Needing advice! Seattle VS. Portland VS. Minneapolis

[CAjerseychick]

Hey I grew up in AR and my high school best friend (several generations of Arkansan born and bred)both live here in Portland, I would say you would like Portland- its metro- but not too metro(don't live down town, pick one of the edges of town its cheaper and mellow while still having plenty of town activities, tons of affordable diverse foods (love those food carts) and the low key vibe (yes it still exists)... with tons of outdoor activities and is amazingly dog friendly (I have a difficult dog, probable she would be banned if her breed wasn't relatively rare).

People are out and about in all kinds of weather (which is pretty mild, summers here are great compared to those long hot humid AR summers) and no evidence of that "Seattle freeze" (unfriendliness ) here.

so thats my 2 cents.

[YIMBY]

Originally Posted by amaiunmei

If you're comparing one metro area to another, let's keep it consistent.

King County has just over 2 million people living in it. That's easily considered the "Seattle area" for this region.

To that end, a good breakdown of the languages spoken in the Seattle area can be found in this link, and scroll down to the pie chart: Language Diversity in America: How Seattle Stacks Up - The Seattle Globalist

I was clearly referring to each city (city proper), not metro areas or counties. Thanks for the info though.

[CrazyDonkey]

For a more affordable urban alternative to Seattle, but with the same water and mountain views, look at Tacoma. Visit Seattle on the weekends.

[GatsbyGatz]

Tacoma is a sleeping giant IMO. Tons of potential for Tacoma to become a hot city, especially once the light rail line expands across the city in a couple of years.

[blaserbrad]

Originally Posted by GatsbyGatz

Tacoma is a sleeping giant IMO. Tons of potential for Tacoma to become a hot city, especially once the light rail line expands across the city in a couple of years.

For those who don't know, it's already awake. It just hasn't been gentrified to the point Seattle has.

[march2]

I'd say Minneapolis. It's clearly less expensive than Portland and Seattle, but the COL is steadily rising.

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by CrazyDonkey

For a more affordable urban alternative to Seattle, but with the same water and mountain views, look at Tacoma. Visit Seattle on the weekends.

Originally Posted by GatsbyGatz

Tacoma is a sleeping giant IMO. Tons of potential for Tacoma to become a hot city, especially once the light rail line expands across the city in a couple of years.

Originally Posted by blaserbrad

For those who don't know, it's already awake. It just hasn't been gentrified to the point Seattle has.

Great. Now I have a b0ner for Tacoma!

[C24L]

Seattle

[Coolbones555]

Portland would be my choice. Living in St Paul and Portland and visiting Seattle, Portland is very spacious and not packed tight. Seattle is definitely going to give you a big city feel, with lots of night life, while MN and OR gives you a friendly neighbor feeling. Granted, it is more expensive it is worth the price.