The Best (& Worst) Things About Living in Portland Oregon

The Best (& Worst) Things About Living in Portland Oregon. Thinking about moving to Portland Oregon and wondering what the Pros and Cons of living in Portland Oregon are? In this video, we discuss the best thing about Portland Oregon and the worst things about Portland Oregon. If you're relocating to Portland Oregon, watch to learn more.

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[periii]

I've live in the Bay Area for almost 8 years and am so sick of this dry air. Rain actually a reason I'm considering moving to Portland.

[wplants]

I’ve lived here for 14 years, moving from Minnesota. What I like about Portland is that it is like living in a garden. Most people turn their lawns and even the parking strip into gardens, and the flowers start blooming in early Feb. I am a gardener and this is such an amazing place to be for plants, the first time I saw pears, figs and Cherry trees I decided to stay.

The worst thing is not the homeless problem, (which I actually think will turn around based on the research I’ve been keeping up with) but the cost of living. For a family of 4 to live comfortably here you have to make 257k a year. That’s outrageous for most families. We want to move because our house is tiny but we like our neighborhood and the houses here cost 750k-1 mil for a 3 bedroom.

[TonyTrupp]

I use to live in portland, but ended up buying a house across the river in vancouver washington, mostly because the price of housing was about 20% less up here. There’s less homelessness, graffiti & crime here, plus no state income tax, where I can do shopping in portland to pay no sales tax. The biggest downside to living in vancouver is that there isn’t as much going on in terms of culture, music, less good restaurants, few food carts, etc, but portland’s not that far for that stuff, and still close to the coast and mountains for weekend adventuring.

[esthersaldana]

I’m moving back to Oregon next year from Tennessee. I’ve been here 2 years. I miss Oregon so much I lived there 15 years.

[the_derpler]

My brother came from the east coast to do a Portland -> LA road trip and visit me in SF a long the way. First thing he said when he got to SF said that Portland makes SF nice in regards to the homeless situation. Said the first thing he saw after leaving the airport was a screaming naked man on a street corner swinging a machete around. It makes me really sad it came to this.

[Penance]

I've lived in the Coachella Valley for my entire life. This place is a scorched hellscape, so your description of the weather sounds great to me.

[jamescardelli]

I lived in NoPo for years and I have to say a major contributor to the traffic is all the people that live across the river in Vancouver and commute back and forth into the Portland metro area. I left Portland in 2017 for Salem and now Roseburg. I do miss Portland at times but I definitely do not miss the traffic.

[shermanNTKI]

While winter can be gray for extended periods the summer is magnificent. Comfortable temps, no rain at all and sunny for months. Summer in the PNW is next level.

[CodyRArcher]

Growing up in Portland I couldn’t wait to get out… and now after living four years in SoCal (LA for two years and OC for two years) my wife and I CANNOT wait to get back. Yes, the homeless/drug issue sucks, but the slow pace of life and absolutely gorgeous Oregon nature makes it more than worth it. And yeah, the food is unreal, so much better than LA and way easier to get across town.

[Christopher-pezj]

Living in NW Portland... can't believe how amazing forest park is.. you can get lost for... days... lol!!! Bad weather? It is beautiful! Cheers mate!

[richardbakermcelroy]

Portland is definitely not an open-minded place. Progressive? Yes. Open-minded? No.

[guitarmeggedonit]

That mall is a ghost town, that tells you something...

[donoray]

The worst thing about living in Portland is having to listen to people who don't live here bad mouth it for hype.

[rr]

The property taxes tripled for us from 1999-2023. We sold our house and found a better area to live with half the property tax outside Portland and Multnomah county. Portland has a spineless mayor and a DA who’s soft on crime. Glad we got OUT.

[ToughLuckStudio]

Lived in PDX for ten years now and its one of the most dystopian cities in the country. Homelessness, constant overdoses, violent and property crime are rampant. My gf doesn't feel safe going for walks by herself in broad daylight even in the 'nicer' areas. This city is actively being destroyed by both its local politicians and anarchists, all the while innocent families and well-meaning people have to watch it burn. The only reason this city hasn't crumbled is because of the out-of-state investments from people who have no idea how bad it truly is here. I'm moving next month out-of-state and couldn't be happier about it. I'll miss the nature, but the nature means nothing if the society around it is bat shit crazy.

[TravisTennies]

People thinking about moving here, who are actually friendly and happy people... You will be shocked that people here are not very friendly, unless you belong to whatever cult they are in.

[Shiro-ypxg]

more cars and lanes makes worse traffic not better. we need TRAINS

[jeremynkelley]

Not OBJECTIVELY bad weather. That’s called SUBjective.

I’ve bartended in Portland for 25 years so I talk to more people in a week than some people do in a year and weather often comes up of course. Off the tip of their tongue people will often echo the cookie cutter verbiage of “ohhh it’s STILL raining” etc. But when pressed about how they actually feel, I’ve found a solid 40% will say “I LOVE it, it’s why I live here”. Another 20% are fairly indifferent. The only reason the perception is that everyone hates it, is because the ones who do make the most noise about it.

I fall squarely in the 40% who absolutely love it every day.
In the city it accentuates the cozy vibe. And out hiking it accentuates the dramatic adventures feel. And in both environments (in my subjective opinion) it makes things prettier. The forest is beautiful in the sun, but in the fog and mist it takes on a beauty and mood that’s incomparable in my opinion.

[littlemzmanners]

If you’re a normal person the people in Portland SUCK! They are weird and not in a good way. I think the rain, which I love makes them abnormal. Was there for 8 years. Had to go for my own sanity.

[sketchypeoplepdx]

I travel a lot. I've been to all 50 states. There's cities that have had struggles over the decades with changing industries i.e. the rust belt. And obviously cities more recently with the pandemic. Metros will always go through ebbs and flows. New York goes through huge challenges every decade. The only constant is change. I know, Portland isn't anything close to NY, but I'm just making a point that all cities go through hard times. Population is always increasing across the board and people will always relocate. It's what we do as a species.

What keeps Portland an overall constant draw is indeed the nature. Along with the deep water port and proximity to so many different biomes. I've worked with so many people that re-located here from all over the country (and afar) and the constant theme to their moving here is the nature.

Sure, we can all look in the "what have you done for me lately?" mirror of this city and it is indeed lack-luster. But the larger picture is that Portland will rebound with some of the aforementioned reasons I've made and echoed from this vid. From about '03 - '13 the population of Portland grew 100k people. Which is quick for this city and its infrastructure. The traffic, housing, and other resources are feeling it. The 'Couve has grown 80k in 25 years and all the metro cities have followed that trajectory. More people are using the city infrastructure, and thus slowing it down and that takes time for a city to catch up. Hwy. 217 has been under construction for...forever? Yes, Portland has lost people (along with 20 of the top 30 metros in the U.S.) in the past couple years. But a 3% dip will almost be totally offset by procreation and relocation to this city in the coming couple of years. Nature will continue to be the constant theme for others to come. Will they stay for the long term? Only time will tell. But they are coming.

I love this topic. I love this city. I love people and that's why I sketch them in my Sketchy People project. A project that puts me in touch with community and art.


To all of those who are departing Portland, I wish you the best of luck on your endeavors. To anyone who's thinking of coming, I personally welcome you. I think you'll see the beauty of this region is top-notch.