What Portlanders Really Think

Who We Are: Complete Results

Wed, 26 Sep 2012 09:52:00 -0700

1. Gender

	PDX	PoMo
Male	48%	X*
Female	52%	X

2. Would you say your ethnicity is:

	PDX	PoMo
White/Caucasian	85%	X
African American/Black	2%	X
Hispanic/Latino	2%	X
Asian/Pacific Islander	7%	X
Native American/American Indian	1%	X
Other	2%	X

3. What is your age?

	PDX	PoMo
18-24	11%	X
25-34	20%	X
35-44	20%	X
45-54	21%	X
55-64	16%	X
65+	13%	X

4. Is your county of residence:

	PDX	PoMo
Multnomah County	46%	X
Washington County	31%	X
Clackamas County	23%	X

(Multnomah County only) Do you live in:

	PDX	PoMo
Downtown	0%	X
Southwest	12%	X
NW (including Pearl)	6%	X
North Portland	7%	X
Northeast	30%	X
Southeast	29%	X
Outer Southeast (beyond 82^nd)	16%	X

5. How many years have you lived in the Portland area?

	PDX	PoMo
Less than a year	1%	X
1-5 years	14%	X
6-10 years	10%	X
More than 10 years	44%	X
All my life	30%	X

6. What is the highest level of education you’ve been able to obtain?

	PDX	PoMo
Less than high school	3%	X
High school diploma	31%	X
Some college	33%	X
College degree	23%	X
Graduate/professional school	10%	X

7. What is your annual income?

	PDX	PoMo
Less than $25,000	18%	X
$25,000-$49,999	31%	X
$50,000-$99,999	34%	X
$100,000-$149,999	13%	X
$150,000-$249,000	3%	X
More than $250,000	1%	X

8. Is your marital status:

	PDX	PoMo
Married, no children	18%	X
Married with children	39%	X
Single, no children	29%	X
Single with children	6%	X
Divorced, no children	2%	X
Divorced with children	6%	X

WORTH

9. What’s the least amount of money you need in the bank to feel rich?

	PDX	PoMo
$1,000	18%	15%
$10,000	22%	30%
$100,000	28%	35%
$1,000,000	22%	15%
$10,000,000	10%	5%

10. My company pays me what my skills are worth.

	PDX	PoMo
Yes	43%	47%
No	57%	53%

11. I could make more money doing what I’m doing in a different state.

	PDX	PoMo
Yes	47%	79%
No	53%	21%

12. If I lost my job today, I estimate it would take __ to find a new one.

	PDX	PoMo
Less than a month	18%	6%
A month	13%	28%
Three months	23%	17%
Six months	15%	44%
A year or less	11%	6%
More than a year	11%	0%
I couldn’t find another job	10%	0%

13. What percentage of your take-home pay do you spend on housing (mortgage or rent)?

	PDX	PoMo
5 percent or less	18%	15%
10 percent	8%	10%
20 percent	25%	10%
30 percent	23%	30%
40 percent	13%	30%
50 percent or more	13%	5%

14. How often do you eat out?

	PDX	PoMo
Daily	4%	10%
4-6 times a week	11%	45%
1-3 times a week	42%	40%
Occasionally	42%	5%
Never	2%	0%

FAMILY/EDUCATION

15. At least one parent should remain home with children until the children are:

	PDX	PoMo
6 weeks old	7%	10%
6 months old	14%	30%
1 year old	13%	20%
3 years old	21%	20%
6 years old	33%	20%
18 years old	13%	0%

16. I would pay more in taxes for Oregon to subsidize state-supported day care.

	PDX	PoMo
Yes	29%	58%
No	71%	42%

17. Spanking is an appropriate form of punishment.

	PDX	PoMo
Yes	57%	30%
No	43%	70%

18. If money wasn’t an issue, I would put my own child in:

	PDX	PoMo
Public school	31%	26%
Private, secular school	47%	74%
A religious private school	18%	0%
Home school	4%	0%

