ok, so i have been accepted into the master program at the university of oregon in portland. i am going to visit the school and city during the later half of this week and over the weekend. during my visit there my goals were to try and interview for a job and to try and find a place to live. im not moving to portland until late august (i am going to defer my masters for one more year so i can get in-state tuition).
so my question to al of you is this...
im going to look for an apartment, any recommendations of which area of the city? any of you familiar with the city enough to give me any info whatsoever. other than its a great city and that it rains a lot, i hear that a lot and I cant wait to experience it. i am an avid cyclist and outdoorsy person so i think it will be a great fit for me.
and also, if you had 4 days in portland (1 of which is taken up by the grad open house at UO) what would you see/do? any specific architecty things to see/do? Ive doen some research on firms and have contacted a few, but it seems that no one is hiring now or in the near future so i will be going around and dropping off portfolios here and there.
I have never been to Portland, but am in love with the city (from everything I have heard about it). I am planning on relocating there at some point in time.
Geoff, congratulations on school, Portland is a really great place to be, I'm sure you'll love it here.
The UO campus is in a perfect location, right in the center of the city so in terms of places to live, you have many options. As a student I'm assuming you want something cheap with a short commute to campus. I'd recommend something in northeast Portland, just across the river from the UO campus. Some neighborhoods to look at might be Alberta, Mississippi Street, or Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., all of these are relatively cheap neighborhoods with good things happening and great places to hang out. Neighborhoods in southeast Portland that might be good are Belmonte, Hawthorne or Laurelhurst, these will be a little more expensive but they're all great neighborhoods and if you look hard enough you can probably find something cheap.
West Portland is pretty expensive until you get over the west hills and that might be too far away for a convenient commute to UO (plus east Portland is just better). But if you want to stay on the Westside, Goose Hollow or thereabouts is probably where I’d look. It’s near Portland State University so there’s plenty of cheap rent for students.
As a general rule, you can get just about anywhere in the immediate city of Portland by car in 20 minutes, bike in 30 and Bus/streetcar in 20-40 so as long as you're reasonably close I wouldn't worry about commute times too much, and many of those neighborhoods would let you walk to school if you don’t mind it taking a little longer.
Too be honest, there really aren't too many thrilling architecture sights around Portland. The Pearl district, Mississippi, and Alberta have a collection of pretty decent art galleries, Powell's City of Books is my favorite place in the world, and the Saturday Market right outside UO campus might be a place to spend a couple hours. Portland is really laid back and isn't really the kind of place to go site-seeing, so you might find it a little uneventful, but I've been here too long so someone else with fresh eyes might have better ideas.
If you're desperate, I know the big firms are almost always hiring. It certainly won't be thrilling work but it might serve to pay the bills ZGF, SRG, and a few other corporate acronyms. I'm not in touch with any of these places though so you might want to talk to someone who is.
I'm leaving Portland come summer, kind of makes me sad....
i really appreciate all of the info. right now a lot of it doesnt make any sense to me, but thats because Ive never been there, Ill understand come thursday morning I am sure. I do know that the city is broken into quadrants so I understand that part, and Im guessing each quadrant is broken down into its neghborhoods?
as far as finding a place to live, i know each city can be a little different. is it best jsut to walk around town in teh neighborhoods you like and look for "for rent" signs? or is it better to hit up something onlien to get a better idea of what is available? or craigslist? what do you recommend for portland. liek here in atlanta, id recommend craigslist for sublets but walk/drive around town looking for what you want.
thanks for the names of some corporate firms, I may look into that, but I have a feeling that if I cant get a job at a place i want, then I may just try and get a job at REI or a bike shop until school starts after the year.
A word about residency: you might want to talk to someone about your plan to gain residency by postponing your entrance date. UO does not automatically grant residency status just because you've been living in Oregon for a year.
They take into consideration your dependency status, where your income comes from, last taxes filed etc. I'm in the process of requesting a residency status and you are expected to prove a lot. They also look at if your sole purpose for coming to Oregon is for educational purposes.
I had never encountered such thick red tape before but from what i understand, its not uncommon.
