Portland places and things, from our neighborhood library to the Airbnb neighborhood to windfall apples from a tree on the street.
We are Oregonians again!
We’re still in the process of moving and getting settled but we’ve seen our apartment and love it – it’s in a great location for us. It’s an older apartment but in good shape and even though the square footage is less than we had in Tennessee we actually have more space for our stuff and more storage than we did in our last apartment. For example, we have room now for a dining room table and chairs, something there was no room for in our Tennessee apartment. The apartment is located in the back of the property and we have our own little piece of lawn and garden beds that we want to start working on soon so we can grow vegetables and flowers next year. Our stuff is scheduled to arrive on Friday morning! After all this travel, and living in temporary housing, we’re looking forward to being settled in our own place again.
The drive west was great. We had blue skies the whole way, but it was also quite hot most of the way too. The first four nights we stayed in Columbia, MO; Lincoln, NE; Laramie, WY; and Ogden, UT. We were supposed to spend a last night in Ontario, in Oregon, but arrived there a little after 2:00 pm, looked at each other and said let’s just go on to Portland. We cancelled our reservation at the hotel and set off, arriving in Portland at 7:30 in the evening. We started out in one (very lovely) Portland Airbnb until yesterday when we moved into another, and we’ll be here until Friday morning.
Both our Portland Airbnbs were perfection.
Brett drove the entire way and did a great job. Gas prices increased as we headed west, with it less than 4$/gallon in Missouri and nearly $5/gallon once we arrived in Oregon. We’re both very grateful that we’ll be living in a very walkable neighborhood, have a Trader Joe’s, a coffee place, and other stores in walking distance, and that the city has very good public transportation because it looks like we’re going to have to have many no-drive days in Portland – the cheapest price for gas is $4.86/gallon, at Costco. Both Kaipo and Tilly were well-behaved during our travels: Kaipo slept most of the time but Tilly enjoyed looking out of the window now and again, especially if she spotted cows in a field. Boy, did they get her excited! They both seem to have already fallen in love with Portland, especially with the number of squirrels and other dogs they encounter on their walks.
The moving crew back in Tennessee was very professional, and by early afternoon our stuff was packed and on the truck and the apartment was empty. Brett and I decided to stay after the movers left the apartment to finish cleaning and got most of it done, but I messed up my back again 🤬 so Brett went back on his own on Saturday to sweep and mop out the place and turn in our keys. Thankfully the day of rest did wonders for my back and I felt fine when we departed Sunday morning and had no problems on the trip. We got good news from the moving company during our trip west too: our shipment weighed less than expected and our total cost for the move would be $1345 less than estimated!
WenYu is in town now for her best friend’s wedding (WenYu is the officiant), and we’re going out with her tomorrow morning for dim sum. We’ll be going back again with friends on Sunday morning, but in my book there’s no such thing as too much dim sum. We still have errands to run for things like a barbecue grill and TV, but otherwise we’re pretty much set. I ordered a rug from Wayfair that will arrive next week and we also ordered a new dining table and chairs as well that should arrive next week as well.
We left Portland 14 years ago to move to Hawaii, and it’s fun and interesting now to see what’s stayed the same and what has changed. The streets seem narrower than before but we’re adjusting. The tap water still tastes great, the air is cool and fresh, and we love the diversity and the way people dress here compared to how it was in Tennessee. We’ve already visited our local library and checked out books, and shopped at our former Trader Joe’s (the one two blocks from our apartment) – it’s huge in comparison to the one I worked at in Franklin. I also shopped at our former Costco, and the one we shopped at in Tennessee would only take up about 1/6 of the one here – talk about HUGE! We’ve had amazing pie from the wonderful Lauretta Jean’s pie house, and discovered the perfect coffee shop just a couple of blocks from our apartment. I’ve also visited the neighborhood Goodwill store and got us outfitted with dishes and cookware for our camping trip next month (including a mint condition cast iron frying pan). It wouldn’t be Portland though without some rain, which showed up our first weekend here, but we actually sort of liked it (for now). The Airbnbs we have stayed/are staying in have been very lovely (glamorous even) and very comfortable. We have loved walking through the different neighborhoods again and just drinking in Portland. After being parked in a chair in Tennessee to avoid the humidity and allergens it has felt so good to be out and about again. We’ll be getting our Oregon drivers’ licenses next week, and after that new plates for the car.
