Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Oregon > Portland
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Thread summary:

New Hampshire vs. Portland: climate, location, green movement, political climate, housing market

 
Old 07-23-2007, 09:04 AM
 
Location: Wallace, Idaho
3,353 posts, read 6,644,983 times
Reputation: 3589

Advertisements

My wife and I are stuck in the metro DC area, and we're looking to get out, probably around March/April of '09. We have the luxury of being able to relocate pretty much anywhere we want. Two of the places we're considering are New Hampshire and Portland. I've already posted to the NH forum trying to get some feedback, and now I'd like to hear some impressions of Portland, for anyone who's willing!

If it helps, we're considering Portland for these reasons:

-- Climate. We grew up in the cold Midwest and would like some milder winters. We're also sick of the swampy, hot summers in DC. I love the rain, and I'd be perfectly happy in a place where it rains a lot. I especially love a good thunderstorm, but does Portland get a lot of those, or just a lot of drizzle, like Seattle?

-- Location. I'd love being within a few hours' drive of the ocean. I've always loved the water, having grown up just half an hour from Lake Michigan. And we'd both like the mountains. Is Mount Hood visible from Portland?

-- Nature and the green movement. My wife is a big greenie, and she's attracted to the strong environmental movement in Portland. Myself, I love nothing more than a good nature hike through the woods.

Now, some other things I'm wondering about:

-- What is the political climate like? I lean libertarian (which is one reason I like NH) and hate high taxes and intrusive laws. My wife is more forgiving of government that tries to do good, but she's also just as happy having her money and her person left alone. As we like to joke, she's a conservative liberal, and I'm a liberal conservative. What we both agree we DON'T want is an area overrun with rednecks and religious fanatics. She's sorta-kinda Taoist, I'm sorta-kinda Zen/Buddhist, but we're both generally agnostic on the big questions and don't want people getting in our faces about their beliefs and why we have to share them.

-- What are the safest and least safe areas of Portland? That goes for surrounding communities, too. We're not sure if we'd want to live in the city or in a suburb, or maybe even out in the country.

-- What is a general commute like? It can't be any worse than out here in DC! I hear the public transportation is excellent.

-- What's the housing market like, and the general cost of living? We'd be looking to buy a house.

-- We're both vegetarians. Are there good veggie options in the restaurants? Any Whole Foods or Trader Joe's in the area?

-- Are people generally friendly? We tend to keep to ourselves, but we'd love to have neighbors who smile and say hello once in a while. You don't get that out here. We also hate the rude drivers and total lack of customer service here in DC.

We're not into the nightlife, so that's not a concern. I also think we're set on work. I should be able to contract for my current employer, and my wife is an accountant. Everyone needs accountants.

Lots of questions, I know, but I'm hoping some of the locals can help us out. I have vauge inklings about some of these questions, and I'm reading lots of books and websites, but I figure you'll always get the best answers, without any sugar-coating, from the people who really live there.

Thanks a bunch!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 07-23-2007, 09:31 AM
 
2,430 posts, read 6,609,910 times
Reputation: 1227
Few thunderstorms, mostly drizzle. Mt Hood is usually visible from Portland. Political climate--liberal in Portland, mixed in the suburbs, often conservative in other parts of the state. Portland supposedly has the LEAST amount of church goers in the country, though there still seems to be a lot of churches here. Safest vs. least safest is all relative to what you're used to or like. There is nothing here like parts of D.C. There are bad areas, but again, nothing on the scale of some of the D.C. areas, or if there is it's very small pockets. There are a lot of meth heads in parts though, and usually they're white and in outer SE. Tons of veggie options and restaurants, excellent farmer's markets, CSA options, organic home delivery options and not only Trader Joe's and Whole Foods but the much better than Whole Foods, New Seasons and also Wild Oats. People aren't gushing but they're friendly. Our public transport is excellent and I think you'll be more popular here if you're open to using it rather than just thinking traffic isn't as bad as D.C. and contributing to it. Housing is cheaper than DC but it's completely skyrocketed over the last few years, pricing a lot of people out.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-23-2007, 09:54 AM
 
