Anyone move to Portland BECAUSE of the weather? (foreclosure, how much)
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If you are coming from the Midwest, than the weather of the Pacific Northwest will be SIGNIFICANTLY BETTER.
Imagine a place without 5 months of solid snow, without months of freezing cold temperatures...where it just sprinkles lightly (dont even need an umbrella)...and when it does get below freezing...it's for a day or two, and the entire city shuts down because of it.
In short, the weather of the Pacific Northwest IS significantly better than the Midwest.
Really, the mass majority of people complaining about the PNW weather are from somewhere else - usually California, etc.
I don't think you'll ever meet a Midwesterner who moves to the PNW and complains about the weather.
I did indeed move to Portland BECAUSE of the weather, among other factors that were important to me (although I'll be very happy when the current heat wave passes, and happier still when autumn comes).
I've found the people to be friendly, yes, and it doesn't bother me if conversations with strangers end at the 90-second mark; I don't really want to talk to a stranger longer than that myself (if we're talking just people you meet on the street, etc.). You make friends and get to know people through shared interests and activities, which is working out fine for me.
I came here from the Tampa Bay area, and believe it or not, I miss my Bucs (though what I miss more are the Bucs from 2002). I can get behind the Seahawks well enough. You can be a Cheesehead anywhere, of course. Basketball isn't really my thing, but I do wish we had an NHL team. I'll be supporting the Winterhawks (WHL), however.
Anyway, suffice it to say I love it here, enough babbling, back to work now.
I know a few people who have moved to Oregon because of the climate. They're plant geeks who move there from colder or drier parts of the country. Oregon does have the North's mildest climates & nursery stock and landscaping are huge industries in Oregon. As long as the soils drain quickly in the winter & with the warm Willamette summers plants can really thrive.
The continual gloom is what drove me to SF. And I'm a Portland native who's spent about 30 years there. Maybe more.
You might be correct on that. I was amazed when I first moved here in the mid 90's, the # of folks that were here from Utah, Minnesota, Colorado, north Texas, and yes, California. All of them ( except the southern end of N. Texas to an extent ) all from dry/warm or dry/cooler climates. Yes, when you think about it, Portland is very warm in the winter time for where it is. For folks out there who would like to debate this, show me one city even close to the size of Portland, that is *THIS* far north in the US and can be that warm in the wintertime ( all-day freezing temps below 32F might occur one time here a year, two on a REALLY bad winter ). That's right, you can't, and people say Portland is brrrr SO cold! Oh Please!!--they don't know what cold is!!
I tell them why don't you go about 50-80 miles east of here ( the Columbia Gorge area ) and from that point forward, keep going straight east of here ( you know, Montana, North/South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, NY, PA, VT, etc ) all the way to the upper New England states in Dec, Jan and Feb and let's talk about which is warmer....I'd say Portland is warmer than anywhere in the winter time in Northern IL, IN and OH too.
Uhm, well I wouldn't go that far. Depends on what you call "bugs". LOL
If you don't mind slugs, yellow jackets--LOTS of these when the sun comes out, hobo spiders ( the Pacific NW is a natural habitat for these ) than you would be okay.
One type I usually don't see around are black widows. Seen one of them in almost 20 yrs here. Seen a few snakes--mostly garden snakes, lots of different kinds of tree beetles--you'll discover this if you have a lot of shrubbery, and as long as you stay west of the Cascades, you probably won't see any scorpions ( they're horrible swimmers ) but you go east to Bend/or eastern OR or south to Medford/near the CA state line, oh yeah, you'll see them occasionally.
If you are coming from the Midwest, than the weather of the Pacific Northwest will be SIGNIFICANTLY BETTER.
Imagine a place without 5 months of solid snow, without months of freezing cold temperatures...where it just sprinkles lightly (dont even need an umbrella)...and when it does get below freezing...it's for a day or two, and the entire city shuts down because of it.
In short, the weather of the Pacific Northwest IS significantly better than the Midwest.
Really, the mass majority of people complaining about the PNW weather are from somewhere else - usually California, etc.
I don't think you'll ever meet a Midwesterner who moves to the PNW and complains about the weather.
Yes, that is right. If someone from the midwest moves to especially Portland or Salem ( probably the warmest spots in Oregon in the wintertime except maybe Medford, Brookings, etc ) and complains that it is too cold here, than they're never going to be happy anywhere.
The difference in temp ( and especially when you factor in wind chills ) in the wintertime between ANY spot in the midwest and Portland, that is like day and night difference--it isn't even remotely close to one another. Portland would feel like a tropical climate compared to the brutal winters the midwest gets each year.
