St. Johns is a great neighborhood in North Portland. St. Johns has it's own little downtown area, not a fake one like the Alberta Arts district or Mississippi Avenue. It's historic and its old-school and real estate deals can still be found (which is how I was able to move to Portland). And, like other parts of town, people will tell you how, just a few years ago, there were drug dealers and hookers on certain corners and the place was just a disgusting cesspool of crime... a wretched hive of scum and villainy. And now? Well, people with some eduction and white-collar jobs have moved in. The drug dealers and hookers don't stand on the corner anymore. The weird zombies walking the streets are gone and the crime is going down and nice shops and restaurants are opening up. This is bad? The old-timers (on the St. Johns facebook page) love to prattle on about how they despise the new-comers, that St. Johns is not like it used to be. You really want it to be like it used to be? Really? No you don't. Yes, the downside of gentrification is that rents go up. This is the result of bad city planning, not of me moving into town. I think you'll find that newcomers enjoy spending money at the local businesses as much as possible.

I was sitting in a cafe here in St. Johns last year with a friend visiting from California and the waitress only half-jokingly suggested he not wear his Warner Brothers Studios cap around here. Really? You have some growing up to do, St. Johns. And we're here to help you grow up, with a smile and some money to spend.