Oregon Moving on up ... Good places to go?

Hey,

I'm relocating to Oregon (nw Goonies territory) in a few weeks and was wondering what kind of interesting spots are in Oregon... as in, great bookstores with SF sections, SF/fantasy, comic book shops, hobbies shops, etc.

I already know and love Powell's, but that's about it.

Any suggestions would be appreciated!

 

There is nothing here for you! Leave while you still can!

Haha, j/k.

I honestly know of nothing of interest in Oregon. There is a town here called "Boring, Oregon." I think that says a lot about the state. There is plenty going on in Portland, though, I can't speak for any of the other towns here except to say that not one of them meets my minimum requirements for size, haha.

Powell's is pretty cool I suppose.

 

Well, if you're ever down in Salem, you can check out the Book Bin, Paperback Exchange, Escape Fiction, Borders, Borderlands, Jackson's Books and I'm sure there's a bunch I'm forgetting.

 

First of all is your present location. Where will you start your adventure from? There are lots of places to find your SF/SW collecting needs if you know where to look, so don't listen to those that don't venture beyond their bedrooms,j/k. Powell's is a good start. Down W. Burnside is Billy Galaxy's, then on the otherside of the river on Burnside is Dr.something 3D house(Nice toy store), Toy Bliss in Pioneer Courthouse Square area. Otherwise you'll have to wait awhile for the Portland ComicBook Show in Oct. or the Palmerwirfs Antique Show at the Expo Center in July.

 

Thanks guys (gals?)... Great to have a list of places to hit. Are there any cool cafes where people can game and read, hang out?

Bowen, is Oregon your home state? I used to hate my hometown passionately, but then I moved to a truly rural area for college...

I think different places are relative to what you enjoy. The worst thing about living in Southern California for the last five years is that, outside of some nightclubs and the like in West Hollywood, everything is geared towards "day" people. I lived in a great beach town for over a year, only half an hour from San Diego, but was constantly frustrated by stores and restaurants throughout the metro area closing at 6, cafes closing at 2 or 3 in the afternoon. It's also true of LA.

I'm moving to the greater Astoria area which I am fairly familiar with -- as in, I'll be willing to drive out of town to see the good stuff. (grin). Portland's not far. Nor is Corvallis, Salem. Anything within 5 hours is not too far.

Going to take me a while to get used to other people pumping my gas...but the lack of sales tax should make up for it.

 

It depends on where you're going. There's a neat little place called Starbucks. Maybe you've heard of it. There's only like one on every street.

 

Bah, having to pump your own gas is horrible. That is one great thing about Oregon. This state isn't all bad. No sales tax is great, no gas pumping is even better.

I mean, yeah ok maybe if you are wearing overalls and driving a pickup truck it's no big deal to jump out of your farmer Joe pickup truck and pump the gas yourself, but if you are cruising down the highway in your Ferrari or Aston Martin or even a Celica, Mustang, Eclipse, or 350Z, WHO wants to get out of their car and pump their own gas? If you're driving to work in a nice business suit and ready for a meeting, but then you have to pump your own gas, what the heck gives with that?

Ugg pumping your own gas is so stupid, it should be legally required everywhere that there is someone to pump your gas for you.

As for sales tax, I hate all taxes, especially that one. I'd rather have sales tax on everything, though, and no income taxes. I think income taxes should be illegal. They always were before and they were only supposed to be enforced during war time. Now they are here forever. Most people pay more money to the government in taxes than for food, car payments, and house payments combined! Very sad, pathetic fact that should be fixed.

"Bowen, is Oregon your home state? I used to hate my hometown passionately, but then I moved to a truly rural area for college..."

Yes this is my home state. I like a few things about Oregon, but our educational system here is horrible, it is a national joke, our unemployment rate is incredibly high, and all that means our economy sucks. Not to mention the weather here is horrible. I cannot tolerate a state with this much rain. It just depresses me. I think it should rain no more than like 15 days per year. ZERO would be even better, though.

If you go to the right places in a huge city like Los Angeles, there is plenty of nightlife. The only places where there is no night life is small towns. Some cities are more well known for it than others, though, like I'd say Florida is a huge party-at-night area, at least in some of those beach towns.

I'm alreading dreaming about my condo in sunny Southern California, hehe. Probably somewhere right near Beverly Hills or Brentwood or Santa Monica, etc.

 

Nobody is on the Oregon forum. How odd, it's the whole state.

 

No sales tax!

I agree with you about SoCal. When I lived in Orange County, it was as if the sidewalks rolled up at 7pm. Once had friends arrive late and we couldn't find anyplace to go out to eat at 9pm except fast food!

