forum Anyone from Hood River Oregon?

Started April 10, 2020 by Hannah Dudleson

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I'm writing a book set in Hood River and I need to know more about it

So Im from Bend OR, which is pretty different than Hood River, but if you want some general Oregon knowledge I can help! :)

I'd love that! I'm from Oklahoma which is pretty different. I just need to know the general weather, what people are like, and if there's any "Oregon things" that would make my book more authentic

Yeah, ofc! I've only lived in Oregon for a few years but these are some things I've noticed!

• this may seem small but its very important to Oregonians lol, you pronounce it Or-gun not Or-eh-gun or Ar-gun
• instead of Starbucks we have dutch brothers (dutch bros), its pretty much the same thing as Starbucks but mostly only in OR, if your character is ever going to get coffee she would definitely go to Dutch Bros
• OR is generally pretty rainy, especially if you're around Portland, but we NEVER use umbrellas, idk but you can ask any Oregonian and for some reason we're against umbrellas even though it rains a lot. Also important, only real Oregonians do this, if you're from Cali or another surrounding state, you use umbrellas. (The only reason I abide to the umbrella rule is cause I'm originally from WA where we do the same thing) But yeah, also Oregonians will wear coats with hoods but never umbrellas.
• The OR coast is not somewhere you would go for a beach day and a swim in the Ocean. In both OR and WA the coats is mainly rocky beaches, cliffs, and tide pools. Even in the summer you generally wear a wetsuit. If your character ever goes to the coast (most OR families do it a few times a year) she would go on hikes and explore tide pools, and maybe surf (we have some sick surfing waves) but definitely with a wetsuit.
• Your car is going to be four wheel drive. This applies to pretty much anywhere in OR. People here are generally pretty outdoorsy and most people drive some sort of truck to deal with the weather and to get places.
• We really like beer. I can't speak to this much cause I can't drink but OR has so so so many breweries. Everyone here drinks beer. Also you never ever drink Bud Light, or Coors, or any big name beers, we only drink craft beer from local breweries.
• We don't really eat french fries, instead we eat tater tots or potato wedges.
• WE HATE PEOPLE FROM CALI. Idk why, but we do. We just really hate people who move her from Cali, ecspcially if they complain about OR. We're fine with people from WA though, as generally OR and WA are pretty similar. But CA people are not. And we hate them for that. (Im now realizing that sounds very aggressive, its not that bad, it more like if you asked someone where their from and they say Cali then you would just roll your eyes and scoff and be like oh you're one of those people)
• Mushroom hunting. Most of Oregon is covered in mushrooms (and this is more for adults) but we love going foraging in the forest.
• Everyone has some kind of weird diy hobby. Like knitting, brewing, or literally anything that's just kinda funky but still fun.
• Dress flannel. I don't know a single Oregoian who doesn't own multiple flannel things. This is more for the outdoorsy people we get here, but guys wear flannel shirts and nice jeans instead of a suit, same with girls.
• We don't really need ac or heating. I mean this differs on where in OR you live, but OR is generally hot in the day and really cold at night, so if we ever are uncomfortable with the temp we just go outside or make a fire.
• You compost. Even if you're not a gardener.
• Bikes over cars, everyone here bikes to get places and generally people own multiple bikes. Also everyone here mountain bikes religiously, unless you're from Portland obviously. But im not exaggerating when I say everyone bikes to get around.
• Everyone here has eaten elephant ears. Its a type of fried dough that you find at fairs or carnivals, and they are SO GOOD.
• We love coffee. I think coffee and beer are the only things we drink. But it's not basic coffee, cafes serve exotic coffee beans and have crazy homemade contraptions to make the perfect cup.
