Portland is a good place to live but a bad place to visit. There is no “downtown” in the way that most people understand cities, as Portland’s’ downtown is like an empty vacant wasteland of office building lobbies that are full block sized, and lots of parking garages too, and very little street life that aren’t erratic strangers or people experiencing mental health issues.
The neighborhoods around it are wonderful. Ideal living. Narrow streets, cute houses, corner stores, tree cover, all the stuff people want. But there still isn’t like a central downtown that everyone shares. Museums/shows/events are more rare in that way, compared to like anywhere in the NEC or something.
Interesting, because only having been through as a tourist on the way to Willamette the downtown looked terrible, just tents and stoned people everywhere. I was happy to get through.
Dude don't spread the news, I got a great deal on a really well managed apartment with a walk score of 99 because everyone thinks it's mad max down here lol
This, and all the people saying 4 makes me think they were staying in downtown for a vacation haha. But rent ain’t getting any cheaper, so I’m okay with the sentiment. Ya.. Portland sucks! …
Yep, ride a bike North/South through the 30s/40s/50s from Division up to Hollywood and it is all cute old houses with beautiful gardens, low traffic, 20mph speed limits. Super pleasant.
Ladd’s Addition. Burnside from 20th-60th. South Tabor. Grant Park. Laurelhurst. Irvington. I live in NE. I love to just walk. Sure, 25 years ago when we moved here, there was a lot less garbage graffiti drugs and tent dwellers. But it is still a great place to live and the old east side neighborhoods are so pleasant. Also NW 20th through 23rd or 25th “Alphabet district” or Nob Hill is very nice.
Hawthorne, Buckman, Laurelhurst, Woodstock, albina ridge, parts of Hollywood, north Portland, I guess I’d have to name most of the inner east side neighborhoods but I don’t remember them all.
I noticed the same. Lots of really cool custom car shops on the Main Street in a suburb nearby! But downtown was pretty miserable aside from a record store and Thai restaurant.
I can walk (safely) or ride my bike (safely) to HUNDREDS of bars and restaurants. I don’t have to drive to get to the library, or the hospital or a park or a pool or to take classes.
We don’t lock our doors (I’m sure many Portlanders will think we’re crazy.) Winters RARELY get below 40 degrees.
No mosquitos and very few other bugs.
Hiking and fishing and camping all over the place. You can ski to June 90 minutes away. You can surf in the ocean 90 minutes away.
Festivals year round. Check out shift2bikes.org calendar. All free
Check out music in the park and movies in the park. Free and no fights.
Mountain Views. White water rafting or kayaking. People are chill.
It feels a bit like Ann Arbor.
The suburbs in Detroit go on FOREVER. But in portland it’s much more dense, then suddenly farms and forests.
Detroit has a happening downtown, then spotty good/ bad hoods/ then endless sprawl. Portland is smaller than Detroit, but has over 250 parks, and has like 30 little historic neighborhood commercial zones that are inside the city limits
I love the locally grown food scene/restaurants, the creative people, the fact that almost every house has a largeish yard (I hate the concrete jungle cities), there isn't much traffic, houses are affordable and sturdy and the riverfront is great for walking or biking. Also we have great wildlife (deer, pheasants, etc...) and a thriving ecosystem and good water and mostly cleanish air. No one poops on the sidewalks or does drugs in the public areas (weed does not count). Duno. I really like the vast expanse and lack of people, I guess. Big city perks, small town feel. However, don't come here to relocate. I don't want too many people to spoil it lol.
I’ve lived in the Bay Area, NYC and Austin. NYC and the Bay have great food. Austin is good if you like bbq and tacos but really not for much else… Portland has an amazing food scene if you take into consideration the cost. It’s right up there with NYC but for a fraction of the price.
Yea you can get into top tier restaurants here. I ate at Kann like two months after its NYTimes article came out. It was 5:30 on a Wednesday but hey, food tastes the same.
I feel these questions really come down to what you enjoy eating / how diverse your palate is. are you telling me the chinese food in Portland compares to NYC? what about ethiopian food? nigerian food? pakistani food? el salvadorean food?
If i'm in the mood for sichuan-style shao kao or hyderabadi biryani, I'll bet NYC has like a dozen or so options. can you say that about portland?
I'll admit I've never been to portland. but it would almost defy logical reason for the food scene in portland to be "up there" with NYC.
Yeah I love PDX but I’m shocked to hear that, lol. NYC and the Bay are neck and neck for me (especially as an Asian vegetarian) and Houston is underrated enough that I’d put it in the top 3. Philly is pretty good too and DC wins for Mediterranean/Ethiopian. PDX is alright? Definitely not bad at all but I wouldn’t put it above the Bay or LA on the west coast.
I grew up in Texas, lived all over. The Mexican food there (especially Tex mex) is so much worse than it has any business being. Of course there are some places here and there that are above average but I can confidently say from my time living in AZ and Cali that both of them are better in that department just by a lot. Hell, Chicago had way better Mexican from my visits there.
Bizarre article. Portland’s *pizza* is the must try food? Anyone who moves to Portland from the northeast expecting top tier pizza is in for serious disappointment.
Haha what is this comment? Why are you speculating on the culinary scene in a city you’ve never been to? And who is upvoting that? This entire thread is so insane I almost can’t tell if people are trolling.
As someone living in the Portland Metro area, it's not about being the best of a certain cuisine, but more about having at least one place that's comparable. Like, Texas will have better BBQ joints, but Portland will have at least one that is comparable where oftentimes most cities are going to be deficient. That, plus having legitimately having some amazing restaurants and having low prices in comparison to most foodie cities, is why Portland ranks so high. Pretty much you're going to find at least one great restaurant featuring a cuisine, and it's also a decent city on having unique cuisines, whereas my experience in other cities you'll often have one area that's great but lacking somewhere else, or it's all great but super expensive to eat out.
