Portland one of the top 5 best US cities period.
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6/29/2006
I have lived in NYC, SF, Hartford, CT and also visited Seattle, Detroit, Miami, LA, Chicago, Dallas, SA, Houston, Philly, DC, Baltimore, Boston. The only places that can compete are SF, Chicago, NYC and maybe Seattle. Yes Portland has a lot of days with precipitation, but significantly less than say anywhere in NY, CT, or Massachusetts or Florida. It's a very light misty rain, and it will get cloudy a lot during the winter months. However,it's not for 9 months like some want you to believe. And during winter the temps are mild, not blistering cold like the east and midwest and summer is generally not blistering hot like phoenix and the east and midwest. It's green year round and don't give me that 4 seasons crap because I've experienced it many times and it's not all that....then a few weeks later you're in zero degree temps and hating it. If you're looking for a city like Auckland, NZ or Melbourne, Australia then Portland is the most similar of any US city period. If you're into strip malls, Disney Land and Ruby Tuesdays or goth kids don't come to Portland. Frankly, I'd be more scared of anyone from the bible belt or military personnel than a goth kid or skaters who don't mean any harm. If you want more unique food, local produce, farmers markets, eco friendly people, alternative culture, a relatively safe city, gay friendly place then come here. There are rude people in every city and Portland is no different. In fact I've come across more easy going people here than most places. The only real negative is that the job market can be tough in the beginning. And don't tell me that the winters are worse here because I've lived in both climates and the east coast/midwest is much worse. Portland is not very diverse (90%) white and that may be a problem for some, but it city that is liberal and let's you do your own thing so in that sense it's diverse. Traffic is not good, but not as bad as LA, SF, Seattle among others. The downtown public transportation is free. The city is well designed and very accessible by foot or light rail. Oh, did I mention it was 83 today and I saw snow capped mountains [hood and raineer] behind the downtown skyline.
jay | Portland, OR