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Saturday, October 13, 2012

5 Reasons Why Portland Rain is so Sweet

It rained yesterday and Portland's long summer came to an end. It had been the longest stretch of contiguous rainless, only sunny days in Portland, Oregon since 1871.

We had all gotten used to it, and when it rained it reminded us all of what we have in front of us for the next several months. Before you move to Portland, everyone whines about the rain. How are you going to be able to stand all the rain? Won't it be gloomy? Oh, I would miss the sun, they say.

I have a love/like relationship with rain. In Colorado, where I grew up, rain was so rare that my mom pulled chairs out onto our front porch to enjoy it. She missed the big rains of Montana's big skies. It is so dry in the west that the unusual rains bring all the scents to life, makes you feel thrillingly cozy and melancholic.

After I moved to Sydney, Australia, and worked a dreary, weekday job, I counted 41 consecutive rainy weekends which threatened to unhinge me. Living in Germany, weeks would yawn by without a patch of sunlight, only low hung gray clouds, day after day, until the dazzling springs turned into summers.

Yes, it rains often in Portland. Yes, it's often gray or white in the sky. But here's why it's so good.

1) Rain brings out the character in people. When you're in the sun all the time, you never develop the more fascinating parts of your shadowy personality; the smile is never supposed to leave your face. The lack of water makes all the optimism a bit tense and exhausting. But rain makes handsome men grow beards. It makes computer nerd girls take up burlesque dancing. It makes nearly everyone in Portland's neighborhoods east of the river at least seriously consider getting a tattoo to express the iconography of their deepest soul. It ignites a sense of humor, an appreciation for the whimsical. Rain gives people have challenging thoughts, spurs them to consider alternatives to the accustomed. Somebody's got to have deep thoughts, and Portlanders have them in spades.

2) It's always temporary. The rain occurs for two to three days and then the sun comes out. Wondrously, the clouds scoot aside and  the blue sky shines. You can pretty much count on it. There's an end to the gray. In other parts of the world, where the drabness hangs around without any actual rain occurring, only unrelenting, stubborn overcast. If it's not actively raining, about to rain, or having just finished raining, the sun will come out again. Then it makes it all worth it to have Portland moist and damp and nourished with the sun glinting through the trees. It's luscious.


3) Plant life flourishes effortlessly. The abundance of rain means we don't have to water our lawns. They turn California-brown by summer's end, but green up again in October. If you've ever lived in a dry place you know how slowly things grow, and how one has to baby them until they've taken root, how obsessed one can be moving the sprinklers around, desperate to make plants thrive. Not so in Portland. Some of the most extravagant, finicky plant life grows here easily: Japanese maples, bright blue hydrangeas, staghorn sumac, trees both deciduous and coniferous. Rhododendrons are like dandelions, they are so common. Also: Roses.

4) The rain creates a constant cleansing effect. The water washes Portland regularly. Portland never feels dry, crackly, static or dessicated. The air smells fresh, and the water in the air carries lovely scents and breezes. It smells full and fresh and rich of soil. It makes our skin and hair feel and look better. Just wait a little while, and the magical rain will clean the roads and cars and buildings again. You won't have to wait long.

5) In spite of of all the rain, Portland has an active civic and natural life. People are out in bookstores, having conversations in coffee shops, going dancing, seeing bands, sitting around talking about books, and making and eating amazing food. People get out of their houses and among each other, thinking, making plans, growing ideas, being involved in the world. And they hike, bike and boat around in the rain, enjoying the lush forests of the Pacific Northwest.


Friday, October 5, 2012

Working with a real Realtor is Better

A Redfin study of online property listing services found that 36-37% of (online realty listing service) Zillow's and Trulia's property listings are out-of-date. Sold. Gone. No longer active.

Another reason to work closely with a Portland neighborhood real estate broker who will give her clients 100% of her attention and make sure that the homes they are seeing are actually for sale!

Redfin Study Finds independent online property listing services inaccurate