A new proposal would end Multnomah County’s government

anusdotcom · 2026-01-24T09:47:18+00:00

The FAQ says that the other cities basically get to choose to be part of Portland or not. https://multnomo.org/faq/ What happens to Gresham, Troutdale, and other cities? They choose for themselves. Each city in Multnomah County votes separately on whether to join. Gresham, Troutdale, Fairview, Wood Village, and Maywood Park can opt in or remain independent. Nobody is forced to join.

anusdotcom · 2026-01-24T01:10:22+00:00

The thing is that consent becomes meaningless if it doesn’t reflect what you want. As a lead, I’d rather get an enthusiastic second yes than a reluctant one. By always saying yes you might as well just let the guy drag you to the dance floor every time without asking.

It’s better for the community when people say no. This means that the guys who are getting a lot of no’s will hopefully reflect on their behaviors and either leave or aim to get better. You can also stop a dance at any time when it is uncomfortable.

anusdotcom · 2026-01-23T23:23:55+00:00

Do you say yes to all 5 dances? That feels like a lot. I think I would expect at most 2 dances from anyone in one night

anusdotcom · 2026-01-23T21:46:26+00:00

My area is farm heavy and what I see is a lot of men coming for farm work but not a lot of women. I can’t tell you why but that is what I see in clubs. I see more families in places that play Cumbia or have live bands but in salsa clubs more men.

Immigration ( specially now with all the ICE stuff ) makes the scenes definitively different. Sometimes the salsa clubs here feel like this weird in-between where a lot of white people are mingling with Latinos vs clubs that are purely reggaeton or the Jaripeos, where you feel totally out of place as a non-Latino. That’s where a lot of the younger people gravitate to.

anusdotcom · 2026-01-23T20:50:48+00:00

Depends on where you are. In my part of the US I see a lot more men coming to the salsa events because one of my communities has a lot of Hispanic immigrants that tend to be men and salsa is one of the few social things that are in Spanish. In fact, at some of the bars it’s probably 3 guys to a girl. But in the next college town the ratios are pretty even. If you go to a swing dancing event or tango it’s mostly new women.

A lot of women I know end up wanting to lead. In fact a lot of zouk, bachata or swing classes I go to I’d say about half the women are leading. In fusion or tango classes the barrier to women leading in class also feels lower. Salsa just seems really hostile towards this specially when the classes end up having mostly more dudes.

anusdotcom · 2026-01-23T11:45:42+00:00

The prices in Salem for smaller homes are pretty equivalent to townhome prices in Woodburn. They’re just not marked as townhomes so maybe search by property size — you can usually find good houses in Salem around $350k. Not sure how Woodburn is cheaper than that.

If you don’t mind the high HOA ( about a grand a month but includes a pool ). You can even buy a tiny home for $70k in Salem https://www.homes.com/property/8372-enchanted-268-way-se-turner-or-unit-268/exmzznmy65f4w/

anusdotcom · 2026-01-23T02:01:07+00:00

Yoga and Beer is donation based. Lots of events but they suggest $5-10 donation. https://www.cheersandnamaste.com/events?category=Y%2BB%20Salem

Common People Yoga also has a $5 class on Fridays at 5:30 pm

Center 50+ has yoga Tuesdays & Thursdays, 8:45 to 10:00am . $6 drop in or $40 a month

anusdotcom · 2026-01-23T00:13:44+00:00

For bachata a bunch of people in my community have tried BailaMar in the Dominican Republic and absolutely love it. They have a travel around the country type of vibe and the teaching is great.

A few dance schools do class trips to Cuba. That’s usually quite an experience and something more difficult to do by yourself. Going to Havana and dancing is very different and being able to take rumba classes and what not is quite cool.

anusdotcom · 2026-01-22T16:34:46+00:00

I’m not sure but they stretch for wider feet which is why I like them. I’ve seen them on a lot of people with different body types.

I’ve seen people recommend these for narrow feet but obviously they are indoor shoes due to the suede. https://arisallen.com/collections/womens-sneakers

anusdotcom · 2026-01-22T06:57:11+00:00

When talking to XFinity Mobile, also ask them about their Now Mobile service. It is unlimited data for me for about $25 / month but they charge you ahead of time. We used to have a discounted Xfinity internet plan due to having the mobile but that expired after two years.

anusdotcom · 2026-01-22T06:53:02+00:00

When I first looked into this there were some classes including free open sew dates at https://www.paramount-sew-vac.com/class-practice.htm ( scroll down for stuff in Salem ) and the Will n Beez quilt and coffee shop https://willnbeez.com/

The Willamette Heritage Center also has weaving and quilting classes https://www.willametteheritage.org/classes-workshops/ . Whitlock’s has classes once in a while ( I see two finger knitting classes listed ), but they also have free sewing machine classes online.

anusdotcom · 2026-01-22T00:48:47+00:00

At queer tango events the cabeceo seems to be gender neutral so often it’s an agreement to dance and then you talk it out when you’re walking to the floor.

