any input will be helpful

Comment

Comment by Lorri E. on March 12, 2009 at 8:30am

Hello, sorry I didn't reply sooner, this was an insanely busy week:-) Let me know some ideas on what a "perfect" neighborhood might look like, and I will give you some ideas. Portland offers an amazing quality of life, and is a beautiful city with friendly people. Yeah, like most of the country, of course we are also seeing economic downturn. Unemployment is high, and it is not the cheapest city to live in (though not the highest either). If you read the MSN article about how "depressing and miserable" it is, I would say that, first of all, I thought that article was hilarious, and secondly, the reality is that is a complete matter of opinion and perspective because living anywhere will have ups, downs, etc. and it is totally a matter of what you value, what is important to you in a city, and your own attitude (I do tend to look at portland through rose colored glasses). Life is life...where you live is only one factor in it. If you hate rainy winters, casual and friendly people, people who are "different" (keep portland weird is a favorite local slogan), environmentalists, the outdoors, a big/small city, individuality, focus on local business versus big box, and liberal attitudes--you probably won't really be all that keen on Portland or the NW in general. :-) I LOVE living in Portland, and find an amazingly high quality of life here.

Comment by Lynn Lucas on March 4, 2009 at 11:49pm

I too am looking for input - my husband is also a chef. I just posted the topic about how Portland is ranked #1 as the most miserable city in America. I know unemployment is high in Portland, but it's even higher here in Michigan. Plus we won't be moving for over a year, so lots of time to look. Any advice on neighborhoods to move to?

Comment by Mary Winter on March 4, 2009 at 11:31pm

Try to find a job first - unemployment in OR is 10% and it's no longer the glory days....