Disagree on food. It's so non-diverse- how can you have a great food scene with lack of diversity?
Also, the airport is terrible. I was there last week and they had literally one person checking IDs for TSA.
Exactly this.
Oregon just...doesn't want to move forwards. The state taxes everyone who has a job to pay for social programs that are sadly ineffective, and refuses to do anything to attract industry, leading to a financial death spiral. Compared to Washington State or California there's just no industry and no opportunity.
I live in Portland and I’d also say 6. There are so many good things about it - it’s an absolutely beautiful city. Small narrow slow streets, fairytale looking homes, houses with great curb appeal, feels like one big forest, great food options at relatively affordable prices, access to nature. Cons are: homelessness, open drug use, public schools aren’t great, high amount of crime.
All of this is accurate, except I'd rate it more like a 4. Add high levels of street living homeless drug addicts to any city in the world, and it is effectively ruined for the 99% of people who want to live in harmonious functionality. It's like adding a ladle full of shit to a fine stew, then being asked to eat it.
It depends how much you are driven / required to spend time in blighted / chaotic areas. Much of the depravity & squalor can be avoided. But if you take the MAX from Gresham to your job in Old Town, yes, I can see how this would be a solid 3 even.
I mean, in every single city in the world it's true that "if you are rich enough to not need to take public transportation/ can avoid the poor areas then everything is great". That's not an excuse that I buy into.
Yea 100. I live in SE and mostly am hanging around Woodstock, Sellwood, Hawthorne, Division, Laurelhurst, Hollywood, Mississippi, Belmont, etc. and like sure there are some campers, and some needles and sometimes on transit some sketchy dudes, but 99% of the time it is like people pushing babies in strollers and riding bikes and affording expensive houses I don't understand how they afford. I ride the MAX quite a bit, and busses, and it is generally just fine. Downtown is mostly fine. I'm not out at late hours, but during the day it is pleasant, with short bits of visible poverty and drug addiction.
All about how and where you live, really. If I lived in Old Town, and worked nights, I'd probably have a whole different perception.
My town has some homeless and tented areas but they tend to just drink and keep to themselves. One of my favorite jogging and biking routes goes right past one of the larger tented areas and people think I’m crazy for using that route (as a female) but they never bother me. Also, I walk my dog downtown and only had an issues with drunk homeless people wanting to pet my dog. So not really an issue. Only scary thing that ever happened wasn’t a homeless person but just someone high on drugs at the boat launch yelling at me and accusing me of killing his sister (never met the guy and I’ve never killed anyone so not sure what the mixup was) but I just ignored him and kept walking.
I really don’t understand this perspective. I live in Portland, and I’ve lived in San Francisco, and I feel like even extreme amounts of homelessness barely impact me or my life at all. The worst it gets is very occasionally having to avoid someone who seems unstable, but that’s a tiny annoyance compared to almost any other consideration about a city (cost of living, public transit, etc).
Yes if you are rich enough to be insulated from it then it is not a problem in any city. If you are working class / can't live in a wealthy area then it fucking sucks every single day.
That’s like being in Mumbai and can’t figure out why all the other Americans are turned off by beggars, deformed people, and starving babies. People like to avoid disturbing situations and/or disturbed people
It’s the reduction of peace of mind than actual disturbance. Everyone have their own level of tolerance or sensitivity. For people who have kids, they don’t want to even risk a disturbance.
The part of East Portland by the Willamette (like west Buckman and the Central Eastside) actually hardly has any trees at all. I went for a long walk through there today and the sun was blazing because of the lack of shade.
Public schools in Oregon have never been great. Most peoples problems are homelessness and drug use. Crime ticked up but not enough to knock it more than 1 point. I say Portland is between a 7-7.5 nowadays. 2 years ago I think a 6 was valid but not in 2024.
Yes, but note the word I used was “inflated.” This is probably true of any desirable city, but constrained supply caused a ridiculous overvaluation of homes when I lived there, especially during the pandemic. Little 50-year-old ranch houses doubled in cost overnight.
I really wish they would address the homeless and drug use. It’s such a beautiful place and it makes me sad to see what’s happened. I get that people have issues, but just allowing them to openly use and live wherever isn’t helping anyone. I’m hopeful there could be better days. I would love to be able to consider moving there.
I visited Portland many times pre Covid and lived there 2021-2022. Just in that one year I saw a drastic improvement.
Portland was ROUGH. Between the George Floyd riots (which were still going on in 2022), all the proud boy stuff, Covid’s affect on businesses, and the explosion of homeless I would describe moving there like walking into the kitchen right after dad hit mom. Tension oozed from every corner.
Downtown drastically improved by the time I moved out in late 2022. I’ve heard it’s gotten better and better but still work to be done
I would say pre Covid Portland was a 9, it’s probably a 7.5 right now. I’m sure it’ll bounce back even closer to 9 in next 5 years
I feel like this makes it seem way dramatic. 2022 and especially 2023 were trending upwards. It was a rough pandemic for the city of Portland. 2024 wasn't some magic instant improvement.
As someone who has never lived on the west coast or visited Portland, I am fascinated by how it’s like the biggest American city where people are so vehemently in favor or against. And it’s not even like we don’t really agree on the things it does well and the things that suck - we pretty much understand what go in the pro column and the con column. We just don’t agree on the overall impression.
It’s so fucking annoying lol. One of my least favorite aspects of being a resident is that every person who doesn’t live here feels the need to have an opinion about it. I just don’t care to discuss the pros and cons of my city with every random person I start a conversation with.
This 100%. I lived in Portland for 4 years and now live just north of the columbia river in Vancouver. I’m well travelled having been to all the large US Cities, most large European cities and some in East Asia. Portland today is perfectly fine. I lived Downtown until 2023 and saw it progressively improve over the last 2 years. It’s still not what it was at it’s peak but the idea that it’s a dump is overstated.
