The Gamer's Quarter

xvs07 · . Joined: 22 Sep 2005 Posts: 160

Me too. At least one. I realize this is kinda offtopic for a post here, but I like you folks and it'd be keen to live with another gamer. Things I can't deal with include frequent, extreme drinking, indoor smoke (cigs, pot, or most incense), and loudness when I need to sleep. Anything else is either no problem whatsoever or very negotiable. I'm here, so I obviously likes me some games, but I also like to read, bike, and climb tall things. I'm also a decent cook when I have a recipe to work from.

I'm looking to spend no more than $600 on a place and current options include renting a studio (ick), renting a room in someone else's apartment or house, or renting a multibedroom apartment or house with one or more other people who're moving. I'm currently in Minneapolis, but will likely be in Portland, Oregon by April 15th if a face-to-face meeting is desired.

ApM · Posted: Sun Apr 02, 2006 11:36 pm Post subject:

Well, I should be moving into an apartment in downtown Bellevue shortly, which is a short bus ride away from downtown Seattle. However, my wife will be moving in with me in a few months. Also, apartments in downtown Bellevue are ludicrously expensive.

When you get to Seattle, though, we should totally meet up! Maybe I'll even have my game systems by then.

friedchicken · . Joined: 16 Mar 2005 Posts: 496 Location: Port Land, OR

That's funny, there's a chance that my wife and I could move to the Seattle area within the next six months or so. If we do, we'll have a super TGQ enclave!

DonMarco · . Joined: 02 Mar 2005 Posts: 349 Location: 33903

Is "enclave" a code word for "cult"? Because I'm in.
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Collector of over 1,538 strategy guides. That's weird, right?

friedchicken · . Joined: 16 Mar 2005 Posts: 496 Location: Port Land, OR

When have you ever known me to NOT be talking about a cult?

xvs07 · . Joined: 22 Sep 2005 Posts: 160

Dudesweet! We can totally have rad geeked out gamer parties and stuff. It'll be the shizzy, j0.

Also, feel free to lemme know if you know somebody interested in cohousing; I've got two solid folks signed on as of now, and we're looking for a fourth.

GSL · Posted: Tue Apr 04, 2006 12:57 am Post subject:

It's the possiblity of real-life meetups that make me rather jealous of situations like this. Oregon is a horrible place to live for this sort of thing; doubly so if one has the misfortune to live anywhere other than Portland. With the infrequency of other Oregonians online, sometimes I wonder if I'm the only one who uses the intarweb.

xvs07 · . Joined: 22 Sep 2005 Posts: 160

As it happens, I grew up in Woodburn and spent five years in Portland before moving to Minneapolis. In short, you *could* always escape, but it isn't bad as prisons go.

GSL · Posted: Sat Apr 08, 2006 9:44 pm Post subject:

That's Woodburn and Portland. This is Ashland, one of those horribly deceptive little towns that you don't realize is so awful until you're too firmly entrenched in work, school, and relationships to do anything other than dream about leaving. It's sortof like Silent Hill in that it devours your soul, but you don't realize it until you can't leave. Even Portland would be a great escape.

friedchicken · . Joined: 16 Mar 2005 Posts: 496 Location: Port Land, OR

So how big is Portland, actually? My wife is applying for that job today. I would have to start looking for a job, too. I hear it's a nice place for vegetarians, which would be nice.

GSL · Posted: Fri Apr 14, 2006 4:36 pm Post subject:

Portland proper is supposedly around 500,000 people, but there's really no division where Portland ends and the larger suburbs like Beaverton and Hillsboro begin, so the whole mess is somewhere upwards of a million, I believe.

dessgeega · Posted: Fri Apr 14, 2006 4:40 pm Post subject:

friedchicken · . Joined: 16 Mar 2005 Posts: 496 Location: Port Land, OR

Well, yeah, but I was too lazy to edit it.

Come on though, they have a fucking vegan grocery store!!! Ah, it's like heaven. Or at least better than DC. BUT DC has been better than Baltimore. So it's all relative.