• Everyone has a dog. They're kinda treated like people here. You see dogs on hiking trails, streets, and even in bars. Its definitely the most dog friendly place in USA.
• We really like the Oregon Ducks. I don't cause I have to support my home teams from WA. But on game day everyone is wearing green and yellow. If you don't like the ducks you like the beavers, and the rivalries get very intense.
• There's farmers everywhere. All of east Oregon is farm land and even if your in a town people have small farms in their backyards. Like I live in a kind of big town and in my backyard I have three chickens and a huge garden.
• We don't have sales tax here. Its so nice.
• We also don't pump our own gas. This isn't like a stereotype about OR people, we actually have people who pump your gas for you and you don't have to get out of your car.
• We have so many food trucks, like way to many. Generally if you're going to eat out you go to your neighborhood food truck.
• We don't throw away our cans. You can get like 50 cents or something for each can you turn in so everyone collects their cans in a separate bin. Also you get alot of homeless people who will take your cans or ask you for them so they can get money.
• VooDoo donuts are so amazing. But that's only for tourists.
• Everyone gets their clothes from thrift stores, we love thrift stores so much that they've turned into really really good stores to shop at for actually pretty nice clothes.
• Not everyone here is liberal, that's just a stereotype. Everyone in Portland is liberal, and a lot of the large hippster towns are, but other than that we're pretty diverse when it comes to politics.
• Everyone has used marijauna at some point. Its normally to see people smoking weed and there's a marijauna dealer store in every neighborhood. I mean its a problem, but we're all pretty chill about it. It does smell like weed a lot though, escpcially in Portland.
• Everyone knows about the Shakespeare in Ashland. Weather you're a theatre kid or not, everyone goes at least once in their time spent in OR.
• Everyone loves it here. Like actually we love our state so much. Most kids go to collage in state. If you move here you'll probably never move away. Coming from someone who's been in many many states, OR is just so amazing.
• Its so fucking beautiful here. That's just the truth, not me being proud of my state. Wherever you go, the nature is so gorgeous.
• Okay so Oregon has a very distinct stereotype. Its pretty much that you're a hipster, you love nature, you love breweries and craft beer and coffee, you only wear vintage outdoorsy stuff, you love biking, you love local produce, you're very liberal, and you probably live in Portland. That's pretty accurate about most people here, we all are a little hipster, but there's a few smaller groups of Oregonians. Like the soccer moms who moved from CA, and only drink rose, and moved here cause they "love" the outdoors when they only go on a mile long hike every weekend (we hate these types of people, but there's a lot of them) That's pretty much the two groups of Oregonians although we are super diverse. If you want to get a really good idea about what the typical Oregonian is like, watch Portlandia, it makes fun of the Portland hipster stereotype by over emphasizing it a lot but its pretty accurate.
• I just remembered this, but specific to Hood River, it's known as the windsurfing captial of the world. Anytime I was driving through there and went over the gorge, there was always like 50 windsurfers out there.
• Okay now im remembering more and more about Hood River so here's this: Idk if you know Aspen culture but it's kind of like that. Also I live in Bend, and I've heard that its pretty similar but idk if that's true. I do know that Hood River is a bit less of the hipster type but still pretty hippie. Everyone there skis, bikes, and windsurfs. I also know that they're know for world class wineries and breweries. Also most people commute to Portland for work. Thats all I know though.
• The weather differs throughout OR. But it's generally overcast and rainy, and it always snows in the winter.