Agreed about the residency issues. I'm from Oregon so I never had to deal with it personally, but everyone I know who tried to get residency had HUGE problems. I'm tempted to say that a year won't be enough to prove it, so you might want to move earlier rather than later to give yourself some extra time to research what you really need for residency. Isn't the M.Arch at UO one of the cheapest in the country for out-of-state anyway? It might not be worth the hassle of floating along for 1+ years at some corporate hellhole, when you might not be in such bad shape for student loans anyway.
As for things to see, explore Oregon a bit more...go to Astoria, try to head down to central oregon and get your desert on. While down there, go to bend and eat at Rico's Tacos. it's good people. If you've got time, go to Eugene, see some hippies, and check out the new courthouse that Morphosis recently completed.
i really appreciate everyone's responses, it is more info than I was expecting to get. i just got back from my trip out there and all I have to say about the city and program are good things. the new building rocks, the prorgam and students pretty cool and the city is awesome. im getting excited about moving out there.
about residency...thanks for the heads up. i figured it wouldnt be too easy to get the in-state tuition break. i talked to someone (i forgot her name) about it and she said it shoudlnt be a problem, but she could just be saying that. i understand teh requirements about getting residency (basically drivers license, car tag, live and work for a year, financial independence), that should be no problem. i guess the catch comes when it comes time to go back to school. it sounds like it is left up to the school, and that kinda sucks. but i guess the good thing is that it really isnt that big of a difference in costs if i dont get in-state or not. i guess ill just suck it up. work at that corporate firm for a few extra years after school before doing what i really want to do.
archstanton...you said you are going through the process of trying to get in-state currently. coudl you maybe give me a few tips on what to and what not to do. also are you planning on doing both of your years at eugene?
misterTT...yeah i really want to get out of the city to check out the rest of the state. while i was there i was trying to figure out how to get to forest park but probably 90% of the people i asked either didnt know what it was or confused it with another park. i finally asked some people at the north face store and they told me where it was and how to get there, but i had to catch my flight home...bummer. but yes, i will definitely take your advice and explore the rest of the state and region. so another question comes to you. im thinking abotu going carless, which is fine and dandy for the city, but is it logistically possible for me to get out and do things (backpacking, mountain biking, mountaineering) without a car? i know there is zipcar but thats not really feasible to rent that for a weekend.
I think it's all about your personality. If you are the kind of person that meets tons of other people and does everyhting in groups, then maybe it would work out okay. I personally wouldn't want to be without a car there, if for no reason other than that when you want to escape into the wilderness, there's no bus to get you there :)
I've got friends who do it, but it's out of financial necessity. I would say that if you plan on being adventurous at all, you should get a $2000 beater with decent gas mileage, and use it only when you're leaving the city.
Well, I don't have any pointers really about the residency issue. I've been here a year and I thought I had it, but I was shocked to find out I was initially denied. It was probably because I took a Physics class and Algebra class at the community college to prepare for the program. As if I moved across the country just to take 6 units at a community college! So that would be my biggest advice: don't take any classes whatsoever at a college.
So now I'm petitioning the decision and really I feel like their decision will be somewhat arbitrary. For all appearances, I should be in-state but it really seems like its more a matter of chance.
I was planning on doing my last year in Portland, but since I moved out here a year ago, I've really enjoyed small town living. In fact, even moving to Eugene was like moving to the "big city" for me. I like Portland, but right now I'm leaning toward staying in Eugene.
if you are in PDX, you can pretty much get around sans auto. to get to outlying areas it certainly helps, but there you'll find peeps w/ cars to bum rides from. i recommend putting that 2k into decent arch. books and a fixie.
most states have difficult laws for getting in-state tuition. UW is really lax. VA you basically have to buy a house and live in it for a year, and even then it's no guarantee.
portland, or
ok, so i have been accepted into the master program at the university of oregon in portland. i am going to visit the school and city during the later half of this week and over the weekend. during my visit there my goals were to try and interview for a job and to try and find a place to live. im not moving to portland until late august (i am going to defer my masters for one more year so i can get in-state tuition).
so my question to al of you is this...
im going to look for an apartment, any recommendations of which area of the city? any of you familiar with the city enough to give me any info whatsoever. other than its a great city and that it rains a lot, i hear that a lot and I cant wait to experience it. i am an avid cyclist and outdoorsy person so i think it will be a great fit for me.
and also, if you had 4 days in portland (1 of which is taken up by the grad open house at UO) what would you see/do? any specific architecty things to see/do? Ive doen some research on firms and have contacted a few, but it seems that no one is hiring now or in the near future so i will be going around and dropping off portfolios here and there.
thanks a lot.
