Moving to Portland, OR

I moved to Portland from Pennsylvania some 28 years ago. You'll find it a stark contrast to the east coast.

Hope you'll enjoy the "left" coast!

BTW, I shoot at the Clackamas Co. PSTC, which is a beautiful, relatively new indoor range (25 yd.) operated by the Clack. Co. Sheriff's Dept. The also have some great classes: pistol, rifle, shotgun, mostly with a defensive emphasis. I also shoot in their Pracitcal Pistol League.

PSTC website: www.co.clackamas.or.us/sheriff/pstc/main.htm

Also belong to Tri-County Gun Club, mentioned is some of the above posts.

Portland is beautiful, you must go here, best crawfish etoufee outside of LA.

I moved here from the S.F. Bay Area about three years ago, and I love it here. I live in a small "city" of 8200 people. I used to open carry fairly regularly, but I'm mostly at work now. I never got hassled, but I mostly was around Lebanon, Sweet Home and Albany. Corvallis a couple times.
The rain makes me appreciate the sunny days, which I never could do in CA. Most folks here stay in the right lane, except when they need to pass. Most of the left lane bandits are from CA. Nice mix of red and blue politics, keeps them off the backs of the common folk. Seem to be a lot of Jeffersonian folk where I live. More than the norm, at least.
I'm pretty far from Portland, about 2-2 and a half hours.

I'm a native Oregoninan with three generations of roots in Oregon. As an avid (semi avid currently) outdoor type, I can tell you Oregon offers a lot of outdoor pursuits from fishing, hunting, biking, hiking, camping, clamming, mountain climbing, windsurfing, surfing (bring a wetsuit) and so on.

It does rain a bit and the Rose festival (1st week of June) is the traditional end to the unpredictable rain and stays pretty good until September or so depending on your location.

I've been in the Portland area since 93 and other than urban sprawl and expensive cost of living (high home prices), it's a good place to live. Coming from a small town on the coast, it's just not the same in this biggish city, but I have a good job that keeps me here, so be it.

If you like live music, Portland is awesome. You can easily see live shows any night of the week. The beer is great too, so cast off your mega advertising budget beer and get ready for some great craft brews. Portland was the initial nursery to the current micro-brew blitz with founders like Portland Brewing, McMenamins, Widmer and Deschutes Brewing. Many others have spawned and offer just as good of beers, but these are the best known.

As for shooting, I agree about Memaloose area, tons of gravel pit areas to blast away. On a trip last fall you could hear gunfire coming from all over. On the west side, 20 minutes or so out of town, there's a gravel pit in Brown's Camp OHV area that is my preferred site. I reside in Hillsboro, on the west side.

Welcome and please feel free to PM me for any info that can assist you in your housing selections, recreational activities and so forth. If you like camping or hiking, I know some great secluded destinations. As shown in this thread already, people are happy to help everyone out around here.

I strongly encourage you to stay out of Multnomah county simply because they see the need to levy an extra tax on their residents. I also encourage getting you CHL as soon as posible. Not that there is an inherent safety issue, but it's a good political statement to our elected officials how we have an underlying right to freedom and liberty. And you don't have to vote to make this statement either.

Best of luck, Portland is one of the best cities on the West Coast IMO. But again, I'm truly an Oregon native, so I'm biased. FWIW.

jeepmor

I'm a native Oregoninan with three generations of roots in Oregon. As an avid (semi avid currently) outdoor type, I can tell you Oregon offers a lot of outdoor pursuits from fishing, hunting, biking, hiking, camping, clamming, mountain climbing, windsurfing, surfing (bring a wetsuit) and so on.

It does rain a bit and the Rose festival (1st week of June) is the traditional end to the unpredictable rain and stays pretty good until September or so depending on your location.

I've been in the Portland area since 93 and other than urban sprawl and expensive cost of living (high home prices), it's a good place to live. Coming from a small town on the coast, it's just not the same in this biggish city, but I have a good job that keeps me here, so be it.

If you like live music, Portland is awesome. You can easily see live shows any night of the week. The beer is great too, so cast off your mega advertising budget beer and get ready for some great craft brews. Portland was the initial nursery to the current micro-brew blitz with founders like Portland Brewing, McMenamins, Widmer and Deschutes Brewing. Many others have spawned and offer just as good of beers, but these are the best known.

As for shooting, I agree about Memaloose area, tons of gravel pit areas to blast away. On a trip last fall you could hear gunfire coming from all over. On the west side, 20 minutes or so out of town, there's a gravel pit in Brown's Camp OHV area that is my preferred site. I reside in Hillsboro, on the west side.

Welcome and please feel free to PM me for any info that can assist you in your housing selections, recreational activities and so forth. If you like camping or hiking, I know some great secluded destinations. As shown in this thread already, people are happy to help everyone out around here.

