Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Oregon > Portland
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 10-24-2006, 11:50 AM
 
Location: Austin, TX
1,280 posts, read 4,293,052 times
Reputation: 677

Advertisements

Hello everyone,

My wife and I currently live in Austin and are considering relocating to Portland in the near future. We are originally from green places (I'm from Southeast TX and she's from Orlando) though we hated the humidity of the Southeastern U.S. We do love Austin and it has a great culture but it's just too freaking hot here most of the time. The summers are just brutal and miserable. We both love rain, cool weather, fog, lushness, hills, etc. and feel like Portland would be the perfect place for us (though we've never been there).

So, is there anyone on here who can compare the two cities? How is Portland's job market right now? Also, how is it not humid in the Pacific NW when there is so much moisture (this has never made sense to me). How affordable is housing in the area?

All input is most appreciated!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 11-02-2006, 10:08 AM
 
1 posts, read 8,057 times
Reputation: 10
I am originally from Texas and lived for six years in Austin before moving to Portland. I missed the live music scene in Austin but that was about it. Portland has the great outdoors, and you can hike every day of the year because the climate is mild (unlike Texas). The people are friendly, town is still very laid back like Austin, and the coffee and beer is outstanding. I don't know why it is isn't humid in Portland, but the fact is most people don't have A/C (similar to San Fran) because you never get hot humid days.

I am currently in London and trying to get back to Portland so I don't know what the job market is like, and I bought my house ages ago and rented it out, but I understand the prices have come up (but so have housing prices in Austin).

My family lives in Austin and I have a lot of friends in Texas, but I will never move back to oppressive summers that last for 5 months - I don't want to spend my life in air conditioning. Also, Austin is on its way to just being another Dallas or Houston, and who wants to live there?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 11-02-2006, 12:01 PM
 
Location: The land of sugar... previously Houston and Austin
5,429 posts, read 14,846,008 times
Reputation: 3672
My family lives in Austin and I have a lot of friends in Texas, but I will never move back to oppressive summers that last for 5 months - I don't want to spend my life in air conditioning. Also, Austin is on its way to just being another Dallas or Houston, and who wants to live there?

... except that Austin doesn't have the big-city amenities (top-notch arts/culture, great restaurant scene, extensive shopping, etc) that Houston and Dallas do. It is still primarily the state capital and a college town.

Last edited by AK123; 11-02-2006 at 12:02 PM.. Reason: forgot quote
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 11-02-2006, 12:31 PM
 
Location: coos bay oregon
2,091 posts, read 9,049,766 times
Reputation: 1310
Couple of suggestions for ya,
Oregonlive.com -- its the webpage for the Oregonian - Oregons main paper. That'll give you some ideas on housing prices, weather, jobs, whats up around town, etc. Even has blogs/forums for several different surbs. and areas.
also, for more jobs, look into the Oregon Employment pages - that'll give you jobs around Oregon.
Best of luck to ya!
Tiffany
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 11-03-2006, 05:50 PM
 
291 posts, read 710,880 times
Reputation: 115
Quote:
Originally Posted by jread View Post
Also, how is it not humid in the Pacific NW when there is so much moisture (this has never made sense to me).
Prevailing westerly winds off the Pacific Ocean lock the dew point at about 40 F (winter) to 50 F (summer).

In winter, temperatures are near the dew point: it is humid, but cool.

In summer, daytime temps are well above the dew point. So when it's warm, it isn't very humid.

So it's very simple. See the tables in the middle of the left column at the Western Regional Climate Center:
http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/CLIMATEDATA.html

Now, what's never made sense to me is your climate in Texas!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 11-21-2006, 12:40 PM
 
Location: Austin, TX
1,280 posts, read 4,293,052 times
Reputation: 677
Thanks for the replies so far everyone I think I'll start looking at housing prices and jobs and see what I come up with.

Quote:
Originally Posted by JJP View Post
... except that Austin doesn't have the big-city amenities (top-notch arts/culture, great restaurant scene, extensive shopping, etc) that Houston and Dallas do. It is still primarily the state capital and a college town.
I know who you are. You're the same guy from the About Austin forum who did nothing but make posts about how much better Houston was than Austin. Please go find another thread.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-02-2007, 05:21 PM
 
23 posts, read 89,266 times
Reputation: 26
Default Did you move?

