Leaving Portland: my thoughts on the city (live in, moving)

[Jimrob1]

Seems to me the OP had more to deal with here than just Portland's weather. Im not sure if all the people responding to this can see beyond climate. There is more to life and things to deal with in Portland than just the climate. The weather isn't the entire root of everthing that may force a person to face the fact, that they may want more out of life and have to leave the area to get it.

[classicanne]

Originally Posted by DreamWeavin

If someone needs hot weather(and I do mean temps ranging from 90 degrees to 100+ from April through sometimes November), high humidity, sunshine sunshine sunshine-go south. South as in the deep south. But prepare yourself,if you go, for lots of thunderstorms,power outtages due to the storms,hurricanes,high power bills,southern baptist zealots, alligators,mosquitos,snakes,wasps,fire ants, dirty beaches and lots of beer chugging rednecks. And road rage like you wouldn't believe unless you see it. I'm sure it's due to the bad moods everyone stays in due to the constant heat.

Oh my, you certainly NAILED the Gulf Coast of Florida! My daughter and I cannot WAIT to leave (c'mon house, sell already!) and so look forward to leaving behind the conditions you describe. On the other hand, my soon-to-be-ex loves it here, the hotter and sunnier the better, and would be very unhappy in the PNW. So, whatever floats your boat!

[HonuMan]

Sundaysmile's post was thoughtful and well written. Just to offer another perspective, I spent my childhood in Rochester, NY, which statistically has more cloudy and rainy days than Portland, not to mention Siberian winters. I hated the weather there and was thrilled when my family moved to California. We later moved to Atlanta because of the plentiful jobs, and while I wasn't a fan of the hot, muggy summers, I loved the number of sunny days. I considered myself to be a sun worshipper.

In 1996, I took a vacation to the PNW and was overwhelmed by the natural beauty here. I wanted to move here, but I was really worried about whether I could handle the weather. A year later, I decided to chance it, and I moved to Portland. The first winter, with its rain, cloudcover, and short number of daylight hours, was rough. Several people, though, told me to stay for two winters. After that, they said, I'd either adjust or move away. The second winter was worse than the first -- one of the rainiest on record. I was very depressed, and I was seriously considering moving south to California. But then spring came, and then summer, and I remembered why I'd moved here in the first place. The third winter, I found tolerable, and the rain and short days started to seem "normal." After a few more winters, I went from tolerating the weather to actively liking it: those misty, mysterious days, with fog rolling over the West Hills, looking like a Japanese watercolor painting. Now I wish it rained a little more (just a little) during the summer, to take the edge off the heat waves and clean the dust out of the air.

So for anyone else who is thinking of moving here but is concerned about the weather, take the advice I took, and give it a couple years. You'll either adjust to the winters, or you'll move away (or you'll stay and be miserable).

The OP's other observations match my own. As a newcomer who didn't know a soul here, I found Portlanders to be polite on the surface but difficult to get to know. (My European friends have told me that that's a very European trait.) It takes work; you have to become involved in clubs, churches, or other social organizations where you can be with the same people over time and get to know them. I'm an introvert who is happy socializing with my wife and a few close friends, so it doesn't bother me. On the other hand, I've heard people in other cities say the same thing, and I suspect it has less to do with the innate friendliness (or lack thereof) of a city's residents than it does with people's lives becoming busier as they get older. The OP is 22 -- a year out of college, I'm guessing. Making new, close friends will never again be as easy as it was in school, when you're in close contact with the same people on a daily basis and have few responsibilities beyond your studies and maybe a part-time job.

As for Portlanders' lack of ambition, I've heard that said, but I've worked in the high-tech and consulting fields, and most of the people who have surrounded me have been pretty ambitious and hard working. However, it isn't the intense ambition that I've heard about in NYC, San Francisco, or Seattle. Most people I know like to have a life outside of work, as do I. (A recent newspaper article said that Portland attracts young software entrepreneurs who want to start companies that pay the bills and provide a decent living; they don't aspire to found the next Microsoft or Google.) Whether the twentysomething slacker population is higher here than in other cities, I can't say (I'm 50), but I can tell you that when I lived in booming, success-conscious Atlanta from 1972-1997, there was no shortage of slackers there to balance the careerists. That said, if climbing to the top of your field and achieving recognition and material success is of primary importance to you, then Portland probably shouldn't be your top choice of a place to move to. You can make it here (some segment of the population is able to afford all those gorgeous houses I see), but it's probably easier elsewhere. And yes, the job situation is bad here, but is it good anywhere right now?