-geoff
geoff
I have never been to Portland, but am in love with the city (from everything I have heard about it). I am planning on relocating there at some point in time.
I am sure that you will have a great time!
Geoff, congratulations on school, Portland is a really great place to be, I'm sure you'll love it here.
The UO campus is in a perfect location, right in the center of the city so in terms of places to live, you have many options. As a student I'm assuming you want something cheap with a short commute to campus. I'd recommend something in northeast Portland, just across the river from the UO campus. Some neighborhoods to look at might be Alberta, Mississippi Street, or Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., all of these are relatively cheap neighborhoods with good things happening and great places to hang out. Neighborhoods in southeast Portland that might be good are Belmonte, Hawthorne or Laurelhurst, these will be a little more expensive but they're all great neighborhoods and if you look hard enough you can probably find something cheap.
West Portland is pretty expensive until you get over the west hills and that might be too far away for a convenient commute to UO (plus east Portland is just better). But if you want to stay on the Westside, Goose Hollow or thereabouts is probably where I’d look. It’s near Portland State University so there’s plenty of cheap rent for students.
As a general rule, you can get just about anywhere in the immediate city of Portland by car in 20 minutes, bike in 30 and Bus/streetcar in 20-40 so as long as you're reasonably close I wouldn't worry about commute times too much, and many of those neighborhoods would let you walk to school if you don’t mind it taking a little longer.
Too be honest, there really aren't too many thrilling architecture sights around Portland. The Pearl district, Mississippi, and Alberta have a collection of pretty decent art galleries, Powell's City of Books is my favorite place in the world, and the Saturday Market right outside UO campus might be a place to spend a couple hours. Portland is really laid back and isn't really the kind of place to go site-seeing, so you might find it a little uneventful, but I've been here too long so someone else with fresh eyes might have better ideas.
If you're desperate, I know the big firms are almost always hiring. It certainly won't be thrilling work but it might serve to pay the bills ZGF, SRG, and a few other corporate acronyms. I'm not in touch with any of these places though so you might want to talk to someone who is.
I'm leaving Portland come summer, kind of makes me sad....
Anyways I hope this was helpful.
citrus...
i really appreciate all of the info. right now a lot of it doesnt make any sense to me, but thats because Ive never been there, Ill understand come thursday morning I am sure. I do know that the city is broken into quadrants so I understand that part, and Im guessing each quadrant is broken down into its neghborhoods?
as far as finding a place to live, i know each city can be a little different. is it best jsut to walk around town in teh neighborhoods you like and look for "for rent" signs? or is it better to hit up something onlien to get a better idea of what is available? or craigslist? what do you recommend for portland. liek here in atlanta, id recommend craigslist for sublets but walk/drive around town looking for what you want.
thanks for the names of some corporate firms, I may look into that, but I have a feeling that if I cant get a job at a place i want, then I may just try and get a job at REI or a bike shop until school starts after the year.
thanks again for all of your info.
-geoff
geoff-
Congrats... I'm entering the M.Arch in Eugene.
A word about residency: you might want to talk to someone about your plan to gain residency by postponing your entrance date. UO does not automatically grant residency status just because you've been living in Oregon for a year.
They take into consideration your dependency status, where your income comes from, last taxes filed etc. I'm in the process of requesting a residency status and you are expected to prove a lot. They also look at if your sole purpose for coming to Oregon is for educational purposes.
I had never encountered such thick red tape before but from what i understand, its not uncommon.
Good luck.
