Portland and Seattle?

I haven't spent a huge amount of times in places like Chicago or New York/Midwestern and East Coast cities, but based on my visits to Midwest and East Coast cities, I'd say they feel very different.

Particularly in terms of space, as you mentioned. You're not going to get a "closed in" feel in the Northwest unless you grew up in say, Montana. Obviously extremely accessible recreation opportunities compared to other cities.

The one thing I will say is that I feel like you won't escape elitist snobs in any metropolitan environment - though I'd say Portland is a better bet than Seattle in that respect. But like I said, I haven't spent a large amount of time in cities outside the West coast (just visiting), so for all I know it's orders worse or better.

 

Cost of living a little high in Portland but the public transportation is amazing and it's got a good vibe. I lived in Salem, which is only about an hour away. Seattle not bad either but I don't have the same personal experience with it. Portland definitely a good place for the LGBT scene and Pacific NW very liberal in general.

Even Salem was a decent place to start my life in.

 

I've never heard much complaining about Ann Arbor, but everyone is entitled to their valid experiences and valid perceptions. Most college towns with good schools are sort of snotty. I agree! I don't think that extends to Detroit, though, unless we're referring to its richer areas.

Portland and Seattle are cheaper than the major California cities by quite a bit. They are liberal. You also won't get a lot of sunny days during the year. In the Midwest, you can get clear, cold winter days and practically get sunburned from the sun reflecting off the snow. They definitely do not feel like New York or Chicago. As far as expenses go, they are much cheaper than New York. I don't know how they compare to Chicago for cost of living. Maybe about the same? If you are outdoorsy, I'm sure you'd like just about any West Coast city. That's the major difference between West Coast and East Coast cities to me, along with less humidity in summer.

 

I'm guessing Tightrope's probably the most well-traveled of all those replying so far, so I'd say you could probably trust his answers pretty well.


I'd also like to add that if you're not much one for the city, it's very easy to commute from the suburbs of Seattle and Portland. Much more laid back atmosphere.

 

I'm not sure it's true, but I have heard people say they've found it hard to meet people in Seattle, and there is even a term 'the Seattle freeze', to describe it. Plus, it is a very expensive city. I'd think Portland would be the more laid back/friendlier of the two, based on friends I've had who've lived out there for (brief) periods. I wonder what Eugene, OR is like? Or maybe south of Seattle? Both places sound much bigger than Ann Arbor, especially Seattle. If Ann Arbor seems snooty/arrogant, I think Seattle will probably have them beat...in spades!

 

I've never understood that claim - it seems on par with other cities in that regard. Hell my parents are horrible at making friends and they already know tons of people since moving back out there.

Also based on my personal experiences with Ann Arbor...I don't buy that...
Seattle is definitely more "snobby" than Portland though.

 

Huh, just going on what friends have said, never been there in person! Would like to see both, and I also wonder: Is Portland really like the show, Portlandia???

Me, I'll most likely stick to moving either back to northern Michigan, or possibly New Hampshire, one day, as I like a lot of snow, and the East feels more cozy to me. Well, Michigan isn't the east, though it's not exactly the midwest...but I do love all the fresh water.

 

Portland and Seattle give you the citylife, the acceptance of LGBT, and job opportunities while their cost of living is a bit low (to Californian perspectives). The West Coast is known to be very accepting to new ideas. The midwest and east coast seems to have a lot of old-money ideas. The Seattle-Tacoma (SeaTac) metro area are quite urbanized, but not like NYC.

I've only done research on Seattle since I want to move there so I apologize for the lack of info on Portland.

You'll find that the houses in SeaTac are quite cheap compared to NYC and Chicago. A house in SeaTac would be 1/3 of the cost of its equivalent in NYC. I found that a 4 bed 3 bath house in Renton (in the SeaTac metro area) is just under $300,000. To put that in the perspective in other cities: $450,000 in SoCal and $500,000 in NYC.

I think houses and rest of cost of living in Seattle are more expensive than Portland, mostly because of mass migration to Seattle but it's a better investment to shell out a bit more because you and your possible kids get more.

How much things cost should be a factor. Some goods in Portland can be more expensive than Seattle, mostly because of the lack of sales tax. Since businesses want to make a profit, they just jack up the prices. There's no state income tax in Seattle, so you get to keep a bit more of your money but there is a high sales tax (9.0-9.5%). The set sales tax for Washington state is actually 6.5% (I suppose), but each county and city adds another sales tax rate to it.

