Portland is great for open minds. - 6/2/2021

I've lived in Portland for 6 years and I love it. Yes, it's liberal and progressive. That's a good thing in my life. It's a city in change, trying out new things that sometimes work and sometimes don't. That's also good to me. Most of the people in Portland proper are open-minded, easy-going and a mix of races though it's majority white, the suburbs south and southeast east are a lot more conservative and white, the suburbs west are fairly typical upper middle class white with quite a nice community of South Asian mixed in. The dining is the best I've experienced with lots of interesting food carts and a wide range of vegan to steak house available to try out. I've lived in several cities in Southern Oregon, California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and Washington with New York City thrown in there for awhile in the last 30 years and Portland is by far the best overall. The grey winter weeks take some getting used to but are mild and the rains help keep the surroundings nice and green and the rivers flowing. The great city parks and the ocean and mountains are near and accessible. My family love Portland.

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good for established persons, but inequitable. - 2/14/2021

I've lived here from 2018 to late 2019, and then came back in late 2020. I'm going to try to be as factual about my experience and what I perceived here as possible. 2018 and 19 was definitely a different experience than 2020 to now. I rented in the SW area close to the highway. The public transit has a very large and accessible system that can take you to most higher density places you might need to go. The west side's vibe is definitely a more luxurious and forefronts more nature and higher incomes. there is also a big difference in the amount of people in roommate situations and house/space sharing situations than in the east. its a bit mixed in downtown. I currently live in the east side and there is a big difference in the vibes here. There's a very heavy millennial and shops/business influence that is good and bad. closer to where NE and SE meet theres an imbalance I feel. Downtown is way more prominent that way with the big money stores and inhabitants vs. the very large homeless population that resides close to the major transit lines and high traffic areas. Now on to the real deets. main roads can be good and posh, but I feel that they can cause an imbalanced dynamic that changes every couple of blocks. The homeless population has started to inhabit a large portion on many high traffic placed or trails other kind of hidden paths. I was one of these homeless people in August. the population has multiplied, from what I could see, about 3 or 4 times since I left in 2019. A lot of that is because of the harsh qualifications to be able to get assistance and apply for housing here. charities and human service organizations are flooded and overfilled and cannot help a majority of people here. many houses on the east side are sharing 5 bedroom houses with roommates to bring costs down on the highly overprices housing market. common jobs, at least for the last year, are flooded with many job seekers and most of the market is for healthcare, mental health, and jobs with lots of education or experience. If you dont already have your set up here it is extremely hard to get into the loop of housing job and wellbeing. Many things are overpriced like gyms, shops (not local artists I understand the price of their art), and other goods. The politics here are leaning left for sure but there definitely is a population of those leaning right. Police brutality and crime is prominent and corrupt. 50% of their arrests last year were homeless persons. The main streets can be extremely dirty. there can be a noticable smell like a bit of car smoke and almost like dust and dirt. sometimes when it rains it smell like urine too. I've had to dodge stepping on human feces on the sidewalk more times than I can count on my hand. I've had a LOT of unpleasant experiences on most of the public transit lines. there is nothing wrong with those with mental illnesses, but the drug use and mentally ill events that happen are common, and almost expected using trimet. from those coming off of highs and trying to pick fights and having psychotic attacks, having people piss in the bus seat (more than a couple times) and then having another unstable person sit in it (very unexpected), to people who will just straight be mean to you, its all there. This is not a very welcoming place for those under 21 housing, job, and community wise (unless youre in college). This town revolves around art, weed, and alcohol broadly. lots of job opportunities for those illicit industries. Very outdoorsy and eclectic activities galore. hiking trails, bike trails, art museums, art exhibitions, niche classes, small shops, breweries, activist movements, green related education and classes, and so so much more. I've faced a LOT of housing and job discrimination because of my age. those looking to rent a room will see many ads explicitly write "looking for someone over 21-25". If you join a lot of groups and communities and go out a lot you can find a lot of good people to be around. but many people are friendly, but really stick to their established group so it can be really hard to get good connections here. of course the weather is real consistent in the summer. the winter has 2/3 or more of the time rain or rarely sleet or snow in February. Bring a rain jacket and rain boots, umbrellas get torn apart in the wind. trust me I went through three before I gave in. the flowers are beautiful. prominent trees are pine, rhododendron, spruce, cedar, blackberry, and some other PNW based foliage. fall is beautiful although not at the level of the midwest or east cost. I think I got most of it here. this place was good in some ways and very bad in others. definitely not a good fit for me, and could be improved in infinite ways. honestly it might be forced to improve if this wealth and equity gap gets any larger. but anyways, cheap place on west coast. if you're in the millennial or older age group, like eclectic outdoorsy and illicit activities, you have a stable financial and housing standing, then you might fit well here.

