April 1999     

Last Dance Congratulations, Erich Pedestrian Safety NALSA SABER Graduation Pledge Seven-Year Reflection Small Claims and Cinnamon Rolls Church of the Earth Y2K Nuclear Threat Tribal Members Speak INS Are Thought Police In re Robin E. LOVE, Debtor Selected Crime Beat Reports Living Large: Downtown Haiku Variations The Light William Stafford perspective Spring Wave Poetry Notes

Seriously, do you like living in Suburbia? As if commuting to NWSL by car wasn’t bad enough already, now they’re charging money for the privilege! Have you had enough yet?

After spending my entire first year in a house out in the suburbs, it drove me crazy to have to get in my car in order to get anywhere. From where I lived, only a few things were actually within walking distance. Everything else, like movie theaters or decent bars or parks or shopping districts, could only be reached by car. I felt guilty driving to school. I didn’t want to pay the new parking fee. And getting home from social events in my car always required a ton of tedious planning (hi, officer!).

But there’s a better option: live downtown, where all the fun stuff is!

Spencer Leese, 2L, says that living downtown makes a big difference in his use of free time. "I used to do crappy stuff," he says. "Now I do cool stuff." Photo by Bryan Theis

That’s right! I moved into an apartment near the Portland State campus downtown, rented a parking space, and began taking the Pioneer Express to school. I love it! Imagine living downtown. The stores and restaurants and Pioneer Square are all within walking distance. My bright corner studio at S.W. Broadway and Columbia is right in the middle of everything. The mall and the Pioneer Express stop are right down the street, the movie theaters and supermarket are three blocks away, the nearest bar is two blocks away, and the South Park Blocks are right outside my window. The neighborhood is nice, and there are tons of young people around. The deal gets even better for students with jobs, because most Portland legal employers are located downtown. Clinic is downtown too. No more looking for parking spaces, no more feeding meters, no more paying at booths. And no more designated drivers for barhopping! Look at it this way. By living in Suburbia and driving to school, you’re not just paying the damn parking fee, you’re also shelling out the bucks for gas, insurance, and car maintenance. And don’t forget that you’re also losing time behind the wheel each day when you could be doing something else, like studying or relaxing on the bus. The alternative is this: a free, direct bus ride to school from Pioneer Square downtown. The Express leaves every hour, and getting used to the schedule is actually a lot easier than I’d expected. And the trip is easy. There’s no stress, no road rage, no $1.54 a gallon mini-serve.

Now, to be honest, it’s a little more expensive to live downtown, but not by much. I pay $435 for a studio right near the Schnitzer Theater, though I could have paid only $400 for a one-bedroom just across I-405. The secured monthly parking space is a bummer at $85 a month, but all the advantages add up. For me the choice to come downtown has really paid off.

Try stacking your current monthly expenses up against what you would pay to live downtown. In one column, make a list of all of your expenses each month that are a direct result of your driving to school from the suburbs. There’s gas, oil, parts, car washes, insurance, and the school’s parking fee. I’ll bet you’d be surprised if you saved your receipts and added up all these expenses over a month’s time!

In another column, make a list of what you’d pay to live downtown and bus it: perhaps a slightly higher rent, plus a parking fee if you decided to keep your car.

Now, take those two columns and write in the benefits that you’d get from living in each place. On the one hand, there’s your garage and front lawn; on the other hand, by living downtown, your front yard could be McCall Waterfront Park and the KOIN Center theater. Wouldn’t you rather live in a place that’s full of life, where there’s always something to do, where the whole community is right there in front of you?

So move out of that depressing, lifeless neighborhood that you’re in now and come live in the city. I’ll buy you a beer once you get here!

Brian Theis is a second-year law student who loves life these days. He can be reached at theis@lclark.edu.