I strongly encourage you to stay out of Multnomah county simply because they see the need to levy an extra tax on their residents. I also encourage getting you CHL as soon as posible. Not that there is an inherent safety issue, but it's a good political statement to our elected officials how we have an underlying right to freedom and liberty. And you don't have to vote to make this statement either.

Best of luck, Portland is one of the best cities on the West Coast IMO. But again, I'm truly an Oregon native, so I'm biased. FWIW.

jeepmor

We are a Blue State.

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Technically true, but only because the liberals (many of whom are on welfare and therefore dependent on big government) live mostly in Portland, with a fair number in Eugene around the University of Oregon.

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Ok, I have to laugh here. Portland's liberals are mostly young urban professionals who are the reason housing prices are getting higher, and are also the reason downtown Portland has gotten to be a nice place over the last few years. And, just like Seattle, just because they're liberal doesn't mean they're anti-gun. Go to the ranges here and you'll see plenty of "liberals" blasting away.

My personal opinion is that the real anti-gunnies are the Democratic leadership. It is their cause just as the Repubs have their own pet causes. But in both cases it doesn't tend to honestly reflect the opinions of their constituents.

The Pacific Northwest is a beautiful place to live. And a great place to be a gun owner. Welcome!

Portland's liberals are mostly young urban professionals who are the reason housing prices are getting higher, and are also the reason downtown Portland has gotten to be a nice place over the last few years. And, just like Seattle, just because they're liberal doesn't mean they're anti-gun. Go to the ranges here and you'll see plenty of "liberals" blasting away.

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Thank you, thank you, thank you, FourTeeFive for making that valid point.

I get so sick of stereotyping on THR (and other forums).

I know hard core conservative republicans that are as antigun as it gets. For example, one I know, a client, says (only partly joking) that he hopes someday to be able to legally have my guns taken away and melt them down. I also know hard core "liberal" (actually radically green) hippies that own and shoot AKs.

Get past it folks: the labels "liberal" and "conservative" are so yesterday. People are complexly diverse, and the areas they inhabit reflect that.
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<Ahem>

JoshK-K, just ignore the politics of PDX, and enjoy the city. It's an awesome town. Mass transit here is cheap, effective and will take you everywhere you want to go. If you are a bicycle person, it's an extremely bike friendly town. The food is superb, the entertainment is beyond superb. (Be sure to check out one of the hottest clubs in PDX, the relatively new Doug Fir.)

It's big enough to be a "city" with all that brings, but is a small city, not obnoxiously big and hard to get out of.

The Columbia Gorge is spectacular. You're within sight of Mt Hood and Mt St Helens and the rest of the Cascades. The Pacific is only an hour west. It's hard to imagine a better city to live in.

(Having said that, I don't live there; I'm about 2 hrs out of PDX, but go there fairly often as my overwhelming work schedule allows.)

Welcome to the Pac NW. Hope you enjoy it.

Nem

The merits of Portland

I have lived here since 1992. I grew up between Eugene and North Bend (on the south coast of Oregon.)

Let me share some observations: Rain. When it rains, it rains. Buckets. But then it stops. Oh, sure we have those drizzly days that go on forever, but its not like we get monsoons for weeks on end. Tho that would be cool.

Location, location, location: Portland is right near the confluence of the Columbia and Willamette rivers. Both are big, cold, and stunning. Think dragon boat races during the spring and summer. Nude and non-nude riverside beaches are just outside of Portland.

Portland is 1.5 hours from the coast, and 1.5 hours from the mountains (skiing, hiking, etc.) We are about 4 hours from Desert Country, but its not a horrible drive, and lots of great beauty along the way.

Liberals? Oh, yeah. This *is* the left coast. Most of the liberals were spouting off the gun control line because they saw it was getting votes. Think of them as a dog doing performance for their bisquits. The biggest gun grabber out there was Ginny Burdick, and she was cut off at the knees during the last election when running for Portland City council. Guess single issue doesn't play well once you get down to brass tacks. Just push the local Pols to vote the way YOU want them to, and you will be surprised at what you get. The Dems are pretty much staying away from gun issues now, letting sleeping dogs lie.

OTOH, we have a lot of ex-military, and shooting groups that include liberals, as well as an active chapter of the Pink Pistols (and some of those ex-military are IN the pink pistols.)

We have 4 big parades every year: The Rose Festival is the largest, and we snark about tape on the sidewalk for that one...people want to mark out their spots and then swoop down 10 mins before the parade starts. That battle was amusing. The Starlight parade is also big, happening at night, with lit floats, and the Childrens parade is hysterical, with every middle school out tooting their own horn (literally) and jugglers, and Cub Scouts out showing the colors. The fourth big one is Gay Pride, and its MASSIVE. Shuts down a lot of stuff on Fathers day every year.

