Eight Days and Counting!

Hello, this is the other half speaking. Nick suggested that I find (and post) a few places that I want to visit during our first couple weeks in Portland. I figured the best way to discover new and exciting attractions and restaurants is through Yelp, and boy was I right! I am now obsessed with the website. Do you know how many 5 star attractions there are within 5 miles of us? Too many to count! Last night I was up till the wee hours of the morning reading the rave reviews and bookmarking my favorites. Since then I've narrowed down my hefty list a bit.

There is SO much to do and see around Portland that I decided to keep my list of attractions to 5 miles or less from our place. Here they are in no particular order:

Stumptown Annex

AKA the coffee connoiseur's dream! This cute coffee shop offers free "cupping demos" (aka coffee education and sampling) twice a day. While their coffee is a tad more expensive than we're used to, I'm sure the quality is like none we've tried, too. I have a feeling this will be a big hit with Nick!

Wunderland Electric Castle

Now this is not something I would normally pick out as a top attraction, but the reviews are great and I don't think Nick and I have ever been to a read arcade together--letalone a nickel arcade. How much fun would this place be for date night?!

Glowing Greens Mini Golf

Pirate-themed glow-in-the-dark black-light 3-D mini-golf? Why not?! Once again, Nick and I have never gone mini-golfing together, so what better way to start than with this fun-looking place! $8 per person (plus $1.50 for 3-D glasses) isn't too bad, either.

McMenamin's Kennedy School

Hotel, Restaurant, Cinema, Concert venue... I'm not quite sure what this place is like but it seems like an all-in one. I remember NIck's cousin Danny highly recommending it, especially because of its uniqueness. Apparently it's an old school ground turned... everything!

Hollywood Farmer's Market

I'll let a couple Yelpers share their opinion on this one:

" The farmers, ranchers, cheesemakers, burrito folks, sausage people, ahhh hell everyone here has such passion for their product. I do not think I have been around such a happy group of people in my life. They love what they grow or make and they all love to share that with you."

"I love this market, held directly in front of the Grocery Outlet; kill two birds with one stone and buy your produce fresh at the market, then cross the parking lot for good savings at the G.O.
The live music is always fun, and there are more than just a few choices for a bite to eat.  I particularly like the French bakery.  Aside from fresh fruits and vegetables, the market also has everything from fresh salmon to homemade fruit sodas to beeswax candles."

Laurelhurst Theater

Beer! Cheap Food! $3 Movies everyday! Both independent and mainstream films! Enough said :)

Two Weeks Out

Well, we're exactly 2 weeks out from the big move and I'm sick as a dog--strep throat and flu-like symptoms for the past 5 days. Today is the first day I've made it to the computer to study, and in my typical routine of facebook and CNN time-wasting, I found this:

"Portland's streetcar system attracts about 12,000 daily riders at an average ticket cost of $1.47. Its creators credit it with $3.5 billion in surrounding development, including shops, restaurants and 10,000 new housing units.

After paying $10.40 to get from Concord to San Francisco and back, the Portland public transportation system sounds like a good deal. Then again, almost everything sounds like a much better deal up there! I guess the major trade-off for fair prices, no sales tax, a green city, and awesome public transportation is.... rain?

Well, we're still excited about moving even if it is going to be wet for the first few months... We did manage to find a temporary housing situation, though! For $500 a month, we have a downstairs apartment deal with refrigerator, washer and dryer, access to kitchen, off-street parking, and direct access to the bus line (across the street). Also, all utilities are included in that price, AND its furnished.

We plan on hauling up all of our stuff once I/we land jobs and can afford a more permanent rental. Living in temp. housing is probably the least risky way for us to move, and will hopefully be enough motivation to find a sweet spot for us to plant down some roots! Here's an arial view of the temp housing neighborhood:

In the above map, our spot is right above the "Portland" on the lower left side of the map, at the 45 degree-angled intersection. It seems like a nice spot, and we'll be about 6 miles from Washington. Here's another map to show our proximity to downtown and other areas:

More updates to come :)

Portland Bound

Portland Bound!

As the title suggests, we're heading up to The City of Roses to live out the early days of our burgeoning professional lives, and I (we) couldn't be more excited. To keep family and friends in the loop, we thought it'd be a good idea to start up a blog to track the journey and see where it went. We've got a crazy couple of months ahead of us, but I am confident that everything will turn out. It has to!

Fun Facts about Portland:

• Portland gets about 40 inches of rain per year over a span of about 155 days. This breaks down to about 1/4 inch of rain per rainy day.  For comparison, San Rafael gets an average of 34 inches of rain per year over 68 days, or about 1/2 inch of rain per rainy day. 
• Portland is home to the massive Forest Park--at 5,000 acres it is the largest urbanpark in the United States.
• Powell's City of Books lives here, and it is the largest used bookstore in the world.
• Over 28 brewries in Portland--the highest brewry density of any city in the United States
• The city is separated from Washington via the Columbia River, which is 6 miles from downtown Portland. By the way... no bridge tolls anywhere.
• Portland has been named The Greenest City in America by Popular Science Magazine, and Second Greenest City in the World by Grist.

Before we go, Katie must heal from a major surgery she had just 4 days ago --a Pectus Excavatum (concaved chest) repair. We're hoping she will be out of the hospital tomorrow and ready to finish her recovery at home. She's doing great so far and is starting to manage her pain well. Not bad for having a metal bar fastened to your ribs! Here's an image of the Nuss Procedure she had.

So it looks like we'll be heading up to our new home at the beginning of the new year! We will be opting for temporary housing for the first month or two while we look for jobs. I'll be applying to banks and financial advisory firms, and Katie will be finishing her Master's Thesis. Busy times ahead, and we couldn't be more thrilled with the possibilities :)

-Nick