Portland vs. Seattle (Yakima, Olympia, Walla Walla: apartment, colleges, sales tax)

[Isabella Saxon]

I agree with the other posters, except: Wine country five hours from Seattle? Whew, I could be in Idaho by then. Chateau Ste. Michelle, the state's biggest winery, is in a Seattle suburb. The Yakima wine country is less than three hours drive from Seattle and that's if you're floating along in a slow car taking in all the beautiful mountains and other sights.

Washington has gorgeous beaches. Yes, you have to drive longer to get to them, but don't miss Rialto and the other unspoiled beaches inside Olympic National Park. Shi Shi is also a don't miss, as is Cape Alava.

Seattle also offers easy access to major ski resorts, the Olympic Peninsula, the San Juan Islands, and Vancouver B.C. It's also connected by an inland waterway to Alaska.

When we talk about Seattle's admittedly awful traffic, we should mention that Portland is not immune. The last two times I went to the Oregon beaches, I got caught in hellacious traffic on the way back into Portland. I'm sure this could be avoided with careful planning, but it caught me by surprise.


Again, both cities are cool places to live and very different. My advice? Visit. One of them will feel right to you. Go for it.

[41Willys]

Reading all the post's about the beautiful beaches is subjective to ones personal taste. Beautiful? Yes,but to me the only real perk of living by a beach is that you use it! I mean swim in the water. You can't really do that in Wa. or PDX without a wet suit. That being said I'd rather be closer to the city/Mts. JMO

[Isabella Saxon]

I love the ocean, especially for kayaking and diving, but neither Portland nor Seattle can offer a Southern California beach experience, that is true. Brr.

However, Seattle offers three big lakes within the city limits and is surrounded by many more. River rafting is another popular water sport.

It's fun to look at this chart to get an idea of how cold is cold. PacificWindsurf.com - The Windsurfing Site of the Pacific
Honolulu looks really good.

[pwright1]

Originally Posted by 41Willys

Reading all the post's about the beautiful beaches is subjective to ones personal taste. Beautiful? Yes,but to me the only real perk of living by a beach is that you use it! I mean swim in the water. You can't really do that in Wa. or PDX without a wet suit. That being said I'd rather be closer to the city/Mts. JMO

There are many ways to use the beach. You don't have to swim in it to love living by the beach. Ones personal taste is right. Many simply love the smell of it, walking along it, looking at it, putting their feet in the water, the sound of it, looking for seashells, boating or whatever.

[ChadPettingill]

Been living in Portland for a few months now, grew up about 30 min. south of Seattle.

In a nutshell, Portland rules when it comes to friendlier people, easier to get around and overall more laid back atmosphere.

Seattle is fun to visit for certain things but I can get everything I want right here. I love this city!

[malarkey]

Originally Posted by Isabella Saxon

I agree with the other posters, except: Wine country five hours from Seattle? Whew, I could be in Idaho by then. Chateau Ste. Michelle, the state's biggest winery, is in a Seattle suburb. The Yakima wine country is less than three hours drive from Seattle and that's if you're floating along in a slow car taking in all the beautiful mountains and other sights.

That's true, but Ste Michelle hasn't made anything worth drinking in 10 years LOL.

THAT being said, there are plenty of wineries springing up tasting houses in and around Woodinville. They even have a website.

...And have events every few months where they open their doors for tastings. It's decidedly NOT the same though, as going to the vineyards. And, the best vineyards are still east of Yakima. Think Prosser and Walla Walla. Not to mention that driving to Yakima in the winter can be a bit, um, intimidating.

[chris]

there's wineries everywhere in WA, there's no shortage of them.

Don't 95% of the grapes come from the Chelan/Yakima valley areas anyway?

[malarkey]

Here is an excellent map of the appellations.

Washington State Appellations

[nwroots]

I haved lived in both Seattle and Portland. I prefer Portland by far due to it's warmer weather and more European lifestyle. Portland is so green, so diverse, and so natural! Portland is just real, gorgeous, and increasngly diverse! I love that Portland is often ten degrees warmer may days spring through fall! It's much more like California....Plus it has far better restaurants and clubs than Seattle(so raw and real)! The 1000ft west hillls are amazing and the backdrop with the river and bridges are unsurpassed with Mt. Hood and the other Cascade peaks! It has been over 100 degrees in Portland for the past three days! Caliente!

[West coast at heart]

Wow! You people are not making my decision easy either. My wife and I are moving next summer. We are interested in Seattle, Mount Vernon, Bellingham, Sequim, or the Portand area. I just graduated from nursing school here in Indiana. My wife's parents lived in LaConner, WA and recently moved to McMinnville, OR. They love both places. Both close to the cities being discussed. I like Seattle but have found houses really expensive. I wanted to live there because of University of Washington Medical Center (and the University itself). UW is another plus for Seattle! I was hoping to get a job at the hospital. If we choose Portland, we would be closer to my inlaws. That would be nice. I appreciate all of the information on both locations. I think I will have to follow all of the recomendations and visit both cities. It really is a toss up at this point. Thanks for all of the great posts.

wc@h