10 Ways Portland is Different...

Moving away from Happy Valley Utah (not to be confused with the actual city that is literally called Happy Valley, OR just 17 minutes away from us) meant a lot of new changes in the lifestyle, culture, climate, um, let's just skip to the end and say basically EVERYTHING.

Here are 10 Ways Portland is Different from Utah County (in no particular order):

1. "Gentleman's Clubs". That's right, you don't need to go to Vegas to see Mr. Peep's Showgirls! You just need to take a left on 122nd from Stark St. and it's less than a minute away. But don't worry, Mr. Peep's isn't the only Gentleman's Club in town. In fact, "Soobie's" is a great landmark for us. It lets us know as we are coming down 122nd that the next turn is ours. Gentleman's clubs are as frequent as ABC stores are in Hawaii. Let's not forget about the Adult Video store either-- they are currently advertising their own special "stimulus package".
2. "Coffee Shacks". You know how in the summer there is a snow cone shack at every corner in Utah county? Same concept, but replace it with Coffee = Portland.
3. Freeway on ramps/exits. In Utah County, you have an on ramp and an off ramp for every single exit. Here, if you miss one, you are going to be taking the scenic route. If there is an on ramp on one street, there is probably not an off ramp for the same road, so plan your directions accordingly.
4. WEATHER. Sorry all you people in Utah who had snow this week. We had a light drizzle and temps in the 60's. When they say it constantly rains in Portland, they really mean that it is usually going to be overcast with a light drizzle. None of that Utah County down pour.
5. Homeless population. Utah County's homeless population really isn't terribly high. Or at least, you don't see as many homeless people. They have a huge homeless population out here. And I guess also a huge homeless KIDS population, which is really sad. We were looking up stuff on Oregon's DMV website and they have a section for addresses if you're homeless. Straight from the site: "Homeless: If you are homeless, you may use a descriptive address such as 'under the west end of the Burnside Bridge.'"
6. Gas. In Utah County, you just pay at the pump or in the store, pump your own gas, and be on your merry way. In Portland, most gas stations post a CASH price, which is usually 10 cents cheaper than a credit card price, and this is not just for ARCO, it's every gas station. Oh, and you aren't allowed to pump your own gas.
   
7. Sales Tax. As in, there is none in Portland. And at the Walmart in Vancouver, just across the border. Which is FANTASTIC because the Walmart in Portland SUCKS. Seriously the most ghetto Walmart I've ever seen in my life. And for crying out loud, it's just WALMART.
   
8. Fashion. Utah may be behind the times as far as fashion goes, but Portland is stuck in the 90's. I feel so well dressed out here. And I shop at Old Navy and JCPenny. Nothing to show off really.
   
9. Church Activity. In good old Salem, basically the entire ward is made up of a couple blocks, which 90% are active in the church. Our ward boundaries are much bigger out here, but our ward seems pretty small. It's bigger than we think, the activity rate is just 10%. That's right, 90% of our ward is inactive. When we introduced ourselves to our bishop our first week here and told him we were from Utah, he said, "Oh good! That means you're active!" Which we laughed at because we know that just because you're from Utah, it doesn't make you active, but now we understand why he would have thought that.
10. Organic. Utah county has a couple folks who are hard core organics. Most people in Portland want to know the exact farm their chicken came from, what they fed them, making sure it really is organic. We haven't been to this place yet, but we hear that at Burgerville, they post pics of the cows and their profile on the walls. Because people need to know how this cow was taken care of. They are that extreme.
    

Even with all these differences in Portland, we love it. :)