a tent if I don't.

so gmku you work in a uni? what do you do?

Why? Have you found me a job?

haha no unfortunately... If you came to Cardiff there would be loads, with new uni being build and all but I dont know anything about Portland sorry.

Just wondered if you were a professor or something thats all...

No, just a lowly admin type. Editor, actually, who knows how to puff himself up in his resume as an experienced "public affairs specialist" and "media relations expert." Ha!

ha ha.

man, on that subject, you're looking to freelance, no? have you any idea what you may charge?

also i'd suggest looking into writing for the web and (oh you might choke on this) SEO (search engine optimization). it's the end of writing, i know, but at least know your enemy...

Yes, freelancing is an option. Might take a while to ramp up, though, but yeah, I have given some thought to doing that.

Can i move over gmku? I make a great slave.

i have a friend who was a freelance writer & now gets fat paychecks from a certain monster corporation. i cannot disclose any names for fear of getting my brains zapped by my own keyboard. but there seems to be good money in web writing + marketing if $$ is what you're after.

if you're planning to work on your ever-postponed novel instead, that's another story.

If you can make the right connections and land a fat-cat client who likes your work, you're golden. Otherwise, you're always scrambling. I've done photography freelance before, but never found that one rich client, so it was constant weddings and such weekend after weekend. Bread and butter stuff.

Can you cook? I've always wanted a sous chef to help me with the family meals.

Are you offended at eating rabid rabbits?

Yeah, I've heard a lot about it.

I had a thought recently. For some strange reason, I have it in my head that one thing I'd really like to say I've done before moving is that I worked at my favorite record store in town here. I'm already such a regular that I've seen the inner sanctum where only employees are allowed. I wondered if I just asked the owner about working a weekend afternoon or something. That would be cool. He wouldn't even have to pay me. Maybe in vinyl.

man, that would be awesome, but you should collect the dough, regardless. it's a matter of principle.

the owner should be glad to have you there-- you can offer something to the adult customer w/ a fat wallet than snotty hipsters don't... and that would be good customer service, and thoughtful advice on what music to pick.

Yeah, a little diversity in the workplace. I'm actually as old as the owner, so maybe he'll be sympathetic.

maybe you can cover the days he doesn't want to be there.

my retail dream job used to be bookstore clerk-- not in a chain store, but some dusty old place. maybe i'll do that some day for the hell of it.

Powell's is definitely a cool store (they have other not as big but still big locations too) but what sucks about them is they tend to (in combination with Amazon and the rest of the internet, plus Barnes and Nobels and Borders) drive all of the smaller and less expensive independent sellers out of business. I've had a couple really favorite haunts die recently, and given the competition, who could blame them.

Here's kind of a bummer, though, so I need you all to pray for me, okay? My wife's also interviewing seriously for a job in Columbia, South Carolina. I do not want to live in Dixie. Help me, people. Pray for the Portland gig. Please.

no man, no! put your foot down! wasn't this portland thing a done deal??? tell her you'll do the disher for a year or something but NOOOOOO.

hot damn. south carolina... SPOOKY.

beg her? plead with her? but do something. qulity of life goes way farther than a salary.

Yeah. I mean, she's all, don't you care about what I want, too? It's my job, after all. And I'm all, okay, honey, I don't mean to be selfish, but Portland just seems a lot more interesting to me... and frankly, living in the South sounds a little scary... .

She knows how I feel, but she's waffling. Seems she has two great career opportunities. She knows Portland is great, but she's also always been enamored of living near a warm beach area like the Carolinas.

I googled the place and it doesn't look awful in bytes and pixels. It just doesn't offer as much for me, looking at it purely from a selfish point of view... Plus, I don't want to become a redneck. I really don't.

when all else fails, sabotage is the way to go... maybe a little laxative before the plane? :D

ha ha. no.

hm i dont know what to say man. i've only been married 2.8 years (4 living together) and i know compromise is the bread & butter, but also there are certain taboos... you know, she and i can argue, but she's not allowed to kick me in the balls, and i must refrain from certain expressions.

????

i dont know man. that's a tough one. i feel your pain....

--

just so you know, the atlantic is a shitty ocean as far as beaches are concerned, and what's the point of the beach if you can only go on weekends when it's crowded? whereas a city is a city is a city, gertrude stein said. no she didnt'. but dammit.

oh this is hard. all my best. i need to get back to this damn boring worksheet, and i'm spending too much time at the water cooler!

but best wishes. i hope her interview in s.c. goes horribly wrong. :)

Yeah, I am definitely not a weekend beach tourist kind of person.

as an outsider just lemme say though this shouldn't be a matter of chance but of a decision between both of you though. i know you're not a lost teenager seeking internet advice, but this strikes me as, hm, er, how can i say it without putting my foot in my mouth... a situation that shouldnt' be happening. but maybe i haven't run into those situations yet. so i shut up now.

Wonderful, a portland thread.

I'm planning an escape to portland for only a few days, in March. I'll definitely check out the places recommended in this thread such as the museum and book store.

I knew of a few college friends that moved to Portland after graduating. My parents loved it there but I've never been.

I wont give you any information after that.

I don't snitch. Especially to moles.

Quality information

So I really am moving to Portland this time. Escape from South Carolina! Finally fucking finally. It has been a lonnngggg 18 months in hell. I can't freaking believe it. We should be there in about 8 weeks.

I can imagine, the southern United States is precisely why I don't like being an American to begin with..

congratulations! though good luck, Portland is more half-baked than I am! I enjoy all the rain though, thats why i am moving to Addis Ababa, a city where it rains nearly as often..

hot damn man furrealz?? sure sure sure??

congratulations! i'm sure you'll love it.

dude if you go via NM we gotta take you out for a cerveza. fucking A!!!!

Well, say goodbye to the sun, but 8 weeks will be better than now. Let me know if you need anything getting settled. The only important thing is to learn all of the side routes to stay off of I-5 as much as possible.

Hey, thanks, $#@$! Not sure what route we're taking, but I'll let you know.

And thanks to you, too, Dead-Air. We should be okay, but I appreciate the offer. Might hit you up for navigational advice once we get out there. But I'm sure it's gotta be better than getting around this fucked-up place. Portland has mass transit, right? (It's a foreign concept here.)

you should hang out with all the bike riding hippie punk kids while you're there.