'Get California out of Portland': Vandalism of couple's home shows some locals' frustration

'Go back to California!' graffiti on car, house stuns new arrivals, highlights old tensions in Portland https://t.co/q4Wr28aFl0 pic.twitter.com/OssY7k2ggX — The Oregonian (@Oregonian) July 2, 2017

A couple recently transplanted to Portland found themselves the target of hateful graffiti Sunday morning, when they discovered spray painted messages on their property urging them to "Go back to California."

Preston Page and his fiancee Jessica Faraday found their car and home covered in gold-colored graffiti, with messages such as "Get California OUT of Portland" and "Move back" scrawled everywhere, the Oregonian reported. Besides the graffiti, their car also had some scratches on it from being keyed.

RELATED: SFGATE reached out to Jessica Faraday for comment on the incident, which can be found here.

The couple moved from Southern California to Portland back in February, when they relocated for Page's job at Adidas.

Page acknowledged there's anger aimed towards transplants having to do with the local real estate market, telling local news site KATU that increasing housing prices are adding to residents' frustration.

Gold-colored graffiti covers the house and car of Portland transplants Jessica Faraday and Preston Page. The couple moved to Oregon from Southern California in February and found their property vandalized Sunday morning. less Gold-colored graffiti covers the house and car of Portland transplants Jessica Faraday and Preston Page. The couple moved to Oregon from Southern California in February and found their property vandalized ... more Photo: Courtesy Jessica Faraday Photo: Courtesy Jessica Faraday Image 1 of / 18 Caption Close 'Get California out of Portland': Vandalism of couple's home shows some locals' frustration 1 / 18 Back to Gallery

"So much industry has come in here and, I'm sure, pushed some locals out," Page said. "That can be rough ... you see housing prices double, or triple in the past five to ten years. I don't think it's directed at Californians, just noticeably because a lot of them [are] coming up here. But I'm sure it's all the transplants [that add to] the frustration."

The incident has been reported to police, but the couple told both KATU and the Oregonian that they may know what instigated the graffiti.

Page said he was in his car when he got in a confrontation with a driver on the street outside of their home on Saturday, ending with the driver telling the couple to "Go back to f---ing California."

Beyond the hateful rhetoric aimed at them by the anonymous vandal, the couple told the Oregonian that "people have been fantastic here" and that they weren't going to let the experience affect their opinion of Portland.

Page and Faraday, however, do have plans to install surveillance cameras and flood lights to their home.