Hello Portland, you sound great but would I belong (apartment, rent)

[djohanna]

Hey Portland sounds pretty great but wondering if there's any major catches or something I'm missing out on.
Here's criteria I've been looking for in a city:
-not too Republican; mostly Democrat (check)
-not too religious (check)
-more sexually conservative...I don't like to be around sleazy stip clubs, prostitution, and definitely am a LTR kind of girl (check?)
-vegetarian-friendly, and at least some progressiveness in terms of environmental sustainability (I am majoring in that)
-a fair amount of art galleries, etc. because I am a painter and enjoy it (check?)
-not much crime (check!)
-physically beautiful setting; mountains and greenery, good places to hike
-doesn't get too hot in summer

I'm 21 and am graduating with my BA next year, from Vancouver, Canada but am a U.S. citizen from California.

Are people polite?
Is the city population on the rise/is the city growing?
Are there many jobs in urban planning, environmental sustainability or GIS?
Are temperatures pretty mild in the summer (I can't stand hot weather)?
Is it a beautiful setting, with many opportunities for hiking and other outdoorsy sort of things?
Is it an easy place to find a hip gallery with Juxtapoz-style paintings, and figure drawing drop-in classes?

I like a lot of things about what I hear of Portland, Oregon, but I'm not really into the scene....like the whole hipster-with-a-huge-beard-working-at-a-café-who-listens-to-Bon-Iver and the fact that it's so raunchy (it has the most strip clubs per capita in the nation). I'm not even into beer, more like red wine. Portland, Maine sounds like a more sophisticated, refined city than Portland, Oregon.

[timthegreat]

I know Portland Oregon is the meth capital of the United States and has many more big city problems that don't affect smaller cities like Portland Maine. I know Portland Maine isn't very cheap and it sounds like you got a degree that would make work harder to find than a bigger city. If you are willing to accept working at a restaurant for near minimum wage I say come to Maine. If you expect a degree like yours to get you a good wage I would look into bigger cities. Not saying its not possible but we have a lot of locals with similar degrees that have to look out of state for work. Those jobs would more likely go to locals than someone from 3000 miles away with no experience and fresh out of college.

[Josharper]

I am 20 yrs old and I live in portland in a 3 bedroom apartment with 2 friends, and its it city I've spent most of my teen years in. It is probably the friendliest city you will find. The city is growing but slowly but the enviromental idea is on the rise and has been for some years now. The temps get into the 90s in the summer but tend to be 70s week to week, but there are always a couple heat waves each summer. It's a great city to walk about, you will be finding new stores every time you go out to your favorites, there are just that many independent shops and cafes and restaurants in the city, and many nearby towns will provide fantastic day/weekend trips such as hiking in North Conway, NH (not that there arn't plenty of options avalible 5-10 minutes away for hiking/outdoorsy adventure. There are bars and a few clubs, but the locals are more into good local microbrews than just getting hammered. Gauges/piercings/or tatoos are on about 1-in-10 people you pass in the old port on any given day, typically art students and local employees. Galleries and art are everywhere, from the portland museum of art to indendent local art and home item shops, the buildings themselves in the downtown are brick or stone, even sections of road are cobble-stone to keep some of the charm from the city's beginning. Much of the art in shops is local artistry and the city's other rising idea is the "legalize marijuana" idea, which has given way to the appreciation of glass-blowing artists in the city. The city is always happy to gain like-minded individuals, the rent isn't too bad, but the most central parts of the city cost about $2000+ for a 2 bedroom, my rent is $1400 for a 3rd floor 3 bedroom 10 mins walk from the city shopping center. This city is indie, friendly, Eco-friendly, democratic, mild temperatured, beautiful and crime free (you can always leave your car windows cracked open with zero worries, this sounds like it could be the city for you

[djohanna]

Originally Posted by Josharper

I am 20 yrs old and I live in portland in a 3 bedroom apartment with 2 friends, and its it city I've spent most of my teen years in. It is probably the friendliest city you will find. The city is growing but slowly but the enviromental idea is on the rise and has been for some years now. The temps get into the 90s in the summer but tend to be 70s week to week, but there are always a couple heat waves each summer. It's a great city to walk about, you will be finding new stores every time you go out to your favorites, there are just that many independent shops and cafes and restaurants in the city, and many nearby towns will provide fantastic day/weekend trips such as hiking in North Conway, NH (not that there arn't plenty of options avalible 5-10 minutes away for hiking/outdoorsy adventure. There are bars and a few clubs, but the locals are more into good local microbrews than just getting hammered. Gauges/piercings/or tatoos are on about 1-in-10 people you pass in the old port on any given day, typically art students and local employees. Galleries and art are everywhere, from the portland museum of art to indendent local art and home item shops, the buildings themselves in the downtown are brick or stone, even sections of road are cobble-stone to keep some of the charm from the city's beginning. Much of the art in shops is local artistry and the city's other rising idea is the "legalize marijuana" idea, which has given way to the appreciation of glass-blowing artists in the city. The city is always happy to gain like-minded individuals, the rent isn't too bad, but the most central parts of the city cost about $2000+ for a 2 bedroom, my rent is $1400 for a 3rd floor 3 bedroom 10 mins walk from the city shopping center. This city is indie, friendly, Eco-friendly, democratic, mild temperatured, beautiful and crime free (you can always leave your car windows cracked open with zero worries, this sounds like it could be the city for you

Wow, this sounds a lot like Santa Rosa, California. It also sounds like Portland, Oregon. Would you consider this city more sophisticated than the other Portland?

[Josharper]

Possibly but having never actually visited the other portland I can't say, but I would discribe portland Maine sophisticated, but the word most people would probably use first to discribe the city would just be friendly, but it is more sophisicated in terms of its arts, where I think portland Oregon is more interested in its locals moving forward with sustainability, than artistic appreciation, but again, I have never been to the west coast. It also helps that Portland Maine is quite a bit smaller than portland Oregon.

[djohanna]

Thanks, Josh!