r/portlandcomplaining

I was traveling on Brighton Ave and turning right onto Riverside. When turning right at the intersection you have a yield sign. I was (correctly) yielding to the oncoming traffic which has two lanes to flow into and a green arrow light giving them the right of way. This jackass speeds up behind me (I was stopped, correctly, and was semi-eyeing the rear view because a lot of folks do NOT slow down).

This guy came right up my butt and started beeping at me incessantly. I could see him motioning to the yield sign but like, what? A yield sign means the potential to stop, you drive up cautiously and YIELD the right of way if there is other traffic. IT DOES NOT MATTER IF THERE ARE TWO LANES. IF that meant anything there would be a MERGE sign, not yield.

FFS I'm so tired of others not understanding or blatantly ignoring the rules of the road. Putting all of us in danger. Nevermind it took all of 4 seconds for the traffic to clear and I went, so wtf dude? Did you poop yourself and need to get home asap? Calm down.

ETA proper parentheses!

Will be deleting this within 5 minutes because It comes from a dark place and I just need to deal with my feelings... I am also currently crashing from adderal as I write this.

I've lived here for three months and I'm already going insane.

It's a beautiful part of the country but it really is such an ugly, hyper-consumerist, incredibly self absorbed culture full of broken people, even by American city standards..

but every business is slapped with gay communist stickers so it's actually really subversive and anti capitalist here, isn't that so cool?.. .. .. ..

I've realized the type of person who chooses to live here is the type of person to have their dissonance quelled by stickers..

This culture is obsessed with sickness, everyone wants to be a victim soooo fucking bad, just so they can escape the sliver of accountability that comes with being a human. I'm generalizing obviously, but so many people here say they're "autistic" when they're just an asshole.. seems to me like it's really just a doctors note that says they don't need to care about your feelings... but don't ever say anything that could even be interpreted as unkind to them because THEY're hypersensitive and they'll start spiraling.. I've met plenty of asbergery actual autistic people that didn't feel the need to constantly remind me and use it as a regular excuse to wriggle out of work at every possible chance..

My second month here, I'm at a bar for dinner and I said the word "jewish", one time, literally just describing a friend of mine, who is jewish.. to the bartender, who asked what I'm up to as he's taking away my empty plate, and it caused these two very round very precious folx (both white) sitting at the bar next to me to recoil into their shell like hermit crabs..

:) :) - "Yeah I'm visiting my friend up in Seattle this weekend, he's super smart and interesting blah blah, he's awesome, he's this cranky old Jewish guy who makes.." - :/ >:0

Couldn't even finish my sentence, the shift in energy was so potent it put me on edge instantly, I looked over at them and they're staring at me recoiling in shock like I just called someone a slur.. doing the raised eyebrow side eyed concerned redditor (total phagitt) stare and glare.. clearly waiting for me to say something, so I immediately call over "hey I'm just talking about my friend don't worr.." and without even waiting for me to finish speaking the one closest to me goes "forsure bud" gives me a little sarcastic thumbs up, meekly looks away and takes a sip, staring straight ahead, the other guy just immediately avoided eye contact as soon as I turned my head towards them.. The bartender walks away due to cringe, but they both keep glancing over at me until I pay and leave a minute later. I felt so fucking ashamed of myself even though I knew I said nothing wrong.. I genuinely try to be sensitive about that kind of thing so the thought of me saying something that could make someone react like that was very upsetting in the moment.., because I thought I must've said something highly offensive on accident, which has never happened to me anywhere else but here lol... I knew in my heart there should've been nothing in that sentence to be offended by. When I got home I calmed down and realized that it clearly didn't matter what the context of my statement was to these folx.. they probably didn't even hear the context... they just found an excuse to shut someone down like a toddler and took it on reflex.. you said a baaaddd word.. these dudes looked like they were in their 50s...

That experience really coloured how I feel about the people here because so many of them are just like this..

