Moving from Austin to Portland? (crime, houses, find a job)

[Washougal]

Portland and Austin could be sister cities, and I've lived in both (six years in Portland, 6 in Austin). They both have very similar elements of the environmental sustainability movement, college atmosphere (although Austin wins on that one), green spaces, cultural, music scene, and arts benefits.

Austin really could be Portland's big, more glamorous, but still funky sister. They have more of everything. More greenspace, more bike trails, better college options, better roads and infrastructure, more restaurants (yes, Portland probably has better quality but Austin has the options) and a better music scene. They even have a bigger counter-culture and a more politically progressive liberal activist bent (although they are fighting goliath so not much gets done). You would never believe it until you live there, but George Bush doesn't have many friends in Austin.

So which city should environmentally-minded, espresso-swilling, yoga-posing, culturally active, liberal activists move to? It depends on the weather.

It's pointless to argue the merits of the cities since anyone who fits most or all of the above-mentioned adjectives would be perfectly happy in either city. Where you need to put your focus is in deciding what kind of weather environment you prefer.

Austin is dry and very hot in the summer, but while we in Portland are crying in our espresso about how we've just seen 31 days of CONTINOUS FREEKING RAIN, our friends in Austin are wearing flip flops and shorts to the park on a Saturday afternoon in February.

In Portland, some people just love the mist and the 8 months of almost continuous gloom. We call them insane. Most of us just grit our teeth and get through it because we know that even Hawaii can't touch our summers.

I mean, the summers here are breath-takingly gorgeous. You haven't experienced life until you've sat on a boat in the middle of the columbia river gorge on a crystal blue 84 degree day in the middle of July. From June through September you can count the number rainy days on two hands and the temperature pretty much hovers around 80-90 degrees. But everything stays emerald green because during the winter IT RAINED FOR 200 FREEKING DAYS!!!

Can you tell which camp I'm in? I'm trying to get back to Austin, because I like it dry. I don't mind the heat and I don't give a rat's !@#$ about crap being green. Why do people want to move to Portland because "everything is so green?" I think they're nuts and, if they are coming from Texas, they probably won't make it through the first winter. But if rain and mist and mild temperature really are your thing...come to Portland. It's made for you.

[babycoleslaw]

Originally Posted by Washougal

Portland and Austin could be sister cities, and I've lived in both (six years in Portland, 6 in Austin). They both have very similar elements of the environmental sustainability movement, college atmosphere (although Austin wins on that one), green spaces, cultural, music scene, and arts benefits.

Austin really could be Portland's big, more glamorous, but still funky sister. They have more of everything. More greenspace, more bike trails, better college options, better roads and infrastructure, more restaurants (yes, Portland probably has better quality but Austin has the options) and a better music scene. They even have a bigger counter-culture and a more politically progressive liberal activist bent (although they are fighting goliath so not much gets done). You would never believe it until you live there, but George Bush doesn't have many friends in Austin.

So which city should environmentally-minded, espresso-swilling, yoga-posing, culturally active, liberal activists move to? It depends on the weather.

It's pointless to argue the merits of the cities since anyone who fits most or all of the above-mentioned adjectives would be perfectly happy in either city. Where you need to put your focus is in deciding what kind of weather environment you prefer.

Austin is dry and very hot in the summer, but while we in Portland are crying in our espresso about how we've just seen 31 days of CONTINOUS FREEKING RAIN, our friends in Austin are wearing flip flops and shorts to the park on a Saturday afternoon in February.

In Portland, some people just love the mist and the 8 months of almost continuous gloom. We call them insane. Most of us just grit our teeth and get through it because we know that even Hawaii can't touch our summers.

I mean, the summers here are breath-takingly gorgeous. You haven't experienced life until you've sat on a boat in the middle of the columbia river gorge on a crystal blue 84 degree day in the middle of July. From June through September you can count the number rainy days on two hands and the temperature pretty much hovers around 80-90 degrees. But everything stays emerald green because during the winter IT RAINED FOR 200 FREEKING DAYS!!!

Can you tell which camp I'm in? I'm trying to get back to Austin, because I like it dry. I don't mind the heat and I don't give a rat's !@#$ about crap being green. Why do people want to move to Portland because "everything is so green?" I think they're nuts and, if they are coming from Texas, they probably won't make it through the first winter. But if rain and mist and mild temperature really are your thing...come to Portland. It's made for you.

I wish I were there right now....I love, love, love that weather!! See, I grew up in Houston where it rains MORE than Portland but it is so unbelievably HOT and HUMID that you can't hardly stand to be anywhere other than in the A/C. I'm specifically house hunting for property out there w/o A/C! I much prefer to open my windows and feel fresh, cool air....and as for brown, when you stare at a brown landscape for 7 months, like I currently do, green is very welcoming! But like you said, it's all about what you prefer. If I ever do move back to TX, it'd be Austin in a heartbeat!!!

