Portland has the best weather. (Klamath Falls, Dallas: apartment, home, college) - Oregon (OR) - City-Data Forum

Neal2009 · 11-09-2008, 12:09 AM

Here more than any other city forum, I see a number of posts which revolve around the weather. I realize I am fueling the fire a bit by discussing it further, but let me put it into perspective.

You will find the closest to perfect weather in 2 places in this great big country: California and Hawaii. Lets face it, where is the weather better than in San Diego or Honolulu, year round? The answer is NOWHERE! However, for those of us who don't have the money to pay a ridiculously high price for a home or apartment and the other costs of living, and you all know how high that can be in these places, these 2 places are not an option.

And so one must choose one of the many places in between and each place has its weather quirks. So you are depressed because it is awfully gray and rainy from November til April or even May. Maybe it even prevents you from going outside because you dont like getting mud on your shoes. Does anyone realize than in a good majority of major cities such as Denver, Chicago, Minneapolis, New York, Boston going outside during this time(November-April) is a HUGE chore with the 3 layers of clothing that are required to sustain any degree of comfort? Even then, the in your face cold penetrates deep into your skin just enough to make you want to go back indoors after a few minutes. In many cities this is the weather for 5-6 months and the number of people seen outside during this time is very low. Going outside in Portland, even with the rain from November til April is hardly the chore that it is in these other cities. We have temperatues alot of the time in the mid to high 40's which is hardly unbearble. The fact that these places may see the sun alot during these months doesn't make it any easier to step outdoors. Then many people complain that they cant go outside for 5 months, yet the sun is still shining!

Secondly, you have the opposite end of the country, the south with it's cities such as Phoenix, Atlanta, Dallas, Miami who see the sun well over 300 days a year but are stuck indoors from may-september or october because of the brutal heat which sucks all of the energy out of your veins and renders you useless and makes you feel lethargic for 5 straight months until the heat finally recededs sometime in October. While the rest of the country may be enjoying their peak time and everyone is enjoying themselves outdoors, people in these regions are left to suffer and go into survival mode. There is praise and joy when the temperature dips below 90 sometime in September. You would experience this if you lived in the south. Because of this, people complain that they can't go outside for 5 months, yet the sun is still shining!

As mentioned above, these regions tend to have that 4-6 month period of weather discomfort and the same applies to northwest. In the northwest, people tend to complain most about november-april, a 5 month period. However, if you are not going to live in California or Hawaii you will need to choose one of the following climates above and you'll either be trading rain and gloom with horribly hot or deathly cold for 5-6 months or you can learn to accept the rain and all the beauty you have around you. The sunshine doesnt make all the weather issues go away and plus let us realize that in Portland, one can go outside ANY time of the year and feel comfortable. That is a fact!

I realize not all regions fit 100 percent into this description, but alot do, some to a greater extent, some to a less extent.

So ask yourselves, with all the complaining, do you realize that other places have weather "issues" just as severe if not more than the northwest? Chances are if you complain about this weather, you will complain about the othe weather and in many cases you won't have the beautiful scenery to make it a little more tolerable

wetintheNW · 11-09-2008, 12:16 AM

that is interesting but i am not comfortable soaking wet!!

EnricoV · 11-09-2008, 03:40 AM

Why is weather deemed "perfect" only if it's warm and dry? Seems ridiculous. Rain is not gloomy. It's rain. Sometimes it can be gloomy, but not always. I often find it refreshing. Waking up to a find the outdoors covered in new-fallen snow is just about as perfect as it can get.

And Hawaii ... you do realize that it's Hawaii that has the highest annual rain fall, don't you? Doesn't that disqualify the state as having perfect weather? As for severe weather issues. You musn't leave out the hurricaines, blizzards, and tornadoes, or even thunderstorms with their resulting brushfires ... to name a few. Oregon rarely has those, and if they do, they rarely affect populated areas.

