When I first started this blog I wanted it to be about promoting ethical and socially responsible marketing. Now after reading a lot of blog posts I've found what really resonates is a personal experience. Don't get me wrong, I still want to promote socially responsible marketing but now I'm going to focus on personal experiences as well. In order to be socially responsible and promote this ideal, I'm finding that you have to live it and walk it each day. A task which is incredibly difficult but something I want to commit to.
A lot of changes has happened since I've started this blog. My husband and I moved to Portland, OR from Seattle, WA. You might think this isn't a big deal, but for those who know me personally it is. You are talking about the girl who never wanted to leave Seattle. I used to dream about living in a condo in the city with a rooftop deck or in a house boat on Lake Union....yeah, well that dream is gone. It was hard leaving my family and friends and going to a new city I barely knew, but when Ian got the job offer in January wearing a dirty sweatshirt and jeans (in his defense he didn't know it was going to be an interview, just lunch) I knew this was meant to be. So far Portland's been good to both of us. We live in a great neighborhood which has lots of things to explore within walking distance. We've been blessed to have Ian's family around and also reconnect with old friends, some of whom we haven't seen in many years.
A lot of people think Seattle and Portland are the the exact same. I am going to proclaim this as a matter of fact: NO IT IS NOT! As a former self-proclaimed Seattle city girl living in Portland I can definitely tell you that Portland's got some distinct differences that including the following 7 listed below:
1) Portland is way more laid back and chill in comparison to Seattle. It's funny when I mention this to Alex, a friend who moved from New York to Seattle. "You don't know stress or craziness until you've lived in New York. Seattle is so laid back in comparison." Yeah well Portland is about 5x even more chilled out. When I meet people and ask them about things like going to concerts they are like, "I'll go when the stars align..." and a lot of people are happy working a bunch of jobs here and there as long as they do what they love while attaining the basics they need to survive.
2) When going to a restaurant in Portland nearly all waiters and waitresses are very knowledgeable of vegetarian and vegan options and even give you great healthy recommendations. Remember Collin the Chicken from the show Portlandia? That's everywhere actually.
3) As much as Portland is a big foodie town and very vegan and health-conscious friendly, there sure are a lot of smokers everywhere. I find it weird that a vegan will not eat certain foods but they are happy to suck down a couple of Camel or Marlboro cigarettes. I've even seen bikers ride around while smoking too. Personally, I have nothing against smokers, this is merely an observation.
4) Organic Food and all-natural household products in Portland is cheaper and widely available to all people of different incomes. Sure there is a Whole Foods here but even the WF stores are cheaper than any of them I've been to in Seattle. In Seattle I would spend $80 bucks for 1 bag of groceries. Here in Portland I can buy 2 bags or more with the same amount of money.
5) Farmer's markets in Portland are the best. I loved living close to the Fremont Sunday Market but nothing really compares to the selection and variety you get at the Portland State Farmer's Market. By far my favorite and I love going back to buy to pate, Choi's Kimchi (amazing stuff), and the organic veggies are at fantastic prices.
6) Portland has charter schools. Washington has banned them. Ian's cousins have their kids in the school called Trillium Charter in N. Portland, and we had a great opportunity to attend and help at a charity event. It saddened Nico, Ian's cousin, to see that his kid's school needed to put on an event to prevent their school from shutting down, but on the other hand, they had a very successful evening and raised more money than expected. We met many parents and relatives who were passionate about their kid's education and were fighting hard to keep the doors open. I've never seen that kind of parent involvement so it was incredibly touching to to witness. It's no secret that the education program in Oregon is worse than Washington, but I see there's a lot of hope from both kids and parents to have this changed.
7) The LA Fitness is never packed in Portland like it is in Seattle. People here prefer going to yoga studios, micro-gyms, classes, etc. way more than big gyms like LA Fitness. It must be that anti-corporation vibe that hangs the Portland air. I like LA Fitness when I need to go to the gym and it's even better now that it's never ever packed.
So what does all of these observations have to do with socially conscious marketing? It's hard to say. I do see the both the good and bad in these comparisons but this blog isn't really meant to judge anything or point out anything. It is interesting to see the differences in the level of awareness in certain issues are for both cities and people who live there. I did forget to mention that people here do say hi to you on the street. That was weird to get used to. No more Seattle freeze for me. And I am a newly minted Blazers fan but I still miss The Sonics....
You should be happy to know that I've started reading books again! Yea! Magazines bought while standing in line at the grocery store were my cryptonite, but I found myself at Powell's (a Portland institution that's the coolest mega-bookstore ever) and started picking up books. I'll probably write about the books I've read in the next blog. This one is getting too long. Until next time, Chao!
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