lol, I'm surprised nobody who lives in Portland chimed in.
Portland is alright. Basically you either live "west" or "east" of the river. The west side is where Portland state is and where all the upperechelon white-colar people live and or work.
Intel is also based on the west area, so many of the surrounding towns have wealthy people living in them and subsequently it has a very "clean" feel to it. I live in Beaverton, which is where the majority of people live. It's clean, has a ton of cops, and the public transportation is pretty great. Up here they value nature like the Japanese, so lots of green everywhere--trees, bushes whatever you can fit.
However, it is very expensive out here. Because so many people are moving to the PNW due to increases in hot weather and cost of living (especially cali), the prices have shot up 200% for real estate. In the 80's or 90's things were affordable, but right now in my area you cannot find a "starter" home for less than 200k (150-160 if it's in need of a lot of handiwork). Also, because so many people cannot afford homes, the requirements for apply for a loan are strict I've heard, and good credit is highly important.
Portland suffers from high cost of living, especially real estate because unlike other cities UGL (urban growth limits) are very strict. What this means is that when populations increase in the city, land runs out. Usually, the city will buy rural land or have land set aside for building when that happens. Portland does not follow this so blatantly. I believe it's a tactic for real estate to keep prices high, by stating it's for environmental reasons.
If you have a degree, it won't really mean much. So many people come out here with the mindset of "I'll find a job" (including myself), and get thrown into the pool of an already insane number of unemployment. Portland (and Seattle as well) is having a very hard time keeping up with employment in respect to new residents. Many people with degrees find themselves working just barely over minimum wage.
Now there are ways around this: If you have worked in government before, or are interested in asian studeis/business or engineer studies/background (specifically technology), you should be fine.
I'm not saying if you move here you can't find a job and you'll be begging on the street, just that a lot of people seem to have misguided information about job placement here.
Oh, and on the "east" side-- the further east you go, the more ghetto it is. Living around the world, I'd say Portland's worst is much safer than any other city, but there are still gang, violence, and drug issues. There is a big "gentrification" going on in the eastern districts though, as an attempt by the city to keep pushing poor people further and further away.
The people are cool, yeah. Being from Florida where everyone hates their life and you're on drugs or want to sell something if you talk to strangers; it was a real delight coming here. Yes, I would say people are more generally friendly.
However, it can be quite hard to make friends. I notice here in the PNW, people make 1 or 2 super close friends and stick to em. It's not like the east coast where I have a friend for every different car and we all get together frequently. It's just an odd switch for me. When you do find someone you can get along with, it is a lot better though. It's easier to find people who are into anime, JDM weebu stuff and still have a life. Hell, there are job offers on CL for Hentai illustrators haha. Just a very different open vibe about who you are and what you like-- people don't care if what they like isn't mainstream and I think that's cool.
It can be hard sometimes to find people who want to "do stuff" though. Sure, there are hikes and all kinds of other stuff to do, but it can be really hard to set things up without someone flaking or changing their mind. Not really sure what that's about..
Driving/car enthusiast wise it's ok. The roads are amazing, and in my area there are tons of well-maintained mountain/hill climb roads and treasures you can find everywhere. I've lived here for a year and have never been pulled over--the longest I've gone anywhere! The only problem is there aren't a lot of tuner shops, or trustworthy shops in my opinion. It can be hard to find car enthusiasts, and when you do find them it's overwhelmingly Subaru, volksvagon, and other cars that aren't your typical lineup. The guys and gals are cool though, and seem a mite more intelligent from my experience then most scenes I've been around.
Leading up to that, Portland is nice, it's clean, and even in some of the worst parts it is pretty safe overall. Honestly though, it's boring. 8/10 times when people want to go "do something", they take a trip north to Seattle or elsewhere. Me myself, I've taken 6 trips up to Seattle/Bellingham within the last 2 months. People don't come to Portland for fun, they go to Seattle.
