Thread: Portland State University

And also what is living in Portland like, as I would have to be doing that as well.

I haven't lived in Portland for a while, but I still visit from time to time. I absolutely love Portland. There's so much to do, there's an excellent public transportation system (busses and the Max light-rail line), and the beach is only an hour or so away. The school is right downtown, so if that's your thing then you'd like it. While Portland is a big city, it's one where you don't feel like you're walled in by skyscrapers and other buildings. It's very green, on account of being fairly rainy most of the year, but I find it beautiful on sunny days. During the winter, if it snows, people panic because they're not accustomed to driving on ice/snow and there are very few snow plows, so if that's a factor at all, then make of it what you will. If not, then it's one of my observations.

There's an awesome music scene, and really just art in general. It's a great place for artists who are just starting up to get their feet wet. There are a lot of clubs or coffee shops where you can ask to play (if you're a musician) and meet other artists. There are always plays, productions, concerts, and other shows going on somewhere, and you can usually find something that will fit your budget. There's a large number of immigrants as well, so if you're looking to interact with people from other countries, it should be relatively easy, especially at PSU. There are different regions in and outside of Portland that have more heavily concentrated ethnic groups (ie. Woodburn has a lot of Russians).

I don't know how the housing would be. There are plenty of apartments downtown (as I don't think PSU has any formal dormitories, but I could be wrong), but I don't know exactly how expensive they are. Some of them, I believe, are operated by PSU so they might have their own prices, but that would be something you'd have to look into.

It's a fairly liberal city, as is the rest of north-western Oregon (Portland, Salem, Eugene, the big cities). I don't know if that affects your decision, either, and you can make of it what you will, but people in Portland are a bit more outspoken about their opinions and controversies are vocalized more there than in the rest of the state.

I really do love Portland overall, though yes, I'm biased. I love Oregon in general. Granted we make up for no sales tax with high income and property taxes, but it's a beautiful state and especially on the west coast (though eastern Oregon has it's... charm). Also, PSU is less expensive than the other Oregon state-schools, and I think cheaper than a number of universities on the west-coast, though I'm not sure about the out-of-state tuition. I thought about going there, but I ended up in Montana (which I also love), so I can't really say much else.

Anyway, I hope my shameless plug was helpful in some way.

That was exactly the kind of thing I was looking for, lol. Thank you very much. It's nice to see someone with a lot of love for their city. I live in Buffalo, NY and it's considered a "dying" city... so 80% of the people here are just looking for a way out. Civic pride is a rare thing here.

What's the MAX rail like? crowd wise... I'm rather claustrophobic so I wouldn't be able to use it if it's always packed.

I don't know as I've never ridden it, but I would imagine that it would be like most light-rails/metros/etc. It's probably crowded at certain times of the day (6-8am and 4-6pm or so), but then less so at others. It would probably be trial and error to see what those times are, but I would highly doubt that the MAX is always crowded.