Two Years in Portland, OR

It's been about two years since I moved to this area of the country and I couldn't be happier. Although this place is far from perfect, with it's own set of gentrification issues among them, I feel like I've got so many things to be proud of living here. So if I may take a moment to list a few things that I love about this place...

1.) Minimum Wage Hikes! Voters in Oregon and Washington passed ordinances that increased the state minimum wage while the federal has been stuck at 7.25. For a chart of Oregon's wages see http://www.oregon.gov/boli/WHD/OMW/Pages/Minimum-Wage-Rate-Summary.aspx

2.) People are less religious here, in the city at least. In Portland about 42% of the population is not affiliated with any religion. As an atheist it's important to me to live in a place where I don't have to worry about people throwing negative stereotypes my way because of my lack of religion. Christianity is not treated like a state funded religion the way it is in other parts of the country.

3.) Oregon, Washington and California are all Blue States. In case you don't know what that means, a blue state is held by democrats and red states are held by the republican party. I can walk into just about any place here and chances are most of the people around me hate Trump as much as I do.

4.) Voting is easier! In Oregon you vote by mail, which to me came as a huge relief. I didn't have to go through the hassle of figuring out where my polling station was or worry about having to take off work to go vote. They simply mail me a ballot, I fill it out and mail it back to them by the deadline. They even mail you a booklet listing all the candidates and some information about each of them. I never got that in Florida.

5.) Healthcare is more accessible. When the Affordable Care Act was passed by the Obama Administration, extra federal money was offered to every state to help them expand their Medicaid programs. While most Southern states opted out, all the west coast states accepted the money. I pay less than $100 a month for my insurance and it covers everything I need it to cover. I no longer have to worry about going bankrupt should anything bad happen to me health wise.

6.) People here --love-- local stuff. When I go to the grocery store it is super easy to find products that are grown or made by local companies. There are areas of town where literally all the storefronts are locally owned and you have to actively seek out places that are owned by national corporations. And because there are so many different food options here, I've become more adventurous with my culinary tastes. I no longer get funny looks if I mention that I'm vegetarian, it's perfectly normal here.

7.) Everyone is from somewhere else. I get to meet people from all over the country and the world on a regular basis. It feels more peaceful here, perhaps as a consequence of that globalism. I see that no matter what background you're from, I have more in common with you than differences.

8.) Legal Marijuana. An obvious one. I can walk down to a store, buy a bag of weed, and walk right past a cop without issue. I can buy a marijuana plant from a store and bring it home in broad daylight. It's completely legal. A lot of employers still drug test, which I find very odd, but at least people aren't going to jail for possessing a plant.

9.) Great public transit. When I first moved here I was shocked to find that the area has many residents who actively refuse to purchase a car. They cite the environmental impact as well as the lack of necessity. A good friend of mine grew up here and never even learned how to drive because she hasn't needed to! I still own my car but I know if it wasn't working I'd still be able to get where I needed to go.

10.) Recycling is so easy! For the first time I live in an apartment complex that has recycling bins. It's standard here. Oh yeah, and in Oregon you can return your cans and bottles to a facility where you can get money for them.

11.) "Alternative" lifestyles don't feel so alternative here. If you're LGBT, non-religious, vegan, covered in tattoos, etc, you're not going to be seen as an oddity in Portland. People are more appreciative of diversity.