Finding a city that supports your values- LIBERAL folks!

[dotifa]

I second or third or fourth Minneapolis, it really fits everything you're describe as wanting.

[Jimrob1]

I cannot stress this enough to a person concerning Portland. Visit and do not make a commitment here for at least 3 months preferably a year if your really feeling a need to live here. Visits and living in a place bring entirely different feelings and emotions. I think a great many people do not allow themself that time to understand that.

This is a very different type of city in America, at least based on what its smaller big city size is. It is not like Des Moines or Charlotte or even Boston. I don't care how many people want to compare Portland to another place such as Austin or Boston. Portland is a place unto itself. It has a very unique culture and it attracks a population more in tune with living life differently than much of the country. Some of that is good some may be overwhelming for transplants.

Come and visit but please make sure your visits represent what living would be like for you here. Consider where you would work and live. The type recreation that you like. Watch the people in public places and their behavior. Would you be comfortable with them in daily life? Ride the transit and visit stores and neighborhoods in different areas. That is a good barometer of the population in areas. Would you be comfortable with constant politics and environmental issues?

It takes a certain type of person to live here and though some can, many Americans would not be able to handle it. There is a reason a major west coast city has such a small metro in 2010. 2 million metro is not that big for a west coast Metro. Its cultures and its ways are very different and though appealing to some they are not for everyone. It takes spending some time here beyond just a visit, to decide if this place is right or wrong for you.