When I first moved here in 2005, I paid $700 for a studio in downtown. ...Yep, I feel pretty dumb about that.

Sarah, when you say that $626 seems crazy for a studio, do you mean crazy good? Crazy bad? Or...?

Yeah I'm with No Longer Alone, considering Portland is insanely cheap compared to every other major city on the west coast I'm inclined to think that is crazy good... I have a feeling that's not what you mean but I've paid a lot more than that for worse elsewhere, so... eh.

Some moustache-twirling villain is thinking "POOR PEOPLE! Where can I put a Plaid Pantry?"

Maybe right next to the New Seasons that'll probably be built for the rich people...

@Todd - I don't have a mustache, but enough people have complained on here about there being no grocery store down there that I've been meaning to at least drive the neighborhood looking for opportunities...

Maybe a Take-n-Bake pizza franchise? All those condo-dwellers who don't like to cook? If it's in walking distance....? And those places can take food stamps....

I know that Portland is cheap for a major city, and I am very grateful for that, but once upon a time I payed $275 for a two bedroom apartment. Granted it was in a ghetto with drug dealers and a minimum of one shooting per week, but hey, TWO HUNDRED AND SEVENTY FIVE DOLLARS.

Anyway, now, I pay $400 for my share of a very large/nice house in close-in NE. I feel pretty good about that.

Some kind of store will go in eventually, Reymont (a Peterson's, perhaps?), but for now those rich condo dwellers won't starve! They can eat at the Old Spaghetti Factory five every night if they like, and, don't forget, a short tram-ride away the Marquam OHSU Cafe is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. (Oh, but the tram shuts down for eight hours every night...HOW PODUNK IS THAT!)

@No Longer Alone - I mean crazy bad! I guess most people I know live in shared houses on the eastside and pay somewhere from $300-500 for really nice rooms. But even my friends who live alone in studio apartments in the central eastside don't pay more than $600. Does that seem high to you or low?

I guess I see different sides to it.. I am very lucky that for the last 5 years I've been renting a 2500 sq ft house in Irvington for $850 a month. (My neighbor has about the same amount space and she pays more than twice that much!)

However, compared to what friends who live in other cities pay, renting a studio for 6-700 bucks seems pretty damn sweet, and hey, no annoying roommates when you live in a studio (just neighbors).

@Time Passed: You would be right, except that it was only six years ago. That's not a whole lotta time to be passin'.

In 2005, I shared a 1000 sq ft 2 bdrm house in the Belmont neighborhood with one other person. We paid $550 total. Granted, it was a bit on the run-down side, but still. Considering the glut of vacant houses for sale in Portland right now, and our recent history of low rent prices, rents seem pretty steep these days.