Wow I just realized how long that was, I got kinda carried away lol. The most important thing to take out of all of that, is that its not all super noticeable in Oregoions, its just kind of weird quirks we have. For example, in your story don't have your character think "I don't use umbrellas because we don't do that here" or "I hate people from Cali because they don't understand the real Oregon" we never straight out think or say these things, its more of just an instinct or a small thing in the back of our heads. Also I'm not from Hood River, I've driven through there a few times but I don't know anything about the culture so idk if this is all accurate for Hood River, but I'd say that this is pretty accurate for all of OR.

I hope this helps! If you want to know anything else or have any questions I'd love to help! (this was actually pretty fun talking about OR culture) :)

Hi! I live near Hood River! Like 10 minutes away

If you have any specific things you would like to know about the town, I can answer any questions you have!

I'm from Oregon and I haven't noticed that we hate people from Cali but okay………..one of my best friends is from there……

Wow thanks so much @"betsy.cant.write" that was tremendously helpful. And @Scorpia here's my main questions about specifically Hood Oregon

• are you mostly liberal or conservative
  -whats the atmosphere of your city like-are people general really friendly or not
• are people general super busy or is it more laid back
• what're the high schools like?
  thanks so much you guys!

@cerinthe ahahaha idk maybe its just a central Oregon thing, its more of a joke though :)

@"betsy.cant.write" maybe so xD I live in the willamette valley so thats….. more on the west coast I guess? idk. Oregon is great I luv it <333

Hi! Here's the answers to your questions.

• We are pretty mixed here in Hood River, but I would say we lean a bit more towards Liberal. I know many people on both sides though.
• The social atmosphere is different depending on who you are and where exactly you live. Most of the residents don't like people from Portland and tourists much because they get kind of overwhelming (especially in the summer). It can be a bit hard to break into a community at first since it's such a close-knit town and everyone seems to already know each other. Keep that in mind if your character has always lived in Hood River or if she moved recently.
• I would say it's a bit more laid back here. The downtown area isn't big at all so theres none of that "city business" and rush hour barely exists.
• The local highschool seems pretty cool! I've actually never been inside of it, but I know some people who attend and they all seem like pretty average teens. I do know theres some trails behind the High school which have like dirt mounds and bike jumps, so that's interesting.

Okay, so I know you didn't really ask any other questions but just in case, here's some more fun facts about Hood River that you may want to know!

• It actually isn't as rainy here as it is in Portland! It does rain of course, but no where near as much. The main default weather here is wind. It's very windy.
• It's an hour's drive to Portland and 49 minutes to Gresham, which is a large town near Portland. The interstate connecting these to Hood River is i-84.
• The local theater has 5 or 6 showing rooms but they're all pretty small and rarely busy.
• There's also a restaurant downtown called andrew (Our Supreme Lord and Overseer)'s Pizza which is great.
• Sometimes in the summer we have a thing called "music in the park" where a band will play on the front lawn of s certain store called The Duck and everyone loves these music nights.
• There's a LOT of wineries here.
• The Library is really pretty
• It is more likely to snow here than it is in Portland, but it's still pretty rare. Last year we got snowed in with up to 6 feet of snow and it was super rare and insane.
• The local middle school is really old and almost looks like a castle or old collage campus.
• The biggest church (by size of attendance) is Hood River Alliance, if any of your characters are religious.
• There's a part of Hood River known as "The Heights" and it's at the top of the hill where Hood River is located. It's small, but there's a good bakery and Mexican restaurant.
• We actually have a bit of a Hispanic population here, so there's lots of cool little Mexican restaurants!
• There's 2 McDonald's, one Dairy Queen, One Taco Bell, one Subway, and Dutch Bros…. and I can't remember if we have a Starbucks… I don't think so.

Thank you for letting me share! I think it's so cool that my tiny town is getting attention! You picked a great location to put your story! Let me know if you have any other questions and you can contact me if you have any super-specific things you're wondering about.

thanks so much @Scorpia!! that was super helpful and I'll let u know if I think of anything else

@hannah Dudleson, Okay, cool! Good luck on your story!

Hey @Scorpia I have a couple more questions, haha
Do you have Home Depot
What would the weather be like on Halloween
Is Hood River one of those places where everyone knows everyone?
Thank you sooo much!

• We do not have a home depot, but there's one in The Dalles, 20 Minutes east!
• weather on Halloween is most likely cold, windy, possibly rainy.
• It certainly can be but that depends on where you live and who you are. A character with a family who owns a local business or has lived in the city their whole life might know nearly everyone, but of course with a population of around 8000, you can't know every single person.

thank you @Scorpia !

I'm also in Oregon- can confirm We Hate Californians it's because they're stereotyped they can't drive for shit and usually that stereotype checks out
There's a few more opinions regarding that but yeah that's why (at least everyone I know) Hates Californians