Moving to OR, Portland area.

[quikveedb2]

After 5 years in a resort town the gf & I are ready for something bigger, with more professional, cultural, recreational...well just plain more opportunities. Portland came up because of it's bike/car/food/outdoors scenes and proximity to the coast & Mt. Hood. Any PNW people care to share some local insight? Good places to live/eat/bike, stuff to avoid? Pros and cons of the city? We're looking at moving around November, but are planning a trip sometime this summer to scout it out, so any pointers would be great, tia.

['90 325is]

Protland is a cool place as well as all of Oregon in general. Winter holds some awesome times at different mountains around the area, and summer weather is normally good. There are places to bike just about everywhere, and as far as a place to lives go it's all pretty good. There are some nice little areas in Portland to live as well as the cities surrounding it such as Tualatin, Tigard, Lake Oswego and a few others. Overall this is a pretty sick place with quite a bit to do all year, as well as some great roads and let's not forget PIR. There are also some great vacation places in Oregon such as Sunriver and Black Butte both near central Oregon. Definately take a trip out here and see what you think.

[h0lmes]

Portland is awesome! I enjoy it every time I go. You might also consider Bellingham, WA. It's basically Portland Jr.

[808BMW]

How's the job market?

I've always wanted to drive a heavy logging truck on some narrow muddy roads.

[joshh]

I've enjoyed living in Portland BUT.........

The local government is fucking nuts (and gay....literally), we have hippies (commies) a plenty and you better like the rain.

[mrsleeve]

I've enjoyed living in Portland BUT.........

The local government is fucking nuts (and gay....literally), we have hippies (commies) a plenty and you better like the rain.

What he said, I have only been there once and it was briefly. So I cant say about living there but what josh said is the impression I got.


Lots of Hippies

[StereoInstaller1]

Braless, dreadlock'd hippy chicks, most of which you do NOT want to see nekkid.

Snooty, stuck up soccer mom twats in SUVs.

Koreans. Vietnamese. Russians. Mexicans.

No Ethiopians though.

Cost of living is about 70% of Seattle area, but income is definitely less.

People are nice (unless they wear a badge, then assholery is a prerequisite for the job).

Traffic is not too bad.

I was in Portland/Vancouver area for 15 years. I really liked it.

Oh yeah, I haven't smoked in 11 years, but the best weed in the US.

Best beer, too.

Maybe tell us more about your interests?

[TwoJ's]

I have never lived in Portland, but I've visited quite a bit. I have an uncle and an aunt that both live in Lake Oswego and I really like it there. Just like up here, you are in close proximity to the ocean, the mountains, and the desert (well at least in WA, not sure about Oregon).

If I were you I'd just visit a few places and see what you like. Also, I don't know what you do for income, but I wouldn't just move to some random city because it sounds nice only to find out that the job market isn't going to be friendly to you.

[Alkasquawlik]

I got my iX up in Portland/Lake Oswego and for the short time I was there, it looked cool. It looked like there was a shitton of stuff to do down by the waterfront.

[Van Westervelt]

Haha Luke, when I read "I havent smoked in 11 years" I was all wtf chuck?!

Then realized you were talkin herbal speakz. lol

I have lived in random spots in Oregon, Washington, Nevada and Utah. I came back to Portland for a reason, and I love it.

[daniel]

portland sucks don't come here.




no but seriously, portland has the highest jobless rate in the country right now. with that said, if you are qualified for certain things, you should come up here. you will want to stay for a loooong time.

i think portland is the e30 capital of the US, also, which is cool.

[nickpdx]

I love it here. Most beautiful part of the country IMO...hour from the beach, hour from the mountains, and it's a huge state so there are tons of places to explore, camp, lots of good roads to drive on, and the rest of the PNW is just as great. The rain really isn't that bad - it might rain a lot for 7-8 months, but come summer we basically have 3 months of endless sunshine and putting up with the weather for the rest of the year just makes you appreciate it more. The winters are mild in lower elevation places like Portland, Seattle, Eugene, etc. but great skiing/snowboarding will be only ~90 minutes away in the mountains.

The abundance of e30s is another plus.

We don't need too many more people here though. ;)

[mrsleeve]

portland sucks don't come here.




no but seriously, portland has the highest jobless rate in the country right now. with that said, if you are qualified for certain things, you should come up here. you will want to stay for a loooong time.

i think portland is the e30 capital of the US, also, which is cool.

Apparently you have not heard about this entire state called Michigan, they have the wost jobless rate in the country and the 2 worst cites Jackson (my old stomping grounds) and Detroit.

[James21]

I have lived in Portland all my life and really enjoy living here. But ya u better like the rain we really only have 3 or 4 months of sunny weather a year. There is so many things to do in Oregon, like people said the beach is only an hour a way the mountains are only an hour away. Then you have the desert and the Columbia gorge. Lots of fun outdoor activities and awesome breweries too.

We do have allot of "hipsters" and "hippies" but they all pretty much stick to there own little areas. But there are a ton of them. Oregon is an awesome place to live plus your close to Washington state too. You have Seattle which is only a couple of hours away. Tons of stuff to see and do up there. You also have Canada just a bit farther from there.

The job market is ruff right now. But like other people have mentioned if you are trained or have a degree in a specific field you may be able to get a good job.

[quikveedb2]

thanks for the helpful replies, sarcastic or otherwise its all good info

Maybe tell us more about your interests?

german cars, bikes (bmx, dh, xc, fixies, you name it), snowboarding, music, food and drink (CO has a lot of craft beers too as i"m sure you are aware), flyfishing backpacking, all the usual outdoorsy stuff.

no but seriously, portland has the highest jobless rate in the country right now. with that said, if you are qualified for certain things, you should come up here. you will want to stay for a loooong time.

i've been a professional bike mechanic for the last 5 years. i've got a bachelors in business mgmt. with a concentration in tourism and recreation. i have 12+ years of food and beverage experience including sous chef, chef, foh mgmt, and bartending positions, and i work for a short sale and wholesale company buying and selling foreclosures. then gf has aboutnthe same amount of f&b experience and a real estate licence in CO which is easily transferrable afaik.

i'm not planning to move sight unseen, or without some solid job leads, and i'm not that worried about getting a job, should i be?