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Thought this might be a decent place to ask.

In about a month my girlfriend and I will be taking a road trip to Colorado (where I used to live) then to Oregon, Portland area.

Any words on how it is to live over there?  Places we should check out on the trip?

We will be looking for a middle to low cost of living area.

Thanks much,
  richard

In August, I moved out to Hillsboro (suburbs 20ish minutes outside of Portland) and love it so much that I’m actually purchasing a house out here.

I was told that it’s incredibly rainy and always overcast.  That’s true for the winter (which ain’t nothing compared to the blizzards I’m used to) - but at least lately, it’s been sunny and gorgeous.

I love it, the Pacific Northwest is just an amazing area.  The Orenco Station area in Hillsboro is fabulous and safe, with lots of high tech jobs (several Intel campuses in walking distance) and plenty of opportunity.

As Lisa said, Portland is a great place if you can handle a little rain.  Which really pales in comparison to Southeast Alaska where I grew up.  It makes the sunny days even more special.

Living anywhere close to downtown can be pretty expensive unless you get real lucky.  I rent out a basement apartment near downtown and pay about 1/2 what the going rate is for a livable studio apartment in the area but it took some searching on Craigslist and some visits to some pretty gross disgusting places before I found it.  I enjoy being close to downtown though as during the summer I can walk pretty much anywhere I need to go.

Beaverton/Hillsborough is a good place and depending on the traffic and where in the area you live about 10 - 40 minutes from downtown.  Portland is a great place if you don’t have a car too.  The MAX goes pretty much anywhere anymore and downtown its free.

Jamie

Cool, Thanks for the responses.  Pretty much everyone I’ve talked to said they loved it.

It’s nice to know we’ll be able to live within 30 mins of downtown for a reasonable price.

Hows the mountain areas?  Lots of spots for climbing, hiking and biking?

If I weren’t sitting on my butt so much I could tell you better.  But there are a number of trails even close by for hiking which I do when I can.  Biking is huge here.  I don’t climb but a few of my friends do and there are places to go.

One of NetRaising’s clients is a climbing outfit called Mazamas thats based here in Portland.

Jamie

Very cool, I miss climbing and real mountain biking from my days in Colorado.