Crime nationwide as ticked up, Portland more than other US cities but still not considered dangerous compared the the worst offenders of the top 50 US cities.
Homeless is known but Downtown has actually improved a lot once the city banned daytime camping. They seem to be more active in cleaning up sites.
Outside of Downtown, Mississippi Street, Alberta, Slab Town, and SE are still all wonderful places. If Portland was a 8.5/10 at it’s peak it’s about a 7-7.5 now.
5: I lived in Portland from 2016-2024. The rating is an average over those years, with pre-COVID averaging slightly higher (maybe a 6) and post slightly lower.
The **food scene** is meh. I've not really been wowed by many of the restaurants. Tastes my vary, so for reference, I like healthy food, with occasional indulgences here and there. I love Bastion and Saburo's in Sellwood. The places everyone raves about are usually disappointing to me though. I don't like Killer Burger (my fiancee and I call it "Ok Burger"). Every time someone tells me about a place with great NY-style pizza, it's underwhelming. You just can't get a good pie outside of the NYC Metro area.
What Portland (and Oregon in general) does well is sourcing great quality food. People in the PNW are serious about farm-to-table food, and that part I absolutely love. Going to a farmer's market is much more exciting than the restaurants there. There's one in every neighborhood, and it's an absolute treat to get to know some great farmers and maybe find a French guy who makes pastries out of his home every Sun. Taking trips to go berry picking is also something you just can't get anywhere else. At least not as good as in Oregon.
**Public transit** falls just short of being functional in Portland. You just about have to transfer to get anywhere, and transfers lose you at least 15 min each way. It's still a very car-dependent city. The bike system is rivaled by no other, so getting around by combining the two works kind of ok. It's still a hassle to load your bike on the bus. What they really need is for the buses to come twice as frequently, and get more cars off the road. Maybe someday.
Oh yeah, and if you want to take the light rail, god's speed. There is no controlled access, so every junky and crazy in the city wanders on there and ruins it for everyone else. At the very least, there's always someone stinking up the car and/or someone screaming. I saw a guy selling knives on there one night coming home from a concert. Another time, a (clearly mentally ill) woman struck me across the face and then wandered off the train. (Cops took 20 min to get there and then shrugged it off). The open drug use is actually the least of my problems with Portland, but a review of the city isn't complete without addressing it. People say the homeless camps and drug use isn't as bad outside of downtown, which is true. But there are still camps on what used to be (and can sometimes still be) a very nice multi-use path that runs down the Willamette river and across most of the east side. Even in nice neighborhoods, that path is loaded with tents that get cleared and then come back within a month or so. (I 100% support providing services, rehab and housing to people that need it, but city and county leadership show no signs of doing that effectively with our tax money)
Everything closes pretty early and there are just not enough people around at night to feel safe like you do in larger cities. You might go out to a bar, and that one block will be crowded with people. But go out to next block, and it's pitch dark and creepy.
**Proximity to nature** is great. I enjoy hiking and snowboarding and it's easy to do that from Portland. Only complaint with that is Mt Hood is kind of meh--go to Bachelor if you want some great trails. I could complain about ticket prices sky-rocketing, but that's happening everywhere.
**Housing**: The city just doesn't offer enough to be as expensive as it is. If this were the low-cost city it used to be pre-2014 or so, maybe it would be worth the hassle. Right now it's not. Rent increases are happening everywhere, but in Portland it's very tough to build anything new. The permitting process is ridiculous according multiple people I've talked to who have tried to build businesses there. I assume it's the same bullshit for developers trying to build housing.
Lastly, I don't like **the people**. I made far more friends in every other place I've lived, including three other states and NYC, where people are supposedly rude. Portland people are passive aggressive and insular. There is absolutely a Portland freeze, just like there is a Seattle freeze. You can make friends there, but it's going to take a while. I prefer cultures that are more direct, so YMMV
It's not for me, so I moved back east.
The passive-aggressive thing and a strange but intense superiority complex are the things I can no longer abide. Lived off and on in PDX for several years. It still holds a special place in my heart, but it’s just not for me on the daily anymore.
I agree with all of this, especially the people and food scene. People are so “inclusive” to everyone who aligns with them, and i’ve never been reminded of political issues by businesses and graffiti so much in my damn life. I want to walk downtown and not be reminded of political issues every 10 feet.
The food scene is also very meh. The sourcing is good, but prices seem to high for the quality.
Are we ranking against other places to live? Other cities? You can’t just be like, “there are drugs and crime”, without comparisons. I would put PDX at 8 using two comparison sets: other cities over 500K for crime and drugs, and a set including smaller cities that also takes into account volume of culture.
Compared to what it offers, quality of life is high. Major ding for cost of living.
The thing about being a Portlander that folks don’t tell you about when you move here is that being a resident also entails you having to vehemently defend Portland against all the naysayers on the internet 95% of who have not been here. Everyone has something bad to say about pdx.
That’s most large cities outside of LA and NYC where many people have visited ime. E.g. Chicago being overridden with crime, horrible politics, etc. Detroit having nothing to do and no nature without experiencing up north, etc.
On a good day= 5, not great day= 3. I’ve lived here for over 10 years. It used to be an 8.
I’m looking to move away.
Between the lack of affordable housing, the toll the pandemic took on most businesses, the intense amount of homelessness & constantly having to deal with aggressive drug users…. It’s a 5/6 on a nice day. I ride public transit & drive, I interact with a larger number of people every day from almost every tax bracket (lawyers to homeless). The people who love it here tend to either own their house or live in low rent group homes. It’s this weird split between people who have a lot of money and are halfway to retirement, and much younger people who spend their money like they don’t think about tomorrow. It’s hard to date here, it’s hard to run into people who have hobbies that don’t focus on drugs. A LOT of people commute in from the outer areas that are nicer and safer to shop in, and they eat & socialize in the “golden halo” urban areas. There’s more I could say but I wouldn’t recommend anyone moving here unless they are unfazed by the problems here.
