Leaving Tempe, AZ for either Portland or Austin... (Alamo, Clarksville: apartment complexes, unemployment)

[eepstein]

I agree with you 100%. Comparing Portland to Austin is like comparing apples to really ROTTEN tomatos. HA HA. But, Portland certainly isn't perfect. It, too, has some bad traffic issues in spots and the nearly constant cloudy, rainy days of the winter can get a little old. Also, the economy has taken a decent hit recently. However, Portland is a fabulous city overall with a great future ahead of it. OH MAN, they need to keep expanding the Tri-Met!!! I think they have another 30 miles of track planned for the next 10 years.

And 150 miles of bike trails?? OMG, does it get any better?

Originally Posted by Nomadic9460678748

In my opinion, one pro team in your town is still better than none. Or better than having to drive one to three hours to see a game. Portland also has a minor league baseball team and a really awesome soccer club called The Timbers. I attended one of their games while sipping on a $3.00 microbrew smack dab in the midst of rowdy The Timber Army. It was quite a team. Plus, I could just stumble out afterward to The Max and not have to worry about how I was going to get home. Good stuff.

[ATX Wahine]

I love many many things about Austin, but the beauty of Portland beats Austin hands down. Ocean, mountains, forests ... so many wonderful outdoor activities within a short distance. My sister lives a couple hours from Portland and it is a real treat to go visit her there.

[jobert]

It's also prohibitively expensive. My best bud lives there, and he shares a one story house with I think at least 4 other people (including one with a child). He is not poor by any means, I think he's in the 50K+ range as are the others in the household. This seems to be the reality if you want to enjoy the benefits of living there. He doesn't live downtown either, but about 4 miles out. Like anywhere in the world, you have your trade-offs, especially with the cost of housing. He visits here in the spring to late fall, and I visit there in the early summer to early fall. A very nice arrangement.

[LeavinAZ]

Thanks to everyone for the advice and views...every city has its +/- so that is why I wanted to hear some different takes on what those are.

I do keep coming across this Vancouver, WA place. That also may be looking into, or it may just comlpicate the issue!

[JuneOf48]

I remember posting on the Portland forum a while ago about this, but I always wondered what the lack of a truly high-quality research university does to that city. If you took Austin's grad students, profs, lectures, research labs, and other assorted "goods" away, you'd have a very different city. Many folks in Portland seemed to agree with the assessment.

Reed College is great but tiny, and Portland State is Portland State. Nothing remotely like UT there with its pull and power and potential. As an academic, that would be a big difference for me. (And all of that cloudy drizzle!) They have some techies and some medical stuff, but you're not going to pop into a cafe like Flight Path and see two dozen grad students writing theses on Kierkegaard (for example). It's up to you whether that matters or not. I like being surrounded by ambitious nerds, as well as all of Austin's other "types."

[LeavinAZ]

Actually, you bring up a valid point. One of the reasons I live in Tempe as opposed to other surrounding PHX cities is because of ASU and the vibe that it brings to the area. ASU also has a lot of influence on the surrounding schools, which is why there a handful of elementary schools in Tempe that are actually decent.

Plus, I would like to go back for my MA in the next five years or so, and having a "truly high-quality research university" would be great to have in that case.

[Campbell21]

I'm not sure I would move to Portland for the "weather". Summers are pretty but short. Portland is drizzly and wet most of the time. The summers are pretty, yes everything is green...b/c of the constant rain. Portland has been called the "Runaway heroin addicted teen" capital of the United States. There is a pretty major drug problem. There are quite literally people lounging all over the streets in downtown Portland and every five feet you will be asked for money or a cigarette by very able bodied teens and young people. I am not exaggerating in the least. If you don't shell out the cigarette or the money you are usually rewarded with foul language. It's irritating after a while. That's downtown Portland.
Oregon was also rated the "Most depressed State" in the US due to the highest number of suicides per year. The economy isn't the best.

All that being said...Oregon as a whole is a very pretty state. You can ski all winter, lots of outdoor activities, VERY liberal, very environmentally conscious, very arts oriented. The wineries are fantastic, the micro breweries are plentiful. Tillamook cheese is to DIE for!!! The Oregon Coast is breathtaking!! But beware, the Pacific is FRIGID!! The first time my mom's brothers saw the Pacific they ran full tilt at the water expecting Gulf of Mexico type temperatures. Boy were they surprised!!! It's a rugged and beautiful coastline.

You've got the University of Oregon Ducks and the Oregon State Beavers...huge rivalry! Lots of small private colleges. (I went to Linfield College for Undergrad. Great school!)

It's not a bad place to live over all...but if be prepared for more rain than sun. It even rains when the sun is shining. The dreary gray days and constant rain can get to you after a while. Yes the summers are nice, but they are short. The long rainy cold winter lasts and lasts.