I'm guessing based on the general appearance of this type of person, (like an old white trash lesbian if it was a guy, not quite big burly bearded tattooed Gen X liberal but very close, definitely an evolution or offshoot of that archetype, idk it's hard to describe, they're obsessed with shitty music that they think makes them seem younger, they look and dress kind of like a vape guy, but you can tell they're EXTREMELY liberal and have a lot more money?.. need to think about it more I dunno what to call this yet) that the only people they have really interacted with in their life, that haven't been service workers or homeless people, have broadly been other liberal, economically stable whites and asians, could be wrong though. I bring this up because I think most people who have worked with lower income brown people in a high stress, high stakes environment like I have don't feel this need to constantly check themselves or others for wrong speak because you learn pretty quick, damn everyone is extremely fucking racist, but also very similar... :)

This whole event is so comical in retrospect and yet im still disturbed because I've already had a few interactions like this here within a few months and literally nowhere else on earth, not even in Seattle where I lived for years..

grumpy old muslim guy, grumpy old chinese guy, grumpy old white guy, grumpy old jewish guy, grumpy old gay guy.. seriously what the fuck?.. if you thought I was bigoted or said something you weren't okay with maybe you should've asked me instead of making me feel ashamed of myself for just talking about my friend.. if it's a relevant descriptor (which it actually was for the story I was telling btw, most people think my friend is asian when I describe him, sounds weird but it makes sense in context) I'm allowed to say it you fat prick.

Also in my first month, literally in an attempt to be sensitive, I accidentally said "coloured people" in private conversation which I get now is considered pretty offensive, (I literally said it because I was nervous to say black people around this person, and trust me I am not constantly bringing race up with strangers and coworkers ISTG) but when I was corrected that the term we use now is "people of colour" I was like uhhhhhhhhh whoops.. thats what I thought I was saying, my apologies (true)... we were literally talking about how upsetting it is to see people struggling on the street you would be able to gather by what I was saying and my tone that I feel a lot of empathy towards them, definitely not a closet racist.. but it wasn't good enough for her of course and I'm like why are you still so upset with me if it was clearly a mistake, I apologized for what I said and I won't make the mistake again.. but we go in circles for minutes, (she's also white btw) luckily we just had to move on but it really felt like the only thing that would've satisfied her is if I were to say, haha yes I am actually racist Lisa you figured me out, I said coloured people instead of people of colour on purpose, even after I just told you how much I care about the disenfranchised, to put them down even though its only us talking because I, a white man, hate anyone different than me... just like TikTok said :0 ...

No I think it's just because I don't agree with the more absurd aspects of the culture here, I don't enter conversations by listing my ailments, I don't hide my true self like a chameleon, I don't obsess constantly over the identity, sexuality or ethnicity of individuals (I know this post is all about that, this is a one time thing, had to be done), I treat people the same no matter what they identify as, I don't believe in sacred cows or a fucking caste system, and I don't dress and or act like Kurtis Connor unfortunately...

To be honest, I've stopped even trying to talk to anybody here about anything because the conversations I find myself in quite often turn into just someone who I didn't realize was hyper-woke trying to figure out if I'm secretly MAGA, WHICH HAS NEVER HAPPENED TO ME EVER, OTHER THAN HERE IN PORTLAND OREGON.. my politics did not suddenly change when I moved here, I never had any problems anywhere near this bad with the people I worked with I considered extremely woke on the east coast okay? This shit is insane..

If I'm walking down the street at night and I see you and I get Benson Boone vibes, I'm moving to the other sidewalk now I'm sorry, I'm not taking that chance anymore.. you guys seem to enjoy emotionally gutting others like fish, making them feel like they said something to be ashamed of over trivial semantic shit.. I'm done.. If I see you have more than 3 tattoos visible that look ironic or post ironic.. and or have a horrible haircut that cost more than 50$, I'm calling the police because I don't feel safe.

I get these people probably felt like outcasts before they moved here and that might explain the very powerful social pressure, because they think they can't afford to lose their position in the gay hierarchy.. they probably think no one liked them back at home because they were queer or autistic growing up in a conservative county or something, when in reality, that probably is true, but here in the present I have zero problem with which gender you choose to have sex with.. I don't like you because you have put no effort into finding out who you really are as a person and are so clearly terrified to find out, so the culture you've costumed yourself in is literally all you have. the constant signaling of what group you belong to, or what level gay you are probably comes from the existential dread of having no real foundation or beliefs of your own, so any clear call out on how fake you are, or any resistance against your dogma you hear from me, however slight or misperceived, probably feels like a personal attack... At Powells books the big bookstore here they have this wall full of pins with lgbtq labels so you can pick your identity off the wall and put it on yourself so ultimately, imo, you never have to do any work to figure out who you really are, because that's a painful process and takes some actual effort..