Hi!
I'm wondering if JRead ever moved to Portland?

We lived in Austin for several years and now live in NJ. We're looking into possible moving to the Portland area, and we also wonder how it compares/contrasts to Austin. We miss Austin quite a lot, but there is something about Portland that seems to be calling to us.

If you did finally move there, how do you like it? Is it similar in feel to Austin? Anything you dislike that makes you long for Austin? Or, is it as you had hoped it would be?

Thanks!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-05-2007, 10:25 AM
 
139 posts, read 1,217,304 times
Reputation: 159
Monstika, you need to come to the Seattle forum and mention your feelings on Austin Texas. There is this person name Jenbar who consistently bashes the Seattle area and talks about how flawless Austin is. I think it would make for an interesting thread

Quote:
Originally Posted by monstika View Post
I am originally from Texas and lived for six years in Austin before moving to Portland. I missed the live music scene in Austin but that was about it. Portland has the great outdoors, and you can hike every day of the year because the climate is mild (unlike Texas). The people are friendly, town is still very laid back like Austin, and the coffee and beer is outstanding. I don't know why it is isn't humid in Portland, but the fact is most people don't have A/C (similar to San Fran) because you never get hot humid days.

I am currently in London and trying to get back to Portland so I don't know what the job market is like, and I bought my house ages ago and rented it out, but I understand the prices have come up (but so have housing prices in Austin).

My family lives in Austin and I have a lot of friends in Texas, but I will never move back to oppressive summers that last for 5 months - I don't want to spend my life in air conditioning. Also, Austin is on its way to just being another Dallas or Houston, and who wants to live there?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-08-2007, 09:05 AM
 
Location: Tigard, Oregon
268 posts, read 1,194,645 times
Reputation: 67
Quote:
Originally Posted by jread View Post
Hello everyone,

My wife and I currently live in Austin and are considering relocating to Portland in the near future. We are originally from green places (I'm from Southeast TX and she's from Orlando) though we hated the humidity of the Southeastern U.S. We do love Austin and it has a great culture but it's just too freaking hot here most of the time. The summers are just brutal and miserable. We both love rain, cool weather, fog, lushness, hills, etc. and feel like Portland would be the perfect place for us (though we've never been there).

So, is there anyone on here who can compare the two cities? How is Portland's job market right now? Also, how is it not humid in the Pacific NW when there is so much moisture (this has never made sense to me). How affordable is housing in the area?

All input is most appreciated!
I'm a native Houstonian moving to Portland as soon as our house sells and the school year closes....Have visited the area twice, both summertime though my husband has been many times in the winters. The summers are amazing....I've been to Austin several times and have close friends living there currently. You'll be moving from the dry, HOT, desert-like scrubbiness to lush, and I mean lush, green areas. Huge difference between the two.
I also can tell you that the market in Austin is improving but you can still buy a lot more house there than in Portland. For a 1300 SF older home, expect to pay 250-300K easily. And for anything newer, definitely over 300K unless you want a condo or townhouse.
We're headed there over Easter to do the final decision of where we want to relocate and are seriously thinking Wilsonville which is 16 miles south of downtown....also considering Sherwood and Dundee/Newberg.
Hope this helps and good luck, you'll love it!!! (My husband says the wintry rain there isn't a big deal, lots of drizzle and fog and grey but great for coffee lovers!) and the summers more than make up for it!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-24-2007, 03:42 PM
 
2,003 posts, read 2,882,047 times
Reputation: 3605
Portland native here, but I lived in Austin for six years. I got laid off by SBC and came back to Portland three years ago. That was a HUGE mistake, and I'll be getting outta here by October (not back to Austin tho).

I always laughed when my Austin friends would say "I'd love to live where it was cool and rainy". Three people moved here, and all three were gone after one winter. They went stark-raving berserk from the grayness. I can relate, because I have SAD (one of the reasons why coming back was a horrible mistake).

I consider Portland's weather to be essentially the flip side of Austin's. There, you go through six months of hot weather to get to the good part of the year. Here, you go through six or seven months of miserable drizzly cold to get to the good part of the year (July 5 through October).

If you want a city of Portland's size but not the disgusting weather or the insufferably annoying political-correctness, I'd recommend Sacramento.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2020 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Oregon > Portland

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top