I recently moved to a mid-sized city in the Pacific Northwest from a small city in Texas. I knew it was going to be different and, after being here almost two weeks, that is starting to set in. Before moving here I had the 'duh' realization that I feel most comfortable around people similar to me: young, white, affluent-ish. Most people have this tendency to one degree or another, whether they admit it or not. I had not been admitting it (I am a great idealist) but felt a release in acceptance. Knowledge is power. This is not to excuse myself from ever interacting with someone the least bit different from me, but it helps to bring much needed balance. So, I thought, moving to Portland will be great. There are a bunch of white people for me to be around (it is one of the whitest cities in America) but there are also a lot of homeless people for me to love on too.
Another thing I like is community. I found a place to live before moving here and knowing how the city worked. My goal was too have a place to light and then work on finding a place in town where I actually want to live, and hopefully friends to live there with me (and a dog I might add). This is what is turning out to look different. I was looking for places, like in Texas, where people spend time in their driveways and on their porches. Maybe they can't afford A/C, but it is mainly because, like me, they like to live in community. Kids playing in the street, family coming over for BBQ and beers, old people sitting on their porches all the time. Bryan was chalked full of lower income neighborhoods like this, and I love them.
Portland, on the other hand, seems to be different. You may see one or two less-nice apartment complexes, but they surrounded by nicer houses. You may see a rundown house here and there, but not the stretching "hood" like I loved in Bryan. It must be because it is a higher income city. Also the less nice parts of the city are being pushed to the outskirts. But even those places seem nice to me and are "really being improved". I am tired of biking through mile after mile of nice houses, most of which are built in the same style :-/ Maybe I should have moved to Detroit ;) Where am I to live where I can reach out to my neighbors who don't think they have it all together?
I have been freaking out about this recently, not that I do not have time for it to be reveled to me. I think what I have been missing is contentment, patience and most importantly thankfulness. It is such a blessing from God that I get to be here in the first place and may I not take it for granted. Plus, I have been building community where I am, slowly but surely. Things just look different here in Portland.
