Anyone move to Portland BECAUSE of the weather? (low crime, to live in)

[suejoybbq]

I'm moving to Portland partly to be closer to friends and family in Portland and Seattle, but partly because I miss the NW rain! My personal preference is definitely shaped by growing up near Seattle. When I first moved to Denver I had dreams at night that it was raining and I'd wake up disappointed that it wasn't actually raining. At first I would wonder in the morning 'what will the weather be like today?' and I pretty quickly learned that the answer 95% of the time is 'sunny' - the other 5% 'snowy'. My point being - there is no mystery in the weather in Denver.

The dry air is yucky. Every time I get off the plane in Seattle or Portland I breathe a sigh of relief that the air is cool and moist on my skin and it feels like home. I can't wait to be back 'home' where people actually get excited about sunshine and where they don't complain about a cloud that passes for 40 minutes. Extra bonus for me: I'll be saving money by eliminating the skin cream/lotion part of my budget that is necessary in Denver's dry climate - AND the NW weather makes the most gorgeous green scenery. I'm looking forward to moving to Portland in large part because of the weather!

[daddy_warbucks]

Originally Posted by JonathanLB

The weather in Portland I consider to be intolerable for living and completely terrible, but by the standards of most other much more terrible places in the U.S., actually, Oregon isn't so bad. I think it's because of the cloudiness. It is just almost never sunny, it's like Eeyore, like a big rain cloud just hovers over that stupid little valley in Portland specifically. Go to Eastern Oregon and actually it's very nice, go to Southern Oregon and again it's nice (very far like Ashland though, Corvallis still sucks). But Portland is just miserable. I don't know how you can tolerate months on end of cloudy crappy rainy weather and have any sense of optimism about the world in general. I grew up just thinking that was normal and that people just endured horrible weather all of the time and that sun was something that happens in the summer.

When I realized that for people in Southern California, or many other Sun Belt states, it was simply a normal situation for it to be sunny almost every day, I knew I had to get out of Oregon because that's no way to live your life. I love visiting Portland, many friends up there, I always have a blast, and I LOVE Portland summers -- they are the best of anywhere you will find in the world once they start, which is pretty much after July 4th -- because they are perfect, usually upper 70s to lower 90s, light breeze, no humidity, clear air quality, light until almost 10 p.m. They beat the summers anywhere else no question about it. I'll be spending most of my summers in Portland for the rest of my life, I hope.

puerco there on the first page said the continual gloom drove him to SF. I don't blame him. I just cannot deal with that depressing gloom every day, every week, every month, again and again, every year. It wears you down. I don't care how strong or focused you are, it's just too much to handle. It's like being pushed under the water for a minute, then you come up and breathe for 15 seconds, then back under the water. You do that enough and you're going to pass out. That's Oregon, where 9 months of the year is basically miserable, and 3 months is really nice. Last summer was worse than that, it pretty much didn't exist, one of the worst summers ever, but usually at least you get a beautiful summer from July 4th or so until half-way into September or even all the way through September.

You know your life sucks when you're moving to Oregon because it has BETTER weather than where you live. Good god. One thing I will say about Oregonians is that most of them deserve the terrible weather because they're all just weird about it. For every person born there like me who can't stand the lousy weather, you'll get someone like my mom or my ex-girlfriend who will say, "Oh I love the rain, blah blah, it keeps everything green," though I tend to wonder if these people ever travel anywhere (my mom did, of course). It's green everywhere in California, I mean... really, it's the state below you, check it out sometime. Look out the window. I drove through the entire state moving to Los Angeles -- it's ALL GREEN, like ALL OF IT. There are nothing but green rolling hills up and down the entire state, and in Los Angeles, all you see is green, every lawn is green, every park is green, it's just as green as Oregon is. I think people are comparing California to Nevada, Arizona, and Texas, which California is nothing like those states. Nevada is a big desert, same with Arizona, Oregon is green but has so is California and has none of the disadvantages that go with that. It's not like it needs to rain to be green, we just steal Oregon water and use it for keeping everything green here too without suffering endless rain I think Oregonians are those weird people who don't seem to care about weather or if they do, they tolerate it, and some of them are even so weird they will tell you they like the rain. So many reasons that makes no sense, but first off we have sayings in this culture, "good weather" and "bad weather," and they are very well determined. If it's 75 and sunny you say, "Nice weather today!" If it's raining that is called "bad weather," so to LIKE bad weather... is beyond my comprehension.

AMEN! I moved from Boise, Idaho (26 years there, born and raised) to Portland Oregon in June 2006. I came up to interview for a job in late April and it happened to be good weather. I fell in love with the city. I heard about Seasonal Affective Disorder AKA SAD and laughed. A disorder called SAD that makes you feel SAD? What a joke! Sounds like something made up by the pharma industry. Fast forward 5 years later, the joke is on me. I'm not sure what the straw was that broke the camels back, but this weather caused me to move to Orange County CA. And the whole decision process took about a week. And 45 days later I am living in beautiful Orange County CA. The scenery and lifestyle is far more majestic in So Cal. The people are VERY down to earth in Orange County. The women are absolutely stunning, and people are very friendly and SMILE often. The cars are gorgeous. Not everyone drives Prius and Outbacks. Nice luxury cars, and people have places to go and drive as such. (Unlike Portland where everyone drives 3-6 miles below the posted speed limit). Luckily I purchased my home during the market crash, so I will be renting my property out and breaking even on the mortgage. But I am so happy to say goodbye to this godforsaken place! And yes I know what Portlander's will say. Don't let the door hit me where the good lord split me, etc. Don't worry, I won't!