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Complaining in Portland is like a fine wine - 2/3/2021

I've lived on the East Coast, in the Southwest, and in Alaska, and in Oregon overall for about 7 years. Even as someone who is from the more neurotic Northeastern culture, I underestimated just how much people would complain about everything when I got to Portland. Yes, there are social problems here, but not more than in your average large Midwestern or Southern city. Yes, it's not a place with the kind of wealth you now find even in Seattle. And yes, it really is gray and/or rainy for a *lot* of the year. But unlike other places I've lived, behind the complaining is a desire for change and there are the movements and actions that can and are leading to actual change -- now, if you want to move to a place only to make sure that it stays exactly as it is when you arrive, Portland is not the place for you -- very probably in the Midwest you can find something closer to what you're looking at (the Twin Cities in Minnesota are underrated in my opinion). But if what you're looking for is a place that is willing to evolve and change and reconsider the assumptions of the past, Portland fits that bill. That cultural stuff aside, the nuts and bolts for me finding this a good place to be are: - Good food options, food trucks, local markets, dive bars - Lush, green regional environment, less worry about climate change than other regions in the West, great parks & outdoor recreation options - Good transit for a city of this size, MAX light rail, frequent bus services, affordable ticket prices - Excellent airport - Good options for higher education, OHSU is expensive but has great outcomes for graduates, community colleges are accessible to most that are interested What's bad, to me: - Overall costs rising faster than wages, especially homebuying; the housing market is hot and that's bad for buyers - Rising housing costs and statewide unemployment have led to a surge in homelessness that's not managed well, again, people need housing - Steel gray skies reign from October to April-ish, buckle up

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not safe anymore - 1/26/2021

lived in Portland all my life recently moved to Florida once they let rioters loose on the town its not safe and de funding the police had made it even worse gun shoots everyday i was beat by BLM but the charges were dropped by the DA don't not move here

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Hard No coming from NYC Native - 1/12/2021

I lived in NYC for 30 years and moved out here about 6 years ago. It was actually ok when we first moved here although you could see the downward spiral starting. I can't tell you enough how bad it is living in Portland and it has nothing to do with the weather. The irony is the weather is actually not that bad...beautiful weather from Spring to Fall. Portlands main issue is politics and it's a big one. The mayor and the people who surround him are ineffectual and just don't know what they are doing. This is not a rant just a heads up that you will encounter a large population of homelessness along with dirty streets and no policing or enforcement of any kind. They recently legalized...I mean decriminalized all drugs, including heroine, cocaine, meth etc.. . If you are a super bleeding heart liberal type of person this place might appeal to you but even then it could be a hard "pill" to swallow. If you have kids stay away as this is no place to raise children. Cost of living is on par with most cities...I would recommend not moving into Portland Multnomah count.

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Where’s this hand basket headed? - 1/5/2021

Born and bred here, and have lived many other places as well... Truth be told, Portland has gone to hell. Drugs, gangs, shootings, violent crimes taking over the greater PDX area. Homelessness is destroying neighborhoods (not genuinely dislocated people, but those who move to PDX to take advantage of the perks here). Anarchy is tolerated, destroying businesses and our downtown. I’ve had liberals say to me, “I’m a liberal, but this place has gotten TOO DAMN LIBERAL! It’s not working anymore!” They’re right ~ Portland is broken. In addition to these, it’s gotten REALLY expensive to live here ~ especially housing. Lockdowns may affect that as more small businesses go out and people can’t pay their mortgage. So sad...

