Which are the most liberal-friendly cities in the Pacific Northwest?

Question

Bill, our cat children and I want to move to the Pac-Northwest (Oregon or Washington State) in 5 years when we pay off our home. We are looking for a nice city that is tolerant of Universalists, Buddhists, animal lovers, old hippies and ecology-philes. We would also love to find a place that has a bit more of the four seasons...not hot all year and humid like San Antonio, Texas where we live now but also not rainy 300 days out of 365. Thanks for all of your input. Blessings to all of you!

Answer 1

There are some great suggestions posted here, and Eugene or Portland would be my recommendations. Seattle is nice too, but the outlying areas tend to be more conservative. In Portland I know there aree some very friendly Universalist groups and of course Eugene has the annual "Oregon Country Fair" in July. It sounds like just the ticket for you, and the area where it is (Elmira and Venita) is outside Eugene but still very close to the convienences of life. Prices for homes tend to be significantly less than in town (and especially Portland) and the climate is still very nice. You will only get hot in the summer but they do tend to get a bit of snow for at least a few days in the winter too.

Answer 2

Have fun with the big snow storm we got yesterday. Anyway. There are a lot of them. The two major ones are Seattle and Portland. There are many liberal cities on the West side, but not many liberal-friendly on the East side, which is mainly made up of farming communities.

Answer 3

Eugene, OR is the most liberal city I have ever encountered. Ok, that said, the area around Seattle, in what is called the I5 corridor, is quite good. As is the area around Eugene, OR along I5. I live on the Kitsap Penninsula, on the west side of Seattle across Puget Sound, and have lived here since 1986. One thing which marks the area west of the Cascade Mountains, is a laid-back mentality, go with the flow, take it easy, and above all, be polite. Starting with mid-Oregon and moving north, there is more of a seasonal difference, but not much. Seattle does not get snow as a rule in winter and does not get really hot in summer either because of the Japanese current which moves from Japan east to get to the coast, which warms us in winter and cools us in summer to make the weather temperate compared to an equivalent lattitude further inland. The currents in the ocean rotate clockwise from Asia to the US. Consider that Spokane, further south than Seattle, gets snow for several months out of the year because the Cascades keep the warmer weather (from the ocean heating/cooling) on this side of the mountains. You will find seasons here, but not any extremes as is found further inland at the same latitude. Yes, it rains here and we only (in Seattle anyway) have 57 days of clear sunny days per year on average, but that does not make it "bad" weather. The one thing we have here which makes it all worthwhile, and why I decided to settle here, is the always green I see, the evergreens. Our trees, is what makes the Pacific Northwest, a really good place. Cities are the same everywhere, concrete and brick, but in the rural areas, like where I live, it is the trees which brought me here to live. The house I own is in a development where they cleared areas for the roads and houses only, and left the rest of the trees as-is. I have trees in my backyard over 100 feet tall, and because of these trees, I do not see any of my neighbors even though we all have standard sized lots of 1/4 acre and actually live very close to one another. Except for the cleared area for my driveway and house, I live in a forest. Most of the rural areas around me are the same or at least similar. Except for the top of the hill above me where they clear cut the whole top and built tract homes and the worst part, there are NO trees up there. It looks like California above me on the hillside I live on. The one singular problem is employment. The further from a major city, as I am, the less likely you will find employment, which is why I am unemployed at the moment. I simply do NOT want a lang commute. From where I am to Seattle is over an hour one way, and costs a bunch to take the ferry even if I am a "walk-on" and even more if I want to drive and take an auto ferry. I recently turned down a job in Seattle because they would not pick up the cost of the ferry and they would not pay me enough to allow me to pick up the cost of the ferry myself. Consider your options carefully. Living in the I5 corridor means more city then country, and living further out like I do, means huge costs for transportation. You be the judge. Don't get me wrong here, the ferry ride is a wonderful experience! You can see some of the best scenery on the face of the Earth when riding the ferries in Puget Sound. I LOVE riding the ferry to and from Seattle. I am a people watcher and there are so many interesting people on the ferry and then there is the landscape which simply adds to the experience. On my way back from Seattle, I always stop at Ivar's, a local institution here for over 40 years on the waterfront near the ferry terminal, for a bowl of clam chowder and a large black coffee.

So, living the Pacific Northwest as I do, has good things and bad things. In my opinion, living in a rural area away from the metro Seattle area has more benefits than not. I think, based on friends I have, that for me at least, if I lived in the city it would be like any other city. I prefer the trees in my front and back yards, so I live on the outskirts, and I like it like that...

Answer 4

Portland, OR

Olympia, WA

not Seattle, as you don't go for the rain