Portland, OR redux?

Years ago I lived in PDX.  Well, my _stuff_ was in PDX but I really lived in Singapore for a large chunk of that time.  I moved there for a boy.  It didn’t work out as my items were literally being loaded onto the moving truck from New York.  I still remember the call.

I guess he didn’t expect me to move out anyway because I didn’t know anyone there.  And my very portable job left me with no colleagues.  Essentially, I’d have to start over.

So I did.

I’ve done that several more times.  And each time, I got a little more ballsy.  CA, knowing few people but with a job.  London, no job, no friends, but a design program.  China, no job, no friends, no nothing, not even the language.  China just about broke me.

I explored going back to SFO, and then decided on NYC.  I wanted to rebuild my relationship with my parents.  The dream of being back in NY, work opportunities, and serious family illness kept me in NY.

But now I’m in this other town.  And this other town has a feeling that is so super familiar to Portland, OR.  Lots of runners (and now, I’m actually one of them!), smartish people,a quirky feel,  decent food, a studio where I could potentially work from, affordable living (to some extent), great music scene (that I could afford!), Fry’s (hey, don’t judge!  ).  But unlike Portland, it also has a great Chinese community.  I had found a group to practice PuTongHua with (something that I still struggle to find in NYC).  Fantastic authentic Chinese restaurants and supermarkets.  More sunlight.

Hmm, it does make me think…