Anyone up in Portland, OR area??

[DNichole]

I'm lookin at different schools all throughout the west and have a few choices in Portland as well... how is it up there?? been there a few times and liked the area, will be goin back the end of March to check it out again... I've already heard the rain stories, rain doesn't bother me so I'm not worried about that! The snowboarding almost year 'round up on Mt. Hood excites me ... how's the over all area??? i hear jobs are limited, etc... more focused on school so not a HUGE concern yet

[Zach M]

What school's are you looking at? I lived in Portland all my life until college, now I'm in Seattle. I love Portland. You are an hour from the beach, an hour and a half from the mountain, and really close to the columbia river and other lakes. You also have downtown, the waterfront, and lots of other things. The overall feel is really laid back, and if you don't mind the rain (I'm totally used to it) then its an awesome place to live. If you have any questions about specific stuff in Portland, let me know.

[skobi1]

I'm in Eugene, hour and half south of Ptld. I'm not much for the metro area but as for oregon in general-- the recreation possibilities are enless, like Zach said ocean,mountain,rivers, ect... I dont like to get political to often but if your a liberal you'll really love it here, If you lean to the right, well at least you'll have something to get fired up about over the morning paper.

If ya ever need a pull let me know all I need is an excuse!

[jvanick]

I travel to portland at least once a month for work...

The "rain" is more legend than fact... yes it does rain almost all winter, but at least it's in the 40's and 50's and raining... not snowing... (and rain means fresh snow up on Hood, or if you want to drive 2 or 3 hours down to Bend, it means powder at Mt Bachelor, which blows hood away big time.) Summers are perfect (sunny and nice warm weather). We go boarding on the Willamette, right through downtown portland. and you can usually find some good butter there.

In fact, I think that over-all Portland has much better weather than Chicago does (well, as long as you don't want to see the sun much in winter time).

Like others said, recreation is endless... I especially enjoy quading when I'm not boarding out there, and there's a whole bunch of places to go, from the ocean-side sand dunes at Tillamook (Sand Lake) down to Florence to the mountains up in Cougar, Washington.

When my boss finally approves my relocation request to move out to portland, I'll be moving without even thinking twice.

-J

[DNichole]

Thanx for the info guys!! Glad to hear some people enjoy the area... I'm lookin at the University of Portland and Oregon Health and Science University (nursing major)... What are some good areas to live in? I've found some nice looking apartment complexes but not sure what the overall neighborhood is like, not really interested in living on campus or right near it, but close by, not sure how bad the traffic is up in that area (flat out sucks here)... and it'd definitely be nice to have some people to hit the moutain or the water with!! I've lived here in San Jose my whole life, at 21 finally leaving but its overwhelming to be doing it on my own

[skobi1]

Like I said I dont live in Ptld. but if i was trying to find a place I would try to make sure I-5 and I-205 were not in my commute. Every time I head that way both of them are packed.

[Zach M]

My dad went to OHSU. It's a good school. If you went to U of P, you could probably live pretty close by without having to commute on a freeway. I'm not sure about living areas around OHSU. I'm always looking for new people to ride with so if you decide to come, let me know.

[Option]

I live north of Vancouver Washington but work in Portland. It is beautiful here because of the rain. It hardly ever rains in the summer. One hour to mountains and one hour to beach.