LOVE & SEX

19. How often do you have sex?

	PDX	PoMo
Daily	3%	5%
Several times a week	17%	20%
At least once a week	27%	45%
At least once a month	21%	25%
A couple times a year	11%	0%
Can’t remember the last time	13%	5%
Never	7%	0%

20. How often would you like to have sex?

	PDX	PoMo
Daily	14%	15%
Several times a week	36%	35%
At least once a week	28%	45%
At least once a month	12%	5%
A couple times a year	5%	0%
Never	5%	0%

21. How often do you watch porn?

	PDX	PoMo
Daily	3%	0%
Weekly	13%	20%
Monthly	6%	10%
A few times a year	7%	20%
Rarely	20%	10%
Never	51%	40%

22. True or False: I have never cheated on my current spouse/partner.

	PDX	PoMo
True	84%	84%
False	16%	16%

23. (Women) I have faked an orgasm.

	PDX	PoMo
Yes	47%	66%
No	53%	33%

24. (Men) I know when my partner is faking an orgasm.

	PDX	PoMo
Yes	54%	33%
No	46%	66%

25. True or False: You have had a same-sex sexual encounter.

	PDX	PoMo
True	20%	50%
False	80%	50%

26. On a scale of one (it stinks) to five (it’s awesome), rate your current satisfaction with your sex life.

	PDX	PoMo
1: It stinks	17%	5%
2	13%	5%
3	30%	35%
4	23%	50%
5: It’s awesome	17%	5%

HEALTH

27. I see a doctor:

	PDX	PoMo
At least once a month	4%	5%
Once every couple of months	16%	25%
Annually	43%	40%
Only when I’m sick	32%	25%
Never	4%	5%

28. The government should pay for health care for people who cannot afford it.

	PDX	PoMo
Yes	70%	95%
No	30%	5%

29. Individuals with unhealthy lifestyles (e.g. smokers, obese individuals, drug addicts) should pay more for health insurance.

	PDX	PoMo
Yes	71%	71%
No	29%	29%

30. Hypothetical: If you’re unable to live without life support instruments, would you want doctors to unplug you?

	PDX	PoMo
Yes	87%	100%
No	13%	0%

31. Doctors should skip performing extreme life-saving procedures (such as heart transplants, etc) on patients over the age of 80.

	PDX	PoMo
Yes	49%	47%
No	51%	53%

32. Transgender surgery and/or treatments should be covered by insurance.

	PDX	PoMo
Yes	36%	71%
No	64%	29%

RELIGION

33. I consider myself

	PDX	PoMo
Religious	25%	5%
Spiritual	39%	40%
Atheist	10%	25%
Agnostic	17%	15%
Confused	8%	15%

34. Do you believe there is some form of an afterlife?

	PDX	PoMo
Yes	60%	30%
No	16%	20%
I don’t know	24%	50%

35. I participate in organized religious activities:

	PDX	PoMo
Daily	3%	0%
Weekly	20%	0%
For major religious holidays	26%	37%
Never	51%	63%

36. My religion shapes my decision making:

	PDX	PoMo
In every way	25%	10%
Only about myself and my family	25%	15%
Not at all	51%	75%

37. I believe religion is:

	PDX	PoMo
Generally a positive force in society	35%	10%
Roughly equally good and bad in its influence on society	47%	70%
Generally a negative force in society	18%	20%

38. If I were redesigning the US currency, I would include the phrase “In God We Trust.”

	PDX	PoMo
Yes	60%	16%
No	40%	84%

ENVIRONMENT/CITY

39. Please choose one. The best thing about Portland is:

	PDX	PoMo
The food scene	19%	15%
How close it is to so many outdoor activities	52%	35%
Its indie arts culture	2%	5%
Its smart urban planning	4%	10%
It’s progressive/liberal	22%	35%