Now, I will add this, it might feel cold to some folks who do move here from dry climates because in the wintertime here, our humidity is 95% or higher day and night so if you thought 45F was too cold and you lived in the midwest, yes, you better wear a flannel or something like that, because that high winter humidity here will feel like it goes through your bones ( even for young folks. ) Flip side of that being usually when the temp raises here, the humidity starts to drop--although we will get 2 or 3 unbearably ( 95F with 80-85% humidity ) days a summer. We had like 4 or 5 nasty ones in a row just 2 or 3 summers ago.
Yep, I would also agree in saying that the majority of folks whining about the rain here would be those from Calif or Arizona or maybe who've lived around Vegas before coming here, etc.
Uhm, well I wouldn't go that far. Depends on what you call "bugs". LOL
If you don't mind slugs, yellow jackets--LOTS of these when the sun comes out, hobo spiders ( the Pacific NW is a natural habitat for these ) than you would be okay.
One type I usually don't see around are black widows. Seen one of them in almost 20 yrs here. Seen a few snakes--mostly garden snakes, lots of different kinds of tree beetles--you'll discover this if you have a lot of shrubbery, and as long as you stay west of the Cascades, you probably won't see any scorpions ( they're horrible swimmers ) but you go east to Bend/or eastern OR or south to Medford/near the CA state line, oh yeah, you'll see them occasionally.
Are the mosquitoes bad?
Anyways, I'm considering moving out there based on humidity and temperate weather.
My other option is Massachusetts or Maine.
I giving myself about another week to decide.
I've been up and down the West Coast several times but haven't spent any time
(other than one brief vacation in Bar Harbor Maine) in New England...so...I'm leaning towards the PNW I think.
Maybe Colorado, but it's very, very arid there and pretty conservative. I already have sinus problems with dry air here in Austin.
And I feel like an outsider with the dominant conservative/Tea Party-Libertarian culture here. Who knows! I'm confused.
Anyways, I'm considering moving out there based on humidity and temperate weather.
My other option is Massachusetts or Maine.
I giving myself about another week to decide.
I've been up and down the West Coast several times but haven't spent any time
(other than one brief vacation in Bar Harbor Maine) in New England...so...I'm leaning towards the PNW I think.
Maybe Colorado, but it's very, very arid there and pretty conservative. I already have sinus problems with dry air here in Austin.
And I feel like an outsider with the Tea Party culture here. Who knows! I'm confused.
Surprisingly no, mosquitoes are not a problem here. You'll see them if you go fishing or boating, etc where a lot of water is just sitting there, but nope, they aren't an issue here. Where I grew up before, I used to be almost eaten alive by those things all the way up until I moved here and have never had an issue w/ them since.
LOL about the tea party culture in TX. Actually, CO is mostly progressive as long as you stay near Denver, Aurora and Boulder--which is VERY progressive, but yes, Colorado Springs is one of the most conservative spots in the country ( home of the USAF Academy too )
If political leaning is a factor for you, yes, as long as you stay west of the Cascades ( Willamette Valley area ) you'll do fine Once you go to eastern OR or even eastern WA, you're on your own LOL
Portland would feel like a tropical climate compared to the brutal winters the midwest gets each year.
Having grown up in Portland I never realized how mild the winters were until I returned there after 2 years in the great city of New York. I moved back to Portland in March & a week or two later a native New Yorker from the Bronx came out to visit. He marvelled at all of the green & would tell his friends that there were "Christmas trees" growing everywhere. At first he didn't believe the green March grass was real. It really helped to open my eyes to the beauty of my home state.
Having grown up in Portland I never realized how mild the winters were until I returned there after 2 years in the great city of New York. I moved back to Portland in March & a week or two later a native New Yorker from the Bronx came out to visit. He marvelled at all of the green & would tell his friends that there were "Christmas trees" growing everywhere. At first he didn't believe the green March grass was real. It really helped to open my eyes to the beauty of my home state.
Now having lived on the other side of the Mississippi for 60 years, and following the rule of NEVER cutting the grass or doing lawn work in the rain or while the grass is wet.......
I get to Portland and every where I looked in March, April, May, June this year ('10) I see on Saturdays average people out mowing the lawn in the drizzle rain with soaked wet lawns. And then I realize one reason long time Portlanders don't have large lawns.... you have to cut your lawn in Mach, April, May, in the freking rain (actually, there is more appropriate F-word, but expletives deleted and all that.)
While I live in an apartment, I still say 'lawn care in the rain has to just plain suck!' And it isn't just a case of waiting for the weather to improve, cause, that's like waiting until July.
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) but you go east to Bend/or eastern OR or south to Medford/near the CA state line, oh yeah, you'll see them occasionally.
Once you go to eastern OR or even eastern WA, you're on your own LOL 