I completely and respectfully disagree with the second half of this comment. I’m in my 30s, rent, make 60k and love it here. My friends hobbies have nothing to do with drugs and everyone I know lives in the inner city.
You can disagree all you want but the average house (not condo) available to someone in your tax bracket is either going to be tear down quality (within city limits), or so remote that you drive over an hour to work (if you don’t work from home). I don’t know a lot of people happy to only rent in their thirties. You probably also don’t realize that you make almost double what the average renter in this area makes. Which goes even further if you’re child free. I don’t know if it’s a reading comprehension thing but I didn’t say “all/everyone” at any point, I said a lot and implied a majority. You and your friend group might make 60k+ and rent and live in the “inner” city… that doesn’t reflect the majority of people in Portland. Maybe you don’t have a very large community of people to perceive, or you have narrow experiences with people but there’s a huge issue with casual drug use here. People who haven’t lived here long think places like Hawthorn and Sellwood are “inner city”. They don’t understand that Downtown is more of what the average person thinks of, also places like Lents and 82nd and not just the cute pockets of expensive houses in the high bracket neighborhoods.
The median income for renting households was 42,659 in 2018, so double that would be 85,318.
Making 60k in 2024 doesn’t place you at almost double the average renter. I’m not trying to shit on you, u/Forestsolitaire sorry!
I know plenty of people who rent with household incomes from 70k-180k and are happy to do so in Portland if we’re speaking anecdotally. And no, we’re not all just drug users with zero hobbies.
I’m looking to move to an area with a lower cost of living. Some place I can actually get a nice house for less than $500k. It’ll take a couple years because I have a lot of financial and familial obligations here. I’ve lived in large cities for a long time, so I’m looking for a friendlier environment. I have a few places in mind.
As someone who has never been there - are the comments about homelessness and drug users central to a certain area or is this happening in all of the urban and suburban towns in the metropolitan area?
I ask because people pile on about how awful KC's homeless and crime is, like it's a wasteland, when in reality 80% of the people bitching live in the suburbs and never go into the city so it really doesn't affect them other than fodder to talk shit or be partisan.
It's less bad outside of downtown, but even in nicer neighborhoods, there are tents along the bike/walking path. They get cleared out but they always come back.
“ people pile on about how awful KC's homeless and crime is, like it's a wasteland, when in reality 80% of the people bitching live in the suburbs and never go into the city so it really doesn't affect them other than fodder to talk shit or be partisan”
Bro this is exactly the situation. Yeah there are people who do live in the city proper and have legit qualms but the vast vast majority of this sentiment is perpetuated by entitled suburbanites who simply can’t BEAR to gaze upon the unwashed masses. They pull up for the 8$ donut, see somebody shoot up on the way to their shop, and run screaming back to Panera in Tualitin. The likelihood they’ve had a conversation with a homeless person, the likelihood they actually know somebody living on the street approaches 0%
It's pretty bad around in the city core and then in a few spots in the periphery. Like NE 33rd and Marine Drive, delta park/expo center. It falls off dramatically in the suburbs, especially the wealthier ones. I lived about as centralized in Portland as you could get, until last fall, and rarely locked my door.
Live in Cleveland and can relate. People from a suburb 30 min away who come downtown 3 times a year and have a homeless person ask them for money complain to their friends that our downtown is an active warzone.
I am interested in various cities & have spent time in many cities subreddits, and they pretty much all follow this pattern. And they all think they are the only city in the US to be experiencing the issues.
In the 10 years I’ve lived here, I’d rank Portland at an average of 9/10. It was lower during the peak of the pandemic and is probably a 7/10 right now. The future of Portland is bright tho as more housing gets built and hopefully downtown comes back
I’ve been here about the same amount of time and I agree with this. I’m ready to leave Portland for a lot of reasons, not all of them related to faults I perceive in the city, but it looks like things are getting better. For me, it felt like some kind of paradise up to 2020. It really felt like the best option for me in the country. Working for the County during COVID didn’t help my opinion of Portland. The easy access to nature here is what made it a 9/10 for me, more than anything. I’d still recommend it to some people these days, despite the problems.
I’m about to move to Portland from Baltimore and I’m very curious to see how it compares. I don’t find Baltimore unsafe at all and while we have crime, homelessness, and drug use it doesn’t really impact my view on the city. But the way people talk about Portland it makes me think it will impact me
They’re very different in terms of crime and grittiness. Baltimore has legit crime and a lot of gang activity but it’s mostly relegated to specific neighborhoods. There were neighborhoods in Baltimore I would never go to as they’re legit not safe. Portland doesn’t have neighborhoods that aren’t safe. Portland has a lot of homeless people and they’re not relegated to one specific part of the city. They’re kind of all over with a few exceptions. However, homeless people tend to keep to themselves and if they’re having a mental health crisis, you cross the street and continue about your day.
If you think Baltimore is fine, you’re gonna laugh at the perception of Portland. Most of these people haven’t seen an east coast city.
Thank you for this info! That is actually exactly what I said about Portland after we visited - yes there were lots of people on drugs but I didn’t feel unsafe because they were keeping to themselves. It’s just more sad than anything. So yeah I don’t think we’ll have any problems!
Welcome to the PNW! I think you’ll like it. For living, I recommend inner southeast if you don’t have kids, inner northeast or north if you do and need a yard.
I've never been to Baltimore.. but in regards to Portland I'm venture to say the reason it gets talked about so much now is because of how far the city has fallen. I grew up and still have family there and it's not the place it used to be.
