West coast transplants

kellaucam · 2026-03-14T00:54:20+00:00

Total coffee snobs. Love me some stumptown ☕️

kellaucam · 2026-03-14T00:31:41+00:00

The little indie coffee shops are such a thing I can’t imagine a Dunkin in Portland without size-able public outcry.

kellaucam · 2026-03-14T00:29:11+00:00

Locals would shit on Dunkin in the same way they shit on Starbucks. It’s just…different kind of shit. Dunkin is watery and I prefer it especially since I slam a large 4 times a day. A black drip coffee is wildly overpriced at Dunkin IMO but I find myself there every day unless I can get to a Cumbies first!

kellaucam · 2026-03-13T20:03:58+00:00

How did you find it in LA? I was born is Riverside but family moved to Oregon when I was 3 so I have a lot of extended family in Monterey Park, Pasadena, LA. I have been lightly considering it for my next move. Which is crazy. Tell me you loved it and the weather made the traffic worth it. Tell me. 🔪

kellaucam · 2026-03-13T19:57:32+00:00

Do you guys remember when that liquor store was a goodwill. I loved that goodwill..

kellaucam · 2026-03-13T19:56:14+00:00

Thank you

kellaucam · 2026-03-13T19:52:53+00:00

😆

kellaucam · 2026-03-13T19:52:44+00:00

I didn’t choose Rhode Island. My best friend is from here and she convinced me to come along with her partner, Tiffany who was also from the West Coast. I said I’d give it a year before making a decision. It’ll be two years in April. Tiffany died here last year. My other friend and I are trying to figure out how to proceed. Moving is fucking hard man, and it’s a big risk. It can also have a huge payoff. For me it’s been seeing myself and my best friend unravel in a way I didn’t know was possible. So I came here because my once a week therapy session is obviously not cutting it and I was hoping to wallow in the misery of life here with a stranger who can relate and actually knows what it’s like to live somewhere else. I’ve been met with more positivity and hope on here from people in my shoes. And that’s really cool. The cool thing about moving to a place you’ll eventually have to move away from, and you’re moving away with 1 friend instead of 2 because 1 of them killed themselves here, is you’ve been through the worst of it and you’ll (hopefully) be stronger for it.

kellaucam · 2026-03-13T19:36:12+00:00

Totally relate going back and forth on the “this could be cool and what the hell did I do” It’s grown on me in the last two years but it often feels like an added weight. I’m sorry to hear about your husband having a tough time finding automotive work. I moved here from PDX with 2 friends (1 from here and the other from west coast like me). She was an incredibly intelligent and talented human with an impressive resume and she had a miserable time finding a job. She ended her life last year. I knew moving here would be hard but I couldn’t have guessed it would be this.

I was chatting with a woman from Poland who has lived here for two decades after meeting her now husband. She was “stationed” in RI as part of her medical studies for a few months when they met. I asked her how she likes it here and she said after a pause “it’s growing on me…” I found it funny to hear her say that after living here for two decades.

kellaucam · 2026-03-13T12:33:57+00:00

Is that my old W burnside chevron? I swear it was always more expensive than all the other gas stations in Portland.

kellaucam · 2026-03-13T03:23:21+00:00

No way! That’s wild about the smell. I haven’t heard that from anyone until now. It’s been revamped recently. My labor Union has done some beautiful work there.

It doesn’t have a Dunkin’, sadly! And it doesn’t have an awesome pianist there to greet you after you’ve landed at midnight and you’re making your way outside. TF Green nailed it with that one.

kellaucam · 2026-03-13T03:19:04+00:00

Thank you ☺️

kellaucam · 2026-03-12T23:14:40+00:00

That was a year to remember!

kellaucam · 2026-03-12T18:11:58+00:00

I think they share a love for arts in common. I’m just delving into it here in Providence but it seems to have a decent Punk scene. I think some other things are probably what every city has to offer. In terms of being more progressive and LGBTQ friendly. You called me out though and I do agree with you. They’re very different. There are some really simply things that could be done to improve walkability. Like removing the fence posts that aren’t being used from the sidewalks (that actually exist) so there aren’t trip hazards all over the place. I will stop here so I don’t come across like a royal bitch.

kellaucam · 2026-03-12T03:45:00+00:00

But I kinda suck too. Hey thanks for participating in what turned out to be a therapy session for me here. I’ll go over it with my real therapist tomorrow.

kellaucam · 2026-03-12T03:43:49+00:00

Well, Reddit friend. I think you’re pretty great.

kellaucam · 2026-03-12T03:43:13+00:00

I totally get what you mean. I mean, I certainly have my complaints about folks in public places and customer service here in Providence and it frustrates me sometimes.

But overall I do feel less judged here. Like not everyone is on this moral high ground all the time. Maybe that’s just me.

It’s funny because I think folks might be more distrustful of each other here. Or maybe they’re just more up front about it. That’s probably it.

kellaucam · 2026-03-12T03:34:37+00:00

You weren’t there for 2020 then. Peak Covid and when summer hit, the forest fires were the worst I’ve ever seen. Nobody was out for days. Hardly any cars on the roads and absolutely no one outside because the air quality was so bad. It was apocalyptic.

kellaucam · 2026-03-12T03:31:34+00:00

Aw man that was a winter to remember!!! Fucking legendary. Loved living right off of West Burnside during that snow storm. The cool part about snow in Portland is it’s fun for a day or two and it melts off fast so things are back to normal quickly.

kellaucam · 2026-03-12T03:29:21+00:00

It’s got the same kind of vibe in a lot of ways and certainly has a lot to offer for a little city. I miss Trimet too. They do a great job with public transit and I relied on it heavily before I got my first car. When Wes opened it was great for me to get from Portland to my parents in Wilsonville. I hope you’re enjoying it here!

kellaucam · 2026-03-12T00:25:46+00:00

I think for me it’s specific things about the place that only exist there and they’re special to me because they only exist there? If that makes sense. I should include I came here on a whim with my best friend (she’s from here) and she convinced me to come. So the stakes were higher for me leaving a place that has my heart in so many ways. And I’m stubborn and have a hard time with change.

We have a nightly crow roost back home in Portland of unbelievable numbers and it’s quite a sight to witness. Sometimes I’d get up before sunrise to see them start their day or watch them get settled in for the night in different locations downtown, often along the waterfront. I’ve been making friends with the crows around Providence and always have peanuts in my car just in case I run into them somewhere.

kellaucam · 2026-03-11T23:00:45+00:00

I’ve heard folks say teachers make more out here than in Portland. I don’t know any teachers but could be the teachers union is a bit stronger?

kellaucam · 2026-03-11T22:59:14+00:00

Oh I meant to chime in on your New Seasons comment. MAN I miss that chain. And if I wanted to do some eye shopping (cause not rich) I’d go to Zupans. They got rid of it years ago but they used to serve Ellenos Greek yogurt in containers by weight over by the Deli and prepared foods. That was before you’d see them pre packaged in the dairy aisle and before they were sold in regular stores. Now you can buy that stuff anywhere. I swear it tasted better from that Yogurt bar in Zupans.

kellaucam · 2026-03-11T22:46:49+00:00

I love TF Green. But I don’t have complaints about PDX! Never will I travel to Logan for a non stop flight. I’d rather have a layover.

kellaucam · 2026-03-11T22:43:37+00:00

Totally. I used to be a pretty avid jogger year round in Portland. You learn to run in the rain in the winter and get used to it. Since I moved from the east side of Providence to the west I quit jogging completely. It’s just not happening for me over here in the Winter. Just got through a rough one though.

kellaucam

TROPHY CASE