I have a lot of empathy for people who felt ostracized growing up because I was too.. and it's not the pitiful slobby fat bitch aesthetic or even their personal politics I despise the most.. it's the pattern with these people I've noticed where there's almost zero drive to actually understand where someone is coming from even if its on the same side of the aisle politically, relatively speaking.. everything is taken in such bad faith.. I make the mistake of saying I'm not a democrat, they assume I'm ultraMAGA and treat me as such.. they act like they've got it all figured out because a lotta folx here clearly have this shit locked and loaded, on a hair-trigger waiting to blow anyones head off who disagrees with the beliefs dictated to them by the Democratic Party.. and It would be one thing if we were all still in college back in 2016 but that weird sour vibe has just crystalized here and become the norm it seems. I feel embarrassed complaining about lib behavior because it's so played out but this is what Portland is actually like man.. I see at least five people still wearing masks every time I step outside.. and again, the mask isn't what I'm mad about, its the constant signaling that you're so precious and helpless and others need to cater to your exact specific ailments otherwise you're dead to me mentality that makes me fucking sick...

The art here is so bad too.., that Allegra corporate art style or whatever it's called is everywhere here.. except now its not just used for advertising Docusign, its on murals and on mailboxes and coffee cups now too.. Maybe it's always been here.. I never noticed it in the last place I lived which was also very liberal. Really it's more like the essence behind the aesthetic mixed with that awful calarts infantine style is everywhere.. Disgusting deformed stick drawings of gay brown people purposefully made to look ridiculously fat and unpleasant, adding insane body hair everywhere and elaphantitis esque proportions as if thats subversive..., cool you subverted the mainstream by creating something really corporate and gross looking.. excellent.. and some bitch always has a cane or an eyepatch on while they're dunking their tax returns into the basketball hoop having a fucking blast being black and gay on the side of the H&R Block building..

The retro kitsch wingtip glasses/obese woman who is a huge tattletale cunt vibe is way oversaturated here too... It's like if the USSR used rocky horror whatever as their aesthetic, it's oppressive and just nauseating to have look at everyday.., I do not find your oversized bra and panties hanging over the powerlines art installations interesting AT ALL.. shit is so fucking hack... I get so mad when I overhear people talk about how cool stuff like that is.. it is not, it wouldn't have even been cool in the 90s.. nothing is being said besides another reminder you all are obsessed with weird sex stuff because you didn't get to fuck until you were 24 and you didn't even cum so it became this weird complex for you, you're probably also obsessed with weird sex shit because you're constantly watching media with beautiful people in it and you feel dissonance because you were sold that lifestyle by Disney channel and extremely upset you look like a frog, thats also probably why you dress like shit on purpose and cover your skin in distracting little cartoons of so no one realizes how gross you look.

...and I genuinely would have no real problem with any of this shit if I didn't have to be a witness to whoevers job it is to sign off on it's complete lack of taste, and deep body shame expressed through shit inoffensive corporate art, thats only considered subversive or even interesting by tards, every time I leave the goddamn apartment.., I wouldn't care..

The TDS is off the scale, the performance these people launch themselves into whenever he's mentioned is just sad, like they're possessed by Colbert.. it's just old.. idngaf about trump anymore.. stop invoking him at every opportunity if you genuinely can't control the rage you feel towards him.. I do not think about him at all except to laugh at how stupid he is now. Literally everybody on the planet who isn't hardcore MAGA knows he's a conman/nonce/tard/epsteins best buddy for a decade, at this point.. shut the fuck up. It's time to move on with your life.. he is turning into a pile of sand and blowing away in the wind as we speak, and you are still devoting load after load of your finite energy to him, keeping him alive like the emperor in 40k. Sorry this is so cringe.

None of this really bothers me as much as the blind rage I'm met with in response to even attempting to get any of these people to question their beliefs.. I'm able to disagree on a lot of things with someone and still be their friend.. I agree with libs half the time on economic stuff but because I'm not on board with transitioning children or forcing you to get the covid shot (all of this within reason imo (and all oldddd affff talking points like come on we're still doing this?), I'm not a hardliner, and also why are you giving this to the other side as ammunition? tards like Rogan flipped from Bernie to dt exactly because of this type of common sense shit).. if those topics ever gets brought up 9 times out of 10 it's just over, I'm dead.. Learned pretty quick to keep those opinions to myself.. people here realllllllly don't like it when you push back on those two things in particular..