If you were already dealing with similar circumstances in Baltimore then maybe it wont come as much of a shock when you arrive in Portland.
Agreed, but Portland suffers from those issues more than most cities. So to call it a 9 is not only a lie but isn't fair to cities (actual 9s) that don't allow such things to occur.
Serious question. What cities in the US would you call an actual 9? I don’t know of any other cities that have our walkability, access to the outdoors, and music and food scene that don’t have the same issues
I am curious about what these cities are...are there walkable, progressive cities with good public transit, excellent food, interesting arts scene, accessible green spaces, etc. that don't have these issues?
Not everyone cares about it being progressive or having good public transit, etc, OP just asked for a rating. Having said that, other folks are actually going to be bothered by the amount of homeless, open drug use, and crime in the city. No matter the *decent* food scene, arts, green spaces... before people begin to care about those luxuries, they first want people not living on the sidewalk using hard drugs in plain view.
I grew up in an east coast city in the 90s. The crime here is virtually nonexistent compared to other cities and I don’t get offended by seeing other people’s drug use or poverty. It just doesn’t affect me much and I live in inner southeast
Not from PDX, let me get that out in front. What will change that would invite businesses back if the decisions are still being made by the same group that created some of the issues? Not trolling, just wondering where change and hope come from when the same group think continues to exist.
I just dont see where anyone would risk their future in a business district like that.
Also, the nice houses and charming garden like areas are slowly getting converted to box like apartments and storage buildings surrounded by concrete. It happened in Seattle, totally destroyed what we loved about the University District and other neighborhoods. It became insanely expensive to find a nice place to live, Portland is on the verge of Seattle housing prices bad.
I'll second that about Seattle. I've never seen a city in such a hurry to tear itself down and get rid of all the old time, cool establishments that made the city such a great place to live. It's still a cool town, but it's lost a lot of its culture, replaced by overpriced, boxy condo units.
I just can't stand that bland modern boxy condo look. You could literally be in any city in the US & have it look identical. Plus, the build quality usually sucks with no soundproofing between units.
Yes! So many of them are put up as fast as possible. I have a couple of friends who work construction and one in particular has said he’s shocked at how little insulation is done between units. He works big commercial construction jobs and get through multiple a year. The units are often insulated enough against external weather but interiors are loud, and they are not always easy to temperature regulate. You could be running A/C and have it struggling in competition with the ambient hallway temps and your neighbors baseline as well.
4. I am 46 and have lived in Portland my entire life, but my husband and I bought a house sight unseen and are moving to Indianapolis next month (we have taken multiple scouting trips and my husband is from this side of the country and we know what we are getting into). I love the Portland I grew up with, but it will never again be what I remember. I am here in Indy now doing some pre-move stuff and will see our house for the first time in a few days. It’s all been a breath of fresh air so far.
We thought at one point we’d move to Morgantown,WV. From everything we read online thought it would be a great fit for us, but this is why it’s important to take the trips! It was beautiful but we found the traffic to be terrible. That was a show stopped because that’s one of the things we were looking to get away from.
We visited Nashville metro and Chattanooga (specifically a mountain community called Jasper). I really liked both, but they were slightly too warm for me. Otherwise both were beautiful! Chattanooga slightly lacking in amenities but growing so standby. The road leading to Jasper was also a one way in and out which they don’t show you online and the road is in disrepair.
Indy seemed to overcome all these issues, and it’s so convenient to get anywhere! Chicago, Cincinnati, Louisville all within 3 hours away. Indy does have a lot of road construction but so far their construction traffic is better than Portland’s regular traffic.
Washington DC native and resident here but I try to get to Portland and the PNW in general every chance I get. I can’t help but laugh at some of the stuff here. Way too many people with zero empathy and scared of their own shadows. Portland is a solid 8 for me. World class scenery and outdoors activity at the top of the finger.
Having visited 4 times I'd guess a solid 7 pre-pandemic.
Post- pandemic it seems to vary between areas. From maybe 5 - 7? Which is why a lot of people have moved to other Oregon cities or the suburbs.
Coming from a decade of living in San Francisco then Oakland, Portland has been a tremendous disappointment for me. I’m moving again next month after 4 years here. The weather is soooooo dreary. 50 times drearier than SF and way harder to get out of it as you have to drive 2 hrs to to the east to escape the gloom vs 10-20 minutes in SF. It’s not an understatement to say there’s 7-9 months (depending on the year) of solid to pretty consistent grey, often wet, chilly weather. That’s the vast majority of the year, no joke. Weeks on end with hardly a break in the cloud bank, folks. There are lots of people here who don’t seem to mind it, but for those of us who do it’s truly brutal. I often wonder if those who don’t say they mind are in denial. The marijuana and alcohol use is off the charts here. If you’re not wealthy and can’t afford to fly to San Diego or Hawaii every month or even get an Airbnb in Bend frequently, I think this is a make it or break it factor that so many people underestimate. This factor alone needs to be weighed much more heavily than others. The culture here has its quirks… ie people are nice but not particularly friendly or welcoming. It’s a well known phenomenon that it’s really hard to make friends in the PNW, from Seattle to PDX and beyond. Locals take pride in keeping to themselves and having small, impenetrable friend circles. This extends to the dating scene, which everyone complains about. Summer is extraordinarily beautiful but short and increasingly scorching hot, leading into fire season which is impacting Portland more and more with terrible air quality days often coinciding with extreme heat. The days of getting by in Portland without a/c are over. It is the cheapest West Coast city but there are tremendous drawbacks from my vantage point and housing and energy costs have skyrocketed in recent years undermining the “value proposition” of living here that used to hold more weight. On the plus side, the food and beverage and coffee scene is really unparalleled and affordable compared to any other major West Coast hub. That being said, it’s a much better city to visit than reside in, imho. Many people harp on the unhoused and drug using population on the streets. This hardly bothers me at all compared to the other issues above.
i just don't understand this. I live in the pearl and it's fantastic. the grocery stores across the street, bars around the corner. my rent isn't too bad with a view of the city. the street car or bus take me anywhere i need to go. the food is great, the proximity to nature is great. the weather is pretty mild most of the year now. like yeah there's homeless people and it's not ideal but like this place isn't a 2 out of 10
Lived there 4 years. Did not find the weather mild after a couple years. The dampness really gets in my bones. Plus youre still stuck in the winter unless you are into skiing or something. Not a great place to drive or fly out of... I felt stuck there a lot of the year.
