The Migration North

moving day

We moved.  A strange reality.  And I cried (!)...tears of sadness.  I'm sure if you're a long-time reader you're mentally referencing this post...or this one.  Yeah, who knew Oregon would grow on me?  I surely didn't think so.  

So in honor of our great migration north, I thought I'd reference my old Oregon sentiments.  Here are a few excerpts from my original post dated October 11, 2007, listing reasons I both liked and disliked Portland/Oregon:

Yea Portland!!!!!
1. Wyatt
2. Wyatt's family
7. NO TAX
9. don't have to pump my own gas (which is something I really hate doing - don't know why)
10. the Portland Temple

Okay, here's present-day Brittany chiming-in.  I picked these five items because I still stand-by the fact that they're reasons that make Portland, er, rather our old neighborhood great.  Yes, it's true, Wyatt is with me in Washington.  But he is an Oregonian, so I owe it to the state for providing that gem.  

As far as the pumping my own gas goes, I hate it!  Man, I think that might be the top reason I miss Oregon!  It was sooooooooooo nice being able to pull up to the pump and not have to do a thing.  Except bark the orders "fill regular" as I gave the gas station attendant my credit card.  Those were the days...

In reference to the temple.  Yeah, we have a temple here too.  The Seattle Temple.  I actually really like the Seattle temple.  It has escalators!  But truthfully, the thing I miss about the Portland Temple is the proximity to my home.  I lived five-minutes from the Portland Temple.  I could run by it regularly.  And attend regularly with no effort.  Now, well, now I have to drive 40-minutes to get there.  40-minutes!  I know, I know...some people have to travel days.  I was just spoiled is all.  And I miss that.  

Okay, back to past Brittany and my list of dislikes.  This time I'll just add my present-day commentary in a different color:

Boo Portland!!!!!!
1. the bottoms of my pants get wet (i said bottoms, not top.....) It looks like fashion has solved that problem, thanks to skinny jeans.  But let me just say, I was not an early-adapter on this trend.  I still question if most women (myself included), and all men, should be wearing them.
3. vegetarians (it's just the high abundance of them....)  I think this one has withstood the test of time.  I think Oregon...Portland...would rank No. 1 city on a national survey.  I still don't get it.  I could do without chicken...but beef?  No way.
6. slow drivers in the fast lane monitoring the speed of other drivers by refusing to move to the right lane because they are, in fact, going the speed limit (even though they are holding up a line of cars behind them) yeah, now I call them vigilantes 
10. lack of some of my favorite chain restaurants - Maggiano's, Panera, Corner Bakery, Noodles and Co. Okay, I wrote Maggiano's off years ago when they started monograming their glasses with a etched "M."  Panera, meh.  Corner Bakery, I learned how to make their delish raspberry bars, so I don't really care about them anymore either.  Noodles and Co., they are opening a brand-new location 0.5-miles from our old apartment.  I am not even exaggerating!  It is scheduled to open this spring.  I have such fine luck...  Some others that finally made it to Oregon that I was stoked about: Jimmy Johns and Potbellys.  Both from the great land of Illinois!  
10a. limited amounts of Chipotle They did open a location 1.5-miles from our old apartment a few years ago, and it was heavenly!  Seriously, it was in our weekly dinner rotation quite regularly.  Now...now the closest one is six-miles away!  It's killing me!
10b. lack of HOT weather in the summer - reaching 85d at best We had some good summers in the end.
10c. lack of warm weather in the fall - reaching a high of 60d at best And some good autumns.
10d. lack of SUN I think we were in the midst of a La Nina during this post because we actually ended up having some exceptional weather our last few years.  And even now as we live three-hours north.  It is HEAVENLY!  
10e. high abundance of Fantasy Video, Fantasy Lounge or any other Fantasy something (seriously there is one in every town!) I later read on Wikipedia that there are more strip clubs per capita in Oregon than anywhere else in the US.  Including Las Vegas!  I was not exaggerating on this one.  
10f. easy access to a COLD beach (though it is a VERY pretty beach) Admittedly, I never did grow to love the Oregon Coast.  Mostly because, well, it's always cold there.  Even in the summer.  
10g. weird people in general (just walk downtown and you'll know exactly what I'm talking about) still true!
10n. bikers taking up more than their share of the road and not obey the laws like they're supposed to (actually, this doesn't really bug me - but it is number one on Wyatt's list)  I find it ironic that we received tickets for riding our bicycles through a stop sign two-years later. Ha!
10o. rain - not that it rains in general - it's just that the same amount of rain that Chicago gets in one day can be spread out over a week in Portland (i don't think Portland is being very efficient with the weather and how much sun it really could have)  This is how I feel about the Pacific Northwest in general.  I just re-watched Sleepless in Seattle last week and they have inaccurately depicted the rain in Seattle.  I does not pour.  It mists.  But not recently, reference 10d for further details.  

So there you have it.  I've thought about this a lot recently...since our move.  How moving from Chicago to Oregon was really, really, really, REALLY hard for me.  It seriously felt like a death, and I mourned my loss of Chicago for a few years.  Literally, it took at least three-years before I was okay with the move.  And all though I put all of the blame on Portland/Oregon, the truth is there was soooo much more to it than Portland/Oregon.  

For example, I had moved from an independent life, to living with Wyatt's grandmother.  Although a very nice woman, she had a strong need to exercise her mother skills.  At 24-years-old, I did not welcome her good intentions.  And then there was the whole no job for months bit.  And no where to call my own space.  And even after Wyatt and I got married, I landed a really crappy job.  I hated it.  A lot. A lot, a lot, a lot...times one-hundred.

I think the turning-point really was when Wyatt went to dental school.  After I committed to having a better attitude about my circumstances.  I quit my crappy job and we went to Hawaii, which, never hurts one's mood.  And then we returned and I was happy.  And then I found a really good job.  One that I actually enjoyed!  (Sure there were petty things I disliked, but one can't like everything about their job.  It's against the rules.)  And after that, I found an even better job!  So really, life just kept getting better.  And then Wyatt graduated, and we sort-of grew-up (I mean that very loosely).  And now we're in Washington...acting like adults.  

So, I guess I owe Portland...Oregon as a whole, an apology.  I'm sorry I hated you so much.  It wasn't you, it was me.  You're great.  You've given me a lot of wonderful memories.  I wouldn't be who I am today without you.  Thanks.

Oh, and in case you didn't have the stamina to read all the comments to my post on October, 11 2007, here is what Wyatt wrote.  It makes me laugh!

10 Things I don't like about BNW

1. Just kidding

2. There's nothing I don't like about Brittany

3. I strongly disagree with her negative sentiment towards Portland

4. Brittany actually loves Portland, but is trying to keep the population small

5. Portland takes 4 years to grow on you

6. But once your covered with Portland all over you stay warm in the winter

Not sure where 7 through 10 ended up.  Cyberspace I guess.  I guess we'll never know how Wyatt completely felt about me...  I should ask Wyatt if he remembers what those last four said.  Oh, and he was right about number five.  It did take about four-years for it to grow on me.