[Washougal]

Originally Posted by babycoleslaw

I wish I were there right now....I love, love, love that weather!! See, I grew up in Houston where it rains MORE than Portland but it is so unbelievably HOT and HUMID that you can't hardly stand to be anywhere other than in the A/C. I'm specifically house hunting for property out there w/o A/C! I much prefer to open my windows and feel fresh, cool air....and as for brown, when you stare at a brown landscape for 7 months, like I currently do, green is very welcoming! But like you said, it's all about what you prefer. If I ever do move back to TX, it'd be Austin in a heartbeat!!!

WOAH, WHOAH, WHOAH. Wait a minute there. Don't get the wrong idea about the weather here. Coming from Texas, as accustomed to a/c as you are, you will be miserable here in August. It does stay in the high 90's for a while every summer and jumps over 100 on a few days every year. It's a common misconception that people don't need a/c here, but almost everyone I know has it. The people that don't have it basically can't sleep at night for a couple weeks of August because they are sweating so badly. Buy a place with a/c. It won't cost any more than a non a/c house and you can decide not to turn it on if you want...but you can use it if you get desperate. Trust me on this. The climate is quite mild, but the short period of time when it is not mild will make the a/c worth the price.

[babycoleslaw]

Originally Posted by Washougal

WOAH, WHOAH, WHOAH. Wait a minute there. Don't get the wrong idea about the weather here. Coming from Texas, as accustomed to a/c as you are, you will be miserable here in August. It does stay in the high 90's for a while every summer and jumps over 100 on a few days every year. It's a common misconception that people don't need a/c here, but almost everyone I know has it. The people that don't have it basically can't sleep at night for a couple weeks of August because they are sweating so badly. Buy a place with a/c. It won't cost any more than a non a/c house and you can decide not to turn it on if you want...but you can use it if you get desperate. Trust me on this. The climate is quite mild, but the short period of time when it is not mild will make the a/c worth the price.

LOL~ I'll take that under advisement!! Isn't the weather there similar to the Bay area? My sister is an hour north of there and lives w/o A/C and even on the hottest days I've visited the nights always cool things off. Is it different in Portland? If it's 80+ at night A/C would be a definite no-brainer....

[Marie123]

I grew up in Portland and have been living in Austin almost two years and am yet to feel the "sister city" connection everyone talks about. I visited to Austin for a couple weeks before I made the move and had a lot of fun. Good mexican food, live music ect. But honestly living here sucks. The air is dirty and humid, the streets are too wide and everything is far away.

Public transportation - a disgrace. This is a town of 750,000 people. UT alone has 50,000 students and they don't think it's important to have decent bus service.

Urban sprawl - out of control. Yes we are in texas and everything is off a freeway. There isn't even a grocery store near the college campus.

I could elaborate, but basically everything cool about Austin is 5x better in Portland with the exception of live music venues and ethnic diversity.

Oh, and I think rainy gloomy days are cozy.

[artichoke63]

It's interesting to read everyone's comments on austin versus portland. amazing how people get so carried away about the weather. You just deal with it and find the beauty in what you have. portland sounds really nice. i read that they have a lot of drug problems there. Is this true?

artie

[OREGONRAIN]

Yes there is alot of drug problems here, and alot of homelessness, its not a haven for job seekers in many fields either, not very much industry here. The climate is very depressing to many, but everytime I go someplace I keep comparing that place to Portland and Portland wins. Marie I did wonder why austin's transit was so pitiful with all the students that live there, and I don't really understand why Portland and Austin are compared with each other, other than they both have sort of a funky vibe to them, but thats about it.

[jread]

Thanks for all the replies to this thread!

We have not made the move but are still wanting to. My wife is working at a new company now and they have a Portland office. She asked to be transferred and there is a very good chance that she will be able to. I'm sure it will be hard for me to find a job given the job market there, but at least we'll have her income for awhile. I'm looking forward to the "coffee shop" lifestyle and the feeling of living in a real city with good public transit and actual urban planning.

How is gardening in Portland? We love growing roses, strawberries, etc. but Austin is a horrible place for this since it's so freakin' hot and never rains. I figure Portland would be great with the milder climate and all the drizzle.

It's about 90 degrees here today and I'm already dreading the summer......

[surveyorusa]

Growing roses? Yeah, Portland is a decent place for that. It ain't called "The Rose City" for nuthin'!

[JakeDog]

They are not really comparable in my opinion. Both great cities, but vastly different. The weather in Portland is gray. Comparing the rain in Houston is meaningless (not that Portland isn't far nicer than Houston) b/c it isn't the amount of rain in Portland, it is the amount of time it takes for the rain to come down. It can literally rain for months in Portland- small amounts coming down all the time. The sidewalks and streets are wet for months on end. You may not see the sun for months. I will admit I'm not super familiar with Austin as I only visited twice, but it doesn't remind me of Portland in any way. Portland feels FAR more urban to me- Austin seems more spread out. Also Portland is liberal in a very conservative way. I know that sounds bizarre, but natives may understand what I'm getting at. The summers in Portland are warm and dry- there is some mild humidity in early summer, but it is from the ground up- the air is dry, but the ground can emit some mild humidity and a wet dirt smell when the earth sees the sun for the first time in a while. Austin has a very Californian Southwest feel to it and Portland has a far grungier almost industrial feel to it. Portland's economy is pretty weak.