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20 Years in Portland

A Transcontinental Move

August 24, 2000: my mum, brother, sister and I board a plane at London Heathrow headed to Portland, Oregon to join my dad, who had moved here a few weeks before. Recently I looked it up, and I currently live 4,902 miles away from where I was born. Today marks 20 years in Portland. 

We originally moved here for my dad’s job. A brief 2 year stay in Portland has all of a sudden turned into living here for 20 years. 

I was 10 when we moved here, we made the move two days after my 10th birthday and I still remember someone my dad worked with showing up at our front door in Stevenage with $10 for me.

I think my whole family was pretty sure that we’d be returning to England after 2 years and I honestly couldn’t tell you what led us to staying here and not going back. That’s probably a better question for my parents. But here we are, 20 years later. If I’m honest, even after we passed the two-year mark, I was pretty sure we’d be going back to England at some point. Clearly, that didn’t happen.

What If? 

Am I mad/upset that we never moved back? No. But do I sometime wonder what life would be like if we had moved back? Absolutely. 

It’s normal to wonder “what if?” and think about how life could be different, but that shouldn’t be what we focus on. I’ve got an incredible group of friends I’ve met here over the last 20 years. If we’d moved back after two years, I would only have met one of those friends and who knows whether or not we’d have been able to keep our friendship going as 12-years olds. 

There are a lot of people I’ve met over the last few years who I couldn’t imagine my life without. If we’d moved back, I never would have met them. 

You know what else I probably wouldn’t have done? Culinary school. I also probably wouldn’t have this blog. While culinary school wasn’t in my plans until about 3 months before I started, it has led me to some incredible opportunities. I’ve been able to collaborate with some of my favourite brands. I’ve shared recipes and treats with people here in Portland and around the world. On a couple of occasions, I’ve even been able to share some treats with the Portland Trailblazers! I mean, WHAT?! That is so unreal. 

One more thing I probably wouldn’t have done? Started working in healthcare. I have no idea what my career would have been if I’d been back in England, but what I’m doing now was very much influenced by all of the knee turmoil I’ve had over the last few years. 

Knees

Speaking of knees…
I know this is silly and not worth thinking about because it is my reality, but I sometimes wonder if I’d have had all of these problems if we’d moved back. Would I be 8 surgeries deep and possibly preparing for a major 9th surgery? Who knows. 

But you know what? My knee led me to culinary school, which then led me to healthcare so weirdly everything has come full circle. 

It would be super great though if I wasn’t the “mystery” patient anymore and this shit just got better. I’m tired of the pain and tired of the lack of answers.

Going Back

Would I consider moving back now? Sure. But honestly, my friends and family are here and I’ve made a life here so it would have to be something pretty major to get me to move back now. 

I do, however, want to start going back more often. For the first few years here, my dad’s company paid for the 5 of us to go back and visit once a year. That came to an end and honestly, it’s really expensive getting 5 people halfway across the world, so our visits slowed down. My last family trip back there was in 2007 and the last time I was back there, I went with my best friend in 2017. I was actually supposed to be back there now, but then Covid came roaring through, ruining my travel plans for the year. Better to be safe than sorry though, right? I hope to be able to go back as soon as possible.

Anyway, that’s the story! Cheers to another 20 years in Portland, I guess. I’m now going to call all of my friends and leave them voicemails in my strongest English accent 😉


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1 thought on “20 Years in Portland”

  • I truly remember 20 years ago BEFORE the Owen Children and their Mom arrived in the US!!!! I am ever grateful and thankful that you did. The friendship I share with your parents has always been special and I feel so lucky to have been around when you all first arrived in your new home and watch you grow up over the years. Love reading your blog and making your recipes; my heart has ached, however, every time you needed another knee surgery. 🙁 Keep up the great work, Bryony! BTW, do you still have your charm bracelet?? With love, Karen J.

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