Mister Toups · Posted: Fri Apr 14, 2006 8:25 pm Post subject:

dessgeega · Posted: Sat Apr 15, 2006 1:57 am Post subject:

Tablesaw · . Joined: 29 Jun 2005 Posts: 303 Location: LACAUSA

friedchicken · . Joined: 16 Mar 2005 Posts: 496 Location: Port Land, OR

dessgeega · Posted: Sat Apr 15, 2006 6:23 am Post subject:

friedchicken · . Joined: 16 Mar 2005 Posts: 496 Location: Port Land, OR

Are they something like these? If so they don't sell them anymore, and hadn't for a year or so before I moved into the neighborhood. Which is a shame, because I had always wanted a pair. I'd buy from Mooshoes, but I'm afraid I won't be able to accurately predict the right size.

dessgeega · Posted: Sat Apr 15, 2006 6:58 am Post subject:

steel-toed. yup, hott.

from no-bull, who is based in the uk.
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friedchicken · . Joined: 16 Mar 2005 Posts: 496 Location: Port Land, OR

Nice! And now I am jealous.

Sigh.

friedchicken · . Joined: 16 Mar 2005 Posts: 496 Location: Port Land, OR

Old thread!

Well, I just got back from visiting Portland to scope it out for possible relocation. It's pretty cool, and there was even an arcade downtown with mostly older (80's, 90's) games in it. I wasn't able to locate an import games store, but that's what the Internet is for I guess. Plus I think we could actually afford a house there, unlike DC metro where the housing prices approach the unbelievable.

So for those of you who have relocated acoss long distances, how did you move all your crap? In our 2 bedroom apartment my wife and I have about as much crap as most people have in their two bedroom single family home, so we've been trying to pare things down a little, but... holy shit, UHauls cost in the thousands to rent for a cross-country drive. Is there a cheaper way that anyone has used?

Mr. Apol · Posted: Fri May 12, 2006 7:43 am Post subject:

What's the average cost of living in Portland? It... doesn't seem like a bad place.
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friedchicken · . Joined: 16 Mar 2005 Posts: 496 Location: Port Land, OR

Based on the salary.com calculator... the cost of living in Portland is 11.9% less than my city (DC). But then the salary differencial is only 2% off. Not bad at all!

And it's a really nice place-- lots of trees, relatively low density, and mild-seeming commutes, compared to the nightmare commute I now have.

ApM · Posted: Fri May 12, 2006 10:39 am Post subject:

Well, I moved from Winnipeg to Vancouver, which wasn't nearly as far as DC to Oregon, by finding a cheap, locally-owned moving company franchise (Two Small Men With Big Hearts), which wasn't actually a particularly good idea in the end. Cost about $3,000CDN. They showed up at the destination a week later than the maximum time they'd given us, lost the new phone numbers that I'd given them several times (trying to call the old place when you get there isn't going to do very much good!), and I was on the phone with them daily trying to find out what the hell was going on and no one could tell me. Everyone I talked to blamed some other branch for fucking up. Moral: Move with a big, reputable moving company that charges you too much money, because moving is actually really expensive and it probably costs them that much.

Now I'm moving from Vancouver to Seattle, which is four hours by bus, and it's costing me more than it did to move from Winnipeg to Vancouver. I guess crossing the Canada / US border drives the price up. The stuff will be well taken-care of, at least, and we got them to pack up the kitchen, which is probably the most miserable room to pack. Plus my new company is paying for it anyway.

I've heard some horror stories about U-Haul fucking people over, so I'd be cautious about that particular company.

xvs07 · . Joined: 22 Sep 2005 Posts: 160

I ended up just shipping my stuff parcel post with USPS and flying out. Easiest move I've ever made, but it probably wouldn't be cost-effective for those with many possessions. I highly recommend MovingScam.com as the place to start your research in earnest. They've got a lot of time into solving the problem (notably a well-kept blacklist of companies that screw people over with notes on how they did it from the people it happened to) and I probably would have taken their advice (to either go with Arkansas Best Freighter or Broadway Express) if I had had more stuff to move. Good luck with the move. Portland's a sweet ol' town.