If you are a big bar guy, Portland is probably your thing. But you have to sort of "establish" yourself as a regular to be treated fair sometimes. You won't be kicked out the door for not knowing everyone's name, but it's definitely a different treatment.
Personally, for me I don't like downtown Portland. I'm a big House, Drum and Bass, old school Jungle and Trance guy, and the music scene here sucks. Big time. It's a lot like Hawaii, crap dubstep and weird mixes with DJs that think they're some kind of DJ god.
Also the weather. It really is not that as bad as people say. In terms of rain, we've actually had a lot of dry months, and it didn't rain much. When it gets cold, it's not unbearable and it rarely snows (depends on where you are). Portland is actually pretty middle of the road, except for the increasingly warm summers. Right now it's 102. I never thought the PNW would get like that, but it does, and it sucks. The apartments and most housing do not have central A/C so it can be pretty brutal. Overall though, it's some of the best driving weather year-round you can get, and still have seasons.
Also, forgot to add a note about apartments. They are insanely costly. I actually had an easier time finding affordable apartments in Hawaii (that were quite cheap with respect to cost of living). As I said before, I live in an area that's a little more pricey, but I currently rent out my apartment for 875, and that is a steal. My landlord makes no money off of me, and I'm quite certain she loses money when HOA fees are due. The apartment real estate market is massive and evil here. You won't be able to afford housing, so you are forced into apartments which get more and more costly every year. I believe Griego stated this, but ironically people who purchase homes have 50% less, or even more of a mortgage payment than someone who pays rent in an Apt. My teacher, who I'm good friends with, lives in Hillsboro (which is a little more country) and pays like 500 for her mortgage on a 3/2 with land. Most people around here can pay 900-1200 a month for an apt so it's pretty crazy. *Also, side note: If you do go to school out here the faculty is awesome. I'm friends with many of my teachers and the mutual respect is great; I don't feel like I'm a subordinate like in the service.
On a positive note, I don't know if it's because so many people are forced to live in apts, but the power of the renter is quite good. If you have a landlord that is screwing you over or lying to you, Portland does not mess around and you have many avenues to go about it. This is a pretty big difference from past states where it's a "shit happens" mentality.
For the area I think there are just random little cool things that make me like the place. There is a japanese only book store up the road, I like how the gas is not self-service (LIKE MAD INITIAL D TAKUMI DAY JOB YO), and the fact that there are so many nice pleasurable drives and random little secret spots you can find.
Honestly though, for me I'm thinking of moving on. Seattle is a little too intense and dirty for me. And it has a lot more rough patches. I need to PM whoever was talking about Bellingham because that place is the shit.
It all depends on what you want. You can overcome any of the problems I've listed by just using your head. 2 bedroom apts are around the same price as 1 beds, and many people just get a buddy or a roommate to fill the second spot; just as an example.
I moved here from Hawaii and OR really took care of me. There are tons of programs to help you find jobs, look for work, and get money to help you adjust. I think as a state it really takes care of people, and it's one of the few cities/ states where quality seems more important than quantity (kinda the feeling you get when in Japan) and it shows.
I really didn't look to see how old this was, but give it a shot. It's clean, nice, and safe. The job market isn't amazing, but I think Portland is a good place to start, and, if you're like me, you'll just keep moving north until you're Canadian
.
You only live once, give it a shot.
P.S> Griego lives south of Portland in Salem, but he is your man. You can berate him with questions and he'll give ya open arms
Also, a lot of people live in the Salem and south portland areas such as Wilsonville, where housing is MUCH more affordable, and you can still drive towards portland where most jobs are with little traffic. Also, I'm going to type in all caps here: DO NOT MOVE TO VANCOUVER. You will regret it. It is a town just a couple miles north of the city where cheap housing and a close commute make it ideal. However, you have to cross ONE bridge with tens of thousands of other commuters every morning/late afternoon and the traffic is horrible and fraught with accidents. Do your reasearch; City-data is a great site that has many threads about preparing to move to Portland.