On another forum, one of the members who lives in Portland says he likes to hang out at Bodacious Classics Restaurant and Pumphouse
2433 SE Powell Bvd, Portland

and than on Tues and Thur, people come in costume. He wears his Star Wars "dark Jedi" costume then.

I like Corvallis and have friends there (will be down there this weekend, in fact) but don't often go into town or out shopping so don't know the good places. They live on 20 acres near the river, and have tons of books, so who needs to go anywhere else! Oh, yeah...Nearly Normal's!!!!! Great Funky place with good food. That's were we always go with the friends who live there!

 

I spend a lot of time in Corvallis, I guess most of my time is spent in Corvallis overall because of OSU.

I am moving into my new apartment on July 8 or so, I can't wait. I won't actually be living there until September, but I'm just getting it all set up for next year. I'll probably keep that place for two years because it's right off campus, one block away, best location in all of Corvallis for an OSU student. Apartment building is one year old, I got a one-bedroom, so plenty of space for just me. Have a nice room and then a living area with a kitchen, my own nice bathroom, etc. Elevators in the building make moving easier, too. It's pretty tight, but expensive, which is fine with me I saved plenty of money last year living in a lousy place, haha.

 

Nobody is on the Oregon forum. How odd, it's the whole state.

Heh, yeah, it's really just like, the Willamette Valley FanForce, lol. Slowly people'll start to find out about this!

 

Dr.Tongues is the name of the toy store
and Astoria is awesome Goonies and Kindergardin cop where both filmed thier
and as far as good places to go all the places named are all scalper shops except toy bliss but they still have high prices for figures and stuff, the figures are around 7 bucks a piece but they often have what your lookin for, also in tigard theirs a place called toys from another time they are also a scalper shop but I have gotten a deal or two from them, but I am also friends with them, and friends with the owner of borderlands in Salem , but borderlands doesnt sell SW figures anymore

 

You're moving to Astoria? Are you serious?

Wow - someone from the JC will live close to me! I live in Warrenton, right between Astoria and Seaside (15 minutes from each)

There isn't a whole lot to do in Astoria, at least not for those of us who've grown up here. The city gets pretty dead late at night but it's fun to hang out with friends nad such downtown. Portland is only an hour and a half - two hours away, and Beaverton isn't too far either.

Most of the time for shopping and stuff my sister and I drive over the bridge to Washington and go to Longview or Longbeach.


Anyways, if you have any questions about the area, let me know, I've lived here for...9 years now. I moved here in the 3rd grade and I just graduated HS last year.


EDIT: yes, Goonies and Kindergarden cop was filmed here, and so was Free Willy and a couple other shows I can't think of.

 

the first short circuit was partially shot there too.

I like to go to movie madness at SE Belmont and 44th Ave in portland. they only rent but have also got a nice collection of movie props and costumes on display. they also have a VERY wide selection on oth vhs and dvd including some hard to find and out of print( as well as never IN print) titles. really cheap too compared to blockbuster and hollywood.

it's probably easie for me to get there( i'm in St. Helens) but it'd be worth the trip if you're already going to portland.

 

Seaside is pretty fun I think, I have been there a few times and had a good time. I mean... our beaches pretty much suck compared to Southern California or Mexico (our ocean is TOO COLD, lol), but Seaside is tight, you got a lot of things to do in that area during the summer at least...

I love Santa Monica's beach, hmm, haven't even been to most of the good ones there though, I want to go to Malibu.

 

What area are you from Bowen? Seaside's not bad, I work down there and sometimes I wander around downtown - they just WAY overprice things so I try not to shop down there.

The biggest problem I've got with living here is that gas prices go WAY up during any type of school vacation becuase of tourists and because we have SO little in the ways of shopping and such. Most of Seasides "Downtown" shuts down during the school year too.

 

Well I'm from Portland, but yeah we have went to Seaside during the summer a number of times just to hang out and enjoy your overpriced entertainment! Haha, j/k. I guess I never much noticed, I went when I was younger too.

I can imagine Seaside is one of those places that booms during the summer and is pretty quiet or dead during the winter. We used to have a house down at Lincoln City in Salishan, a private housing community. Our house was right on the beach, but with the golf course across the street, so that was always lots of fun. I mean, we stopped going there as much during the winter though. I really never liked it much during the winter. It was nice during the summer because going on the beach is fun and you could go golfing and whatnot, but in the winter it was just a smaller house that required a total of like 4-5 hours driving and some time getting things ready. It wasn't much worth going there, which is why probably we sold that house eventually. We just didn't use it enough.

