(Closed) Do any Portland bees exist?

• Stumptown Lady
• 7 years ago

• Wedding: September 2013

Portlander here! (just saw you posted on another thread:))

I swear, every other person I met here is a software developer. Open source and the cool languages (Ruby on Rails, anyone?) are especially popular. Luckily there is a lot of work, too, so I say the more the merrier!

What makes you say Portland is ideal? I think this city is ideal 🙂 But fair warning: it is rainy and gray ALL THE TIME. The cliches are true.

• fleur-de-leesPhotography.com
• 7 years ago

I live in New York, but split my time most my life between Oregon and New York. If you moved to Portland, you couldnt be happier. Its an awesome place!

• sadie
• 7 years ago

• Wedding: September 2009

I grew up in upstate (Loudonville) and now live in Seattle but spend quite a bit of time in Portland for my job.  I love the PNW but it is gray and wet most of the year which can be depressing if you aren’t prepared for it.  Trust me, it’s much different than a gray upstate winter.  I would take a snowy, sunny day over 100 days of rain any time.

I like Portland because it’s a city with a small town feel and provides easy access to water (rivers, ocean) and the mountains. 

I would encourage your husband to reach out and make some contacts in his industry before committing to the move.  I work in the tech industry and we’ve seen the economy in Portland impacted quite a bit (Seattle too). 

• His Barista
• 7 years ago

• Wedding: September 2010

I loved Portland! I am hoping that we move back soon! haha. = )

• sadie
• 7 years ago

• Wedding: September 2009

@CaitMarae…Love that you were in Loudonville yesterday!  That is awesome.

1) West Coast cities tend to be more expensive overall.  I know when I moved out here from Atlanta I was shocked at how much more housing, food, etc… was.  OR doesn’t have a sales tax, but they do have a state income tax (which is why you will find many people living in Vancouver, WA and commuting into Portland since WA state does not have a state income tax).  Google any cost of living calculator to do a city to city comparison. 

http://www.bestplaces.net/col/

2)  Portland is a city and it has crime…violent, property, you name it, it happens.  the link below lists the top 10 safest neighborhoods in Portland (whenever the data was pulled) but it’s not the “leave your windows open, car running” kinda of place.  No major city is.

http://www.neighborhoodscout.com/or/portland/crime/

3)  There are lots of great neighborhoods in Portland so it totally depends on what you like/want.  I spend a lot of time in the Pearl District (downtown) and Nob Hill, which is more neighborhoody than downtown but has great shops, restaurants, etc… but that is coming from someone who is down there visiting/working, not living full-time.  I do know that many people I work with don’t even live in Portland but choose Beaverton, Hillsboro, etc… because it was more affordable for them to buy a house.  Personally if I was to move to Portland I would live in-town but expect to pay more for less (e.g. smaller place than what you probably have now).

http://www.portlandneighborhood.com/

Portland is a great city.  If you can swing it you should come out and spend a week or so and simply just explore and get a feel for it.  When I was deciding to move from the East Coast out west I flew out and spent time in both Portland and Seattle.  Don’t move someplace blind. 

Good luck!

• Stumptown Lady
• 7 years ago

• Wedding: September 2013

I just re-read my answers below and realized I should preface my answers with the fact that I live in the central city, ie very dense and urban. So if you’re looking for info on suburban communities, please take this with a grain of salt! 🙂

1. The cost of living here is a bit higher than the national average. Compared to NYC, Chicago, or San Fran, it is cheaper. However a 2 bed/2 bath apartment will cost a pretty penny if you want to live close-ish to city center. I’d say the cheapest you could expect to find a 2 bedroom apartment within the City is around $800-900/month but could easily be over $1,000/month if you want two baths.

2. There are normal amounts of crime for a city- So yah, there’s crime. You absolutely could not leave your car running in the grocery store parking lot. That said, however- I generally feel very safe here. I avoid certain neighborhoods if I’m walking around solo when its dark, but overall its safe. It’s a city, you know? Crime is also very neighborhood dependent. Some outter-neighborhoods are known for meth-related problems, and thus there is a sh*t-ton of auto theft and break-ins.