Apartments? Depends on your income. There are a lot of folks that have cash that live in the Pearl (inner NW Portland.) Nice life, if you can afford it. Everything in walking distance. Otherwise, look for apartments on craigslist, and you will always find interesting places to live. Portland was poor for so many years, so we have great old housing stock. Some of the original apartments from the teens and twenties out there. Try to stay near the bus lines, as it just makes things easier for parking--which *is* a hassle in NW, SW and some areas of NE and SE Portland.

I dont' bother with a range...I enjoy fast-draw from my ccw that would give a range the willies. I go out into the state forest. 1 hour to the minute from my house is a great spot in the coastal range that is remote, quiet, and not very well traveled, although I *did* see they were logging last week when I went.

Others go to Place to Shoot, PTSC, and some of the private ranges out there.

In short, this is a wonderful place to live. Like any place, there are some drawbacks, but having travelled all over the US on business, this is the place I chose to live. I haven't ever regretted it.

I'm surprised he hasn't given an update...

For those checking up on Josh-


He and his girlfriend got in last weekend, and are settling in. He picked up his armory from my place a couple days ago.

What are you looking to make? My current job might be hiring, you're more than welcome to come in for an interview.

It's warehouse work with a lot of driving dealing with automotive glass. PM me if you're interested

Better idea. Live across the river in Washington state.

Portland has an "assault weapon" ban and Oregon has no CCW reciprocity.

Better idea. Live across the river in Washington state.

Portland has an "assault weapon" ban and Oregon has no CCW reciprocity.

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While I do love living on the Washington side of Portland, the reasons you give suck.

Portland DOES NOT have an assault weapons ban.

The CCW issue is valid but not enough reason to not live in Portland, when you factor in the ability to own NFA stuff. Plus it is very easy to get a Washington CCW or a Utah one for reciprocity.

Who'd guess a life long Washingtonian would be defending Portland...

Steve

What's your education Josh? I know of some openings at Tokai Carbon running large diffusion furnaces. Factory type work, but they prefer some background. Nice small company with lots of room for growth. I work for Intel, not much going on there, actually slimming down a bit, but when the floodgates open, they open big.

jeepmor

I'm in Lane County, Oregon, about 2 hours south of Portland on the 5 freeway.

Don't forget about the gun shows. Ther's a big one at the Portland Expo Center almost every month.

I'll PM you next time i plan to go shooting.

pm WHEN YOU GET OUT HERE AND WE CAN GET IN SOME TRIGGER TIME. I live downtown.

Come on down to the PSTC and check it out Josh.

http://www.co.clackamas.or.us/sheriff/pstc/main.htm

If you become a member you CAN draw from the holster if you have training, and you CAN shoot rifles. We have a 3-gun league coming up.

- Karl (an empployee)

Hi, Karl:

Welcome to The High Road!

I've already plugged the PSTC earlier in this thread.

It's me, ED.

Range Saturday!!!

I'd like to link up and go shooting with some of you guys sometime.

I'm also trying to figure out which range I want to join. The Place to Shoot and the PSTC sound good, but I want to take my Mosin out to play as well. The Tri-County Gun Club looks like it has the greatest range (no pun intended) of facilities but is most expensive, and only takes applications once a month.

Welcome to Portland, sorry about the condition it's in now days. I've been here 47 years, it use to be a much nicer place, but even so it's still nicer than most cities it's size.

Johnson Creek Gun Club is where I do all my hand gun shooting, I like being self policing at the range without rangemasters.
http://johnsoncreekgunclub.com/jcgc_pages/fees.htm

Douglas Ridge rifle range is quite nice and reasonaly priced membership.
http://www.douglasridge.org/

PM me if you would like the nickel tour at Jonhson creek gun club. I'll even supply the ammo if your shooting 9mm, 38spl, 45acp and don't mind my reloads.

m249machinegun...
do you reload? last time I went to Place to Shoot I was told no reloads .
that,as I say,was the LAST time I went there.

IF I were looking for a club to join it would be Tri County. They have so many different types of ranges and all.

I am not sure but I thought you had to use the ammo that is sold at the PSTC range as it is non toxic and that is all they allow. Maybe someone who has been there recently can chime in on that.

I just called and checked and you do have to use their ammo
9mm--$11.00 per 50
45acp-$14.00 per 50
That makes the trip to the range a little spendy, I reload 9mm under $4.00 per 50. I can load total metal plated bullets that are just as safe from lead vapors.

karlw,
No disrespect intended towards your wonderful facility I am just on a ammo budget.