Was born, immediately moved to the burbs of Oregon from the south. Been here almost 40 years. Grew up in the burbs, but as any proper burbanite knows, there was nothing for kids to fucking do that didn't involve getting to license age and going into Portland for shows, drugs, drugs at shows, and all that turned into me coming here the moment I could scratch up enough money to get out of the room I was in at my parents house. That was nearly twenty years ago for me.

My first place in SE, is long gone now. Then I lived in NW for several years while I worked and got myself through college. Lived in the burbs for a short stint, then came back after I realized that as long as I work in Portland, I can't live outside of it, because of the commute. Also, burbs are a drag. If I'm not in the city, I gotta be in the hills or in a rural area without subdivisions.

As I've gotten older, I have cared less about shows, camaraderie (sometimes far more shallow than it appears), and most of all, the bars. I don't want to jump on the "oh it's a tragedy xyz closed" bandwagon, because for me it's not quite that. I just resent the draw Portland has for tourist suburban adults and its affect on my living area (prices skyrocketing, drunks everywhere - and we're not talking the homeless, folks). I get it though, the upside is that there's great high priced businesses to come in to provide jobs and clean up the hood. Cool. But when the house down the block sells for $800k, it just reinforces the decision to get the fuck out as soon as I can pay cash for land and a start at a home, which I've been saving towards for a decade.

Portland is a different place than it was in 1994, when I was a teenager just starting to get to know the city. I hope that that luster still exists for kids making the same pilgrimage, if only a different hue.