Northwest life in OR and WA
 

Curious, what is life like in OR and WA? I have been thinking of possibly moving to Oregon, Washington, or Arizona. Focusing on the NW, what cities in OR/WA would you recommend? **keeping in mind low crime rates, good schools, well kept neighborhoods, etc.

I am aware Arizona will be inevitably hot, but as far as Oregon and Washington goes what is weather typically like? I am not very familiar with either state and would appreciate any input. Thanks!

I've lived in Oregon for almost 5 years and I like it for the most part. It rains 3/4 of the year, but when it's nice, it's NICE! I love the summer time! I currently live in Salem, but lived in Wilsonville last year. I'd say Wilsonville is more of an upper class city. It's very safe and has one of the best school districts in the state. Housing is more expensive than say Salem, but I'm sure it's still cheaper compared to where you currently are.

Oregon? All the cities have their nice areas and their bad areas. But if you want those real nice places, cities like West Linn, Lake Oswego, Tualatin, and Happy Valley come to mind. I've lived in Portland and Gresham all my life. I've only been a victim of theft once, when my catalytic converter was sawed off my 4runner when I had it parked at a park-and-ride lot for the light rail.

@BIL90 Thanks for your response. How is the city-life and social aspect of Salem and Wilsonville? If someone were in IT or Healthcare, would these cities provide the opportunity for those type of jobs?

@indesign Our mechanic told us about the CC being stolen from 4runners when we got ours a couple years back too! That is too bad it happened to you. Likewise, if you don't mind - How is the city-life and social aspect of West Linn, Lake Oswego, Happy Valley and Portland?

All these cities are next to eachother, just a cluster of suburbs. similar to that of say.. the bay area in california.
city life here is definitely slower than CA, cities just aren't as big, and there aren't nearly as many people. i'd say if you're a party animal, you'll notice the disparity right away.
But the northwest does carry a different identity. One of my coworkers moved up here from LA to get away from the big-city life and pursue his passion of snowboarding.

I guess it just depends on what you're into.

OT: please move to Portland so I can take advantage of your challenge.

Having moved from so Cal in July the portland area is definitely slower. I live in Hillsboro in the nicer side and it's nice just not much to do especially if you don't already know people here. But all the guys on here are great and meet up all the time. Also the weather is taking some getting used too but I was never against cold weather I do miss the sunny all year aspect of California though

My wife and I faced the same decision in 1998. As much as we loved the Oregon and Washington area we just couldn't settle on that much rain. We decided on Tucson and are very happy with our decision. When it's hot out we do the same thing the people back east do. We live in an a/c house, drive an a/c car, shop and dine in a/c. It actually was worse back east because of the humidity which is lacking here. The big difference is we don't shovel snow in the winter time. An added bonus we enjoy is our cars don't rust, they petrify instead.

Well, we moved to Washington about 20 years ago. I was born & raised in Ohio; lived in Europe for 2 years; Californis for 10 years (Bay area); Connecticut for 7 years; Saint Louis for 8 years .... then here in Puyallup, WA (near Tacoma, south of Seattle).

Yes, it does rain a lot, however, it never gets real cold nor real hot.

A great "outdoors" state.

As far as IT opportunities ..... I'd suggest you look around Seattle.

humfrz

I back this. Lived in Oregon all my life. Besides the 2 years I moved to Florida to dip into the racing world an enjoy the sun lol. I have friends/family in west linn and lake Oswego. Really nice places. I personally love living in Gresham. Keeps me close to my fav roads to drive in Corbett Oregon.

http://i999.photobucket.com/albums/a...psc39c6488.png

Live in Seattle for the past 28 years. I did travel across the country visiting other States and for some reason, I still love Seattle. I can't imagine I will move away from Seattle. Like Humfrz said, it never get too hot or too cold. Summer time is very, very nice.

I moved here from the east coast about 2 years ago and I like it quite a lot. The summers are some of the best in the country even though the fall/winter/spring is kinda "meh". And, at least in the case of Portland, you have got oceans, mountains, or desert all within 3 hours of the city.

Yea I think Portland is a hidden gem imo. I've traveled to many cities, domestic and international, and I still love this town! I do wish we had better refined restaurants/night life/shopping.

-Great restaurants at reasonable prices
-ski/snowboard 1 hour away, ocean 2 hours away, desert 4 hours away.
-no sales tax
-cost of living is cheaper here
-summer is kick ass

cons
-fall/winter/spring weather not so great
-nightlife not so refined
-this may be just me, but it has its own identity crisis, where its a mix of Hill Billy/Nerdy/Techy/Emo/Hipster. If you have 2 of those characteristics, you'll fit right in.

we moved from So Cal 8 years ago and live in West Salem and Love it, big city items are in town, Costco, Nordstrom and the like. One of the best hospitals in the state. we moved from LA area south-bay (Torrance) so it all depends what you are looking for in quality of life. Salem is an hour to and hour and a half to almost anything


the closer you get to Portland the more $ cost of living goes up