Agreed about the residency issues. I'm from Oregon so I never had to deal with it personally, but everyone I know who tried to get residency had HUGE problems. I'm tempted to say that a year won't be enough to prove it, so you might want to move earlier rather than later to give yourself some extra time to research what you really need for residency. Isn't the M.Arch at UO one of the cheapest in the country for out-of-state anyway? It might not be worth the hassle of floating along for 1+ years at some corporate hellhole, when you might not be in such bad shape for student loans anyway.
As for things to see, explore Oregon a bit more...go to Astoria, try to head down to central oregon and get your desert on. While down there, go to bend and eat at Rico's Tacos. it's good people. If you've got time, go to Eugene, see some hippies, and check out the new courthouse that Morphosis recently completed.
I miss it :(
to everyone,
i really appreciate everyone's responses, it is more info than I was expecting to get. i just got back from my trip out there and all I have to say about the city and program are good things. the new building rocks, the prorgam and students pretty cool and the city is awesome. im getting excited about moving out there.
about residency...thanks for the heads up. i figured it wouldnt be too easy to get the in-state tuition break. i talked to someone (i forgot her name) about it and she said it shoudlnt be a problem, but she could just be saying that. i understand teh requirements about getting residency (basically drivers license, car tag, live and work for a year, financial independence), that should be no problem. i guess the catch comes when it comes time to go back to school. it sounds like it is left up to the school, and that kinda sucks. but i guess the good thing is that it really isnt that big of a difference in costs if i dont get in-state or not. i guess ill just suck it up. work at that corporate firm for a few extra years after school before doing what i really want to do.
archstanton...you said you are going through the process of trying to get in-state currently. coudl you maybe give me a few tips on what to and what not to do. also are you planning on doing both of your years at eugene?
misterTT...yeah i really want to get out of the city to check out the rest of the state. while i was there i was trying to figure out how to get to forest park but probably 90% of the people i asked either didnt know what it was or confused it with another park. i finally asked some people at the north face store and they told me where it was and how to get there, but i had to catch my flight home...bummer. but yes, i will definitely take your advice and explore the rest of the state and region. so another question comes to you. im thinking abotu going carless, which is fine and dandy for the city, but is it logistically possible for me to get out and do things (backpacking, mountain biking, mountaineering) without a car? i know there is zipcar but thats not really feasible to rent that for a weekend.
so again thanks in advance.
-geoff
about going carless:
I think it's all about your personality. If you are the kind of person that meets tons of other people and does everyhting in groups, then maybe it would work out okay. I personally wouldn't want to be without a car there, if for no reason other than that when you want to escape into the wilderness, there's no bus to get you there :)
I've got friends who do it, but it's out of financial necessity. I would say that if you plan on being adventurous at all, you should get a $2000 beater with decent gas mileage, and use it only when you're leaving the city.
Geoff:
Well, I don't have any pointers really about the residency issue. I've been here a year and I thought I had it, but I was shocked to find out I was initially denied. It was probably because I took a Physics class and Algebra class at the community college to prepare for the program. As if I moved across the country just to take 6 units at a community college! So that would be my biggest advice: don't take any classes whatsoever at a college.
So now I'm petitioning the decision and really I feel like their decision will be somewhat arbitrary. For all appearances, I should be in-state but it really seems like its more a matter of chance.
I was planning on doing my last year in Portland, but since I moved out here a year ago, I've really enjoyed small town living. In fact, even moving to Eugene was like moving to the "big city" for me. I like Portland, but right now I'm leaning toward staying in Eugene.
if you are in PDX, you can pretty much get around sans auto. to get to outlying areas it certainly helps, but there you'll find peeps w/ cars to bum rides from. i recommend putting that 2k into decent arch. books and a fixie.
most states have difficult laws for getting in-state tuition. UW is really lax. VA you basically have to buy a house and live in it for a year, and even then it's no guarantee.
Don't forget to see Mt. Angel Abbey Library, about an hour south of Portland. One of only two US buildings by Aalto, and well worth the schlep.
http://www.mtangel.edu/library/photos/SKYLIGHTWELLC.JPG
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