friedchicken · . Joined: 16 Mar 2005 Posts: 496 Location: Port Land, OR

friedchicken · . Joined: 16 Mar 2005 Posts: 496 Location: Port Land, OR

Oh yeah, I've forgotten to mention: Hey dessgeega, I went to Food Fight! while we were in Portland. They had these refrigerated vegan candy bars that they DON'T sell on their website that were indescribably good...

dessgeega · Posted: Tue May 23, 2006 12:17 pm Post subject:

friedchicken · . Joined: 16 Mar 2005 Posts: 496 Location: Port Land, OR

Well, after what seems like forever, my wife has finally gotten the job in Portland. So look out Greatsaintlouis. We'll leave Maryland to drive there on August 7, in what will be my best (or only) chance ever to see Minnesota, North Dakota, Montana, and Idaho.

It looks like I might even be able to stay with my own company-- they have a location there as well!

This is some scary shit.

xvs07 · . Joined: 22 Sep 2005 Posts: 160

Squee! New Pacific northwesterner! Congrats, FC. Hope it exceeds all your expectations. A tip: if you haven't already, invest in camping and hiking gear when you have some spare cash. You won't regret it.

Edit: By the by, I'm now firmly ensconced one block south of Key Arena in Seattle. Anybody up for some gaming, fooding, and/or general hangout?

friedchicken · . Joined: 16 Mar 2005 Posts: 496 Location: Port Land, OR

Yeah, we're really looking forward to it! We're flying out on Saturday to drive around and find an apartment, then we leave DC on or around August 6 to drive out. I'm actually looking forward to the drive!

It's exciting but supremely scary for someone who's always lived in the Mid-Atlantic.

So... yeah! We should try and have a NW get-together sometime after we've settled in a little. I'm not normally a social person but I've resolved to try and change that.

As for the camping/hiking, I'm hoping to do a Mt. Hood climb in spring or so. So we'll see. I don't know about camping-- the east coast has soured me on caming, mainly due to the ridiculous amounts of mosquitos present. How is the NW for that?

simplicio · . Joined: 03 May 2005 Posts: 1091

Not nearly so bad bug wise- the summers aren't hot enough. Though the Olympics may be worse than the Cascades due to higher levels of precipitation. We always used to go up to the Twin Lakes in the northern Cascades during summer.

If you're a cyclist (or a kayaker), the San Juan Islands are worth the time and expense as well.

friedchicken · . Joined: 16 Mar 2005 Posts: 496 Location: Port Land, OR

That's cool. And yes, I am a kayaker so I'll definitely be checking out the San Juan Islands-- I've told my wife that I have the first five years of vacations planned already. Normally we fly west for vacations, but now we'll be within driving distance of so many amazing things. Portland seems excellent for running too!

And Dess, I plan on becoming a Food Fight regular-- we're looking right in their part of ton since my wife's new job (with on office looking right out onto the Willamette, no less!) is about 5 minutes away from FF.

Now I'll just have to find my game stuff. I've seen an arcade on street up from Burnside in Chinatown, but I haven't found an import or used game shop just yet.

ApM · Posted: Tue Jul 11, 2006 11:37 am Post subject:

Hells yes. I'm in Bellevue now, and I've got nine videogame systems hooked up to my TV.

xvs, if you haven't hit up Pink Godzilla yet, I urge you to do so. It is a delightful little closet-sized store, packed with delicious treats and a furiously overpriced copy of Radiant Silvergun. And for the love of God let me know if you find a decent arcade.

dark steve · . Joined: 17 Jun 2005 Posts: 1110

What constitutes "overpriced" for Radiant Silvergun?

ApM · Posted: Tue Jul 11, 2006 12:15 pm Post subject:

Not "overpriced" -- "furiously overpriced." I'm not a shooter guy, but $500 seems a touch excessive. A monkey with eBay could get it shipped for significantly less than half that. I'm pretty sure they have no intention of actually selling it, and put it behind glass to give the store some geek cred.

