Taxes and cost of living: Portland vs Vancouver (Hillsboro, Cedar Hills: sales, houses)

[HAL9001]

I'm thinking of relocating to the Portland area in about a year from the suburbs of Minneapolis. I am 57 and semi-retired though I do work some.
I lived in Cedar Hills for about 4 months right before 9/11, but had to move back to MN because my house didn't sell and fall/winter was arriving and you DON'T want your house to be vacant in MN during those times! I've been reading a lot here about the Portland vs Vancouver debate and would like to get some knowledgeable opinions about taxes and cost of living:
Property taxes
Vehicle taxes
Utility costs
Any "Gotcha" taxes a n00bie would be unaware of

My target areas are the area around Cedar Hills and Hillsborough for OR and the area around 205 in Clark county. I know about the income tax and sales tax issues for both areas. In reading a tax comparison between the 2 places WA state is considered quite a bit higher than OR. So where is the difference made up? I only make 20-30k a year and I don't typically buy very much stuff. About 10k of my income is from dividends; if those are treated differently in the 2 states. I'm aware of cultural differences and would like to see this thread focus on financial issues. Thanks for any input.

[BLAZER PROPHET]

As a person who has owned houses in both and currently reside in Vacncouver, there are only a few differences.

1) The property taxes in Vancouver are, on average, 40% less than Portland.

2) If you live in WA and work in OR, you will pay about 95% of the OR income tax.

3) Of course, if you shop for anything other than food in WA you have to pay the 8% sales tax. Although deductible, you have to have a hell of a lot of sales tax before you can utilize the write off. In other words, forget it.

4) Lastly, vehicles sales tax. If you buy a vehicle while a resident of WA, you pay the sales tax. You may elect to cheat and register it in OR, but the fine is $5,000 and the state takes great delight in hunting down people who do this. If you move here and already have a vehicle, they may or may not charge you sales tax to register the vehicle.

Overall, unless you plan on buying a new vehicle in the near future, Vancouver is cheaper to live. But not by much.

[John Shaft]

IIRC in Oregon, dividends are taxed at the state level at the same rate as any other income. But I am no taxation professional, so I encourage you to double-check this.