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Great city with amenities - Millenials beware - 10/16/2020

I've lived in in the Portland area for 27 years (grew up here). It has a lot of things going for it. Great restaurants, breweries and bars, and neighborhoods, plenty of events and groups, coffee culture is rich and so are the sweets and treats, forests to the east and west of the city. Mountain ranges with ski resorts (Mt. Hood is 2-3 hours away). And the coast is 2 hours away, too. As a millennial, its a great city with lots of things to do. Like most, the city is very segregate with the Hispanic population living in the margins and suburbs and the Black communities in the North, though it's experiencing gentrification at an alarming rate. There is a huge white population here though most folks are very open-minded, and welcoming. There's been more and more transplants here from what I can tell. Lots of people from many different parts of the country but mostly from California. This makes it hard for most of us local root folks to buy real-estate as prices are absurdly high for most of us. My partner and I earn a little over 100,000 a year and we are still considering leaving Portland due to the housing shortage. We just don't want to be house-poor and we realize that as first-time home buyers Portland isn't very friendly compared to other cities. The rent prices here are also getting out of hand. Many people are settling for the suburbs in the area such as Vancouver (terrible I-5 traffic), Gresham, Tigard, etc. All of which don't won't give you the affect that Portland has. Overall, Portland is a fantastic city. I'd move here if I had the money to buy a house. Unfortunately, there's not enough space geographically for this city to grow except up (apartment construction is the only construction I see in Portland).

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Moved from Tx to Portland love portland! - 10/14/2020

Moved here to portland, recently, from houston texas. I was lucky to have lived in a trans friendly area in texas (Montrose) but new landlord decided to “remodel” a few apartments ( in the middle of a pandemic because apparently that’s the best time to kick people out who’ve never missed a days tent in 20years) and of course Texas doesn’t protect renters at all so we were SOL. Decided since the trucks already packed, and Texas is so repressive to trans people , to keep on moving and moved on to Portland!... and so far so good! I’m not far from downtown (nob hill) but it’s quite peaceful here, I know downtown is a little crazy right now and most just wish the cops would stop being so brutal and rioting every night and tear gassing neighborhoods where people are trying to sleep. And Most I’ve met just wish the racists and fascists would stop coming from their redneck towns stirring up crap in portland (where they don’t live. ) And that police would learn the meaning of the word “ de-escalation “ But other than that, I’ve had a great time, the people are really nice, things are a little unusual I’m sure because of the pandemic,and you know, recognition of a system broken and rigged against minorities (and Black people especially) but people still manage to be nice , whiLe also standing up for equality and what’s right. Yah some people go a bit far, and the more just the cause and the longer this plays out, the more will feel justified in doing so. As anyone who has ever picked up a history book knows , American protest have had a long history of being a bit rowdy. Especially the ones that accomplish something. (from the Boston tea party forward) And I think once people wake up, push back the racism and Fascism That permeates our criminal justice system and politics, recognize that nazis are bad like we did in ww2, then tear the fascists down, then all the plywood All around the country will come down, and portland (and hopefully this country as a whole) will be even better and more equitable for it. And unlike many people rating portland as low because of what’s going on the news and in politics, I actually live here now. And this is one of the most beautiful cities I’ve seen. It’s so green, the geography is beautiful, and so many bridges, Beautiful parks, and all the natural beauty you could want within close driving distance. Maybe in a few years my mind will Change, but so far so good. I’ve been happy in my short 6months here.

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A city like no other - 9/29/2020

Seeing that the 2 star reviews are all from 2020 I'm wondering if they're all legitimate. Portland is a very unique city. The unofficial slogan is Keep Portland Weird. It's a different city and the residents are proud of that. There's a lot of homelessness, but morning more than many other major cities of it's size. It's a great city for walking. Downtown is beautiful. People are friendly. Some great things about Portland that you don't find anywhere: there's a book store that takes up an entire city block and is multiple levels, it's called Powell's and it's on Burnside. The music/concert scene is amazing with many small clubs hosting affordable shows. The beer... Oh the beer! If you're a beer fan, you'll love Portland! There are also many great, unique cafes. The weather... That could be a pro or con depending on your preference, but you get 4 seasons with nothing too dramatic, though there is A LOT of rain. But thanks to that rain Portland has amazingly clean air!!! I grew up visiting Portland on the weekends and enjoyed the break from my much more conservative hometown. If you're looking for a fun, unique city with 4 seasons, and don't mind rain, you'll love Portland!

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Portland sucks - 9/27/2020

Portland Oregon is a massive slumhole. I’ve been here 6 months and I’m leaving. Homeless people is a very serious problem here, it’s not that their homeless it’s that their mentally insane they just start screaming at you for no reason. I smell piss as soon as I walk out of my apt. We’re sick of the rioting and the violence that’s a big issue. People here are extreme you can’t even voice your opinion the people jump down your throat. And the people do not know how to mind their own damn business. They butt in to your conversation. Their tyrants. Cost of living is too high you can’t buy a home here.