BLAZER PROPHET · 11-09-2008, 06:37 AM

The weather here isn't all that bad. It's very gray, but for us long time Oregonians, we're used to it.

cdelena · 11-09-2008, 09:27 AM

Weather was one of the primary reasons I moved to the area. After living in a half dozen areas in the country and visiting hundreds I find the climate here to be one of the best.

roneb · 11-09-2008, 12:47 PM

Once again, someone touts Portland's moderate weather as being ideal while bashing anyplace with cold and snow. Perhaps it's because I grew up in cold and snowy places (Montana and Alaska; college in MN), perhaps its my Scandinavian ancestry, but this drives me crazy! There is nothing wrong with cold snowy winters - particularly when the sun is out. Cold weather helps let you know you're alive! Please don't make blanket statements that list cold as snow as negatives. Not all of us feel that way!

IMHO snow also improves the scenery. Yes, it's beautiful and scenic in Portland, but gray winter skies and continuous green gets pretty damn monotonous after awhile. That's why I prefer the scenery east of the Cascades. The browning grass (in summer) or snow (in winter) set against the evergreens and BLUE sky makes for a much more interesting view. I prefer the Rockies to the Cascades for the same reason.

Just remember: If there ain't snow, it ain't really winter!

BLAZER PROPHET · 11-09-2008, 06:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by roneb

Once again, someone touts Portland's moderate weather as being ideal while bashing anyplace with cold and snow. Perhaps it's because I grew up in cold and snowy places (Montana and Alaska; college in MN), perhaps its my Scandinavian ancestry, but this drives me crazy! There is nothing wrong with cold snowy winters - particularly when the sun is out. Cold weather helps let you know you're alive! Please don't make blanket statements that list cold as snow as negatives. Not all of us feel that way!

IMHO snow also improves the scenery. Yes, it's beautiful and scenic in Portland, but gray winter skies and continuous green gets pretty damn monotonous after awhile. That's why I prefer the scenery east of the Cascades. The browning grass (in summer) or snow (in winter) set against the evergreens and BLUE sky makes for a much more interesting view. I prefer the Rockies to the Cascades for the same reason.

Just remember: If there ain't snow, it ain't really winter!

When I lived in Klamath Falls, I thought the weather was perfect. Lots of snow, 4 true seasons...

ohshane · 11-09-2008, 07:18 PM

Comparing the 5 bad months in different areas doesn't cover an issue I have with Portland's weather compared to Atlanta, where I moved from - Sure, for a few months a year in both places it's absolutely miserable outside, but in the south, the other 8 months are beautiful, warm, comfortable, and sunny, for the most part. Portland only has 2, maybe 3 true summer months and that's why I hate it. You suffer through about 8 months of rain, 4 of them really nasty, for 8 weeks of sun. Not worth the trade-off, if you ask me.

The Cactus Leaguer · 11-09-2008, 11:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ohshane

Comparing the 5 bad months in different areas doesn't cover an issue I have with Portland's weather compared to Atlanta, where I moved from - Sure, for a few months a year in both places it's absolutely miserable outside, but in the south, the other 8 months are beautiful, warm, comfortable, and sunny, for the most part. Portland only has 2, maybe 3 true summer months and that's why I hate it. You suffer through about 8 months of rain, 4 of them really nasty, for 8 weeks of sun. Not worth the trade-off, if you ask me.

8 weeks of sun? You do realize this is the Portland forum, not the Astoria forum, right?

wetintheNW · 11-10-2008, 12:24 AM

I guess perfection is in the eye of the beholder but I would say that most people over all would say gray/dreary damp and rainy is not perfect. Too cold and snow can be be annoying too however it is pretty unrealistic to claim Portland has the best weather. Awesome city, great music, friendly sometime wierd people, green, coffee drinking..but NOT the best weather. I grew up here and cant handle the weather. My mother who grew up in LA Loves portland and never wants to leave. I will take the sun over the rain any day and twice on Sunday!