Portland vs Seattle Creative types

[jr75]

Originally Posted by iliketrains

Well unfortunately, I'm at the age where I need to work a real job, Portland doesn't really have too many real jobs for me. Music is still a bit part of my life, though.

I guess I'm similar to the musicians mentioned in this article.
Why Portland is America's indie rock Mecca. - By Taylor Clark - Slate Magazine (http://www.slate.com/id/2173729/pagenum/all/ - broken link)

I'm just not too sure if Seattle attracts too many independent artists these days, compared to Chicago, Portland and San Fran.

Seattle is exactly what you're looking for then. Portland has the creative vibe but lacks the professional jobs. Seattle has both. There is no lack of creativity in Seattle and I would argue it has more of the infrastructure to support its artists then Portland. KEXP alone puts Seattle at a great advantage for local musicians and is recognized as one of the best radio stations in the country. Chicago residents listen online in droves and NYC has a satellite studio for KEXP.
Seattle has the venues, local support and even has an organization dedicated to getting young people involved in the music scene (Vera Project). There are tons of bands that are nationally recognized ie. Fleet Foxes, Cave Singers, Modest Mouse (formerly Seattle now Portland) and the hip hop scene is actually pretty legit and getting more and more recognized. You want festivals, we got em' from Bumbershoot to the Capitol Hill block party, Folklife, Georgetown MF, Sasquatch and many smaller ones.
The only advantage I would say Portland has is cheaper rent for struggling artists, however since you're looking for a professional job I'm assuming that's not that big of a deal for you. Good Luck!