I moved to Port Arthur half a year ago from Tuureporinkatu (just behind the fast food place there) and the first thing that surprised me was the quietness. You couldn’t hear any noise from outside, not the noise from the traffic nor the sounds that people make.
"The only thing present was the silence. That was exactly what I needed at that moment and what I had longed for."
When I noticed that the silence spread way beyond the window of my home I started wondering where all the people of Port Arthur were! It sure is so calm and quiet here you almost feel as if you’d be the only one around. Although a proof of the opposite is a day care nearby that enlivens the neighborhood and reminds you that you live in a neighborhood that is very much alive, not in some kind of a staged city. Disclaimer: I usually move around in Port Arthur during the early morning or late at night.
Like in the old times
Port Arthur is a good place to live for a lover of old items and houses like myself. This is a perfect place to long after decades that passed before you were even born. The streets, the houses and the bricks and mortar (a rarity you can find here) make your imagination fly somewhere around the mid 20th century. I have also understood that living in Port Arthur is quite communal which makes it feel even more like the old times.
As most of the wooden house areas, Port Arthur used to be a less attractive neighborhood back in the days. The neighborhood was considered as a shabby working-class area on the edge of the city. This kind of history is exactly what makes Port Arthur interesting. Life here has been (and still is) as it is in reality for most people anywhere in the world: rough, raw, honest and yet so beautiful and precious.
Portsa's courtyards are charming
Nowadays, old wooden house areas have risen to a new kind of glory and they have become cozy centers for hipsters with good income and middle class white families. This is why I had a weird feeling for some time that I will not get used to Port Arthur (or more specifically the people living here) because all this kind of smooth and controlled prettiness is unfamiliar to me. I’m still getting used to it. But luckily I have found a very diverse crowd at least from my residential building.
I have to say that the charm of old houses and courtyards doesn’t wear out by watching and I couldn’t be happier about the fact that I moved to Port Arthur. Here I can enjoy the feeling of old times, learn more about the history and open my mind to the new side of Port Arthur. As I have let other people tell me, it is very pleasant to live here and that usually you notice that you’ve been living here for decades. Maybe in my case one year will turn into a decade as well.
-Suvi, new resident of Portsa
P.S. Explore more about Portsa in the neighborhood page.
