Anyone else who has moved to Portland find it vastly overrated? (Sherwood: headhunters, school)

[Leisesturm]

Originally Posted by harrishawke

What terminal was this? Why would anyone pay high priced parking to goto lackluster spots at the Airport like Burgerville, Subway and Mod pizza?

Why be rude? If you want to know the names or locations of nicer venues inside the airport all you have to do is ask. Not me, but clearly others besides you have been to PDX a time or two in their lives.

[Metlakatla]

I've never heard of anyone going to PDX only to shop or dine. Must be a new thing.

[Jimrob1]

Originally Posted by Metlakatla

I've never heard of anyone going to PDX only to shop or dine. Must be a new thing.

When I worked at the airport I always took the train to and from work. I remember talking to some older people that took Max, out to the airport for something to do. They would walk around the terminal go in the stores, and get something to eat at a restaurant. Sort of a little excursion for them.

[Yankeemama]

Originally Posted by Metlakatla

I've never heard of anyone going to PDX only to shop or dine. Must be a new thing.

I know people go to happy hour there and watch the planes. I only go there for lunch though.😀

[Leisesturm]

Originally Posted by Yankeemama

I know people go to happy hour there and watch the planes. I only go there for lunch though.😀

I haven't been to a huge number of airports, but PDX is the only one I know of where you can actually see planes take off and land. Even so, its not like they make it easy. I think they are worried that in the case of a disaster there would be thousands of eye-witnesses to have to provide PTSD counseling for.

[ccjarider]

Originally Posted by Leisesturm

I haven't been to a huge number of airports, but PDX is the only one I know of where you can actually see planes take off and land. Even so, its not like they make it easy. I think they are worried that in the case of a disaster there would be thousands of eye-witnesses to have to provide PTSD counseling for.

[PNW-type-gal]

Originally Posted by Yankeemama

I know people go to happy hour there and watch the planes. I only go there for lunch though.

We used to have a little sailboat moored on the Columbia River - when you are out sailing, looking over the (artificial) berm on Marine Drive, you can just see the high tails of the airplanes as they taxi around. Looked like a lot of very large sharks milling around.

Back when there was a different mix of stores in the pre-security area of the airport, I did know people who went there to shop at Powell's and Real Mother Goose and Norm Thompson (I think that is a Columbia store now) rather than driving downtown. Also it was one of the better places to exchange currency - not the cheapest, but the place most likely to have the right currencies, including various Asian currencies. We learned the hard way that it was always a good idea to have a bit of local currency with you (like the pay toilets in the Swiss train station that only accepted Swiss currency).

[Jimrob1]

Originally Posted by pdxmilw

does anyone really say that Portland's COL is low?

I think COL and how we are impacted by it, is different from person to person. For some people living in Portland, may be cheaper for them than elsewhere. Say for instance a person that is in a rent subsidized apartment in Portland. Portland seems to have many people that live in them. The person doesn't own a car, and has a monthly pass on Trimet. Food is cheaper in Oregon in many instances, and there are numerous grocers to buy your food from. So you have options on that one. There is no sales tax and utility rates seem cheaper than many other places. Plus as far as I know PGE doesn't even ask for a deposit for new customers. So for that person living in Portland, is probably significantly cheaper than living where I do in Florida. Not having the expense of a car, and cheaper food really saves on one's budget.

I realize most people are not going to be in rent subsidized apartments in Portland. So their COL will reflect the higher cost that Portland seems to be dealing with now. I'm just saying for some people living there,will be cheaper than many areas of the USA. I can't stress enough not having the expense of a car is a huge savings on one's income.

[notoriouskelly]

You can't ALL be baristas

[UrbanAdventurer]

Originally Posted by harrishawke

After friends and loved ones twisted my arm, I decided to move to Portland. Before I left, I heard rumors to line up a job before I got there. Despite my advanced degrees and years of experience, I was unable to land a single interview. When I got there, I hit the ground running looking for work. The employment development office wasn’t much help, and there was a large number of good people that couldn’t find work. It wasn’t until after a few months did I finally land a job, but the only one I could find was a fixed term contract. It paid less than what I was getting before, and it offered no benefits, or really any job security. I essentially need to keep looking for something better when the contract date comes up. This was something I have never experienced in other job markets. Employment opportunities and work was always steady.

Cost of Living: Everyone says the cost of living is fantastic here and this couldn’t be further from the truth. This may have been the case 15 years ago, but not now. A 1 bedroom apartment, in a desirable Portland neighborhood, was around $1,500 per month! This is on par with other major metropolitan centers. I settled on a 2 bedroom in Southwest (not far from Beaverton) in which is still expensive; and the rent keeps going up. It’s not what I consider the heart of the city either.

The real estate market seems over inflated. The local economy definitely does not support a median house price of 400-500k. Not everyone that lives here are getting the salaries of Intel and Nike. While no sales tax is nice, the state income tax in Multnomah County is nearly the same as in the most expensive states.

