Seattle vs. Vancouver vs. Portland (living, best, state, better)

I think Seattle would be the best city for me to live in, but even though it is much cheaper than where I live now I'm questioning if I can afford it without roommates (I have a lot of roommates where I am now). I really would love to live there but I hate traffic, I'm not making a ton of money, and the earthquake thread scared the living daylights out of me!

My worries about Portland is I heard the economy is somewhat "depressed" with not as good of a job market. How does the crime compare? I also heard schools are not as good in Oregon... It seems everything I want is in Seattle but Portland/Vancouver seems like it MIGHT be a good trade-off. I need to be a resident in the state with the good schools otherwise I pay huge out-of-state fees. I could commute to Portland from Vancouver but I heard you will be paying more taxes that way. Does anyone have a solution to my troubles?

I like greenery and don't mind the rain at all, I would prefer a safe city!

My main concerns are:

Is Portland comparable to Seattle? Is there less traffic? Is it safer? How is public transportation?

[kwiley1221]

Just based purely on tax, you could live on the Washington side of Portland Oregon and have no state tax for Washington; no sales tax tax in Oregon. Not sure about the Vancouver Wa side of Portland, but I hear great things about Portland itself. I would think that would allow you to come out better, but I've never been in that area so I'm not absolutely sure.

[Steve-o]

Vancouver rocks, I think youd like it. In fact, if I had to live outside the US, that would be the place Id have to go. I like it more than Seattle and Portland, I think you might too. Youd really have to check out all 3 and get your own opinions, theyre all pretty similar, yet vastly different. LOL Hard to explain... If I had to choose, here would be the order Id pick them in:

1. Vancouver
2. Seattle
3. Portland

I actually meant Vancouver, WA, not Vancouver, Canada. Sorry for not explaining that. I just listed it separately because I thought since it is in a different state (even if close to the border) it may be very different.

[runmitchell]

vancouver is cool, ive lived all over the city, never had a problem. the crime is minimal, especially east towards fishers landing area. the older part of town near downtown/clark college area is the only place that has a steady level of crime, mainly drug related. that being said, all the older parts of every city in this nation seem to have a drug problem these days.
live in vancouver, shop in portland. vancouver is SUPER affordable to rent or buy.

id prefer, and ended up moving to downtown portland. i wanted everything right at my fingertips. the commute from vancouver , although a short one, sometimes proved to be very stressful during peak hours. i love portland, and now living in arizona, i wish i never would have left. the economy might be depressed, but ive had a harder job elsewhere in the country trying to find work. i never had a problem in portland.

seattle is expensive. the amount you save in state taxes from not living in portland, you are going to pay 10 fold in housing. i lived with a roommate in seattle for 3 months, paid 1300 a month for a 1 bedroom apt. outside of everything that i was paying 650 for in portland, and i lived right on top of downtown.

hope that helps.

[Jim Bow]

Vancouver WA is a lovely city, and I concur with the folks who suggest living in WA (no income tax) and spending in OR (no sales tax).

When folks ask about crime, I'm reminded of the LA reporter who hitch-hiked from LA to NY a couple of years ago. All he had were the clothes on his back and a 5 dollar bill.

He was picked up by mainly blue collar or low income folks. Each time they asked what his next stop was, they would respond by telling him how dangerous that place was. Let me give you a clue. Every place in the US is more dangerous than the place you happen to be in right now.

[GoBeavs]

If you are taking money into consideration, then I would strongly suggest living in Vancouver, WA. Also, I would try to find employment in Vancouver as there is no state income tax, and do your shopping in Portland because there is no sales tax. If rain is not a problem for you, then Portland is a perfect area. I lived in downtown Portland for two years (up until 3 months ago when I moved to Corvallis), and I never once encountered crime, nor did I ever feel afraid for my safety. I walked around downtown (often to voodoo doughnuts) all the time at like 2am and never once had a problem. Another thing, the job market in the area really depends on what field you are in. Could you possibly give me an idea of what type of work you'd be looking for?

[The Icy River Vagabond]

Unless your in Detroit.

[Minnehahapolitan]

Nice tidbit Jim Bow.

[ajf131]

I gotta get up to the Pacific Northwest one of these days, sounds like one of the best areas of the United States. It is one of the few regions of the lower 48 I have not explored yet.