3. This entirely depends on what youre interested in! There is a good diversity of neighborhoods and housing types within the City. The Willamette River cuts the city into the westside and eastside. Generally the westside is denser, more expensive, and has “classic” 3-4 story historic aparmtent buildings alongside taller buildings of condos. On the eastside, neighborhoods are not quite as dense. There are plenty of neighborhoods in North, Northeast, and Southeast where you could rent a small pre-war bunglow house and essentially have the best of both suburban and urban life. Admittedly I’m an urban snob- I don’t know much about the suburbs. I live 1/4 mile to downtown and LOVE it. Great transit everywhere, lots of bike-friendly streets and bridges which is important to me, and desnse enough that I can walk to everything I need (bank, grocery store, coffee shop, drug store, library).

Feel free to PM me if you want! Portland has a lot to offer, so its entirely dependent on what kind of lifestyle to enjoy. 🙂

And DITTO to the response above- Definitely take the time to come out, visit, and get a feel for all the urban neighborhoods and surrounding cities.

• water
• 7 years ago

• Wedding: July 2010

Portland’s cost of living is a lot less than San Francisco’s and there is no sales tax (though income tax is not low). If you want a small-town feel, then I imagine you would not be interested in living in the downtown/Pearl district area. I suggest looking at neighborhoods after you have a job in hand because you might not want to drive long distances. Portland traffic can get heavy in certain areas during rush hour (though public transit isn’t bad).

Also keep in mind that Oregon’s economy has suffered quite a bit. Unless you are in the medical or technical industries, you might take a while to get a job. You might be okay financially if your fiance has a job before you move, but it can be tough emotionally unless you already know people and you’re okay being home a lot.

And as people have already mentioned, it is cloudy, drizzly, and grey most of the year. It starts getting to me in the spring because summer starts later here than it does in many other places (mid June). Other than that, Portland is an interesting, relatively safe, and beautiful city, with plenty to see and do particularly if you like being outdoors. I love it here.

Good luck!

• Birdie Love
• 7 years ago

• Wedding: May 2011

We were in Portland in 2009 (that’s were we got engaged!). I loved the great public transportation, but is a very walkable city. We had so much good food there,too! FH contemplates some day moving there (he’s interested in government and is completely fascinated that Portland is surrounded by four or five different counties). I enjoyed my trip, but there was just something there that just made me think I couldn’t imagine living there on a permanent basis.

• rheabee80
• 7 years ago

• Wedding: July 2012

I lived in Portland for several years and hope to one day return.  It is a great city!  But it is a city, there is crime for sure.  Definitely think about how much sun exposure or the lack of impacts you.  The NW in general is less sunny than other places, if gray skies get you down then it might really impact how you feel about Portland.  For more of a small town feel the SW Hills, close in NE, close in SE or even North Portland now are very nice areas.  North Portland, Close In NE and SE are very walkable communities.  The SW Hills is hilly, there are definitely little pocket neighborhoods with only a few houses but it is less walkable because there are windy roads often without sidewalks.  There are good food, beer and wine options on the West Coast pretty much whereever you are. 

Oregon’s income tax is higher than CA or WA so tax time can feel more painful than the neighboring states.  When I was living there they also had a County Income Tax which many national employers weren’t aware of so it came directly from my pocket.  Not sure if they still have that tax on the books, but they definitely make up for not having sales tax. 

I currently live in the Bay Area and not all communities in the Bay Area are big city… There are all kinds of sleeper communities around the bay area that are commutable to San Francisco (or San Jose) and have a small town feel with slightly lower cost of living and lower crime rates.  I haven’t lived in a community with more than 35,000 since leaving Portland 5 years ago.  The East Bay and South Bay have more sunshine opportunities than the City of San Francisco (which has somewhat similar weather to Portland with slightly fewer extreme temperatures).  Just North of SF there are many smaller communities although the commute can be a bit more of a hurdle because there is only one direct way into the city from the North. 

If you can take a week or two to travel to Portland and the Bay Area you will be able to get a much better feel for the communities and what will work for you.  Good luck!