Getting to Know Portland

It has been harder for me to adjust to Portland than it was for me to adjust when I moved to Los Angeles, or Savannah. I am not sure what is different about Portland, but I know Adam is having a harder time adjusting to Portland than the other places he has moved also.

I can’t say that it was especially easy to adapt to L.A. or Savannah, and I am even pretty sure the only place I have ever REALLY liked living is my home town, Albuquerque, New Mexico.

I can’t help missing the wide open spaces and the clear sunny skies of the desert southwest. I love Albuquerque’s laid back attitude and cheap rent. I miss hiking in the foothills, climbing, and eating New Mexican food… which is not the same as Mexican food. I miss my old roller derby league. There are benefits to my current league, and I am adjusting, but I spent nearly 3 years playing with those Duke City girls. We were never as organized, productive, or polished as my current league… but we had a lot of fun practicing Vag. Assists, pretending to be polite ladies, and I occasionally I would come home after spending the night at my (then) boyfriends house ( now we are married) to find out that there had been a derby cuddle club meeting on my bed..!?!

There are things I DON’T LIKE about Portland. I don’t like the weather. I don’t like having other people pump my gas. I don’t like how overly regulated EVRYTHING seems to be. There have been more blatantly unpleasant people here than anywhere I have ever lived, my husband Adam agrees… and Adam has lived in New York City. We have also managed to offend a lot of people without intending to or really even understanding WHAT we did that bothered them. Of course we have met lots of awesome people too; it is just a very strange trend that we have noticed. We are also now living with our new 4 month old baby, so it may be the exhaustion and added edginess of having a new baby that has caused that strangeness. I also know that there are a ton of fun things to do here that we have not tried to do because we have a baby.

Have you ever had trouble adjusting to a new place???