Skip to main content"The author's a 24-year-old who wrote about her experiences in Portland as an even younger 20-something, and unfortunately accurately sums up the experience many of that demographic have when they move here. She's right; this city doesn't have many great job opportunities for kids fresh out of college.
(Although, I would also argue that: 1.) The country as a whole doesn't have many great job opportunities for that age bracket; 2.) the first couple years out of college are a shitshow wherever you end up; 3.) at least part of the problem is that kids graduating college feel entitled to awesome jobs even though they don't know how to do anything yet, and feel most work is beneath them—I know, because I was one of them; and 4.) if you spend two years sitting on your porch smoking pot, at least some of the blame is yours.)
Unfortunately, she appears unaware of the existence of other (older?) lifestyles here, and is representing her experience as The Portland Experience. As an early 30-something, the people I know in Portland have awesome, good-paying jobs, own their own houses (try doing that in Brooklyn!), volunteer time and raise money for some of the great nonprofits in this town, and otherwise contribute to make this city a great, livable place. We work Mon-Fri, bike to work, hit the food carts at lunch or late night, leave the IPA drinking and pot smoking for the weekend, and have plenty of time left over for hiking, shows and naked bike rides. Sounds like, without realizing it, the author is largely describing the process of growing up, which is kind of just figuring out how to not buy all the candy in front of you at once, whether in Portland or somewhere else." —Kelly
"I hear the streets of Cleveland are paved in wine, women and weed." —Jackie O
"At least they're paved." —Ken
"Another Portlander who thinks Portland invented beer, bicycles, coffee, cocoa and gentrification. In short, these Portland hipsters are all innocent small-town or suburban sheltered kids who have not seen much of the world and are easily impressed." —Fatwhiteguy
Correction
An article in Aug. 3's news section ("Trash Talk in Lents," WW, Aug. 3, 2011) misstated the first name of the president of the Springwater Trail Preservation Society. His name is Frank Fleck. WW regrets the error.
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