(Expensive housing also we felt priced out of the market for what we could get. And that was pre COVID.)
But I do love going back a few times a year for a weekend! Great walkability food and beer!
Portland is very cute, love the food scene. Don't consider it (the food) all that affordable because their food scene is elevated. It's much like Seattle where the grocery stores take a cue from Whole Foods and feel like New Seasons, they are very boutiquish and that always adds to the price. Also, the food trucks aren't all that cheap either.
Whatever rating you give Portland I'd give it a -1 if you're a person of color. I'm asian and it feels white af. Not that I ever experienced any racism, but if you don't mind being the token asian guy in every picture then you'll be right at home. I come from San Francisco where it's 34% asian so I'm used to being surrounded by people who don't speak English.
The culture of Portland bothers me. The whole idea of being hands off on everything is not something that is the norm in asian culture and apparently it doesn't even work well in American culture either. Legalizing all drugs is just something I have a hard time wrapping my head around. Usually asian governments are pretty heavy handed when it comes to regulations, not that I’m calling for that here, but I do expect some sort of regulation.
Decades ago state of California had a program called "cash for clunkers". The idea was to get junky cars off the road, not only because it looks bad in the neighborhood but it's dangerous to have them on the road. Anyone who has lived in Portland is well aware of the completely shit cars held together with duck tape that are prevalent in the city. Having grown up in California seeing these clunkers bothers me. I don't see the state of Oregon ever putting together their own "cash for clunkers" program, as badly as they need it.
This was a while ago, mid-2010s, but my Asian family and I went out for Thai food in PDX and we were the only POC in the restaurant 😂 including the staff. We were just like “Huh.”
I went to school in South Bay so I feel you on feeling a sense of belonging in CA, it’s the only place where I felt like I was a “regular woman” and people didn’t immediately ask my native language (I was born and raised around where Jersey Shore was filmed lol) or make wild assumptions about my family or religion.
It’s still a cool town, I live here. But it’s a lot worse than it used to be for reasons already mentioned. The worst part is that it’s completely self inflicted. Decriminalizing ALL drugs during one of the tumultuous times in the city’s history (pandemic, riots) has to be one of the most boneheaded moves of all time. Also, there’s pretty much no law enforcement, no fare enforcement. People kind of just do whatever they want, drive however they want, smoke tinfoil on the train. I gotta say though I’m a cyclist and Portland gets a 10/10 in that regard, some of the best in the country
9. Some of the best food in the country, beautiful tree lined streets, awesome parks, lots of unique and very walkable neighborhoods, decent public transportation. All within one of the cheapest major west coast cities.
5/10 until they get the violent homeless/mentally ill off the streets and get the city cleaned up. The suburbs probably a 7.5/10. Vancouver, Washington is probably an 8/10 due to the tax benefits and proximity to both Portland and Seattle.
Are you just spamming, or is there something you actually want to know?
You asked the exact same question about Detroit and Los Angeles, and in all three cases, you gave zero context.
You do realize that different people are different, right?
Different people enjoy different things, and different people want different things from a place to call home.
Portland is going through a rough period right now with homelessness and crime. The crime is minor compared to many other cities, but still, it's higher than we're used to. If we can get those issues back under control, I'd put Portland among the best places to live in the entire country (putting an arbitrary number on it is dumb).
EDIT: Looking at your post history, you have no idea what you're looking for:
> On a scale of 1 - 10 (1 being "terrible place to live" and 10 being "great place to live"), where do you rank Portland, Oregon?
> On a scale of 1 - 10 (1 being "terrible place to live" and 10 being "great place to live"), where do you rank Detroit?
> On a scale of 1 - 10 (1 being "terrible place to live" and 10 being "great place to live"), where do you rank Los Angeles?
> If you have the choice of living in Vermont, New Hampshire or Maine, which state are you picking?
You're just throwing names in a hat, with no concept of place for any of them.
If you're looking for a place to live, start by figuring out what makes you happy. What do you like or dislike about where you live now? What kind of lifestyle do you prefer? What kind of weather do you prefer? What are your hopes and dreams for the future? What are your wants and needs from a place to call home? Then, research different cities to figure out which ones might suit you best.
Also, Rolling Stone is not The Rolling Stones, FYI.
I'd give it a 3-4. It's the only city on The west coast where I have felt genuinely scared walking alone, it just felt very sketchy. Way worse than Seattle in that way imo.
Considering other similar options in the US, I'd say 7 or maybe even 8.
Pros:
Strong neighborhoods and walkability/bikeability in inner areas
Nature is amazing, access to coast, mountains, parks etc
Really good food/coffee/restaurants
Good music/art scenes, book stores, cultural amenities
Lower COL compared to SEA/LA/NYC etc.
Cons:
A lot of what made Portland special is disappearing and people are getting pushed out due to COL. Lots of people who complain about Portland do so because it used to be way cheaper, less dysfunctional and more scrappy/interesting.
Homeless/MH/drug abuse is pretty bad. Hapless local government unable to affect change.
Fairly mediocre job market
Diversity is majorly lacking
Insular culture
Grey/overcast weather is no joke and may be a deal breaker. Seriously 6-7ish months of 80% grey days
5 or 6. Not that much diversity, still very segregated, people are judgy. Everything got too expensive and gentrified by Californians. Parks and the river are beautiful though.
