City of Portland
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6/26/2008
I suppose if you watch local news you might get the idea that there are murders, robberies, aggressive homeless and meth-heads on every corner in every neighborhood in Portland. I've lived here since 1990 and I consider myself a refugee from Seattle. Portland is a much safer-feeling, more accessible, culturally more exciting city than Seattle will ever hope to be. I lived in the Puget Sound area about 25 years and, although I love it up there for a variety of reasons, my opinion is that Portland is just a much better city than Seattle. It has lower crime, it's better managed and governed, it has a better transportation system, there is an extremely eclectic variety of restaurants, cafes, restaurants, bars, music venues, etc., and then there is the urban planning here that Seattle hasn't even begun to approach...
I've also lived for at least a year in Atlanta, Washington DC, San Francisco and Boston. Portland, in my experience and opinion, is a superior city to any of those others places I've lived. They all had their good points, but I've been in Portland now 18 years and I won't be leaving any time soon.
Gary | Portland, OR