What is the difference between Western Washington and Western Oregon, culturally speaking (Seattle: sales, income)

[while parked]

I am looking for a new place to call home. I drive a truck for a living. I seem to be drawn to Western Washington, more than I am Western Oregon based on the feeling I get when I go travel the area and visit. For those
who are familiar with the area, is there a difference between living in Western
Washington as compared to living in Western Oregon (again from a cultural point of view). I am not a big city person so I'm not really interested in knowing about Seattle or Portland proper. I saw a thread where someone wrote there is a difference between Western Washington and Western Oregon, and
was hoping I could get clarification or expansion on this thought.

[Hemlock140]

We spend a lot of time in the Portland area, going down this weekend in fact.

My impression is that while Portland itself is more liberal than Seattle, the suburbs and other cities of western Oregon are more conservative than western WA. Both are very conservatives east of the mountains. Oregon
is also less diverse, outside of the major cities both states have very few minorities.

[hamellr]

In my opinion, not much difference between the two outside of the major cities. Western Oregon feels a bit more populated and spread out, while Western Washington seems to be more clustered around the I-5 corridor and other highways.

A lot of this is geography, Western Washington's coast line isn't as "straight" as Oregon's with a lot more inlets and peninsula areas. So from a historical viewpoint, there wasn't as much population growth through Washington, doubly so as most of the attempts at creating cities was along the Oregon Coast as it was more equidistant to San Francisco.

[StealthRabbit]

Quite a difference from my perspective.

WW= coffee, bit 'preppy', professional, (MUCH) more tolerant and interested in 'perspective'. GENERALLY Higher edu / skill levels, much more diversified (in a positive way). broader thinking, more leverage of positive traits in society.

WO= brew pubs and DIY brewing, tatoos, casual in appearance, VERY aggressively pro WO (not into diversity if it dilutes their agenda or is ANTI OREGON.)

I am on both sides of the river daily. (Portland/Vanc to The Dalles/ Goldendale)

[StealthRabbit]

Originally Posted by while parked

I am looking for a new place to call home. I drive a truck for a living. .... hoping I could get clarification or expansion on this thought.

WA = no income tax
OR = no Sales Tax BUT 9% Income tax with very low threshhold.

for your profession I would consider WA side, near OR (Vancouver, Camas, or Longview). Swift, JB Hunt, MAY, and all the major and minor players have terminals / operations in Portland. Grandview is out of Vancouver. If you are an O/Op you can choose to run your business from WA. (tho WA has plenty of Business taxes, so you may be better off running from NEV or SD. )

If you can make it try to get top these two events (Brooks, OR) Bring a few Dollars for the Homemade Ice Cream !! (run with a hit&miss)

http://www.antiquepowerland.com/info/annual.html (ALWAYS last wknd in July & 1st in Aug)
27th Aug - PNTM / ATHS / OTC Truck Show ( Freigtliner and Western Star ) - Powerland, Brooks, OR. http://www.pacificnwtruckmuseum.org/EventCalendar.html


As you already know WA SP DOT guys are 'killers', so if you get to be local they may not stop you every time you pass through. I just cringe at the thought of those $1,000 tickets or an 'out-of-service' tag. One oldtimer friend just got a $1200 ticket for being an O/OP and not being in a drug consortium. I was checked about 8 times in one yr...

[while parked]

Thanks for your replies, I prefer a place with less cultural diversity. I don't like to be around people wearing sandals and chattering in foreign languages. It is disheartening to me. So the less diversity the better from that stand point. If I can find a solid niche in either WW or WO where there is the feeling of America pride, and no self-hating disdain for homogeneous white populations, that's ideally where I would like to live. I don't mind a place being aggressively pro-Oregon, or whatever. Based on what I have read here, it sounds like Oregon might have the better environment for me. I definitely prefer a place that isn't ashamed to be who they are. My company also has a terminal in Fairview, OR. Before asking this question, I would have thought WW had more pockets of traditional Americanism compared to WO. But I am just using Eugene, Oregon as my WO measure.

[Inkpoe]

Originally Posted by while parked

Thanks for your replies, I prefer a place with less cultural diversity. I don't like to be around people wearing sandals and chattering in foreign languages. It is disheartening to me. So the less diversity the better from that stand point. If I can find a solid niche in either WW or WO where there is the feeling of America pride, and no self-hating disdain for homogeneous white populations, that's ideally where I would like to live. I don't mind a place being aggressively pro-Oregon, or whatever. Based on what I have read here, it sounds like Oregon might have the better environment for me. I definitely prefer a place that isn't ashamed to be who they are. My company also has a terminal in Fairview, OR. Before asking this question, I would have thought WW had more pockets of traditional Americanism compared to WO. But I am just using Eugene, Oregon as my WO measure.

Actually, WO and WWa are more similar to each other than their Eastern counterparts. Really, you'd find what you want to be in the small towns away from the big population centers. In WA case, towns south of Olympia and north of Vancouver are going to fill what you're looking for.

If you look over to the Eastern portions of either state, you'll notice it's more... associated with Republican/Old Americana values.

[ChrisJB1]

Sounds to me like Roseburg, OR, is what you're looking for.

[skihikeclimb]

Originally Posted by while parked

Thanks for your replies, I prefer a place with less cultural diversity. I don't like to be around people wearing sandals and chattering in foreign languages. It is disheartening to me. So the less diversity the better from that stand point. If I can find a solid niche in either WW or WO where there is the feeling of America pride, and no self-hating disdain for homogeneous white populations, that's ideally where I would like to live. I don't mind a place being aggressively pro-Oregon, or whatever. Based on what I have read here, it sounds like Oregon might have the better environment for me. I definitely prefer a place that isn't ashamed to be who they are. My company also has a terminal in Fairview, OR. Before asking this question, I would have thought WW had more pockets of traditional Americanism compared to WO. But I am just using Eugene, Oregon as my WO measure.

I'm not exactly sure what you mean by "traditional Americanism"

Since when does American pride have to go hand and hand with no cultural diversity? Bellevue (just east of Seattle), is nearly 40 percent Asian, yet is one of the safest suburbs in the metro area.

The Seattle/Bellevue/Tacoma is area is pretty diverse with a rather large Asian population. Not to mention western Oregon is pretty liberal. I think you will be dissapointed with either choice. And if you moved to Eastern Washington you are going to encounter many hispanics.

Maybe you should consider West Virgina instead...

[ukiyo-e]

Originally Posted by skihikeclimb

I'm not exactly sure what you mean by "traditional Americanism"

Since when does American pride have to go hand and hand with no cultural diversity?

"Traditional Americanism" = if my "multicultural" ancestors came here now speaking a foreign language and wearing funny clothes, I'd be all for kicking them out and sending them back where they emigrated from.