40. I plan to still be living in Portland in 10 years.

	PDX	PoMo
Yes	76%	79%
No	24%	21%

41. To best develop more jobs, Portland should:

	PDX	PoMo
Recruit more large companies	18%	15%
Help start and grow more existing businesses	40%	55%
Reduce taxes and fees and regulations	30%	10%
Keep doin’ what we’re doin’; stuff will happen	12%	20%

42. The creative class in Portland is:

	PDX	PoMo
A real economic sector	54%	84%
Bogus	46%	16%

43. Oregon’s budget woes should be solved primarily by:

	PDX	PoMo
Making wealthy people pay more taxes	41%	74%
Making businesses pay more taxes	7%	0%
Making everyone pay more taxes	8%	5%
Reducing public employees’ wages and/or benefits	14%	0%
Nonsense. The budget woes are about inefficiencies. Make do.	30%	21%

44. True or false: Portland is a welcoming place for people of color.

	PDX	PoMo
True	77%	47%
False	23%	53%

45. Who becomes Mayor of Portland will matter.

	PDX	PoMo
Yes	76%	78%
No	24%	22%

46. True or False: Oregon drivers are among the worst in the country.

	PDX	PoMo
True	20%	42%
False	80%	58%

47. Portland should absorb new growth by:

	PDX	PoMo
Building more densely throughout the city	14%	37%
Building more densely mainly along key bus and train corridors	25%	37%
We’re dense enough, so expand the urban growth boundary already	33%	11%
I don’t really care	28%	16%

48. Portland’s best years are:

	PDX	PoMo
Right now	17%	47%
Ahead of us	50%	47%
Behind us	32%	5%

49. I’d swim in the Willamette River (near the waterfront)

	PDX	PoMo
Yes	10%	21%
No	90%	79%

50. The biggest threat to Portland’s livability is:

	PDX	PoMo
Climate change	5%	11%
Cost of living	29%	33%
Population growth	12%	11%
Boneheaded leaders	23%	0%
Economic stagnation	27%	33%
The Big One	4%	11%

51. I believe Portland will suffer a major earthquake in:

	PDX	PoMo
The next 1-5 years	8%	5%
The next 6-25 years	53%	53%
Any second	8%	16%
Yeh, whatever, I doubt I’ll be around	31%	26%

52. If I was making a postcard for Portland that contained the phrase “Home, Sweet Home,” I’d pair it with an image of:

	PDX	PoMo
The Willamette River	17%	5%
The skyline	43%	47%
The Farmers Market	10%	21%
A microbrew	17%	11%
Other	14%	16%

Other responses from PDX:

Mount Hood
Food carts. Food carts as far as the eye can see
Bridges, river and downtown along the river, dusk
A strip club on 82nd
Hood River Gorge
St. Johns Bridge
Oregon Coast
Gardens, trees, and parks
Rose Garden
Grassroots protests against big business
The Timbers or Timbers Army
Dancing in the Rain
The Made in Oregon sign
Rolling hills
Skyline made from beer, liquor, wine bottles
Belmont Street
Aerial shot of all our forests
Streetcars & MAX
Rocking chair
A neighborhood like Laurelhurst or Irvington or Hawthorne
The bridges
VanPort remnants, because we’re bridging cultures here
A tattooed bartender hugging a yuppie lawyer
An aerial view of the greater metropolitan area

Other response from PoMo: Tree, bird, tattooed indie dude enjoying music and food scene

*To protect employee identity, no demographic information was collected from Portland Monthly staffers.

