Portland, how I love thee

[jwaters943]

I just got back home from a trip to Portland last week and what can I say, I loved it! Having been to every major city in the Western U.S., I'm not sure why it took me so long to visit Portland, but I'm glad I did. To me the city reminded me of a less frenetic and slightly more open San Francisco. I was also pleasantly suprised at how different Portland felt compared to Seattle. Maybe it's just me, but people in Portland seemed more laid back and friendly than my experience with people in Seattle (FWIW, I'm not trying to bash Seattle, in fact I think it's a great city). Most areas were lively and bustling with activity and since I was traveling with my Beagle, it was great to be in such a pet friendly city. There's so much to see and do in nearly every part of the downtown area......you guys have some great restaurants/shopping. Powell's City of Books was just amazing to me and a great place to get "lost". I was also quite impressed by how clean most areas were and how well laid out and expansive the public transit was. I'm seriously considering moving to Portland in a year or two, but would like to visit a couple more times just to be sure. My only concern is the weather....I just don't know if I could deal with weeks of overcast skies and rain having lived my whole life in a desert that gets less than 12" of precipitation and 300 days of sunshine a year.

In any case, I'd love to hear feedback from forum members who live in Portland. I made sure to ask everyone I came into contact with how they liked living in Portland and received mostly positive comments, but it's always good to hear the bad stuff in order to get a more accurate feel for what a place is like to live/work in, so feel free to chime in.

In the meantime, check out my photos at flikr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/33957577@N00/

[Okstate]

What were some of the bad things you heard, i'm interested as well.

[PacificNW]

You took some great pics....you saw a lot of the city's attractions! I know of people who have moved to Seattle and/or Portland from the drier/sunnier area's of the U.S. and, yes, many had a difficult time adjusting to our weather...many did great. Plus, living in either city you can drive a couple hour's drive east (cross the Cascades) where you get drier weather and more sun!

[jwaters943]

I heard one person complain about the cost of living getting to be too high for the average person. In particular, condo prices in the downtown area. Another person commented that she didn't care for the weather. She was born and raised in Portland, so that may have something to do with it. I think it's sometimes hard to appreciate the positive aspects of your hometown and to take the good for granted, especially if you've never lived anywhere else.

[zilfondel]

Originally Posted by jwaters943

My only concern is the weather....I just don't know if I could deal with weeks of overcast skies and rain having lived my whole life in a desert that gets less than 12" of precipitation and 300 days of sunshine a year.

Well, we have a lot of bars... you could drink a lot. Or go clubbing/dancing. Or go to the strip clubs...

I personally prefer drinking at bars and skiing.

[MarkDaMan]

I can see people bitching about the weather for like two months in the wet winter, but it doesn't generally get or stay awfully cold, nothing like the NorthEast. Generally, Fall and Spring weather is terribly exciting. It's sunny and 69, drops 20 degrees rains, a small thunder storm and some hail, a little clearing, temperatures rebound, and you end up with this:


flickr: adventuregeek

Having lived in Phoenix in between growing up in Portland, and than moving back after almost 10 years there, I can warm myself up much easier than I can cool myself down...and the summers here are bar none, one of the top 5 summer locations in the country. Knowing that helps get through the spring...but like I said, the weather is always changing and it doesn't usually stay gray for 3 days let along 3 or 4 hours at a time.

[PDX City-State]

Portland is great, but it's become pretty expensive in the last couple of years. It's nearly impossible to find a starter house in a neighborhood where you'd want to live for less than 300k, and rent is expected to rise as much as 20 percent in the next year. One bedroom apartments in NW and downtown are approaching and surpassing the $1000 mark in cool neighborhoods.

It's also tough to find a cool job here--lots of transplants from New York, Chicago, and Seattle make for tough competition. Still, if you have an once of entrepreneurship in your blood and you want to do your own thing, Portland is the place. It doesn't really push you, but you can really push it.

As for the weather, it's not bad at all. You have great weather--though often cloudy--in the spring and fall, and three months of probably the nation's most perfect weather from July through September. Mid-November through February can be rough--dark and wet--but when the sun does shine in the winter--and it does shine occasionally--you're wearing light pants and a hoodie.

[jwaters943]

Ouch. A 20% rise in rent prices may be a dealbreaker, especially since I'm not planning on buying a place right away unless the right job comes along. I'd rather put the funds I make from selling my condo in Reno into savings, at least until I get "settled" in Portland. How's the job market? I'd love to live/work near bus & light rail lines so I don't have to have a car payment, but I'm not sure if that's feasible. So far I've only done the slightest bit of research, but many job listings I found stated they were seeking local applicants only, which was a bit discouraging.

[seaskyfan]

Another opinion on the weather. I moved to Seattle from Boston and still had to adjust to the lack of sunlight in the winter - somewhat due to the gloom but also do to how much further north Seattle is than Boston.

If you have a Northwest gloom survival plan (I go someplace sunny for a week in February and have a dawn simulator clock) it's tolerable.

I'd still recommend either Portland or Seattle to anyone looking to relocate.

[zilfondel]

Actually, I recall a few years ago the weather in december (?) comprised of 31 straight days of rain...

