'Youth Magnet' Cities Hit Midlife Crisis | Hacker News Reader

'Youth Magnet' Cities Hit Midlife Crisis

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32 pointstortilla15 comments

One year ago, I visited Portland with the intention of scouting it out for a relocation. I had fallen in love with the city before even stepping foot in it - from blogs, travel articles, Chuck Palahniuk's excellent quirky guide/book to his hometown, stories from friends.

Portland is one of the friendliest vibes cities I can recall. Walking through the Alberta arts district, you literally can walk into impromptu parties in strangers' backyards. I enjoy riding bicycles and Portland's bike culture isn't just bike culture - it's culture. There, it is disturbingly normal to not just ride a bike but a high-wheeled double bike contraption. The food scene is top-notch - I had one of my best Latin meals at Nuestra Cocina. There is live music playing every day of the week. The tech scene is crazy - lots of interesting people doing stuff (I even met the guy who does all of the BART web stuff - he doesn't live in SF, go figure)

I never made it to the Pearl District (the hip/trendy part of town and where I thought I'd rent). I did make it to the extraordinary Powells Book Store on the edge of the Pearl, but I felt more at home in Alberta and elsewhere.

The negatives I noticed. The job market (in May 2008) was such that I probably would only have a tech job if I could convince my current employer to let me work remote (which would have required an all-in type of negotiation - e.g. ask and if I didn't get it - go anyway otherwise credibility destroyed)

Agh the weather - it really does drizzle a lot there. And it's cold.

I can understand the draw of Portland. As an author once said, "everyone in Portland has three lives." They're a waitress, a mother, a watercolor artist. No matter how unique you feel you are, you'll feel at home in Portland - it allows people to live their multiple lives. Yes, you can do that anywhere but Portland is a catalyst.

I resisted it and am finding that you can make the best of where you currently are - from friends to being involved in your local tech community to volunteering to beyond.

high-wheeled double bike: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ashleyblodgett/2442644672/

About that high-wheeled double bike:

Why would someone use it? Seems uncomfortably large and clunky -- not to mention the tumble off of it must be epic.

I just finished talking to one of my best friends from home about how to cut her credit card debt. Being a graduate student has taught me valuable financial lessons that I'm incredibly grateful for.

My first diagnosis: Quit trying to live the life you were accustomed to at home (unless you plan on moving back home with your parents). Cut internet, cable, and car usage. Move to an apartment within walking distance of your job. Drink cheap beer. Go find a farmer's market. And God, please never go to Starbucks.

I think once young adults accept the fact that they are going to be poor for a length of time, everything else falls into place.

Oddly enough, I usually find that I end up spending considerably more at farmer's markets than I would have in a supermarket. Of course, the quality and freshness are much better at a Farmer's Market - but the prices aren't cheap.

Really? I always found a good combination between a farmer's market and Trader Joes worked out best...atleast when I was in California.

When I moved to Florida, we have a local joint called Wards which is incredible. It's pretty much a farmer's market but open all week. Dirt cheap too. Two weeks worth of groceries cost me about $40.00

How is this really related to the article though? Are you trying to say that the people moving to Portland/etc are burning through cash too quickly because they aren't living cheap enough?

I always thought alcohol would be one of the first items to go when trying to cut costs. Do young people generally consider it a necessity rather than a luxury?

Definitely not a good time to move to Portland now. We generally always get harder by recessions than most other metropolitan areas for reasons that are many and varied, but probably including a somewhat hostile business environment - as in state and city government aren't very business friendly. It also took us longer to come out of the tech wreck recession - it took until 2004, 2005 for tech to kind'a sort'a recover.

We, my long-time girlfriend and I, are moving to Portland, Oregon, from Lakeland, Florida, in 1 month. A friend sent me that article a few days ago and all I could think was, "informative article, but it doesn't matter." We're moving anyway. And we've never been. Like wallflower, everything we've read and heard points to Portland as a place we need to be, or at least live in for a while.

