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Questions re: moving to Portland


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In a few weeks I have a phone interview for a position in Portland. This is only a phone interview so it is far from a sure thing. But just so I can weigh my options I would like to hear from some residents - what is the cost of living like? What is the housing market like? I hear public transportation is great, is this true?

 

Of course I have been Googling as well, just thought I'd also ask here.

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Portland is amazing!

 

Cheapest big city on the West Coast, wonderful city for many reasons from food, transportation, green living, etc.

 

Hope you get more feedback....tons of PDX people around here.

 

Happy Birthday and all the best and best of luck!

 

RC

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Well,..here is why Portland is awesome:

1.Vegan food id freaking everywhere

2. everything is green

3. people are very friendly (almost alarmingly so)

4. public transit is great

5. tons of fun stuff to do ALWAYS

6. zany culture-the slogan is "keep portland weird"

7. lots of other vvbf'ers here.

8. farmer's markets galore.

9. the summer is the most gorgeous thing ever.

10. very environmentally friendly

12. great music/arts scene

13. more parks than any other city in the country

14. ocean and mountains each only 90 minutes away

15. rarely snows, BUT there's year round mountain top skiing nearby

16. crime is very locational? it exists for sure, but it's easy to avoid.

17. great place to hike.

18. lots of gyms in each neighborhood.

19. one of the best cities in the country for biking.

20. Downtown is extremely "city" but drive 10 minutes and you'll feel like youre in the country.

 

Then there's the shitty stuff:

1. rain, grey skies, rain, rain, grey, grey....you get the idea. (i'm talking about 8 months of the year)

2. tons of hipsters, who are just too cool for everyone.

3.income tax seems extremely high (maybe it's just me)

4. more homeless people than in many other big cities

5. produce is expensive (couldnt tell ya why, they grow it ALL!)

6. rain, drizzle, damp, grey, (you dont dry off for 6 months)

7. one of the highest unemployment rates in the country right now

8. the crime in the poorer neighborhoods

9. people tend to hibernate during winter making it all the more gloomy

10. not very ethinically diverse for a big city. it's very white. (not that being white is BAD, but you know, i like a variety of ethnicities where i live-but thats just me)

11. #1 place for suicide in the country (i've had no encounters with this, but i've heard it from several that it's true)

 

 

All in all, Portland can be great or it can suck. It's what you make of it. I moved here from Boston, a sunnier, but colder place and i love it here. The first winter was BRUTAL because there's no way I could have been prepared for it, but this year I am and I couldnt be happier with my location. I live in a co-housing eco village which is essentially a shared farm in the middle of a city! How cool is that? The job market is horrible right now, and seems to only be getting worse, but it looks like you have that covered. My advice would be to visit within the next two months to see Portland at it's worst, thats the best way to decide.

 

But I don't want to leave. (Except for 2 seperate week vacations throughout the winter. )

 

I hope this helps somewhat

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Thank-you that was super helpful! It pretty much corroborates what I've been reading elsewhere. The cloudiness would definitely be a change...I live in the sunniest province in Canada right now and I know that when it's cloudy for a couple of days I start to feel down. I suppose it would just be something to get used to.

 

I totally love the idea of vegan food being everywhere and the hiking and the green space and the list goes on and on. I always thought that working in the U.S. would be too difficult but turns out if I have an employer to sponsor me it's not such a big deal.

 

Keeping my fingers crossed that the interview gets scheduled soon! I have a few possibilities elsewhere in Canada. Where to move and start a career is such a big decision - yikes!

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