My wife (and kids) and I, are thinking of moving from Florida (Floridabama), to the Portland area in a few years. One of my best friends has recently moved there and loves it. But he's not really into the same scene I'm into. On the hippie scale, if he's a 3 or 4, I'd be a 7or 8. I would love to hear everything you all have to say about the area. Good and bad. Events, festivals, things to do and see, good areas to live, etc, etc. Not just Portland, Eugene, Vancouver WA, all around that area. Thanks.
my uncle lives in portland. when we went we werent there long, but it seems like a cool place. they have the biggest bookstore i have ever seen, it was a whole block and like 4 floors. we went to a rose garden too, it was really nice.
portland is cool, and fairly clean, although theres a bunch of hippies. eugene is pretty cool, alot smaller, can be volitale, but maybe a bit hipper. if you got a family i would go with portland. unless you like smaller comunities, then theres some cool ones up there too.
I live in Portland, I go to college here. Before this I've lived in Salem all my life, which is about an hour south. It's a wonderful city that's very alive with tons of good musical acts and interesting culture - you can find anything from indonesian to mexican to thai to moroccan food very easily. There's a pretty good art museum. The city is beautiful and made to give the impression of a city in tune with the enviroment - which it is. Downtown you'll find trees along the sidewalks and parks in the middle of metropolitan blocks, environmentally responsible and sound buildings, statues of deer and beaver and elephants and a huge waterfront area with a weekly saturday and farmer's market. There are several colleges here, Lewis & Clark (where I go), Reed, Portland State, University of Portland, Pacific Northwest College of the Arts, Mt. Hood College, Portland Community College and Portland Art Institute to name of few, so there's that atmosphere, though it definitely isn't a town dependent on colleges like Eugene is more of. Of course it's beautiful here. And you have excellent proximity to both ocean and mountains and endless wilderness areas. I'm not really sure how it compares to other parts of the country because this is the only place I've ever lived, but talking to kids who hail from LA and Maine and Georgia, they say it's friendlier and more laid back here and they love it. Eugene is a really wonderful place too, and it would be great for raising a family. I hope this helped!
I about an hour from Portland, but it is a great place. Orgeon has some beautiful country, and yeah, Powell's the bookstore there, is fantastic!!!
You might want to check out the Northwestern USA personal forum also...may give you some more ideas. Go to the "forum options" drop down box, click on personal forums, and you'll find it. good luck!