Portland Past

Tue, 25 Sep 2012 16:23:00 -0700

Parents polled on the education their children receive in Portland public schools:
78% - Satisfied
17% - Not Satisfied
5% - No Opinion

Image: Salem Public Library Historic Photograph Collections, Salem Public Library, 4140

Who We Are

Thu, 20 Sep 2012 23:42:00 -0700

In an era of Portlandia, New York Times adoration, and accelerated migration (Oregon gained 60,000 new residents last year), everyone seems to have their own idea of just what Portland is: a source-obsessed foodie mecca, an unchurched den of sin, a liberal land of beards and patchouli. Whether newcomers or natives, we’ve all heard the same epithets. But those are just perceptions. We wanted to reach beyond the labels and take a closer look—not at what others say we are, but at who we believe we are: What’s important to us? What motivates us? What do we fear? (On the latter, apparently questions about sex: several survey respondents dropped out when we asked about their bedroom behavior.) What you’ll find in the following pages aren’t the typical height-of-election-season poll questions. They’re direct, unflinching inquiries into our very psyche—providing a surprising and revealing look at just what it means to be a modern Portlander.

Methodology We contracted with DHM Research (Davis, Hibbitts, & Midghall), a veteran Portland research firm that has been conducting policy research and consultation through surveys, polls, and focus groups for more than three decades. DHM administered the online survey between July 9 and 13 to 400 tri-county residents, balancing for gender, ethnicity, location, age, income, marital status, education level, and length of time in Portland. DHM provided detailed analysis of the data and reviewed the results for accuracy before publication. The margin of error for such a sample size is +/- 5 percent. Some totals may not add up to 100 percent due to rounding.

To Us, With Love

Thu, 20 Sep 2012 23:17:00 -0700

Poll Positions

Thu, 20 Sep 2012 23:00:00 -0700

In these final days of deciding who will run the country—and the city—for the next four years, every hour spits out a new survey of the electorate’s razor-thin fickleness. So, you might ask, why would a city magazine commission yet another poll?

The answer is easy: at a time when all eyes are on Obama, Romney, Hales, and Smith—or, really, on a wishy-washy micro-minority who will decide who wins—we felt an urge (if not a desperate need) to step back, turn around, and look at the bigger us: in a sense, our neighbors. With the help of DHM Research, which has been polling Portland attitudes for 30 years, we asked some basic questions, such as: Who among us believes in a god, feels underpaid, spanks their kids? Who thinks the “creative economy” is real? And, of course, who’s having lots of sex—or none at all?

How surprising you find the results of our poll likely will depend on how long you’ve lived here. Despite our progressive, liberal, green, crunchy, youthful, fertile image, long-timers know that, deep down, Portland can be fairly (lowercase-c) conservative. That realization dims the city’s luster for many a newcomer. But in important ways, our collective ambivalence—especially about certain brands of ambition—steers us clear of the fads that cookie-cut so many other cities. After all, 68 percent of us would “feel rich” with $100,000 or less in the bank.

Yet our poll also discovered that some long-held assumptions about our region are fraying, particularly around the questions about future growth. Consider that when asked what the best thing about Portland is, more than 70 percent said either the proximity to outdoor activities or the food scene. Yet 61 percent don’t care about or would happily expand the urban growth boundary—one of the key ingredients that has kept so much fresh food within easy picking distance and has made the greater outdoors such a quick escape.

Between the time I type the final words of this column and you get to read it (about four weeks—even if our managing editor always wishes it were five), stats of all sorts will have been drilled deep into every undecided voter’s mind. A single wrong chirp by one candidate or another (with any luck, caught on a microphone someone forgot to turn off) may have decided our fates for the next four years. Hopefully, our survey of Portland’s values offers a longer, wider view. If nothing else, know that three out of four of your neighbors plan to stick it out in the Rose City for the next 10 years, even though nearly as many think the Big One is coming in the next 25.

Portlanders on Portland

Thu, 20 Sep 2012 22:46:00 -0700

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Portlanders on Family

Thu, 20 Sep 2012 22:42:00 -0700

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Portlanders on Health

Thu, 20 Sep 2012 22:36:00 -0700

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Portlanders on Religion

Thu, 20 Sep 2012 22:33:00 -0700

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Portlanders on Money

Thu, 20 Sep 2012 21:00:00 -0700

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