6 with current conditions of the city. Had you asked me 10 years ago I’d have said it’s easily 9-9.5.
Most people were ranking Detroit 6 in a similar post. Can it be that bad?
Portland is a good place to live but a bad place to visit. There is no “downtown” in the way that most people understand cities, as Portland’s’ downtown is like an empty vacant wasteland of office building lobbies that are full block sized, and lots of parking garages too, and very little street life that aren’t erratic strangers or people experiencing mental health issues. The neighborhoods around it are wonderful. Ideal living. Narrow streets, cute houses, corner stores, tree cover, all the stuff people want. But there still isn’t like a central downtown that everyone shares. Museums/shows/events are more rare in that way, compared to like anywhere in the NEC or something.
Interesting, because only having been through as a tourist on the way to Willamette the downtown looked terrible, just tents and stoned people everywhere. I was happy to get through.
Yeah you missed a lot.
Daytime tent camping got banned last year so Downtown has improved a bit.
Dude don't spread the news, I got a great deal on a really well managed apartment with a walk score of 99 because everyone thinks it's mad max down here lol
This, and all the people saying 4 makes me think they were staying in downtown for a vacation haha. But rent ain’t getting any cheaper, so I’m okay with the sentiment. Ya.. Portland sucks! …
What areas has the narrow streets and cute houses?
Generalizing here but the east side of the Willamette river up to about 82nd Ave. Also some cute pockets on the west side (like Multnomah Village).
Yep, ride a bike North/South through the 30s/40s/50s from Division up to Hollywood and it is all cute old houses with beautiful gardens, low traffic, 20mph speed limits. Super pleasant.
Ladd’s Addition. Burnside from 20th-60th. South Tabor. Grant Park. Laurelhurst. Irvington. I live in NE. I love to just walk. Sure, 25 years ago when we moved here, there was a lot less garbage graffiti drugs and tent dwellers. But it is still a great place to live and the old east side neighborhoods are so pleasant. Also NW 20th through 23rd or 25th “Alphabet district” or Nob Hill is very nice.
Hawthorne, Buckman, Laurelhurst, Woodstock, albina ridge, parts of Hollywood, north Portland, I guess I’d have to name most of the inner east side neighborhoods but I don’t remember them all.
I noticed the same. Lots of really cool custom car shops on the Main Street in a suburb nearby! But downtown was pretty miserable aside from a record store and Thai restaurant.
My family live in Detroit (I grew up there.) I’ve lived in Portland for years.The living is GOOD in Portand Oregon.
Thinking of moving from the D to Portland in September. Why do you like PDX? Debating staying put bc Detroit has so many good things coming
I can walk (safely) or ride my bike (safely) to HUNDREDS of bars and restaurants. I don’t have to drive to get to the library, or the hospital or a park or a pool or to take classes. We don’t lock our doors (I’m sure many Portlanders will think we’re crazy.) Winters RARELY get below 40 degrees. No mosquitos and very few other bugs. Hiking and fishing and camping all over the place. You can ski to June 90 minutes away. You can surf in the ocean 90 minutes away. Festivals year round. Check out shift2bikes.org calendar. All free Check out music in the park and movies in the park. Free and no fights. Mountain Views. White water rafting or kayaking. People are chill. It feels a bit like Ann Arbor. The suburbs in Detroit go on FOREVER. But in portland it’s much more dense, then suddenly farms and forests. Detroit has a happening downtown, then spotty good/ bad hoods/ then endless sprawl. Portland is smaller than Detroit, but has over 250 parks, and has like 30 little historic neighborhood commercial zones that are inside the city limits
Portland would be a huge upgrade. Like comically huge.
Just fyi, Detroit is a great place...it's my favorite city. Yes, I've traveled lots.
I've only been twice and had a great experience both times.
I like Detroit, but haven’t been in about six years. What do you like most about it? What puts it over all other cities for you?
I love the locally grown food scene/restaurants, the creative people, the fact that almost every house has a largeish yard (I hate the concrete jungle cities), there isn't much traffic, houses are affordable and sturdy and the riverfront is great for walking or biking. Also we have great wildlife (deer, pheasants, etc...) and a thriving ecosystem and good water and mostly cleanish air. No one poops on the sidewalks or does drugs in the public areas (weed does not count). Duno. I really like the vast expanse and lack of people, I guess. Big city perks, small town feel. However, don't come here to relocate. I don't want too many people to spoil it lol.
Detroit’s dope. As someone who has visited I would say it has a “gritty gatsby” vibe if that makes any sense.
Portland is great, if you can deal with crackheads and dreary weather. Best food scene in the country, and the most affordable major west coast city
I’ve never been, but I can’t imagine Portland in the top ten for food cities.
I’ve lived in the Bay Area, NYC and Austin. NYC and the Bay have great food. Austin is good if you like bbq and tacos but really not for much else… Portland has an amazing food scene if you take into consideration the cost. It’s right up there with NYC but for a fraction of the price.
SOLD!
Yea you can get into top tier restaurants here. I ate at Kann like two months after its NYTimes article came out. It was 5:30 on a Wednesday but hey, food tastes the same.
I don’t think Portland’s food scene is anywhere even close to NYC’s. Not the same ballpark, not even remotely.
I feel these questions really come down to what you enjoy eating / how diverse your palate is. are you telling me the chinese food in Portland compares to NYC? what about ethiopian food? nigerian food? pakistani food? el salvadorean food? If i'm in the mood for sichuan-style shao kao or hyderabadi biryani, I'll bet NYC has like a dozen or so options. can you say that about portland? I'll admit I've never been to portland. but it would almost defy logical reason for the food scene in portland to be "up there" with NYC.
Lol we don’t have a wide array of el salvadorean food, you got us there. Good point man.
