Lived there for 7 years - I think I got it.

Step one, do not be in downtown, inner SE, inner NE, Gateway, or anywhere near a Max line or bus station after dark. Step two, carry mace and a stun gun. Step three, leave Portland for good and only return if I must << We are here.

We got a lot of hate from certain left leaning folks in Portland for leaving "because of the homeless". It's like, "No, dude, I'm leaving because my wife was assaulted by homeless no less than 3 times (twice physically, once was almost a rape), and that's even when she was "safely on TriMet. You can 'but not ALL homeless' all you want. My wife is traumatized and we want nothing to do with this shithole of a city".

Yeah, after the 3rd one we left, and we can say with certainty that we'll never ever come back to live in PDX.