Metal Toad recently shared an infographic on Facebook that illustrate
Metal Toad recently shared an infographic on Facebook that illustrated the influx of people to Portland split by geography:
This growth has me very excited for Portland's future but, to my surprise, almost of the comments were not only negative, but some were even borderline racist or extremely xenophobic. Here are just a few of the more than 50 comments posted:
Portland, you're better than that.
I moved up to Portland 9 years ago from San Diego, a city that has seen more than it's share of new faces. During this growth, San Diego made some bad choices by ignoring what was happening - something that Portland can learn from.
To their credit, a few people were a little more introspective in their responses:
People are moving to Portland. The population will continue to grow and house prices will rise. This means an increased tax base for education and infrastructure, new challenges, and new responsibilities. I, for one, am very excited about the opportunities this provides and look forward to the chance to get things right.
Let's learn from the mistakes that were made in California and do better, not turn into crazy xenophobes. Let's welcome growth, not run from it.