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No job market, bad weather, narcissists, white - 9/21/2020

Lived there for 12 years. A nest of narcissists. Awful scene, near total lack of decency, honesty, and integrity among the "adult" population. Was propositioned 8 times for unsolicited sex, the subject of rumor-mongering (I guess because I said no), and generally a witness to mutual masterbatory behavior by egotistical narcissistic types with no regard for anyone but themselves and their "climb to fame." Also, the weather sucks, not just the culture; and there is no job market. NOT recommended.

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2 stars, trending downward - 8/25/2020

Moved to PDX in 73. It was an old grey town on the river. Still is. Just less enjoyable, more crowded, traffic poorly planned, a case of urban planners plying their dubious trade on silly lefties who continue to vote levy upon levy on themselves to create an unaffordable city they love to tout in self-congratulatory tones Portland has become a parody, a sad tragic burlesque of what it once was---a folksy weird place where we enjoyed a true open environment that let folks live their lives w/o the stalinist conforming that has made this a one-party town. I've lived here in NEP 97213 for 48 years. I'm grieving the loss of this once lovely place that is slowly drowning in the miasma of gloom it has reaped by pursuing its ill thought-out policies----political, economic, financial, personal. I came to this site to do some comparisons to other cities, as I'm preparing to find a new place to live. Perhaps, in 20---30 years, this area will realize what a hole they've dug, and will find their way out. I can't watch this decay any longer.

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trendiness and homelessness plague - 7/9/2020

Lived there 5 years and couldn't wait to leave. No place I'd rather be than the PNW in the summer, but doesn't make up for the other 9 months of cold gray. If you love going out to trendy theme shops ("did you see the new surf-hat-coffee shop on Sandy??!", "Dude, check out the new wooden spoon-coffee shop") and homeless people doing drugs and pooping on your driveway (under your trash can so you wouldn't find it until it was welded to the cement days later) then you're in luck.

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Expensive but amazingly beautiful - 6/12/2020

First off I will say that I just looked up 12 major cities on this site and they all had 2 stars so I think people come here to complain more than to enlighten. I lived in Portland for 19 years before having to move to Austin TX because of my husband's job. Before Oregon we lived in the Bay Area for 4 years and in Boise ID before that (born in Idaho). I miss Portland a lot. Mostly because of the friends and neighbors and proximity to family but also because of the city and the Pacific Northwest in general. I will admit though that I wanted to move for the first two years we lived there because of the lack of sun. Eventually I found that I could manage my mental health struggles (depression and anxiety) with exercise, clean diet and just making myself go outside for vitamin D exposure every chance I got. With climate change Portland seems to be less cloudy than it used to be but maybe that's just my perception. There is no doubt about it though, it is not sunny San Diego. Because the weather is mild, you can be outdoors almost all year round as long as you have a rain coat. Or, if that's not your thing, you can put on a sweater and snuggle up with a book or good movie from Nov thru Jan. Just be ready to pop outside when the sun comes out because we have surprise 60 degree days in the winter and everyone comes out to enjoy them. I will admit that we lived in a very nice NE neighborhood that lot's of people would not be able to afford (my husband's in tech). Housing affordability is a real problem in Portland but they are painfully aware of it and like almost every other major city, trying to come up with more affordable housing options. The livability of the city is amazing though. The walk score in my neighborhood was 77 and that's what we did. We walked for exercise. Walked to restaurants and grocery stores and our kids walked to school. That was a good thing because the traffic is awful. I worked very hard to avoid being a part of it whenever possible. The food scene is truly unbelievable, especially the food trucks. I'm gluten and dairy intolerant and I doubt there's a better city in the US to live in if you have diet restrictions. What I miss the most about it now that I live in Texas is proximity and access to nature. Portland has lots of beautiful parks and surrounding the entire metro area there are rivers, mountains, the Columbia River Gorge, the Willamette valley and you're two hours away from one of the most gorgeous coast lines in the world, and it's all public land which I took for granted living there but now realize was such a blessing (Texas has very little public land). It is crazy white. I think a great deal of that is due to it's embarrassing racial past (Oregon started as a whites only state). I'm white so I can't speak for what it is like for minorities but my kid's high school was pretty diverse and they're better off because of that and Portland would probably benefit from a more diverse community too. If you're really conservative you probably won't appreciate Portland. It's attitude is "be yourself". I loved that people had hair of every color, dressed however they wanted, loved whomever they wanted and lived whatever their truth was. People who don't appreciate that started moving out towards the burbs. It is a blue city that hold 60% of the population of Oregon which is mostly rural and red. Oregon has passed some stupid laws (they have a ballet initiative process) so Portland and Multnomah county have lots of taxes to try to fill in the gaps in funding. That can be frustrating but until Oregon passes a sales tax it will continue. If I had the opportunity I would move back to Portland. Austin is a cool city, the Bay Area had amazing weather and Boise is just a fantastic place to live but for me, Portland is home.