If you're like me and you want to live in an ethnically diverse area, I would prefer Seattle. A ton of Vietnamese and Japanese cuisine over there.

Lastly, weather in Portland and Seattle (any city in the Pacific NW) is known to be very wet, especially in Seattle. Since Seattle is right next to a lake, the weather over there is very mild and cloudy. Your choice for the weather though.

Overall, it's all up to you. However, I recommend living in the suburbs and commute to the inner-city instead. It's way easier like that.

 

I have lived and worked in both locations. Oregon has a state income tax whereas Washington does not. But beware; Washington has an excise tax for purchases like EVERYTHING, houses, cars, but not most food. The depth of industries is far greater in Seattle the Portland. Downtown Portland is light years ahead of Seattle in public transportation. Seattle has more bedroom communities then Portland. Both have traffic issues that involved waterways that will forever restrict any type of solution. Seattle city council is very socialist and always an entertaining watch on city TV.
Living in the suburb really takes some hard investigating for both locations. Lakes, rivers and mountains divide and limit commuting options. Use of public transportation may take up to two hours depending on where you live to where you work. Ferry, train, street car or bus, all have some pros and cons. I drove to a park and ride and took a train into downtown Seattle and walked 6 blocks for a direct bus to my office. (45 minutes if I hit everything on time.)
Seattle city has some pretty esoteric communities if you enjoy the in-city scene. For example, a small street intersection in Seattle called Freemont boasts of a 15 foot one eyed cement troll who lives under a bridge and is gnawing on a VW bug. Another is the fisherman’s wharf of Ballard where everyone drives Volvos and eats Lutefisk and is home to the “Northwestern” from Deadliest Catch fame.
Crime in both cities is average but vehicle thefts remain high. Pot is now legal (state law only) in Washington, but many employers have drug testing policies.

 

Oh I envy you!

I have always wanted to move to Seattle, but I have never had the money or the means.

Im so jelli!

LOL

 

I'm not sure I can be of much help. It's been years since I was in Seattle, and even longer since I was in Portland. (My profile says "Near Seattle", but that's only because Seattle is the nearest city that would be readily recognizable.) Disclaimer aside...

Seattle area: rain, more rain, and even more rain. Sky is often gray. Someone from CO commented Seattle is the only place he knows of where "sun breaks" are used in the weather forecasts.

Snow is not common. It can snow, and there usually is some each winter. But it's also not uncommon to make it through a winter with zero snow. I can't speak about Seattle, but the places I've lived here do seem to have trouble dealing with snow. Both the county level maintenance can be an issue, but also the natives have a hard time. You can see scary driving on ice--I remember seeing one person skid through a red light on an icy morning because he was driving too fast, and hit the brakes too hard for the red light... You also see other natives act as if the end of the world is coming when it snows. A cashier I know comments that there is always a huge surge of people buying bread and toilet paper (I'm not making that up!) when snow is forecast.

If you want snow reliably, there are the mountains. Also there is the eastern half of the state.

One other comment: the temperatures do not get as cold as Michigan. But the cold we do get may seem worse. A number of people have commented that the "damp cold" is harder to deal with than the dry cold elsewhere.

---------- Post added 11th Feb 2015 at 06:35 PM ----------

I'm not sure about "meeting people", but it is hard forming meaningful connections. I have, at best, casual friends. I've spent a fair amount of time the last year trying to build my social network, and have had zero success.

I am not the only person to note this.

---------- Post added 11th Feb 2015 at 06:48 PM ----------

That is, the mountains have snow recreation (e.g. skiing) available.

Living east of the mountains allows one to live with snow more. But LGBT acceptance is less likely, and there wouldn't be many of the economic opportunities Seattle has. That said...on another forum, a gay man moved east of the mountains. It was for family issues, although one thing he welcomed was the ability to actually have a real house vs. an apartment. He was close enough to Seattle that he was able to get there to take advantage of what Seattle had to offer. (One thing that probably helped: his partner stayed in the Seattle area, so presumably that gave a place to stay overnight.)

 

It doesn't really snow much on the West Coast of the United States. My acquaintances in Seattle only deals with snow sometimes. They react to snow similarly to how Californians react to rain. However, it rains... A LOT in Seattle. They've even compared it to the Chinese water torture because while there are a few days that pours, most of the time it's just light to moderate rain.

The lowest common temperatures I've seen in Seattle were about 30-something degrees. The winter doesn't get as cold as east of the Rockies, especially when we have the ocean to mitigate the cold temperatures.