Also, most Oregonians forget what the 'sun' is - we get a lot of overcast skies during the fall, winter, and early spring. But, as Mark mentioned, the summers are perfect.

[MarkDaMan]

^that was actually 31 straight days of 'recorded precipitation'. The sun did come out during some of those days, it just rained everyday too.

Don't really freak out about the rents in Portland. Central city rents are rising much faster than close-in city, or even slightly further out places. I was going to buy a condo and things didn't quite work out so I've been looking for an apartment I can call home for the next couple years. I found that some areas are expensive, but there is still a ton of housing that is relatively a great deal. Craigslist is the way to go. In Portland, there seems to be a lot of converted houses into multi-unit spaces, or buildings still owned by individuals not corporations. These 'independent' landlords aren't nearly as tied to raising their rents to match the norm and therefore you can find a one bedroom in one building for $700 (all utilities included) but a 'corporate' building up the street has a studio for $900 utilities on your own. You just have a be a smart consumer and be patient for the right deal. I also asked a potential landlord about the escalating rents and she told me that any landlord worth their salt should have a maximum annual increase in their lease agreement. She promised me my rent wouldn't raise by more than $50 a month over the two years I was looking to rent.

[Drew-Ski]

It is all about attitude.....you can be happy anywhere, if you want to be! Of course living in Portland will certainly help your attitude

[Black Box]

The weather can be tough sometimes, but maybe that would be a great time for you to visit family and friends in Reno. Also, there's plenty to do. Just keep yourself busy, get out, meet folks, join clubs/social groups, etcetera. But really, if you have a serious aversion to the cloudy and the gray, do no do it, but you'd be missing out. Maybe try it for a couple of years just to experience it, decide if you can deal or not and go from there.

[bvpcvm]

i actually know a few people (i'm one of them) who really isn't too crazy about sun. i mean, warm is fine (70's), but better to have it partly cloudy than to have completely clear skies. i can't imagine living in az. so who knows, maybe you'll adjust just fine?

[MitchE]

^ I'm one of those people too. I'd much rather have a cooler cloudy day than a hot sunny day.

[Drmyeyes]

What others have said about great spring and fall here in Oregon is right. Spring is so beautiful. Fall can be gorgeous.

We have some seemingly unbearable hot days in summer, but those are great excuses to head for the really nice succession of public fountains in the South Auditorium district, where you can dip your toes into cool, refreshing water.

What I find about the winters and rain, is that for me at least, it's not the rain that's so hard. It's the dark. It gets very dark under Oreon's heavily overcast winter skies. A lot of people, this doesn't bother, but it does me. What makes the rain tough, is it's combination with temperatures in the mid-30's to mid-40's. This makes for conditions that are far colder than one might automatically think. It can stay this way for long periods of time, and as you might imagine, things like your body when you're trying to work out, out-of-doors, get absolutely, unrelentingly damp.

But whatever, it won't kill you. Winter here is a good time to keep moving and find convenient warm spots to take the chill off as you go bopping about. At mid-day, even in the darkest of days, there's beauty to enjoy if you can get out to the woods, which is as close as Forest Park. In town, for a break from the dark, I've noticed that down by the river, because of the light reflected off the water, it's brighter down there too.

[zilfondel]

I rent a room with some roommates for $215/month in close-in SE Portland.

[jwaters943]

Thanks for the great feedback...keep it coming!

Just to clarify a couple things (I was a bit vague in my first post).

-I'll be moving w/ my partner of 6 years and my beagle, so we'd prefer a place w/ at least 850-1000 sq feet....probably either a 1 bedroom with study/office or 2 bedroom (2 bathrooms are a must for us). We'd like to stay below $1500/month for rent if possible.
-I'd really love to live/work close to downtown so we don't have to have two cars (we will be keeping his car in case one of us has to commute....god forbid)
-I'm still a little confused on the different areas in/near downtown. Aside from The Pearl District, which we loved and became quite familiar with, what are the best areas to live (must be near MAX/bus lines)?

FWIW, I'll check around craigslist to see what I find, but it's always good to have an "insiders" opinion.

[PacificNW]

You stated you also enjoyed NW 23rd. That part of Portland has some incredible choice's of apartment living....@ differing price ranges. 23rd becomes SW Vista once you cross Burnside to the South. Lots of choices there also...all the way up to Washington Park and down to the Goose Hollow area. Cross 405 and there are many choices all the way to the river downtown. The MAX runs through Goose Hollow. All these area's are walkable to and from downtown, and, as mentioned, are served by the streetcar, MAX or buses.

[MarkDaMan]

Originally Posted by jwaters943

-I'll be moving w/ my partner of 6 years and my beagle, so we'd prefer a place w/ at least 850-1000 sq feet....probably either a 1 bedroom with study/office or 2 bedroom (2 bathrooms are a must for us). We'd like to stay below $1500/month for rent if possible.

my God, $1500 will get you a lot in Portland. In fact, you can usually find a condo to rent for under that amount. Like, McCormick pier, the only 'on the waterfront' condos for rent.


http://portland.craigslist.org/searc...=max&bedrooms=