Portland intrigues me and I have gotten a lot of good feedback about the city. I personally love music, art and literature. Can I find a lot of places or people with the same interests? What are the employment opportunities like? Is the cost of living there cheaper? Is there a lot of traffic? Please any feedback would be helpful.
2007-02-19 18:21:24 · 15 answers · asked by Larry 2 in Travel ➔ United States ➔ Portland
If you live in Southern Cali then you have probably had really bad traffic experiences. Portland has it's share, especially on the I-5 near the I-205 junction and north through downtown. But the times of the day when this happens are generally just at rush hour so you can avoid it most of the time. Oregon's "caltrans" website is called Tripcheck (http://tripcheck.com) and while we don't have as many cameras as Cali, Tripcheck is a great tool. Take a look to see for yourself what our traffic is like.
Portland has a lot of culture and activities, and generally people find it easy to make friends that share similar interests. Once you find a group of people, you'll be amazed how quickly you find additional activities and common interests.
For jobs in the Portland area, it depends what your skills are. I recommend looking at the classifieds at the Oregonian newspaper (http://www.oregonlive.com/jobs) or take a look at Yahoo jobs (http://jobs.yahoo.com), Monster.com (http://monster.com) or Dice.com (Technical jobs http://dice.com). At the moment, our job outlook is reported to be very good.
On the cost of living - things are different here than Cali. the first thing you'll love is no sales tax! The price on someting you want to buy is the price you'll pay. But income tax is higher. So is the rate of property taxes, but the prices of housing is less than most areas of So Cali. So if you own your own home in Cali you can generally purchase a larger one for less money. The trick is to rent something while you settle in and learn the traffic patterns, the neighborhoods, etc. then find the perfect house and enjoy all the great things Oregon has to offer.
Oh yea - and don't cultivate the blackberries - really, you don't want them in your yard. They grow everywhere so if you love the berries you can easily pick them anyplace.
2007-02-20 05:47:01 · answer #1 · answered by An Oregon Nut 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
This Site Might Help You.
RE:
Should I move to Portland Oregon from southern California?
Portland intrigues me and I have gotten a lot of good feedback about the city. I personally love music, art and literature. Can I find a lot of places or people with the same interests? What are the employment opportunities like? Is the cost of living there cheaper? Is there a lot of traffic?...
2015-08-16 17:14:47 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
HI,
Last summer I made the move from L.A. to Portland and I could not be happier. As for wheather you should move or not, well I guess it depends what part of L.A. you like. If you like Larchmont, Los Feliz/Silverlake, Hollywood, then you'll love it. If you're more of a Westsider and enjoy Montana, Rodeo, Beverly Center, then maybe not.
Portland has a real village kind of feel to it. From my house I can walk to numerous great restaurants, bars, coffee shops, and markets. It's fantastic and very un-L.A.
The weather...yeah it rains. But I find that people make a bigger deal of it than it really is. I personally like it and so far haven't had a problem at all. Of course, I was never one to tan anyways.
Yeah, the job market isn't so hot depending on your career. I'm a teacher and had multiple job offers when I moved up, but some friends in other fields have not been so lucky.
As for the cost of living. Yeah, it's cheaper, but not ridiculously so. All of my utilities are significanly higher than in L.A., gas is the same, food the same (though better quality). Still housing is a lot cheaper and much nicer. There are a lot of cute apartments and homes with character to choose from.
Come on up and check it out. I visited during spring break last year and ended buying a house.
Oh, and I've found people to be really friendly. So, finding like minded people with the same interest shouldn't be too hard.
Good luck
2007-02-22 18:29:57 · answer #3 · answered by stephen L 2 · 4⤊ 0⤋
I've lived in Portland all my life and love it. Housing is still affordable. Portland has a great music and art scene. First Thursdays in the Pearl district is something to check out if you are and art and music aficionado.
I live in downtown Portland and drive to Beaverton (the burbs) everyday. My commute is about 12 miles and it takes me 30 minutes on average. During the Spring in Summer I bike to work because Portland is so bike friendly. There are bike lanes the my entire commute to and from work.
About the weather, I personally love it and the rain doesn't bother me. I have a friend that moved here from SoCal and the dreary winter weather drove them away. That and the job market. I don't think we have a great job market here right now. Its getting better and I think in 10 years it could be great as more companies move in and smaller local companies continue to grow. I know a lot of people who are having a really hard time finding jobs they like in Portland.
I hope this has been helpful.
2007-02-22 07:21:14 · answer #4 · answered by KN 2 · 3⤊ 0⤋
I also have heard a lot of good things about Oregon...cleaner air and really great people. It might even be the 'happiest' state...but don't quote me on that. I think that because the air is cleaner there that there isn't a ton of traffic. Again I've heard nothing but good things about Oregon and I hope to visit someday.
2007-02-19 18:36:13 · answer #5 · answered by KitKat 3 · 2⤊ 1⤋
Move to Bend, Oregon.
2007-02-19 18:38:29 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Portlands a beautiful city. Very green and lots of great people. However it rains a lot and can be depressing.
2007-02-19 18:30:56 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
it's cheaper and AWESOMER, but not necessarily easier to find a job in. more and more people are moving here and the state is doing ridiculous things with our tax money. but Portland itself is AWESOME. you can find anyone here, from a pot-smoking granny to a neo-nazi.
2007-02-19 19:38:17 · answer #8 · answered by theanswerbug 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
You better have a job before you go to Potland the economy stinks. Good luck from a native Oregonian that left a year ago cause its so bad.
2007-02-20 16:07:45 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
well, our beloved state of oregon is pretty awesome. you could always take a trip here first and see what you think of it.
2007-02-21 09:22:43 · answer #10 · answered by sparks mcgee 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