It is otherwise a pretty excellent store, given my limited experience with such things.

dessgeega · Posted: Tue Jul 11, 2006 12:27 pm Post subject:

xvs07 · . Joined: 22 Sep 2005 Posts: 160

friedchicken · . Joined: 16 Mar 2005 Posts: 496 Location: Port Land, OR

SuperWes · Posted: Wed Jul 26, 2006 2:07 pm Post subject:

Hey you Seattle fools! Does anyone want to get into PAX as part of TGQ? If you're interested, say the word! I'd like to have someone write something about it (and maybe hand stuff out?) just 'cuz I'm interested.

-Wes
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ApM · Posted: Wed Jul 26, 2006 4:02 pm Post subject:

I totally called this in a staff-only thread like months ago.

Though I haven't faxed in my delicious new business cards yet!

ApM · Posted: Wed Jul 26, 2006 4:45 pm Post subject:

ALSO: Get the fuck out to the Pacific Science Center and check out the GameOn exhibit before it's gone at the end of August. It's essentially 100 games on free play, and they did an outstanding job of putting in at least one example of pretty much everything important. Highlights:

Vectrex playing Spacewar (next to a pair of behind-plexiglass Computer Space cabs, argh!)
Jaguar Tempest 2000 (I kind of prefer my Mac port, but I suppose I only played a few levels)
Missile Command
Rez (though only the second level was unlocked! Travesty.)
Some Japanese train sim with a custom controller
Dreamcast homebrew! And Warning Forever! And a Net Yaroze kiosk that was down (the only non-functional one on the floor).
Six-player big-screen Saturn Bomberman
Some adventure game for blind people whose name I forget
Secret of Monkey Island (with some gorgeous original concept art on the wall by I'm pretty sure Steve Purcell)
A massive wall of storyboards and animation roughs / cells from Dragon's Lair
Sit-down Star Wars (which I honestly found a bit underwhelming; it felt exactly like MAME. None of the ethereal wonder of the vector screen of, say, Asteroids.)
The original Odyssey, whose controls were unbelievably unintuitive. You could literally move your paddle anywhere on or off the screen, and we only ever saw the ball briefly float in from offscreen at a random angle before quickly disappearing again. And yet Ralph Baer complains that Tennis for Two wasn't a proper game? Fuck you, Ralph Baer.

The literature kind of sucks (the "quiz" on the website and in the pamphlet you get is concentrated awful), but whoever picked the games definitely had a clue. Probably a better value for your $13 than GameWorks' $10 Thursday night freeplay. So go! Do it! For great justice!

GSL · Posted: Thu Jul 27, 2006 4:33 am Post subject:

And of course, all y'all northern Oregonians / anywhere Washingtonians need to give me a shout if you plan on heading south into ~~Hell~~ California via I-5. I could provide you with one last chance to experience sanity and a town full of non-shitty drivers, although I can't promise too much on that last bit--we've been having quite the migration from the south.

friedchicken · . Joined: 16 Mar 2005 Posts: 496 Location: Port Land, OR

xvs07 · . Joined: 22 Sep 2005 Posts: 160

Six · . Joined: 15 Jul 2006 Posts: 313 Location: montreal

ApM · Posted: Wed Aug 09, 2006 3:58 pm Post subject:

Apparently Shaper just got my PAX media badge in the mail! PAX ATTENDANCE CONFIRMED.

Six, how long are you going to be around Bellevue? Just the weekend? Do you know if there is there enough non-PAX downtime to kidnap xvs07 and sneak in a TGQ meetup?

Six · . Joined: 15 Jul 2006 Posts: 313 Location: montreal

I'm going to be spending most of Thursday in Seattle, getting to Bellevue sometime in the late afternoon. I leave bright'n'early Monday morning, though.
*cough* Self-indulgent posts about last year aside, there was plenty of downtime. A TGQ meetup would be awesome. Perhaps even... so awesome?

friedchicken · . Joined: 16 Mar 2005 Posts: 496 Location: Port Land, OR

I can't say I'm up for a Seattle get-together just yet, having spent about 48 hours in my car last week, but maybe at some point. It's what, an hour or two away?

Whew. For anyone who's curious, we made it through our cross-country drive. Portland's a great place, but it would be nice to be able to find a job. Anyone who is in the know care to recommend a place to work as a stopgap until I can find a real permanent grownup job?