It’s been a long minute since I posted, and for that I apologize. Things are still in flux and I am trying to find balance.
Maybe I’ll find it in Portland?
That’s Portland, Oregon, not Portland, Maine, and it’s the site of FinCon25. I’ll land on Tuesday, Sept. 9 and go home on Sunday, Sept. 13. Anyone interested in a meetup?
That could be for coffee (in my case, an iced tea), breakfast, lunch or dinner. We could also just meet at (or somewhere near) the Oregon Convention Center, which is where the conference takes place.
I haven’t yet finalized my FinCon schedule (procrastination FTW), but I can say that just about any time Tuesday would work. That day I land quite early, and the conference doesn’t start until Wednesday. (I always build in an extra day because travel gremlins gonna gremlin.)
Those who live in the area: Got any clever tips on public transit, local color or top food trucks? Please don’t say “Powell’s Books!” because everyone has already said that.
This year’s conference should be very interesting because of recent upheavals in the freelance industry. Some of the busiest writers out there lost most (or all) of their work quite literally overnight. (Thanks, Google.) It will be intriguing to learn new ways to pivot.
If you have a chance to visit next week, please contact me at Donna (underscore) Freedman (at) hotmail (dot) com.
Wish I had some advice for your Portland trip, but I know you’ll have the time of your life there. Fly safe there and back!
As you probably already know, Katy at The Non-Consumer Advocate is a longtime Portland resident and has many clever tips about food trucks and things to do. Maybe you and Katy, and Kristen at The Frugal Girl (who is also planning to attend FinCon), could have a meetup!
Yes! I thought the same thing and was going to tell her to reach out to Katy.
Transit: I just looked at where the hotel is and…avoid walking around outside at night. Public transit is good during regular hours but the riders can get sketchy at night. Info on fares: https://trimet.org/fares/
Some non-Powell things to do include Chinese Garden, Japanese Garden + Rose Garden (they are basically next to one another). Hoyt Arboretum and the zoo is near there as well. If you want to try something different, there is a ghost tour https://www.pdxpipeline.com/a-night-with-ghosts-haunted-walking-tour-nw-portland-09-2025/
There are far far too many food trucks and great restaurants to recommend anything w/o knowing what you like 🙂 wweek.com and pdx.eater.com have some good writeups you can use as a guide.
I think my last comment had too many links, so check your spam folder!
Safe travels!
Thanks!
Have a great time! I’m anxious to hear about your experience this year at FinCom and to learn about anything new on the financial/economic front. Most of all, I hope you enjoy yourself and are able to meet up with old and new friends. If I was near Portland, I’d be one of them.
It ought to be interesting, as in the old saying, “May you live in interesting times.” The situation now reminds me of how print journalists panicked when Craigslist took away so much ad revenue so fast. I hope that freelancers can rebound better than newspapers did.
I truly hope so too. I still have subscriptions for the paper version of my hometown (city) newspaper and hard copies of The Atlantic. I feel it’s important to support them and help to keep them up and running. I’m hoping freelancers aren’t going anywhere soon too. So important to get different views on everything from a variety of writers.
My daughter moved to the Portland suburbs this year so we have been out there twice in the past 6 months. I second the Lan-Su Chinese Garden recommendation. $15 Senior admission includes a free tour if you time it right. It is beautiful and has a nice tea house. We found the Japanese Gardens to be pricey and spread out-but the Rose Test Garden is free (I think) and does not take lots of time. Restaurants will be dependent on where you are staying. I don’t know the geography that well yet/but I did make sure to find Powells :). They have a nice coffee shop that might be good for a meetup. We just missed you/we were out there a week and a half ago
If you are a crafter, check out SCRAP. It’s like a thrift store for craft supplies! https://portland.scrapcreativereuse.org/
I hope you’re having a blast at FinCon, Donna! Can’t wait to read about it.
Sorry not related to the conference but I’m looking for your bread recipe. I don’t see a search on your blog but can you tell me where it is? Thanks
Here you go:
https://donnafreedman.com/our-daily-bread/