Thinking of moving to the Portland area

[crazylegs5150]

Lucara- I feel your pain completely and can TOTALLY relate. I live about an hour north of Orlando and can relate to the "redneck" mentality that you speak of. I have lived here in Central FL since 2002 and have disliked it since the moment I set foot here. I only moved here to be with my then g/f, now wife, and have a home here that she already owned. We've been wanting to move for the last few years but the real estat emarket has been so up and down that by the time we were ready to get going, it crashed and here we sit. Nonetheless, if you are thinking about the move to PDX, just like a few others said, make a couple trips our there during DIFFERENT times of the season. We went out there this last summer in August and it wa PERFECT and just amazingly gorgeous. We did not want to elave and it left the best first impression. No rain, sunny and green trees, rivers and mountains everywhere with nice warm days in 70's and DRY, no humidity. We are going to be planning another trip out there this spring hopefully to get a taste of that time of year and see the "grayness" that it is known for. This winter has been surprising harsh for all of Oregon with more snow then normal (someone please correct me) and cold temps.
What we LOVED about Oregon:
1.Most friendly people we have ever come across from the gas stations, to the restraunts. Nobody was pissed off or nasty. That was great.
2. Weather. Enough said.
3. The food and wine scene. Tons of great wineries (many w/o tasting fees) and good food. We loved the Food Cart corner on Alder Street and had some of the best Polish food ever! Great ideas!
4. While this is more in lines with #3, BEER! Beer everywhere , fresh and tasty. Micro brews everywhere. loved it.
5. The diversity of the geography. Much like that of Northern California, you can be to the ocean in one hour then head 2 hours east and you're in the mountains ready to ski. I love to mountain bike and camp with our 3 dogs and there are more places to do this then I can even say.
6. Dog friendly. Drove up to Bend and noticed how dog friendly the attitude was as well as most of Oregon we drove to. Dogs are just part of many people's families and they take them with them out.
7. While Portland is no San Francisco, we found it had a myriad of culture and was small enough to walk around in pretty much one day. The city blocks are half the normal length of most cities so walking is so easy! Plus the local transit system makes it so darn easy to get around (FOR FREE if you ride in the city center) . Between the lightrail and the trolley it was actually FUN to take public transit.
8. Washington Park. SO beautiful and so many things to see and do. Zoo, rose garden, japanese tea gardens and the view of Mt. Hood is stunning!

What we DISLIKE about Florida:
1. Lack of any real culture. "Culture" being wine tasting bars, decent restaurants that ARE NOT a chain I.E Chili's,Olive Garden, etc etc.
2. Weather is too darn hot MOST of the year. While Nov-Jan are actually some of the nicest months arond, much like northerners complain abou the "short summers" , we dislike the "short winters". For 3 months we can actually open our windows turn OFF the AC and enjoy some mild weather. However, as I said most of the year it is hot, sticky and just nasty.
3. Redneck mentality. Not much to go into here. Jacked up trucks, confederate flag flying, Nascar lovin' , cigarette smoking, trash dumping ,gun shooting, animal abandoning locals. (Sorry, not a rant so much as actual observations. Stereotypes exist for a reason)
4. Guns. While I am by no means against guns, I AM AGAINST those people who think that since they own 4 acres of land that they can go shoot their guns off behind their house and they won't disturb or injure anyone because they have SO MUCH LAND *heavy sarcasm* I recently was sitting outside at such a time and heard a bullet literally "zip" through the air. My dogs took off running inside as did I!
5 Lack of a local music scene. It seems that while most major musical acts will come through Florida at least once in their career many don't and that leaves us having to drive 6 hours Atlanta for a concert while places like California can see the same acts multiple times year just because of the location. I know, because I used to enjoy those benefits!
6. being so far away from my west coast family. More personal then anything else but Florida is like it's own little island. A peninsula really, but feels like an island totally removed from the rest of the USA.

Finally, what I do like about Florida
1 Total Wine- an east coast wine store. While I have to go to Orlando or tampa to get them ( same as Whole Foods market) they make the drive for a great selection of wine reasonable.
2. Winters. There is something to be said about wearing shorts and flip flops in january while most of the country is snowed/rained in.
3. It's 2400 miles closer to Europe and has some cheap flights over there.

I apologize if this got off topic as I was trying to answer a few of the posters questions in one post. Everyone has a place they "belong" and like. Some people, heck, MANY people LOVE florida for the very same reasons I posted. As for me, it's just not a place where I can ever feel truly happy.Not like the West Coast. Thanks for allowing me to post.
You can talk amongst yourselves now!

[figmalt]

Originally Posted by Massachusetts Yankee

Take a vacation or two to sample the weather. This time of year will suffice for the worst weather and if you come in June or July you'll never want to leave.

I would suggest August rather than June if you want to get some of the best weather.

The urban growth boundaries of the metro area make it possible to find country life relatively close to urban/suburban life. St. Helens is a little out of the way, but Vernonia is too for that matter. You might try something along the lines of Forest Grove or Western Hillsboro, Oregon City would probably be all right too. The previous suggestion of Newberg or some of the little towns outside of Salem might fit your needs, with Salem being a decent sized metro area by itself.

If you're looking for 4 distinct seasons without the really harsh weather, Portland is probably a good bet. Winter is rainy and gray, which might be a huge challenge coming from Florida. I moved from a sunny mountain state 14 years ago, and it was a significant change. It takes awhile to adjust. So expect it to be gray from November-April, with rain most of that time. There is occasional snow, but usually not anything that lasts more than a day or two. Summer is not too hot, and the humidity for you will be nothing, and fall is really beautiful. Come for the fall if nothing else!!!

Don't take some of the comments like we're trying to convince you to stay away, but it really is a huge change coming from somewhere hot and sunny to somewhere temperate and gray. But come and try it out for yourself!

[bluebird39]

I've lived in Louisiana, and Oregon (and Michigan, and KY). I'd correct your opinions about 4 seasons though. Portland has 2 seasons... wet and dry. You don't get the amazing fall colors there like you do in the Eastern half of the country, very little snow, and spring is nice, but IMO, to quote the Indigo Girls, "There's nothing like the Southland in the Springtime"....

And there are wildfires in Oregon too.

When I moved to Oregon from Louisiana, the hardest thing to take were the dark short winter days. Being farther North, the days become very short. The opposite is true in the summer though... very long days.

That said, I'd trade FL for OR in a heartbeat. Just realize that the weather is much different that what most people expect who've never been there. There is also a LOT of fog and rain. In FL and LA, the rain storms are in the afternoon, and pass quickly. In Portland, it's constant drizzle for days at a time during the winter. But so much better than a hurricane!

Also, if swimming outdoors is your thing, it won't happen as much in Portland. The weather rarely gets hot like it does in FL. OTOH, you may be able to drive up to the snow and learn to ski like I did. But I love to swim too, since that's all we did in LA during the summer.

Good luck.

[dondoca]

Its full of rednecks, meth users, and idea of fun is hanging out in the local bar. If you are looking for towns 15-20 miles away, check out Forest Grove, Banks. On the east side, Hood River is a nice town. Its the hub of wind surfing and relatively close to Mt. Hood. Forest Grove and Banks are halfway between Portland and the coast.