Anyone move to Portland from the Midwest? (Clackamas: homes, tornadoes)

[Badger55]

Anyone move to Portland from the midwest?

I ask because Im thinking of doing so, because of the weather.

I am sick of winter. It is cold, and snowy from late Oct-Jan.

In Jan, the temps get down to below 0, and the snow freezes, and you are left with ice, everywhere. I am sick of my eyelashes freezing, not being able to go outside, slipping on ice when I do, lips chapping, skin peeling/bleeding etc. This lasts until March.

From March to June its up and down, then warm until mid Oct.

So, I guess my question is, are Portland winters better than midwest winters that I described? FWIW, I like rain, but I don't know if I'd like it all the time

[christiner81]

we moved here from arizona but before that we lived in the midwest (and my husband is a native hoosier).

i don't like snow, and i don't like the biting cold. if you can handle rain, the winters here are easy peasy.

even though it's gray, there is green vegetation year round and that really helps it to not look as gray & dead as the midwest looks in the winter. the fall season is quite long and so even though the weather is cold and rainy, the fall colors last much longer than they do where you'd see more extreme cold.

[Badger55]

Originally Posted by christiner81

we moved here from arizona but before that we lived in the midwest (and my husband is a native hoosier).

i don't like snow, and i don't like the biting cold. if you can handle rain, the winters here are easy peasy.

even though it's gray, there is green vegetation year round and that really helps it to not look as gray & dead as the midwest looks in the winter. the fall season is quite long and so even though the weather is cold and rainy, the fall colors last much longer than they do where you'd see more extreme cold.

Thanks

What are the people like?

[Steve Pickering]

Mostly like the MidWest with a substantial midwestern population. Don't come without a job.

[wanderbygrace]

Originally Posted by Badger55

Anyone move to Portland from the midwest?

I ask because Im thinking of doing so, because of the weather.

I am sick of winter. It is cold, and snowy from late Oct-Jan.

In Jan, the temps get down to below 0, and the snow freezes, and you are left with ice, everywhere. I am sick of my eyelashes freezing, not being able to go outside, slipping on ice when I do, lips chapping, skin peeling/bleeding etc. This lasts until March.

From March to June its up and down, then warm until mid Oct.

So, I guess my question is, are Portland winters better than midwest winters that I described? FWIW, I like rain, but I don't know if I'd like it all the time

Ohio born and bred here. Moved here in 2011. Some observations of mine:

First off, I preface everything I saw by noting that I live at 100-200' in Clackamas County. Higher elevations in the area WILL see colder weather (e.g. snow/ice) than the valley floor.

The lowest temperature in the last 20 months was 18 degrees. Leave your parka back there.

The most snow we've had in the last 20 months was 2", and it melted by 10am. From my understanding, there was a whopper of a snow storm in 12/2008 (like 20+ inches), but that is a colossal rarity for this area. We brought our snow shovel with us, but have only used it to move mulch...lol.

Cloudy, cool (40-ish), and a light drizzle are very normal here throughout the winter. We definitely get sun breaks, sometimes enough to see our big mountains, but those are the minority. It's not like the Midwest, when you have frequent stretches of sunny, albeit usually cold, days. We have those stretches, but I'd say only about half the time of the midwest, and certainly not as cold.

Thunderstorms are extremely rare here. In two summers here, I think I've heard thunder maybe half a dozen times. Tornadoes are even more rare, as in pretty much non-existent.

Mt. Hood is one hour away from downtown Portland. If you really want to play in the snow, drive to it.

I've found that it isn't very windy when it's also raining here. I've sat through countless soccer games already, and almost always take an umbrella without having to worry about everything blowing sideways. We get wind, but for some reason, not very often during the rain.

Ice does occasionally occur here from what I've been told, but in the two winters I've been here (again at 100-200'), I've yet to have any issue with it, so far.

Unlike the midwest, temperature and humidity work in an inverse fashion. IF the temps go up in the summer, the humidity nose dives. Therefore, those 90 degrees days we get (all 10 or so of them) feel more like the upper 70's.

The above being said, A/C is NOT a commonplace in homes here. I get hot easily, but aside from perhaps ten days of each summer, I've not needed our portable A/C unit to be on while sleeping. And if you have a good flow of air in your house, I'd say by 10pm, an A/C unit would be unnecessary. Unfortunately, our bedroom has terrible airflow, so it collects and holds the heat.

[Minervah]

Lots of folks here from the Midwest. I am from Chicago. The weather here is very different. I never minded the cold in Chicago so the winters weren't a problem for me. The humid summers were. The dry summers here are heaven but they are getting a bit more humid as time goes by. Nothing like the Midwest though. Winters here are very mild and you will rarely have to worry about snow.

For me, the dampness is the big thing. Since we have more of a concentrated rainy season (very rare thunder storms on Portland or gully washers) it is damp quite a bit. My allergies grow steadily worse.

People are people wherever you go. I think they tend to be a little more friendly to newcomers in the Midwest but that's not an insurmountable problem.

[christiner81]

Originally Posted by Badger55

Thanks

What are the people like?

i think they're pretty nice. maybe not quite like midwestern-y nice but nice enough

[mom28sofar]

No the PNW is NOT like the midwest at all. We just moved here about 5 or 6 months ago from Nebraska. The weather here is very very mild, it can get cold but NOT midwest cold. These people don't know what cold is until they have seen wind chill and drifts, blizzards and hail the size of softballs. If you come, be prepared by getting a job first, and be prepared to take a major paycut depending on your industry. . Cost of living is much higher also. We are country people and we love that our cows are still grazing in Feb. Our chickens don't have frostbite and we are getting eggs too. You will probably love it be if you do come, just come with your eyes open.

[ccjarider]

We moved here 2 yrs ago from IL and also lived over 40 yrs in WI.

Weather is nice in that there is no bitter cold and snow. The year round greenery makes it seem even nicer.
We don't get all the discussion on grey rainy skies. Midwest was very grey in winter too.

COL is cheaper than Chicago but a little more expensive than Milwaukee.

Like stated earlier - people are people wherever you go. I think that is an overblown topic too.

[Minervah]

Considering there are so many people here now who are from the Midwest, you probably won't have too much trouble fitting in.