These people are worse than my MAGA relatives in that regard.. constant whataboutisms.. they still think trump is a Russian spy.. Zelensky is a freakin badass.. still.. in 2026... their entire belief system is ANTI Trump, ANTI Putin, not pro anything really besides being fucking gay and who's only real concern is do I have enough time to go to the new food truck next to the office for lunch today. These are the folx (at least the boomers) that still religiously vote democrat even after they acknowledge they're complicit in genocide because at least they're not trump.. it's fucking pathetic.

"AND FUCK PUTIN!" thank you.. Mr. Rachel Maddow, I almost forgot.. yes obviously.. now shut the fuck up, you work for Boeing.. you don't even know what the word pressgang means.. you just want to be on the good guy side, which just so happens to be decided by CIA and corporate news.. It's a sea of Mark Hammils and Stephen Kings istg.. Riding my bike in the nicest neighborhood here I saw someone had attached a CNN newscrawl huge LED sign to literally the front of their multimillion dollar home above the front door.. just beaming out to the neighbors, and of course its all Trump and Ukraine shit... I told someone they should think about why they align with Lindsey Graham so strongly on Ukraine and they got so fucking pissed. They literally don't know ANYTHING about what's happening other than what they're told to think. I saw "Fuck Putin" branded edibles here. I swear you can be a lib and align with Stalin on half his shit but as long as that stance is reinforced by the culture it doesn't matter.. the social pressure is POWERFUL here.. I used to think no girl is going to fuck you if you're constantly signaling you tick all the boxes on the deemed acceptable politics checklist for girls, but here, unlike anywhere else I've seen this maneuver attempted, that does seem to work... on mid asian women..

Also it apparently doesn't matter if who you're working for is aiding Israel.. even if you're a staunch antizionist,.. we just don't like to discuss that here yikes :/ we obviously are so horrified by what's happening in the middle east right now but the board has assured me they are doing everything in their power to make sure whatever gets sent over there is not used to harm civilians....

oh.., ok cool then.. as long as PR is constantly signaling we're all very pro cock in ass then everything is fine by me.. thanks

had to get it out of my system, I'm sorry, this place sucks so bad. The landscape is beautiful, some parks here are great, I love the fragments of the frontier days that are still visible like the old Shanghai saloons and chinatown and whatever. The free healthcare is great. There's a bookstore I love called mother foucaults I go to a lot... I'm just so repulsed by some of the people who chooses to live here.

Barely any action for the first 25 minutes, a bunch of weird shapes with dark colors, and then a bizarre two-part finale?? Everyone on my side of town (Veranda St, looking toward Prom) got up and left because we thought it was over and then it picked back up again!

Walked across the street while said I could go. Multiple drivers nearly hit me despite having reflective gear on. They even honked their horn at me for having the audacity to cross the road when it said I can.

Like. What?

Should mention I’m a native Mainer who’s been here my entire life.

I watched someone at the top of India Street dash in front of a truck. The truck was turning left from Congress, and the person was not in a crosswalk. They nearly got un-alived.

The vehicle is a FIRE TRUCK with its lights on and siren blaring.

AI can fuck off. Social media “we can do that too” can fuck off. Weezy can fuck off.

SE division is not a safe place for any community members trying to elevate free speech. ReAlLy GoOd StUfF s owner was spotted assaulting community members and vandalizing property on 37th. Watch out! And do better Portland!

Tired of having to squeeze around their tables while getting glared at by their waitresses just trying to walk by

this looming monstrosity over the residents of bayside is a force of pestilence. i have to hear a terrible benson boon esque man sing for multiple hours or some lady tear apart an untouchable stevie nicks ballad because people have decided to forget that people actually live here... and im not just talking the few old houses on the streets parallel the post office - i bet the people moving in to the ugly and strangely colored condos hate it too!!

i never post like this and honestly joined this subreddit for this post, but its terrible and i can close my windows and still hear it. :0

As a person who walks up India at night I always get spooked when I get to the upper part (beyond Amatos towards congress). It’s so nice and bright towards commercial street but then BAM it’s dark AF as you walk up towards congress!!

Whoever ranked Portland as one of “the most walkable cities” is an idiot. How can Portland get a 100 out of 100 in walkability when we have so many accidents that result in pedestrian deaths??

In my opinion walkability should account for your physical well being.

Not like it's the busiest week of the year in the Old Port or anything. Just another tiny stake through the heart of hospitality workers in this town.

