It’s Not You Portland, It’s Me

Or the working title:

Sorry Portland, I’m Breaking Up with You For the Hot, Tanned, Busty Blonde that is Los Angeles, Although I Typically Go For Wavy Haired, Glasses-Wearing, Tatted Up, Scarf-Wearing, Intellectual Brunettes Like You, Portland, the Thing is It’s Been 4 Years and This Relationship isn’t Going Anywhere, Time to Move On, Smooch Smooch, Love You, Bye

Spring of 2005, I decided that I needed to leave Florida. Living there my whole life, I felt life there became rather stagnant for me. I love my Florida friends, most of whom I have remained in contact with, but I wanted to experience something completely different — something that would be impossible to do in Orlando, a cultural wasteland centered around family-friendly fun. Fresh off of dropping out from the University of Central Florida, I thought this was a good opportunity as ever to live up to my already nomadic lifestyle by leaving Florida and moving to the West Coast.

I finally set my sights on Portland. In a toss up between Portland and Seattle, I ended up choosing Portland over Seattle because The Art Institute of Portland had a Bachelor’s program for my preferred field of study versus Seattle who only offered an Associate’s program¹. I found a place on craigslist and made a verbal agreement with my future roommate via email. Once all the necessary steps were taken, I embarked on a 3-day, 2,900 mile journey from Panama City, Florida to Hillsboro, Oregon — just me, my Ford Mustang, and everything I could stuff into my small, impractical car.

In retrospect, I can’t believe I did it. It was a ballsy move on my part to move to the other side of the country without a job, verbally agree to move in with somebody I’ve never met, not to mention, I’ve never visited Portland before I moved here. I didn’t know if I was going to like Portland. None of this mattered to me, what mattered to me was Florida was behind me.

Almost 4 years later, I believe moving to Portland was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. Friends will probably find that hard to believe as I’ve complained so much about Portland in the past. This place has been a roller coaster ride for me with a lot of ups and downs. But the truth is, I was using Portland as a scapegoat for my own personal demons. This place has changed my life — I did a lot of growing up here, it altered my perspective on what is important, not to mention, I’ve met a lot of awesome friends here. Friends I hope to keep the rest of my life. Portland will always have a special place in my heart.

Why am I writing this now you ask? Because I will be moving to Los Angeles next week. In a similar, but less ballsy fashion as when I moved to Portland: Just me, my Ford Mustang, and what I can fit into my small, impractical car will be making the trip while the rest of my possessions will be put into storage for the time being. I’m still unemployed, so obviously finding a job will be at the top of my priority list. Even though there are a few uncertainties, I’m excited for the future. Unlike Portland, I’ve been to Los Angeles and what I saw of it, I thought was great. I’m extremely happy to be moving back to a warm climate with a beach nearby.

I only have a few friends in Los Angeles right now, so if you are reading this and you live in the L.A. area, I’d love to meet up with you.

Portland friends: I might get to see some of you before I go. If I don’t, I’m already planning to come back in a month or two. Thanks for everything and I hope to see you all again.

1. This decision appeared to be an important at the time, but actually turned out to be the most trivial as I ended up dropping out 2 weeks into the quarter, putting school on an indefinite hiatus. [↩]