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What if San Francisco and Sacramento had a baby? - 4/9/2020

Such a beautiful city to visit. I wish I could have given more stars but the economy is weak. So if someone said earlier come here with a will paying steady job and you should be fine. The city touts itself as progressive and diverse, but it's not really it's mostly white. Not racist like Trump supporters but implicitly biased just the same. Maybe I will reconsider when I retire in a few months.??

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Pretty to visit, come with a well paying job - 2/24/2020

Come here with a well paying job lined up already and prepare for rain, but more of a misty rain, not real rain. I've lived in several cities across the US and they all have their own pros and cons, this is only my opinions compared to other places I have lived. The job market in Portland is odd in that there are plenty of jobs but not plenty of well paying jobs to offset the cost of living. Consequently you have a large population base that would love to have everything for free. On the other hand, there are a few large employers who do pay well, if you can get in the door. These are the same companies that have large legal departments that get them out of paying the large amount of taxes levied on the smaller businesses and employees in Oregon. If you enjoy the outdoors, there is no place prettier then the gorge when its sunny. So you have 3 months of the year when everyone that owns a camper gets to a campground every weekend. Lots of hiking to enjoy. A freezing cold coast line which is pretty to look at, but you probably wont be swimming in it. Same goes for the rivers and lakes. People who have been in Portland for a long time love it, but also are very introverted, which makes sense being that the weather is well suited to stay indoors and drink coffee. Lots of people moving in from out of state to add some diversity. The tunnel separates the weirdness of portland from the suburbia of hillsboro-beaverton areas. I like it for the most part, but I dont have deep roots here, so I can take it or leave it. That being said, tons of younger people move here (Ive never seen a city with so many 30 something waiters or baristas), but with the cost of living, they will never be able to save enough to buy a house or save for retirement one day, it just costs to much to do so. Hope this helps in your decisions on where to live.

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Used to be a nice place to live - 2/18/2020

I moved into the area more than 30 years ago. Coming from the Midwest, which I thought was pretty hick, although I liked it, the first thing I said when I arrived was dang, this place is more hick than the Midwest - sort of meant as a back-handed compliment. I really wanted to just find a lovely place with a pleasant, and not extreme, climate. This was it. But as the years have gone by and layer upon layer of oppressive government and endless fees and taxes have piled up I am ready to move on. The Portland schools were not good, and it was an open secret that bad teachers were shuffled to the minority schools and any good ones were moved to serve the more affluent neighborhoods - still going on today. We moved to Happy Valley, which had much, much, much better schools for our kids and lower taxes and cheaper housing prices. When our kids went to college the universities they applied at commented that they were coming from a top-notch school system and were given priority over kids who might have had a higher GPA, but were from lesser districts. But the bottom line is that this area has never seen a tax or levy they do not like, and with tolling of the freeways coming soon it is not the place I moved to, and just about every day I try to convince my wife, who grew up here, that it is time to let ANTIFA and the homeless take over and give all of these fine people something to be proud of. The only question is, where should the next adventure start?

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Antifa and Homelessness, name a more iconic duo - 2/3/2020

Home to Antifa, what more do you need to know?

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Portland is only for the rich now. - 2/3/2020

Unless you have a lot of money to buy a house in a good neighborhood., don't move here. The city has gone down the tubes in the last 10 years or so, as have all the cities on the west coast. Homelessness is everywhere and crime is skyhigh. The local government is useless and police aren't allowed to do anything about the addicts camping out everywhere and trashing all open spaces. It is so sad to see what was a great place to live become what it is now and I don't know how it will be turned around.

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sucks - 12/14/2019

i hate it it is so stupid wouldnt recomend

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