I think it depends on what you've had enough of. If you are sick of the heat of a place like Arizona, you might be very happy in Oregon. I personally would never go back there to live.

Just do your homework and know what you are getting as a whole.

OH...and the not being allowed to pump your own gas thing...I've never understood the big deal. I appreciate not having to get out of my car when it's cold and raining! But then I live in New Jersey now and we can't pump our own gas either.

[Nomadic9460678748]

Originally Posted by JuneOf48

I remember posting on the Portland forum a while ago about this, but I always wondered what the lack of a truly high-quality research university does to that city. If you took Austin's grad students, profs, lectures, research labs, and other assorted "goods" away, you'd have a very different city. Many folks in Portland seemed to agree with the assessment.

Reed College is great but tiny, and Portland State is Portland State. Nothing remotely like UT there with its pull and power and potential. As an academic, that would be a big difference for me. (And all of that cloudy drizzle!) They have some techies and some medical stuff, but you're not going to pop into a cafe like Flight Path and see two dozen grad students writing theses on Kierkegaard (for example). It's up to you whether that matters or not. I like being surrounded by ambitious nerds, as well as all of Austin's other "types."

The coffee shops here are always too crowded for my taste. There's never anywhere to sit! I didn't mind going to when I was a student (used to hit up Spiderhouse before it had waitstaff and got all lame, The Green Muse was old an haunt, and an occasional romp at Quacks on The Drag--RIP--used to be my way of doing things). Now I'm more likely to fix myself a pot at home and relax in the comfort of home. Plus, there are way too many places with an open mic night every night so it makes it difficult to go there to read or write. I always feel like a cad listening to my iPod if a band is playing. Even if it's a bad band, which is more than likely the case. And if (crosses fingers) I'm able to garner entrance to a decent graduate program I can't see myself studying at coffee shops. I'll stick to the library and take my thermos with me.

As an aside, I wonder what Eugene is like? I've only been through it on a Greyhound bus.

[Nomadic9460678748]

Originally Posted by jobert

It's also prohibitively expensive. My best bud lives there, and he shares a one story house with I think at least 4 other people (including one with a child). He is not poor by any means, I think he's in the 50K+ range as are the others in the household. This seems to be the reality if you want to enjoy the benefits of living there. He doesn't live downtown either, but about 4 miles out. Like anywhere in the world, you have your trade-offs, especially with the cost of housing. He visits here in the spring to late fall, and I visit there in the early summer to early fall. A very nice arrangement.

I just went to Craigslist and ran a search for apartments and the apartments in Austin and Portland appear to be in about the same range as far as I can discern. Wages in both cities are about the same (i.e. low).

Portland:

$625 / 1br - Large one bedroom unit in the Heart of Kenton (http://portland.craigslist.org/mlt/apa/1576898197.html - broken link)
$750 / 1br - Gresham's Pearl Free TV on 1yr lease and 1mth free on 2 yr lease oac (http://portland.craigslist.org/mlt/apa/1576947567.html - broken link)
$775 / 2br - Moving in March? 2 bedroom 2 bath (http://portland.craigslist.org/mlt/apa/1576945835.html - broken link)
$675 / 1br - We Pay All the Utilities (http://portland.craigslist.org/mlt/apa/1576937883.html - broken link)

Austin:

$750 / 1br - Walk-in closet and large pool - gas and trash paid! Great Location (http://austin.craigslist.org/apa/1576953758.html - broken link)
$618 / 1br - Close to Everything/On Town Lake/Free Tanning/Gym/Amazing Pool (http://austin.craigslist.org/apa/1576953001.html - broken link)
$740 / 1br - Very close to UT and Downtown! North campus apartment/Cheaper rate. (http://austin.craigslist.org/apa/1576950684.html - broken link)
$699 / 1br - $400 OFF FIRST MONTH- SPACIOUS 1BR Retreat in NW Austin (http://austin.craigslist.org/apa/1576952475.html - broken link)

Some of these places aren't in downtown, but I have friends who live off Hawthorne in Portland and they pay about the same amount as they used to pay when they lived in Hyde Park. Portland would still get my vote for having a better public transportation system so that if you did live four miles out you at least have the option of getting into town.

[didadi]

I've seen both pdx and atx. Worked/studied in portland and moved to austin for work. Both cities have their own charms. Portland has better greenary along with very good public transport. I never owned a car in Pdx.,although lived close to the trimet station by paying 200$/month more in typical 1bedroom apartment.

Austin is definitely my choice because of sunshine and close connectivity to Dallas,Houston & SanAnotonio.
Sum it up:

Portland
+ More urban feel, verygood public transportation, no sales tax
- State income tax, kind of fickle political stability & rainy/cloudy weather for atleast 5 months

Austin
+ Sunny, less urban (because of more cross-border expats) and vicinity to bigger cities, no state income tax.
- Summers can get bad, traffic clogs, slightly immature driving :-), sales tax