Location: Wallace, Idaho
3,353 posts, read 6,644,983 times
Reputation: 3589
Quote:
Originally Posted by oldtintype View Post
Few thunderstorms, mostly drizzle. Mt Hood is usually visible from Portland. Political climate--liberal in Portland, mixed in the suburbs, often conservative in other parts of the state. Portland supposedly has the LEAST amount of church goers in the country, though there still seems to be a lot of churches here. Safest vs. least safest is all relative to what you're used to or like. There is nothing here like parts of D.C. There are bad areas, but again, nothing on the scale of some of the D.C. areas, or if there is it's very small pockets. There are a lot of meth heads in parts though, and usually they're white and in outer SE. Tons of veggie options and restaurants, excellent farmer's markets, CSA options, organic home delivery options and not only Trader Joe's and Whole Foods but the much better than Whole Foods, New Seasons and also Wild Oats. People aren't gushing but they're friendly. Our public transport is excellent and I think you'll be more popular here if you're open to using it rather than just thinking traffic isn't as bad as D.C. and contributing to it. Housing is cheaper than DC but it's completely skyrocketed over the last few years, pricing a lot of people out.
Thanks -- this affirms a lot of what I've been reading about the area, and clarifies a few other things.

As for safe areas, we're willing to pay up for peace of mind. Our only brush with crime out here is that our car got broken into once, so we could have it a lot worse, given how bad the crime can be in this area ... and we'd like to keep our good luck intact when we move!

And I enjoy public transportation, as long as it's relatively clean and efficient. Of the three systems I've used, I'd say Boston and Chicago have great ones. But DC's is lousy. I love biking on my recumbent, too, and it sounds like Portland is a biker's dream.

Great info ... thanks again. If we do make the move, I may have to push for a location closer to the coast ... bring on the rain!

Last edited by Adrian71; 07-23-2007 at 11:30 AM..
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-29-2007, 12:17 PM
 
Location: Raleigh, NC
1,561 posts, read 5,146,232 times
Reputation: 1167
I've lived in MA for the last 7 years, and know NH as well as anyone could without living there. Let me save you the trouble... NH is filled with a bunch of gun-wielding libertarians (read: atheist conservatives) crowded along the Mass. border because there is literally nothing in their state. the 2 draws are the lack of taxes (the alcohol is 5% cheaper, oh boy) and the more affordable housing. the reason for the latter is because no one wants to drive an hour and a half to get to work in Mass. Further north is a suicide-inducing wasteland. I considered moving there for awhile as do many people here because MA is so damn expensive and crowded. Then I discovered Portland... It's an awesome little city, and while I'm young I'd like to be right in the middle of it. When I get older, there's the suburbs and even other towns. The thing about Oregon that is so much different that NH.... the open spaces with fewer people are actually beautiful and interesting, and there's a lot more of them. It does stink that the housing is going up so much, but the housing market has been like that the last 5-10 years, and it's nothing like Boston where only millionaires can afford more than a 2-bedroom apt. boston's public transport is good, but if you live outside of the city itself it's horrible. portland was great as far as we experienced it.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-30-2007, 09:35 AM
 
Location: Wallace, Idaho
3,353 posts, read 6,644,983 times
Reputation: 3589
Quote:
Originally Posted by GucciLittlePiggie View Post
(read: atheist conservatives)
Oh, now you're teasing me! I thought you wanted to talk me OUT of moving there.