Our goals next week are to have the apartment mostly put together, to find a new barbecue grill so we can start cooking outside occasionally, and also get a new television. We accomplished the big thing we set out to do and are so happy to be back!
So happy for you! For me the weirdest thing about being back in Boston was coming back as an old person! Things I used to do all the time without thinking about it now take some care and thought. Like getting on the T. I have to go in the back entrance now since it is lower and I find climbing up the front stairs too hard now. But I am adjusting to being elderly here. After all there seem to be a lot of us!
Portland still feels very “young” to me, but that may be because of where our Airbnb is located. But I agree, I will have to see how it feels once we’re settled into our location. I noticed many older customers at the coffee shop yesterday though now that I think about it. We’re just going to have to see if Portland works for us as we age.
Welcome home! This is one of the most positive, excited sounding posts I have seen from you – it is obvious you are back in your “happy place!” I can’t wait to follow along on your west coast adventures. If the gloomy rainy weather ever starts to get you down, just remember it isn’t humidity! 😉
We are glad to be back, for so many reasons: friends, background knowledge, amenities, etc. The cost of living is higher than Tennessee, but not by much, which is kind of surprising. I just feel though that I can breath here unlike I did in Tennessee. And being out of the humidity is positively sublime.
So happy that y’all are back in a place that feels like home!
I didn’t know if Portland would feel like home again, but it does, mostly. I think once we’re settled into our apartment and get a new routine set, it really will feel like home again.
Great to hear you two are back in a happy habitat! Out here in Texas we are still waiting for a break in the heat. This year the heat has worn me down. I could take it a few summers ago, but can’t tolerate it as well now. Walking the dog early a.m. and after dark in the evening. Weeding and pruning in 20-minute bursts, keeping the AC on 78, and doing a lot of reading.
It really does feel like we’ve returned to where we need to be, and we’re both breathing easier here. The heat and humidity in Tennessee about did me in, and we hear it’s been terrible since we left. I used to love summer and the heat, but these days I loathe it and I don’t do well in it at all. You do more than I ever could, but Brett seems to tolerate it fairly well so he’s walks the dogs, etc. I am enjoying walking again here in Portland though.
I can’t believe 14 years passed since you left Portland to move to Hawaii. That’s around the time I started following your blog and hadn’t realized it’s been that long. I’m sure it must be strange in a way to be in a familiar place, but 14 years later. Being that close to Trader Joe’s will be nice. I live close to the one near me, but not quite close enough to walk to. I agree about dim sum! It’s interesting you don’t have allergy issues in Portland. Just curious why that is. I’ve only been there once and it was during the summer, but is it because they don’t have the same change of seasons like we have in the northeast? Glad to hear your drive went really well. You picked a good time of year to make the trip. Enjoy!
I almost can’t believe it’s been 14 years either, and all we have done during those years: Happy times in Hawaii, our travel years, and Tennessee. But here we are, even if we can’t do as much as we once did, or don’t want to do as much.
I occasionally used to have a couple of allergy attacks in Portland, in the spring when everything was in bloom, but nothing the rest of the year. And there are distinct seasonal changes here. I will be interested to see how it goes this time around, but right now I’m not bothered at all. Nothing can be worse though than it was in Tennessee.
Welcome back to the PNW! On our last visit to Portland a few years ago, we saw a very noticeable increase in the unhoused population compared to our last time there. This was from wandering the downtown core as tourists. Have you seen the same?
It sounds like everything is going really well, which is great. So happy you guys have landed in a space where you feel at home. Love the rug!!
We are in Seattle and headed for Olympic Natl Park tomorrow. The weather has been fantastic and Mt Rainer was really showing off today. DH lived out here before we got married, so we went to his old haunts and had seafood at the marina in Edmonds. I miss amazing seafood that just isn’t the same in the “flyover” zone. LOL.
I can’t say I love the traffic, but I love the West Coast in general and the PNW and Northern California in particular. So I understand your feelings about the weather, the people, the clothes, etc. He keeps saying it has changed and built up so much, but it’s been 25 years, so.
You two are really the most inspiring people I/we know. You are so bold and brave in the decisions you make, and I/we find it so wonderful!
We will definitely see you and Brett again, as Portland is an easy flight from our local airport. We love the Pacific NW. Well, in the summer at least, the only time we’ve ever traveled there!
So happy for you both.