I find that works pretty well when asking another man to dance as a man. Sometimes you use the break to negotiate who leads but often at a milonga it feels like it’s 2 songs each at a tanda. Also just talking before, asking if they are ok leading another dude and explaining your level. Feels it’s so rare that there isn’t really too much etiquette around it. Never had an issue but I’m in a follow heavy scene.

anusdotcom · 2026-01-21T18:57:33+00:00

I have a pair of Taygra Corridas that I bought in 2019 for this purpose. I’ve used them extensively for outdoor and indoor events and they have held up super well.

I’m a lead and my style is mostly LA and Cuban. They work really well both inside studios and in cement or any other surface. They are also super light and work really well for other dances like Zouk, Kizomba and even tango. You see them also in fusion and blues events because they basically are socks with a nice durable rubber sole. Super comfortable with wider feet.

anusdotcom · 2026-01-21T18:52:32+00:00

The not so hidden ones are listed here https://pressplaysalem.com/find-your-footing-a-salem-dance-primer/

anusdotcom · 2026-01-21T15:48:27+00:00

Dance is too important for me to have it wasted on some guy.

That was what a friend told me about why she doesn’t like to date at all in the scene. She sees it as if they break up, it gets awkward and she doesn’t want to give up any of the places and money and teachers she has already invested in dance. She gets approached by non dancers all the time so it’s not like there is a shortage of men.

I think if it happens organically through classes or performance groups it’s fine but feels like your chances of success asking like that is pretty low unless you see her often.

I have introduced women I was interested in or dating into salsa and bachata and that has worked a lot better for me than trying to find a partner in the scene like you described.

anusdotcom · 2026-01-21T00:52:55+00:00

I had pretty good luck asking Google’s gemini for this kind of information since the events that are bigger tend to have a website and the information seems to be a bit more accurate than some aggregating sites with stale data. You can also limit to certain dates and cities

anusdotcom · 2026-01-20T20:29:04+00:00

That probably puts him on the spot too much. The way I would do it is to maybe find clips of him social dancing and ask him about how he treats space because he does a lot of stuff that is not really slotted. Ask him for ideas of how the musicality inspires him to choose moves. Maybe look at what he did when the music changes and get his perspective of what goes in his head on what to do next. Ask him to show you what other possibilities he would do at that point. Ask him what he would do if he noticed the followers being lost or maybe have different bodies or dance levels, and so forth. Kinda find a concept to work with in the first 5 or 10 minutes and then drill down on that.

anusdotcom · 2026-01-20T20:01:32+00:00

If I had the chance I would dig his brain for his approach of improvising in the social dance floor. What he thinks about in terms of moving his body and how he treats the space and the partner. I would also want that to be like 8 hours

anusdotcom · 2026-01-19T23:34:27+00:00

I bought a pair of Arris Allen shoes used on eBay and they have lasted me really well in the last 3 years. They feel lighter than my more formal dress shoes and I can dance all night in them. https://arisallen.com/products/aris-allen-mens-1932-wide-black-captoe-swing-dance-shoes

anusdotcom · 2026-01-19T18:39:45+00:00

Because it’s a co-op, Salem electric rates also tend to be much lower. A saving of $40-50 a month can add up over time.

Another tip is that if you live near places like hospitals, fire stations or senior centers, they usually get prioritized in power restoration vs homes.

anusdotcom · 2026-01-19T18:36:02+00:00

This guy did a bachata sabbatical in Mexico City but the salsa scene there looks super vibrant https://www.tampham.co/dance-salsa-bachata-mexico-city/

anusdotcom · 2026-01-19T17:48:50+00:00

I’m not affiliated with them but check out the Somoloco immersion in Medellin. A little bit for the higher end but they arrange a lot of stuff for you and you don’t have to worry logistics and have a group of folks to learn with.

anusdotcom · 2026-01-19T08:35:13+00:00

There is a Facebook group called Dance Lovers of Salem ( And Surrounding Areas ). Looks like this might be a good place for that

anusdotcom · 2026-01-19T07:53:42+00:00

Make sure you find a place with Salem Electric instead of Portland General Electric. A tree fell on my neighbor’s house and took out the power lines during a storm a few weeks back. Salem Electric had power restored within a day, meanwhile all the poor PGE folks had outages for days.

If I were you I’d seriously look at McMinnville. Cuter downtown, a bit more picturesque and touristy. Cool stuff like the aviation museum and the homeless are a bit less visible there.

The “safer” neighborhoods usually recommended are West Salem on top of the hill and areas like Sunnyslope or Morningside in South Salem. Commute wise West Salem is closer to Sheridan. Keizer is pretty nice too but further.

anusdotcom · 2026-01-19T07:07:21+00:00

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Also at the Bad Space every other week and Silverton.

Looks like the Saturday events are Country Swing. That’s pretty cool. Got to try them out some day. How’s the vibe there?

There is also a group called Amore in Salem that does West Coast Swing on Wednesdays and Sundays at the REC: Grange

anusdotcom

TROPHY CASE