California Dreaming! Good weather and sunny days!

[philwithbeard]

daddy_warbucks:

Portland is not for everyone; nor is sunny Orange County.

For my part, I have glad you found the soul of where your home should be. Enjoy.

All I ask is that you don't mind that I enjoy my home in Portland. 'Cause I would be miserable in SoCal, or the Desert SW.

[skylar0201]

Originally Posted by daddy_warbucks

AMEN! I moved from Boise, Idaho (26 years there, born and raised) to Portland Oregon in June 2006. I came up to interview for a job in late April and it happened to be good weather. I fell in love with the city. I heard about Seasonal Affective Disorder AKA SAD and laughed. A disorder called SAD that makes you feel SAD? What a joke! Sounds like something made up by the pharma industry. Fast forward 5 years later, the joke is on me. I'm not sure what the straw was that broke the camels back, but this weather caused me to move to Orange County CA. And the whole decision process took about a week. And 45 days later I am living in beautiful Orange County CA. The scenery and lifestyle is far more majestic in So Cal. The people are VERY down to earth in Orange County. The women are absolutely stunning, and people are very friendly and SMILE often. The cars are gorgeous. Not everyone drives Prius and Outbacks. Nice luxury cars, and people have places to go and drive as such. (Unlike Portland where everyone drives 3-6 miles below the posted speed limit). Luckily I purchased my home during the market crash, so I will be renting my property out and breaking even on the mortgage. But I am so happy to say goodbye to this godforsaken place! And yes I know what Portlander's will say. Don't let the door hit me where the good lord split me, etc. Don't worry, I won't!

California Dreaming! Good weather and sunny days!

That's funny. I would hope that over 2 million more folks who are in Portland who ***** about our weather here would MOVE OUT! It'd sure make finding long-term, stable work a whole LOT easier.

Another funny point: I have a brother who has lived in Las Vegas the last 22 yrs. He set out over 2 yrs ago to trade *ANYONE* straight up, his house for theirs up here ( along with trading jobs ) and has yet to get any offers. He has SAD, but it isn't from rain, it's from too much sun and uneventful, boring weather 340 days of the year.

I agree with what Phil said, Portland isn't for everyone, and southern Cal isn't for everyone too.

[peaceloveandtattoos]

Part of the reason i'm moving to portland is for the weather.....Too tired of boring, hot arizona!

[doggiemama]

My husband and I are moving because he wants to escape long hot humid Austin summers for beautiful Portland summers. His reasoning is that all the fun activities and long days are in summer, so why sweat miserably and pretend it's fun? Even this beautiful time of year in Austin has horrendous allergies. I got slammed by oak last week and I feel like I have a bad cold that turned into bronchitis. For Portland I'm just hoping I can find warm enough clothes for the damp cold and not look like I'm dressed for Antarctica. Hmm...REI clearance rack in Austin?

[skylar0201]

Originally Posted by peaceloveandtattoos

Part of the reason i'm moving to portland is for the weather.....Too tired of boring, hot arizona!

BUT..........what about dreamin' of all those sunny days you get in southern Arizona?!?

You'll get about 3 solid months of it up here and that'll be it every year LOL.

[SyraBrian]

Syracuse has five less sunny days than Portland, and the winter is roughly 15-20 degrees colder.

In October of 1994, when I moved to Portland, I actually considered the weather a step up! Still do!

I'd much rather walk around during rain and drizzle than during this winter's 178 inches of snow!

[ffffffaaaaa1]

Originally Posted by daddy_warbucks

AMEN! I moved from Boise, Idaho (26 years there, born and raised) to Portland Oregon in June 2006. I came up to interview for a job in late April and it happened to be good weather. I fell in love with the city. I heard about Seasonal Affective Disorder AKA SAD and laughed. A disorder called SAD that makes you feel SAD? What a joke! Sounds like something made up by the pharma industry. Fast forward 5 years later, the joke is on me. I'm not sure what the straw was that broke the camels back, but this weather caused me to move to Orange County CA. And the whole decision process took about a week. And 45 days later I am living in beautiful Orange County CA. The scenery and lifestyle is far more majestic in So Cal. The people are VERY down to earth in Orange County. The women are absolutely stunning, and people are very friendly and SMILE often. The cars are gorgeous. Not everyone drives Prius and Outbacks. Nice luxury cars, and people have places to go and drive as such. (Unlike Portland where everyone drives 3-6 miles below the posted speed limit). Luckily I purchased my home during the market crash, so I will be renting my property out and breaking even on the mortgage. But I am so happy to say goodbye to this godforsaken place! And yes I know what Portlander's will say. Don't let the door hit me where the good lord split me, etc. Don't worry, I won't!

California Dreaming! Good weather and sunny days!

I thought you were trying to make fun of the weather. Sounds like you had other concerns.

[peaceloveandtattoos]

Originally Posted by skylar0201

BUT..........what about dreamin' of all those sunny days you get in southern Arizona?!?

You'll get about 3 solid months of it up here and that'll be it every year LOL.

I am sooooo looking forward to the opposite of here...Bring on the clouds and rain!! hehe