Seriously, though, thanks for the input. For a variety of reasons, we're focusing on the Portland/Vancouver WA area for our future move now. NH sounded interesting, but I think our future lies in the PNW.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-01-2007, 02:39 PM
 
1,008 posts, read 4,017,334 times
Reputation: 258
Quote:
Originally Posted by YoAdrian View Post
My wife and I are stuck in the metro DC area, and we're looking to get out, probably around March/April of '09. We have the luxury of being able to relocate pretty much anywhere we want. Two of the places we're considering are New Hampshire and Portland. I've already posted to the NH forum trying to get some feedback, and now I'd like to hear some impressions of Portland, for anyone who's willing!

If it helps, we're considering Portland for these reasons:

-- Climate. We grew up in the cold Midwest and would like some milder winters. We're also sick of the swampy, hot summers in DC. I love the rain, and I'd be perfectly happy in a place where it rains a lot. I especially love a good thunderstorm, but does Portland get a lot of those, or just a lot of drizzle, like Seattle?

-- Location. I'd love being within a few hours' drive of the ocean. I've always loved the water, having grown up just half an hour from Lake Michigan. And we'd both like the mountains. Is Mount Hood visible from Portland?

-- Nature and the green movement. My wife is a big greenie, and she's attracted to the strong environmental movement in Portland. Myself, I love nothing more than a good nature hike through the woods.

Now, some other things I'm wondering about:

-- What is the political climate like? I lean libertarian (which is one reason I like NH) and hate high taxes and intrusive laws. My wife is more forgiving of government that tries to do good, but she's also just as happy having her money and her person left alone. As we like to joke, she's a conservative liberal, and I'm a liberal conservative. What we both agree we DON'T want is an area overrun with rednecks and religious fanatics. She's sorta-kinda Taoist, I'm sorta-kinda Zen/Buddhist, but we're both generally agnostic on the big questions and don't want people getting in our faces about their beliefs and why we have to share them.

-- What are the safest and least safe areas of Portland? That goes for surrounding communities, too. We're not sure if we'd want to live in the city or in a suburb, or maybe even out in the country.

-- What is a general commute like? It can't be any worse than out here in DC! I hear the public transportation is excellent.

-- What's the housing market like, and the general cost of living? We'd be looking to buy a house.

-- We're both vegetarians. Are there good veggie options in the restaurants? Any Whole Foods or Trader Joe's in the area?

-- Are people generally friendly? We tend to keep to ourselves, but we'd love to have neighbors who smile and say hello once in a while. You don't get that out here. We also hate the rude drivers and total lack of customer service here in DC.

We're not into the nightlife, so that's not a concern. I also think we're set on work. I should be able to contract for my current employer, and my wife is an accountant. Everyone needs accountants.

Lots of questions, I know, but I'm hoping some of the locals can help us out. I have vauge inklings about some of these questions, and I'm reading lots of books and websites, but I figure you'll always get the best answers, without any sugar-coating, from the people who really live there.

Thanks a bunch!
I'm not a local but also considering moving to Portland. I've been researching many sources for information pertaining to Portland and based on your needs you should fare well there. The suburbs will probably address your personality and needs more than the city itself. The burbs are filled with conservatives/libertarians and the city is supposed to be very liberal. I do wish to point out that taking a political stance is more than just taxes and government intrusion. This is not only the ideology of the conservatives but the liberals as well. I'm liberal myself and don't feel that the government is benefiting the people. Sadly the constituents remain obsolete in the big picture as only private corporate interests are served. Welcome to the Monopoly called the USA.

Your wife should not have a problem finding a job as Accountants are always in demand. Since you are green people and enjoy the outdoors Portland offers all of that. For me personally political tone, resources and local attitudes far outweigh anything else. That's my "primary" measuring stick before relocating to a any city. All the greenery and sightseeing is not going to add pleasure to your stay when you're surrounded with ignorant/vial people. Good luck with everything!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 01-05-2008, 01:40 PM
 
1 posts, read 1,242 times
Reputation: 10
Default undesirable Rednecks

Any other stereotypes you don't want in your neighborhood? Maybe my fellow slopeheads offend too???
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2020 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Oregon > Portland
View detailed profiles of:

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top