I Drove Through The WORST Neighborhoods In Portland, Oregon

Portland has some sketchy areas for sure, and it's TOTALLY worth seeing what they look like.

So if you asked people in the Portland area where the bad side of town is, everyone will tell you either north Portland by the airport or east Portland. Both areas are across the Willamette. It’s a very large area that makes up a big chunk of the city of Portland proper. This is where crime and poverty is the highest in Portland.

So, I had to go there. And while there are pockets that are clearly worse than others, overall, I didn’t find it that bad at all. At least visually. I went to this part of Portland in late October. Here’s the map of the general area that we’ll be driving through.

Now if you look at violent crime - everything from murders and assaults to rapes, Portland is quite tame compared to other major US cities. This city ranks 62nd in the US for violent crime, somewhere about as dangerous as Colorado Springs or Arlington Texas. Portland has about 4 times less violence than the most violent city in the country, St. Louis.

But property crime is a different story. You may not think of Portland as being a place with high numbers of robberies and burglaries, but it ranks 6th highest of all US major metros when it comes to these types of crimes. Portland actually has more property crimes than Baton Rouge, and it closes to Oakland for thefts and breakins and vandalism. There are lots of stolen bikes, smashed car windows and daytime home breakins. A big part of that is because of this city’s long history with drug addiction and homelessness.

And crime in Portland is going up fast nowadays, too. While homicides are up 30% nationally, here in Portland, murders are up a whopping 83% in the last two years. Many Portlanders speculate the huge spike in crime is due to a reduction of police and the elimination of its Gun Violence Reduction team.

It’s not a shocker, right? Take cops of the streets and pander to violent protesters and the homeless population, and they’re going to take advantage of that. And a lot of the uptick in crime in Portland comes from over here in East Portland.

Large parts of East Portland are relatively poorer than the rest of the city. But while a lot of people in East Portland don’t earn a lot of money, this city ranks far below other major US cities in terms of poverty rate. About 14% of the population lives in poverty here, but there are about 360 other US cities that have a higher poverty rate than Portland does. It’s about as poor here as Little Rock Arkansas, but that also takes into account the cost of living. In Little Rock, it’s much cheaper to live than in Portland.

Home prices in Portland are $542,000 on average city wide, but over here in many of the areas we’ll see, it’s gonna be closer to $350,000. This is where you might wind up if you’re not wealthy and you want to move here. A lot of the housing out this way is substandard, and there are a lot of landlords who are disinclined to make improvements to their properties. There are lots of ugly strip malls and vacant properties on this side of the river, and a lack of businesses in which to shop. And all of the good jobs are across the river in downtown. East and north Portland certainly don’t have a lot of amenities, but there are plenty of places for the homeless to camp. A lot of people say east portland has been neglected in favor of downtown and the wealthy homes on the west side of town. But again, while a lot of East Portland might be down on their luck, it’s still far much better here than in most other worse sides of town I’ve ever seen.

#oregon #moving

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[HAMILTONPROVIDEO]

I remember back in the 70s & 80s when everybody wanted to live in Portland because it was such an attractive model city.

[Civiliation]

It’s so cool seeing you and Briggs in a video together, I’ve watched you both for so long!

[bennieknape]

Yeah, the whole west coast has lost its mind. NOT JUST PORTLAND.

[DrymouthCWW]

I was born in portland OR. My best childhood memories come from my time as a kid there. The decline it's going through is sad

[SGTDave]

"It isn't as bad as California" is hardly a high bar. Why have we reduced ourselves to these third world expectations? The real issue this video shows is the standard of living versus the cost of living which is terribly askew on the west coast.

[erniebuchinski]

I left (Southeast) Portland in ‘93 to study abroad and have lived in Northern Europe for over 25 years. Portland used to be every bit as nice and liveable as my adopted city of Helsinki, Finland, but has sadly degenerated into whatever the hell it can be described as now. I guess it’s what they call there being “woke AF”. RIP to a once beautiful city.

[Jmfufghf]

"Not that bad", Portland used to be one of the best cities in America so to come down to this level is really disheartening for the people that loved Portland, the fun peaceful friendly vibes and beautiful nature replaced by garbage violence and leadership guilty of allowing if not encouraging this downfall.

[nickobergshow]

There’s nothing Portland/Oregon can do to keep me and my family here! I think there’s mutual appreciation for that! Can’t be a libertarian or conservative here.

[johnellis]

Yeah the problem with Portland is. We don't have homeless here. We have Street people and Street people like it this way.. you could give him a million dollars and they would go to a motel and when the money ran out they'd be right back in a tent. The only answer to this problem is to outlaw camping inside the city limits.

[joshuatwhaley-novelist]

I've lived here in Portland for almost 20 years, and watched it get progressively worse. I want to escape to the desert southwest more than anything, but relocating is easier said than done.

[mindismith]

Ten years ago Portland was paradise compared to now. There is no way you can paint this pretty. Our state is one of the worst in the country. Portland is one of the countries worst cities. You can't ignore it. It's heartbreaking.

[barrypage]

We left Portland in 2009. My wife and I both drove for TriMet. We could see the writing on the wall then, with so much gang violence, no one truly addressing the homeless problem and totally clueless mayors. Glad we left and never looked back.

[mikeg]

Democratic mayors/governors shouldnt get paid until they actually do something to help their cities/states. They just watch them die and sit in their mansions

[hongisland]

When vitamins and backpacks are locked up in walmart you know there is a big problem.

[marktevault]

Had a friend who moved to Portland 6 yrs ago. Came back to visit before Thanksgiving. Said Portland has changed for the worst. Moving to Venice FL in April.

[maryfrancesbeckerhaggerty]

I'm from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Lived there all my life. Fortunately, I got myself and son out 8 years ago. Thank God. It has become a real shit hole but I saw it coming. Houses going for $300, 000 down the street from one of the biggest drug corners in the bad lands. Portland doesn't look bad at all but I understand it's not what it once was. Our country is falling apart. So sad.

[GergonX]

I've lived here over 45 years. I have owned my house in SE Portland for 25 years. It is way more terrible than you are portraying. A lot of gun shots, mostly at night. Car theft. How about some spray paint on your stuff. Home burglaries when you're at home. Late night street racing down side streets. There is so much going on that you don't "see". The most dangerous thing is if you call the cops they are not going to do anything unless you are a homicide victim. The message is that outlaws are welcome in Portland and everyone else here needs to get used to it. Yes I want to move.

[artbyty]

As a life time Portlander, I think you did a fine job portraying it. Most of Portland is absolutely stunning and the neighborhoods look amazing. You went through some "below average" spots in your video, but you didn't quite see "the worst". Portland isn't that large, so a bad area can be confined to a fairly small region that is easy to miss. Portland is going through a rough patch no doubt. We shall see if it can heal and return to its former self.

[austinkeel]

You kind of missed all the bad areas to be honest, you just went through gentrified neighborhoods in southeast. There are definitely areas where it’s noticeably a place where you’d not want to be.

[Hurricane]

This isn’t like learning rocket science or trying to solve differential equations here! Portland has gone way downhill just in the past decade, and the reason is quite simple. Portland has gone downhill because of terrible leadership. The terrible leadership is a direct consequence of how the people of Portland have voted. It’s that simple!