visited Camas, Vancouver, and Beaverton this last weekend

[Comedy]

Originally Posted by NovemberRain78

Well you must be living in a pipe dream. There is no such thing as a place with more sunshine and nice people. I currently live in Phoenix AZ and it is truly hell on earth. There are sex offenders EVERYWHERE. EVERY CITY. You can not escape this fact. Go to www.fbi.gov/hq/cid/cac/registry.htm or www.nsopr.gov and search for your self. It is not a pretty sight. Remember, not all sex offenders even have to register depending on there level. How sad is that. There is so much crime here and so much violence it is scary. There is over a million people that live in Phoenix alone. I want to live in a smaller community. We are planning on moving to Vancouver in June or July this year. My husband works from home and can move to most any State with his job. I was born and raised in WA and it is a beautiful State. My sister lives in Lynnwood, my Mom and Dad live in Kennewick and my brother lives in Spokance where I was born. Lived in Bellingham. I think the closest place that you can get to with more sun and nicer people is Salt Lake City. I am not sure what religon you are but believe me when I say that Salt Lake City itself is not prodominitly Mormon. Other little cities like Provo and such are. But even if it were, there are really nice people that live there.
Anyway, that is that.

Just to throw in my 2 cents. I love in miss the Valley of the Sun, AKA Phoenix. It truly depends what part of the Valley you live in. People in Tempe are to themselves, while people in North Scottsdale are friendly. If you can't get along with someone in North Scottsdale then you have a problem. Most of the people there are late 90's middle class Californians. You will always find a pool party, and the night life is amazing, with world class restaurants. Plus if you want to get away for a bit Las Vegas is 4 1/2 hours away while the beaches of Califirnia are about 6 1/2. I found that people who hate Phoenix live in the wrong area. For example I went to high school with a guy who moved to Phoenix before me. He hated Phoenix because of the crime. He was working at a movie rental store and was held up by gun point. Now I never experienced that because I was running into celebrities left and right. Plus now is the time to BUY BUY BUY a house in Phoenix, and wait for the market to recover to make some BIG $$$!

[happygorgedwellers]

We are native Portlanders but have recently moved here to the Camas/Washougal area--I am reading blog after blog and so far no one has mentioned we are in THE GORGE!!! This is one of the most scenic places on earth...move to New Zealand? Why? We have been hiking like mad since arriving and can't believe we are lucky enough to live up here. We bought a house up on the ridge off Crown Rd. and can't believe how clean the air is up here. (we are East of the mill and a constant wind blows from the East to West so no worries) We love the people and friendly town, and overall sense of community that we worry doesn't exist anymore as we look at the Portland city lights below us from our windows. There are long time farmers still living on their farms for 50 plus years that have been really welcoming. The Camas school district is great, amazing in fact compared to "high tax rate" Oregon--just what are they doing with all that money?? With no income tax here you get a bit of a break and see more of your paycheck. The Portland airport is 15 minutes away and all the Portland amenities we have enjoyed all our lives, but we get to retreat back up here on the ridge to clean air, old world community and safe streets for our little ones to play. We have to laugh that our kids are still out playing and parents out chatting at 10pm these summer nights! What is this, Spain?? We feel completely safe here, leave windows open, not a worry. I did a sex offender search by zip code and was completely shocked to find a grand total of 4 for this zip code and more than 73 in the zip code we just moved from. So, take a day and drive around up on the ridges of Camas/Washougal and breathe in the Columbia River and Mt. Hood views, look down at the sometimes smoggy Portland city lights views and decide for yourself. This can possibly be one of the best kept secrets in the US today....safety, affordable home prices (we got close to 4,000 sf for mid $300s) CLEAN AIR and the gorge recreation area with hundreds of hikes and waterfalls and killer views that look like the fyords of Norway....hmmm...I think we may scrap those plans to retire in New Zealand...