We live in an amazing place. Portland, Oregon is an incredible city, has always been an incredible city, but it is changing by the hour. I've lived in Oregon for over 40 years, and the working-class logging town is loooong gone. Portland is not even the place where "young people go to retire" anymore, and it's getting less "weird" by the second. Suddenly the world has discovered our little oasis and it wants to live here. It's happening so fast it's pretty alarming. An entire new population is moving in, displacing whole neighborhoods and changing the character of the city. Overnight historic homes are being demolished and enormous condo projects rise in their places. We've only been here ten years, but feel like real old timers when we remember the barbershop that used to be where the fashionable Albina Press coffee house is now. "Remember that bar before it was a "vintage arcade-with-beer"? Remember that mechanics before it became a high-end bistro? Remember that taco truck before it became a 147-unit condo?" Yes, we nod our greying heads sagely, like it was yesterday. Because it was!
We live on 50th street in southeast Portland. THE prime neighborhood in the nation for real estate. On our street alone there is the above-mentioned 147 unit condo nearing completion, another 12 unit townhouse row also nearing completion, a 27 unit condo only about 1/3 way done, another 12 unit townhouse block finished six months ago, a newly-demolished site where 16 units will go in shortly, another block to our north has just had a permit issued for demolition with the plan of a 47 unit condo going in. This is just on our street alone. Last week we got a notice that the 100 year old house behind us will be demolished next month, and four townhouses going in. Right behind us. Looking into our backyard.
Trying not to panic we called our landscape/contractor guy immediately and scheduled a replacement of our back fence, making it much higher, with lattice on top for privacy, and we are planning on fencing around the entire house next year. Maybe put a deck on our garage to use as much of our property as we can. It's time to stick out our elbows and claim our space in this ever-changing, NOISY world. It's horrific how many dump trucks, cement trucks, and work trucks of all kinds it takes to build a condo. It's deafening, constant vibration, rumbling, idling, shouting, maddening. And it's disorienting! Every time I leave the house to walk the dog I see new demolitions, new builds, old trees gone, entire blocks restructured and I think, "where am I?"
So I think we're in for it. There is no escape when the build is right next to you. Think good thoughts for us over the next year, and beyond. My plan is to hunker down, get out of town as often as possible, and make more chocolate cake.
Happy Monday everyone!
xoxo DR
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