How does the cost of living compare with Houston? Housing is going to be a lot more than in Houston. A three bedroom fairly close to downtown will run $300k minimum. There are lots of condos and rowhouses in inner SE and around downtown that will probably run a little less, but will be smaller (1000-1200sf). How is the crime? Do you generally feel safe everywhere you go? I don't have a problem with the crime in my neighborhood, but there are areas that do. Not much of the violent stuff, mostly car prowls, house break ins, etc. maybe about 30 murders in the city every year (usually drug related). You can check out crime statistics for any address at www.portlandmaps.com . How diverse is the population? Not very diverse. Probably 75%+ white. Asian and African American populations similar in size, mostly concentrated in a few neighborhoods. Are people generally nice around there? Depends on what you are expecting. Not so much howdy neighbor nice, but usually there's a lot of respect and acceptance for personal choices. it's a very progressive city. I'm looking to move to a place that is close enough to a big city, but also can live in a green environment. Open tracts of greenery, farmland and mountains are a plus. Could this describe Portland possibly? This is a good description. With all the rain, there's lots of green. Because of the 30 year old urban growth boundry, farmlands surrounding the city cannot be developed into subdivisions at will. Go to google maps and get a satellite view of Portland and you'll see how the city is laid out. Mount Hood and the coast are easy daytrips. The coast is really magnificent- lots of small beaches tucked away. Several of them accessible only at low tide where you can walk out around rock outcoppings to get to the beach. All of the beaches in Oregon are public. Mt Hood has great skiing, and in the summer they open the chair lifts for mountain biking- catch the lift to the top with your bike and ride down. And the most sex-oriented businesses per capita in the US. I'm happy to give a tour to anyone interested in the city.
What's the job market like there? Are there any law schools in Portland? I know University of Oregon has one, but that's like two hours away.
you know what, i've never been up there, and i know it is gorgeous there, but the mere fact that the amount of beautiful women there is practically nonexistant (especially compared to austin) leads me to believe that you have no idea what you're talking about... portland supposedly has the most strip clubs per capita in the country and probably the most micro-breweries in the country..... which is definitely a good thing.
Portland is great. I echo everyone's awesome testimonies about it. However, beware of bums. Not real bums, just lazy young kid bums like on King of the Hill. I didn't give any change when I was there because I was running on my debit card...and the guys would get offended and cuss at me when I didn't have anything to give them. Apparently this is a big problem for the city as the kids can just use free housing that the city provides, and then at the beginning of the month they go out on drug binges with their welfare check. If you have ever seen the episode with the panhandlers on King of the Hill this is exactly what these kids are like, all in there 20's, dreads, cool clothes on, standing in groups, and annoying everyone who walks by.
I can walk to Lewis & Clark Law School from my house in SW Portland. I live about 3 miles from Downtown.
That's where my favorite band, 36 Crazyfists, resides. If you're into rock, check out one of their shows.
One time when I was visiting friends there we were walking around downtown and walked by a Max stop with a guy waiting there, as we walk by he asked what time the Max stopped running but nobody really heard him and one of the guys in our group responds with "I don't have any change". The guy that asked gets really pissed off and starts yelling at us, it was something to the affect of "I didn't ask for change mother ****er, I asked when the ****ing Max stopped running. Clean you ears out mother****er". I was kind of worried the guy was going to bum rush us or something but he didn't do anything. Anyway, it was pretty funny at the time. As far as the city goes, I agree with what everybody else has posted, it's a great city; especially if you like doing things outdoors. I go on a camping trip there every summer with friends and love it. I'm not sure if I could handle the rainy season though.