The company I work for has no problem with me working remotely. I pointed my boss to RandsInRepose's excellent article (The Pond) about remote workers, so we've started the discussion about things we'll have to work through. Needless to say, I'm incredibly thankful and lucky to HAVE a job, especially one that's willing to keep me around as I move.

My girlfriend is a painter (website; http://daubery.com etsy store: http://hollypaints.etsy.com), and has had little luck finding work in Lakeland. So if she doesn't find work out there it won't be much different.

Paul Graham's "Cities and Ambition" article really hit home when I read it a year ago. It made me think about how deeply where I live affects my quality of life, my future, my happiness, my creativity, my productivity, my resources. Lakeland is a "settle down, raise a family, go to church" type of place. It's not for us. I want to run a software company of my own, hire great people, and be involved in a community of artists, musicians, programmers, designers, and makers. My girlfriend needs to be around artists that don't bullshit, have creativity from within, and aren't in constant competition with each other.

Moving to a new place is going to be invigorating. We're hoping the people we find in Portland will continue to inspire us once the newness of a new city wears off. Wish us luck.

If you have advice, or live in Portland, don't hold back.

Congratulations!! On the impending mutual move with your S.O. to your current dream location and your ability to begin working remote (maybe start an Ask YC on experiences with working remotely?).

I don't think you'll regret moving there - but you would regret not moving later in life. In my brief time there, I found Portland to be a community of communities.

Fat Tire beer on tap..

Calagator: Portland's Tech Calendar: http://calagator.org/

PDXTech: http://www.pdxtech.org/

Last Thursday's in Alberta: http://www.artonalberta.org/

upcoming.org (Founder Andy Baio lives there!): http://upcoming.yahoo.com/place/RlEYPWubBZtlFXkb

The 3rd best Farmer's Market in the U.S: http://www.portlandfarmersmarket.org/

(Usually free) live music every night of the week: http://www.mcmenamins.com/index.php?type=music

Amazing large Zen garden http://www.japanesegarden.com/

"Fugitives and Refugees: A Walk in Portland, Oregon" by C.P.

http://www.powells.com/biblio?isbn=1400047838

"Everyone in Portland is living a minimum of three lives," says Katherine Dunn, the author of Geek Love. She says, "Everyone has at least three identities"..."They're a grocery store checker, an archeologist, and a biker guy," she says. "Or they're poet, a drag queen, and a bookstore clerk."

Read "Portland's Special Challenges" and "Portland's Special Strengths" (pp17-19). "The Young and the Restless: How Portland Competes for Talent"

http://www.restlessyoung.com/public/pdf/Portland.pdf

Just a note, fat tire is made by new belgium brewing out of colorado, and indeed it is on tap in many many places. However, it is a fair to middling beer compared with the hundreds of beers brewed in portland and oregon (IMO). Come for the fat tire on tap, stay for the really good oregon beers. Also as a tech interested individual, one should make it a point to go to Powell's Technical bookstore, it is 3 blocks from the original big Powells, but chock full of Math, Science, Engineering and computer books, my fave bookstore on the planet.

Lots of young, energetic, educated, creative people, willing to work for cheap. This is an opportunity. Somewhere, a smart entrepreneur has already noticed and is planning to capitalize on this. Why isn't it you?

With any luck, come this August I'll be attempting just that. Two co-founders in the area with full-time gainful employment, which should mitigate the risk on my end just enough.

Wow, this is really really strange. What unusual timing with this article!

A friend of mine actually just recently moved back to his hometown after being unable to find work in the Portland area.

I really hope this economic crisis ends because I graduate in six months and the job market back in the U.S. isn't looking too good.

P.S. ...And, just to make things even stranger, I just finished eating some tortillas like five minutes ago, and the poster's username is 'tortilla'! :P

I thought Portland seemed like a nice area, too...

...but about 120 minutes of googling revealed what this article told me and in retrospect I am glad I didn't go. Although, it is a nice city.

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