Once a hipster paradise that prompted cable satire Portlandia, which told of residents obsessing about barista-made coffee and bike share schemes, this liberal north west coast city now looks more like a nightmare dystopia.
That is because two years ago Portland decriminalised all drugs — including heroin, cocaine, crystal meth and Fentanyl, under what was known as Measure 110.
Possessing small quantities of these deadly substances no longer results in arrest — even though it is illegal to drink alcohol on the streets. The effect has been devastating.
It is estimated that the number of deaths from overdoses there have risen 28 per cent in a year.
I moved tto Portland from New Orleans in the 80's. Great city. Affordable and clean. Rented a single family house for $700/month. The blackberry thicket on the back yard fence gave me buckest of berries. And cherries in the fruit stands were 3 pounds for a dollar. Just loved fresh berries so muc.
aLSO Loved going up Mt Hood in the summer with the kids and having snowball fights, then out to Astoria on the coast for the icy-water beach frivolities.
[ - ] Scyber 1 point 1.4 yearsDec 31, 2023 20:25:13 ago (+1/-0)
I almost moved to Portland in the 2010s. Did a ton of research and calculated a rent & utility budget that I could manage but something in the back of my mind kept saying "NO!" It was partly because of that stupid Portlandia show and an old high school friend/roommate who kept telling me it was a "White paradise if you can tolerate Uber hipsters."
He moved there and about 9 months later he called me saying he made a huge mistake, rent and food were skyrocketing and just about everyone was an insufferable pretentious asshole. He ended up moving back to my area after 2 years and had nothing but bad things to say about it. He told me to stay away from there because heroin junkies were taking over and now the whole city/county is practically a homeless camp.
[ + ] bossman131
[ - ] bossman131 [op] 0 points 1.4 yearsDec 31, 2023 16:02:05 ago (+1/-1)
[ + ] Leveraction
[ - ] Leveraction 0 points 1.4 yearsDec 31, 2023 19:17:19 ago (+0/-0)
[ + ] Panic
[ - ] Panic 0 points 1.4 yearsJan 1, 2024 03:02:29 ago (+0/-0)
aLSO Loved going up Mt Hood in the summer with the kids and having snowball fights, then out to Astoria on the coast for the icy-water beach frivolities.
Good times. But no more.
[ + ] Greasy
[ - ] Greasy 0 points 1.4 yearsJan 1, 2024 13:40:10 ago (+0/-0)
[ + ] letsgetit
[ - ] letsgetit 1 point 1.4 yearsDec 31, 2023 18:51:18 ago (+1/-0)
[ + ] Fascinus
[ - ] Fascinus 1 point 1.4 yearsDec 31, 2023 19:38:56 ago (+1/-0)
[ + ] Scyber
[ - ] Scyber 1 point 1.4 yearsDec 31, 2023 20:25:13 ago (+1/-0)
It was partly because of that stupid Portlandia show and an old high school friend/roommate who kept telling me it was a "White paradise if you can tolerate Uber hipsters."
He moved there and about 9 months later he called me saying he made a huge mistake, rent and food were skyrocketing and just about everyone was an insufferable pretentious asshole.
He ended up moving back to my area after 2 years and had nothing but bad things to say about it. He told me to stay away from there because heroin junkies were taking over and now the whole city/county is practically a homeless camp.
[ + ] Anus_Expander
[ - ] Anus_Expander 1 point 1.4 yearsDec 31, 2023 20:59:58 ago (+1/-0)
[ + ] HeyJames
[ - ] HeyJames 3 points 1.4 yearsDec 31, 2023 16:58:40 ago (+3/-0)
[ + ] Nosferatjew
[ - ] Nosferatjew 0 points 1.4 yearsJan 1, 2024 04:59:30 ago (+0/-0)
[ + ] xmasskull
[ - ] xmasskull 4 points 1.4 yearsDec 31, 2023 16:10:01 ago (+4/-0)
[ + ] bossman131
[ - ] bossman131 [op] 6 points 1.4 yearsDec 31, 2023 16:02:12 ago (+6/-0)