Weather: It was great when its summer. The climate was warm and sunny and I would go out for outdoor activities nearly every weekend. There is an abundance of great hiking and biking trails. Once October hit, the weather did a 180 and became constantly rainy and overcast. It would be like this for weeks on end and apparently stays like this until April. In the winter, the surface temperatures are often below zero, yet it doesn’t snow, and you get what’s called freezing rain. People who say that the occasional rain and gloom doesn’t bother them, really need to understand that this weather is like this nearly 8 months out of the year. If you ever lived in a southwestern state, where nearly every day is sunny and T-shirt weather, this may be a big adjustment; not to mention a costly warm weather wardrobe.

Economy: The economy is lousy. There are only 2 fortune 500 companies in the entire region. It’s Intel and Nike. Both reside outside of Portland proper. Intel is entirely in Hillsboro (almost what I would consider an exurb of Portland), and Nike is moving a lot of its support staff to its Hillsboro offices too. If you live in NE or SE Portland, this can be quite a distance to travel.
Also just because these are huge job centers doesn’t mean that qualified applicants can apply for a job and get in. It’s globally competitive. For instance, much of Intel’s staff were relocated from other recently shut down locations. Many of the other newcomers are expatriates from overseas. Unless you’re an all-star engineer, it’s not going to be easy to get a permanent, well-compensated position. As for Nike, it’s an apparel company mostly focused on design, sales and administration. While it would appear that there are a lot of openings, it’s not as much as you think. Most of these jobs are filled either by internal staff or networked/referrals. External hire fills are really not that abundant. Yes there are exceptions, but not usually for the permanent roles. Both Intel, Nike and other work centers rely on a huge contingent work force (temp workers), and they are constantly being turned over when projects or work dies down.

For folks thinking they can just waltz into town and strike it big at one of these companies may find it surprising difficult. This seems to be the consensus of what I’ve read on Glassdoor. Plus anecdotal evidence suggests that many employers use this leverage (of the poor economy and high labor market), to overwork their staff or pay below market wages, because the employees do not have other options. I thought maybe the public sector would be stronger, but those opportunities never materialized to anything either.

In downtown, there are a few other name brand companies, but they are smaller branch offices. Portland’s downtown really doesn’t have that many corporations. It’s a lot of high rise condos, retail, industrial, and public buildings. Portland’s main economy seems to be heavy rail, ship/air transportation, food services, and goods harvested from the Willamette Valley. Even if you’re in a recession proof profession such as medicine, nursing, law or, software engineering, you’ll likely be able to find work, however be prepared for being offered a lower salary then in other competitive markets.


Traffic: The city’s infrastructure is not meant to handle the current population. While it’s definitely worst during commuting hours, it can be hell to get in and out of the city. What adds to the congestion is that there are limited bridges crossing over the Willamette and Columbia Rivers. Since these rivers split the town into 4 quadrants, there is no other alternative routes to cross to get around. A few of the bridges don’t have much lanes/capacity either. This leads to what can be up to an hour in one way commuting or leisure times. An attempt to solve some of these traffic ailments has completed failed. A new bridge was made this year but is off-limits to vehicular traffic. In fact, I tried to walk over it one time, but it was still closed to pedestrians. There is some decent public transit options, but I haven’t lived close enough to a station to take advantage of them. The one to two lane roads in SW and beyond cannot handle the commuting traffic.

People: The people aren’t as tolerant as the media would lead you to believe. There is a noticeable uneasiness of transplants (especially ones from California), and it wasn’t until I got my Oregon plates did the drivers start being more polite. I don’t see a lot of minority owned businesses either. The local news occasionally reports hates crimes as well. While people can be friendlier than other places I’ve lived, it can be difficult to actually convert those conversations into more meaningful relationships. In fact Forbes magazine had an article that Portland was the #1 most unhappy city. (America?s Unhappiest Cities: Portland, Ore. - BusinessWeek).

So basically I’m ready to leave, but it’s not so simple. What do most people do when they discover that it’s not the greener pastures that most people make it out to be? My former co-worker (before I moved to Oregon), returned to Seattle and is doing quite well. Seattle, while still having the typical NW weather; jobs and economy, from all reports, appears to be leaps and bounds better to that of Portland.
As I’m not the only one fed up with the job situation, what do Portlanders do once they find themselves without a job or underemployed? They must do something to facilitate their careers and support their families.

Go to Seattle if you're a working man with skills who needs a job. Much healthier job market and the wages/salaries tend to be higher. Lived in both places as an adult and experienced that firsthand. Don't bother with Portland unless you already have something lined up. I have friends and family who grew up in Portland and still struggled to find anything decent. Landing a job with Nike or Intel is like hitting the Powerball around there and the people who do think they're special little flowers because of it. Plus in Washington they don't hit you with state income tax which leaves thousands in your pocket every year. Portland has its charms and selling points but the local economy isn't necessarily one of them. It's kind of turning into another Vancouver, BC.