Portland vs Salt Lake - especially air quality and making friends

[lurtsman]

IMO, SLC is a more attractive city to live in. Portland is perennially over-rated, and I say that as someone with multiple decades of experience living in Portland. I moved away, and decided not to move back.

[Ankhharu]

Interesting thread. I spent most of 2012 and 2013 preparing to move to Portland, love love Portland, but settled on Salt Lake City due to my lack of funds in my savings account. Portland's lack of jobs scared me. SLC's economy is pretty decent. Lots of jobs, albeit, they don't pay well, so here I came. I have really enjoyed SLC and I will be here for a bit. I'm an atheist and have had zero problems making friends. I'm actually amazed at how many I have made already. The people here are very nice. I got here in August and did not spend Thanksgiving or Christmas alone. The number of LDS people in this city is a bit skewed as the church is trying to cover up it's dwindling numbers. At least that is what all my neighbors and friends tell me. Makes sense. Of the different groups I'm a part of, only a handful of people out of the whole lot is still LDS. Still, I find the people of Utah to be awesome. The people here have been just very hospitable and helpful and I can't say enough about them.

With all that said, I still have my eyes on Portland. I think it's prettier, better air quality, better food, and the city vibe is better. Better beer, coffee, and nightlife. I love how close all the outdoor stuff is in SLC. I just wished the city architecture and housing were a little more appealing. Despite all that, I think they are similar. Another thing to consider, Portland is humid, with it's moderate climate. SLC meanwhile is very dry. I have never been a lotion user but it has been a must here.
I don't think you can go wrong with either city if you like outdoors stuff. You don't have to be an outdoors person to enjoy Portland, but I think it is a must for SLC.

[waterwagen]

Almost three years later, thought I'd follow up on my post.

We ended up staying in Salt Lake. We made a lot more connections with people since my original post, visited Portland and liked it but didn't think we could deal with the lack of sun for so much of the year, and just felt more and more settled in SLC. We ended up buying a house in spring of 2015. We love the outdoors here, the safety of the city, friendly people, great neighbors, really good economy, ease of driving around (outside of I-15 sometimes), and sun sun sun. The smog is still a downer at times, but we love Utah so much that we have moved past it. Visiting family back in the DC area we were reminded of how much more expensive even the food is there. Don't think we're ever going back.

[Thesenuttz]

Congrats finding a nice place. Enjoy!!!

[Hockeygirl063]

My in laws live in SLC area. I love visiting for the beautiful nature. Walk outside and the mountains are right there snow covered beauty.

I know that area. There is a really nice park there