Massive fuck you to the white pickup merging from exit 5 to 295 South. Drifting from the on ramp to the left lane in one swoop is gonna get someone hurt. You’re welcome I was paying attention and hit my brakes just in time.

Happy Monday good folks and fellow complainers. I have been a southern Maine lifer and a resident of Portland for about 6 years.

Overtime, I have witnessed parking become worse and worse for actual residents. When I was a teen (in the mid 2010s) I remember parking being a bit of a pain driving in town, but not terrible.

Now, living near the Deering Ave and Congress St intersection, I best better have the car parked before 6pm. ESPECIALLY if it’s on a Hearts of Pine game day. The amount of people I see walking from my street and several blocks over all decked out in HoP gear is infuriating after my 8th time circling a 5 block radius to try and find any spot.

It feels like city hall wants the tourist and event $$$s without actually investing in the proper infrastructure to accommodate this influx of people.

I am piggybacking off of another recent post complaining about HoP a bit, but it’s hard not to loathe the insane ticket prices as an actual resident with only a five minute walk from the field. It’s like getting dogfucked in your front yard and then getting asked for 100+ bucks if I wanna join in on the fun.

Sea Dogs is infinitely more accessible in price and somehow manages to not clog up the residential streets half as bad as Hearts of Pine does.

Then there’s the biking. I bike from the west end down Forest Ave and a bit past Morrills Corner. It is quite literally impossible to safely navigate that nightmare McDonald’s intersection without utilizing the sidewalk as there is absolutely no bike lane whatsoever. I always slow down and if necessary dismount my bike to move past pedestrians, whom I’ve always had respectful interactions with.

I have been screamed at by unhinged drivers twice for biking on this small stretch of sidewalk. Something tells me I would be yelled at by them just the same if I was in the regular lanes of traffic. This is on top of my already very defensive biking. I never cross in front of a car unless I am locking eye contact with the driver.

Instead of making parking easier, or biking more accessible we get bandaid fixes for pedestrian deaths once every few months. I’m probably being too harsh but I needed to get this out. Thanks for listening.

Don’t get me wrong I donate selectively but it is a real turnoff to constantly be hounded by campaigns across the US. Every time I hit stop or unsubscribe, new numbers pop up to take their place. I’m contemplating filing a complaint with the FCC but don’t want to be a bad Dem!

Hi this is my first ever post so it’s completely my biggest act of desperation.. Ive just moved to Portland as a young adult (18f) along with my boyfriend (19m) , he just so happens to be one of the many young people with Type 1 (insulin everyday and very reliable crashes and spikes of high/low blood sugar. Considering the very much needed haste of keeping on top of his health, honestly i’ve been struggling to find any good clinics in a bus ride vicinity of Downtown Portland. I’ve never done this kind of thing before, let alone attempt to research and set it up myself! (i’m obviously making him help but it’s not easy when i have no idea of what i’m looking for..) Please help I am clueless!🥹

doing "routine updates" on our apartment, nothing urgent no kind of emergency, quoted 9am-2pm. given less than 24hr notice. at 5:30pm asked them how much longer it would take and they said at least 3 hours, likely more. electricity did not come back until 10pm and our neighboring unit still is unable to use their stove and washing machine. after 12+ hours.

my roommate bought groceries thinking we would have power back by the time she got home from work. you know, like we were told. she wasted a bunch of money since our fridge and freezer were off and the meat was left at who knows what temperature for how long.

we are on the third floor. hot as fuck 80+ degrees out, no fans no ac.

im willing to acknowledge part of it is probably our landlord doing some shady shit he shouldnt but they were the ones who quoted 5 hours when it was more than double that and by their own admittance only sent two guys to do a job that required at least four people.

what the fuck dude

No one at a cafe wants to hear your patient castrated themselves this week. Your friends at your table included. That seems like it should be a private discussion with your therapist.

Don't get me wrong, I am all about the tip credit (tipping for people that make below minimum wage) but I have a hard time believing everyone with the square method of payment is making below minimum wage. Like every time I swipe my card it wants to tip. Then I feel like an asshole if I'm not giving the Boba cashier 20% extra. I can't be the only one who doesn’t want to tip on my $13 beer at Hadlock. Tips should be left for those who rely on them to make up their income because they are servers making below minimum wage, or tip for exceptional service. Other countries don't do this.