In short, there are only a handful of other places I'd consider living besides Portland. For me, it's as perfect a place as there is. Like any place, though, it's not for everyone.

[keith talent]

Originally Posted by Tiger Beer

Funny....as I am one of the people who left NYC because of the weather It was after I'd previously lived in Portland as well!

Hah, actually, I did the same thing once. I left NYC for Tucson because I was sick of the winters, and other NYC things. But the unrelenting sun and lack of trees, shade, cover ... well, that got old after 6 months. Still like visiting the desert, but maybe not so keen on living there. Feel like the forest is more my natural habitat.

But in general, people in NYC don't make any big issues about the weather. Yeah, it's a little cold for 3 months, but nothing like upstate or the upper midwest. I can definitely see leaving the parched places of this country for the PNW, too.

[blondandfun]

HAHA portland sucks, I love threads like this

[roneb]

Originally Posted by JLR29

The sun rarely comes out between November and May in Michigan except for very brief periods. I'm not sure what it's like in Oregon, but it can't be worse than it is here. The summers are phenomenal, but the winters are COLD and grey. I would take warmer and grey every time.

Speaking as someone who has lived in the upper midwest, I have to inform you that YES, it can be that much darker and grayer in the winter months here. The midwest is much colder, but the cloud cover is frequently higher and the amount of ambient light in the day is much greater than you would frequently find here in PDX. Weather page stats will also back up the fact that we DO have more cloudy days here during the winter months.

[Hans64]

Most of these comments are very reasonable but I don't understand why the supposed lack of ambition of Portlanders is a drawback for others who have more drive. I agree that a slacker mentality is well represented here, but to me this just means less competition for the things I would like to achieve. I have a very midwestern work ethic and it served me very well all up and down the West Coast.

[Casportsfan]

Sundaysmile,

As someone that has considered moving to Portland, I found your post very informative and refreshingly objective. After my recent visit, there are a couple of things I'd like to comment from my experience there:

(1) I was in Portland 2 weeks ago, and for two days I walked through downtown, and had zero hassles with bums. I can't even honestly say I saw more than one or two. Funny that you mentioned Pioneer square, because on thatvery sunny Friday 2 weeks ago I sat for a good hour or two there watching teenagers hackey sack, kids run around while their parents watched, blah blah, but was not approached, by any vagrant, nor did I see anyone else approached . . . could it be that this all depends on ones prior experience and tolerance level? . . . .

The last city that I lived in prior to Sacramento was a small college town of 45,000, about 47 miles North of San Francisco. Even in that city, if you hang out at the one and only starbucks in downtown and take the public transit, I'll show you the very definition of homeless/mentally ill individuals . . . They are here in Sacramento by the droves as well, and if I walk 3 blocks from my house I am usually bound to see at least one sleeping by a heat vent or on the curb. I truly believe that this is a growing problem in EVERY city around the country.

(2) I actually had a friend that (a) moved to Portland, (b) lived on his friends couch for a year (c) never held a job . . . . Funny your example was dead on! I noticed many hipsters there too.

(3) I found the city to have a very safe "feel" to it as well, in almost all parts that I visited.

(4) Excellent description of SAD. You paint a very good picture of how this illness feels, which is very helpfull for someone like me to know. Some people mention or warn of SAD, but your post elicits a visual that moves the weather situation on the list of things to potentially be concerned about.

I love the weather there, but maybe it's good to consider the possible adverse affects of long term exposure to it.

[sandlinjames]

Originally Posted by Hans64

Most of these comments are very reasonable but I don't understand why the supposed lack of ambition of Portlanders is a drawback for others who have more drive. I agree that a slacker mentality is well represented here, but to me this just means less competition for the things I would like to achieve. I have a very midwestern work ethic and it served me very well all up and down the West Coast.

Hans, That is a wonderful way to look at it. Great to see there are optimistic people around.... I need to be more like you & appreciate the worthlessness of them.... less competition for me.

[Raelyn28]

Bravo!!! Very good description of Portland and the Surrounding area.. I also was effected terribly from SAD. I moved to Portland from Southern California, so you can imagine my physical problems.. I actually was very sick the first couple of years in Oregon and a doc confirmed it was from the climatic change. I don't live in Portland anymore and I can honestly say I wouldn't go running back there either although it is beautiful... Something like Beauty and the Beast. The beast being the weather... It just didn't work for me, I need more sun...