Ah well, I kinda miss that house sometimes, it was fun, but oh well I love this house we are in, I don't feel like even taking vacations because this house is like a dream, haha. I mean going to Hawaii or Mexico is usually fun, but only during the winter, I'd just as soon be here during the summer. Portland summers are great from about late June / early July through most of September (if you're lucky).

 

So what's it like living in Portland? I've never lived anywhere that big. The biggest town I've lived in is Medford but I was only 6 when we moved from there and I've been in Seaside/Warrenton/Astoria area since I was 8. It's a nice area, small and the people are real friendly, but I hate tourist towns, especially gas prices during Tourist Season. 'tis awful.


Though we do go to Portland for shopping, except I can't find my way around Portland w/out getting lost. I'm pathetic. LOl

 

Haha, well I like big cities, but Portland is not huge by any means. It is small as cities go, but nonetheless sufficient size I think. I don't like small towns because there just aren't enough stores and there aren't enough things to do. At least, I could never see myself living in a small town. Portland is about as small as I'd like to go.

We live pretty far from the center of the city, though, so we have 40 acres up on Skyline, but can get downtown in about 15 minutes and our zip code is still part of Portland (barely). I don't like driving around downtown, personally, I think most cities have obnoxious driving conditions downtown, I mean there are constantly one way streets, stop lights all over, etc. I prefer to walk around downtown. Park somewhere and then just walk. That's what we did when we saw AOTC in Seattle, too, and that worked fine.

I even get annoyed with downtown Corvallis, ugg, I've never seen such a poorly laid out town in my life. I cannot figure that place out, nor do I try. I just know how to get into the place and go to my apartment, but beyond that, hey, you got me. I'll have lived in Corvallis off and on for three years, but have no clue what is there or how to get around, haha. I just drive to my place, straight into town, and then walk to nearby restaurants, lol.

Another thing I really can't stand is having poor access to new movies that open, so that's why I like being right in Portland because I can get to a theater playing any movie that is open pretty much, except the ones just playing in NYC and LA. I go to Fox Tower when I need to do so, then to Movies on TV occassionally, and usually to Evergreen Parkway, but also sometimes Tigard Cinemas, which is really nice now after their whole remodeling.

 

Oh, I know Portland isn't huge, but I've livedin this area so long that Portland FEELS huge to me. I like the small cities, people are so much...personal and its easier for me to get around.

But when I go into Astoria I park someplace and walk most places. I don't like trying to parallel park downtown Astoria - espeically since I don't know how to parallel park and it scares me anyways. I'm scared of hitting someone's car.

 

Yeah I don't think I have even once in my two years of driving had to parallel park anywhere. I have parked on curbs where I just drove there, but never that whole nonsense with a car in front and one behind, then having to back in, bah, that's horrible. Anyway they should make cars where the wheels turn sideways and you just push a button and it moves you into the spot, lol. It looks so stupid to back into a parking space like that, seriously.

I don't go downtown basically, and when I do, I don't park on the street, I pick a lot.

The worst part of parallel parking is having someone behind you and you're trying to park, but they're trying to drive or whatever.

I don't like the idea of small towns, you can't be anonymous, all of the sudden everyone knows everyone else, bah. I like to be in big cities where you can go about your business and work without having to worry about other people.

 

Yeah, I've tried to parallel park once before, but the person behind me was so close I couldn't do it. Stupid people.

The way I do it is if there is lots of room and I go in nose first and do some manuevering 'til I'm in the spot the right way. But usually I don't park in spaces where I need to parallel park, though in Astoria there aren't many places to park except on the road.

You're right, you can't be ananymous in a small town. Every time I go to the store or go into town I'm bound to see or run into someone I know or someone I recognize (especailly since I work at a daycare so I know a lot of people). The part I hate is going to a fast food place or something and someone working behind the counter goes to school with me. Its just...weird.

 

Haha, that is funny, reminds me of American Graffiti or something, one of those small towns where you cruise around and know everyone.

It's funny how even in a relatively small town like Corvallis I don't run into a lot of people who I know from high school. While on campus I have not once seen Whitney, for instance, this hot girl from my class. I suppose I have seen most of the other JHS kids who went to OSU, but not all. I only saw Lauren once and talked to her a bit, because I had no idea she was there (she went to Providence originally, not OSU). I know at least three kids who started elsewhere and ended up at OSU, me being one of them, haha.

You can't beat $4,000 a year, no matter how mediocre the college, that's a GOOD deal! $25,000 a year at a private college is, in my view, unnecessary and wasteful. I am not convinced that any of those kids will be appreciably smarter than me, at least, coming out of places like that. It may look nicer to have "Stanford" on your diploma, I admit that, but I don't really care about my diploma anyway, I just have to get this over with, haha.