A few months ago I posted this thread asking fellow dopers to suggest a good city where I could make a new home. Well, this September I took a road trip with my dad and visited some of the most promising locations. Since I currently live in Arizona I was limited to the Western half of the U.S. The only city I wanted to visit that I couldn’t fit into my trip was Austin, Texas. I’m kinda biased against Texas anyway.
The trip was a success even though we had to cut it short because of what happened on September 11. Despite the fact that I was totally distracted by terrorists and box-cutters and collapsing towers, I still managed to choose a city:
Portland, Oregon.
To be honest, Portland’s been high on my list for a long time. But I had to see it to be sure I wanted to live there. The city is beautiful. Of all the cities I’ve seen it’s the cleanest and most picturesque (honorable mention goes to Salt Lake City). The downtown has a very centrally-planned, European feel to it. The suburbs are really cool. Lots of trees and parks. Awesome houses.
My only beef is with the rain. It rains a lot in Portland, but most of the rain falls in the winter (unlike Seattle, where it rains steadily all year round). As long as you’re willing to put up with the winter rains the summer is perfect (75 degrees and sunny). Hell, I love the rain, so what am I worried about?
I drove back to Portland a few weeks ago with my mom and found a great apartment in Beaverton, which is just southwest of Portland proper. We would’ve flown, but neither of us had the guts to board an airplane at the time. Let me just say, twenty-two hours is an incredibly long time to drive, even when you’re driving in shifts.
I’ve been packing all week. Tomorrow we load the U-Haul. Wednesday I’m leaving for Portland on one final, excruciatingly-long drive. I’m glad my parents are here to help. I’d never be able to do this alone. This will be the hugest freakin’ move of my life. I hope it’s worth it. :rolleyes:
And to those of you who posted to my thread with suggestions: Thanks, you’ve been a great help!
Gad, I admire you. I had a hard enough time recently going through the process of considering where the same suburb I might want to move to. But – choosing a whole city? Ice Wolf doffs her cap to you, incitatus.
An excellent choice! of course the “Perfect” choice would have been somewhere near Seattle.
Let us know when you get settled cuz I think this calls for another PNW Dopefest (I’ll try to actually make it this time)
It helps that I’m young and I haven’t established any roots in Arizona (I came here from Southern California when I was 12). Plus there aren’t too many career opportunities for me in Arizona. It’s a beautiful state, but it’s more of a place where people come to retire – kind a Western version of Florida.
Haven’t been to Seattle yet. But since I’ll be living a mere three hours away I definitely want to plan a trip there!
Well, I gotta pack up the computer now. Bon Voyage!
Oh my, did you pick the wrong time to come to Portland. The rain season just started, won’t let up till May or so. Don’t let it get you down, Summer here has been scientifically proven to be better than anywhere else on the planet. Hrm, your post says you like the rain. I find that rain is like chocolate… good every once in a while, but less so when you’re force fed it for six months straight.
Odd coincidence, my sister just moved back here from Prescott, mere weeks ago. If you live in Beaverton, then I live no more than 5 miles from you, so if you want any info about what’s around, just let me know (kevin @ madpoet.com).