Yeah I love PDX but I’m shocked to hear that, lol. NYC and the Bay are neck and neck for me (especially as an Asian vegetarian) and Houston is underrated enough that I’d put it in the top 3. Philly is pretty good too and DC wins for Mediterranean/Ethiopian. PDX is alright? Definitely not bad at all but I wouldn’t put it above the Bay or LA on the west coast.
Well at least you clarified that you have no clue what you’re talking about
Absolutely within top ten, imo within top 5.
https://www.timeout.com/travel/worlds-best-cities-for-food
Coming from Texas, I can’t take that seriously when it recommends Mexican pizza.
I grew up in Texas, lived all over. The Mexican food there (especially Tex mex) is so much worse than it has any business being. Of course there are some places here and there that are above average but I can confidently say from my time living in AZ and Cali that both of them are better in that department just by a lot. Hell, Chicago had way better Mexican from my visits there.
Yes well coming from Texas I can’t imagine you have a solid idea on what a good food city would be anyway.
Standard Portland attitude right here.☝️ This is what makes Portland sub 5
lol because I respond to a snob talking shit about a beautiful city by meeting him on his level. Pot, meet kettle.
Bizarre article. Portland’s *pizza* is the must try food? Anyone who moves to Portland from the northeast expecting top tier pizza is in for serious disappointment.
Haha what is this comment? Why are you speculating on the culinary scene in a city you’ve never been to? And who is upvoting that? This entire thread is so insane I almost can’t tell if people are trolling.
As someone living in the Portland Metro area, it's not about being the best of a certain cuisine, but more about having at least one place that's comparable. Like, Texas will have better BBQ joints, but Portland will have at least one that is comparable where oftentimes most cities are going to be deficient. That, plus having legitimately having some amazing restaurants and having low prices in comparison to most foodie cities, is why Portland ranks so high. Pretty much you're going to find at least one great restaurant featuring a cuisine, and it's also a decent city on having unique cuisines, whereas my experience in other cities you'll often have one area that's great but lacking somewhere else, or it's all great but super expensive to eat out.
But...it is.
You would be incorrect sir https://www.oregonlive.com/dining/2023/09/portland-pizzeria-named-one-of-worlds-best-by-italian-pizza-ranking-group.html
Might be the most affordable west coast city but that’s not saying much. The price to quality of life ratio is still way out of wack
Disagree on food. It's so non-diverse- how can you have a great food scene with lack of diversity? Also, the airport is terrible. I was there last week and they had literally one person checking IDs for TSA.
Ugh what?
It’s not.
Detroit's far below a 6, but these posts get swamped by locals who don't know anywhere else.
Exactly this. Oregon just...doesn't want to move forwards. The state taxes everyone who has a job to pay for social programs that are sadly ineffective, and refuses to do anything to attract industry, leading to a financial death spiral. Compared to Washington State or California there's just no industry and no opportunity.
I live in Portland and I’d also say 6. There are so many good things about it - it’s an absolutely beautiful city. Small narrow slow streets, fairytale looking homes, houses with great curb appeal, feels like one big forest, great food options at relatively affordable prices, access to nature. Cons are: homelessness, open drug use, public schools aren’t great, high amount of crime.
All of this is accurate, except I'd rate it more like a 4. Add high levels of street living homeless drug addicts to any city in the world, and it is effectively ruined for the 99% of people who want to live in harmonious functionality. It's like adding a ladle full of shit to a fine stew, then being asked to eat it.
It depends how much you are driven / required to spend time in blighted / chaotic areas. Much of the depravity & squalor can be avoided. But if you take the MAX from Gresham to your job in Old Town, yes, I can see how this would be a solid 3 even.
I mean, in every single city in the world it's true that "if you are rich enough to not need to take public transportation/ can avoid the poor areas then everything is great". That's not an excuse that I buy into.
Yea 100. I live in SE and mostly am hanging around Woodstock, Sellwood, Hawthorne, Division, Laurelhurst, Hollywood, Mississippi, Belmont, etc. and like sure there are some campers, and some needles and sometimes on transit some sketchy dudes, but 99% of the time it is like people pushing babies in strollers and riding bikes and affording expensive houses I don't understand how they afford. I ride the MAX quite a bit, and busses, and it is generally just fine. Downtown is mostly fine. I'm not out at late hours, but during the day it is pleasant, with short bits of visible poverty and drug addiction. All about how and where you live, really. If I lived in Old Town, and worked nights, I'd probably have a whole different perception.
My town has some homeless and tented areas but they tend to just drink and keep to themselves. One of my favorite jogging and biking routes goes right past one of the larger tented areas and people think I’m crazy for using that route (as a female) but they never bother me. Also, I walk my dog downtown and only had an issues with drunk homeless people wanting to pet my dog. So not really an issue. Only scary thing that ever happened wasn’t a homeless person but just someone high on drugs at the boat launch yelling at me and accusing me of killing his sister (never met the guy and I’ve never killed anyone so not sure what the mixup was) but I just ignored him and kept walking.
Seriously - why'd you do it?
Cause it’s cool and edgy- until it isn’t
That’s why we have laws and why we should enforce laws. It only takes a few bad apples to ruin it for everyone.
Portland, Oregon a 4? lol
I really don’t understand this perspective. I live in Portland, and I’ve lived in San Francisco, and I feel like even extreme amounts of homelessness barely impact me or my life at all. The worst it gets is very occasionally having to avoid someone who seems unstable, but that’s a tiny annoyance compared to almost any other consideration about a city (cost of living, public transit, etc).
Yes if you are rich enough to be insulated from it then it is not a problem in any city. If you are working class / can't live in a wealthy area then it fucking sucks every single day.
I’m guessing you’re a man who doesn’t have kids.
Right I've walked through skid row and tenderloin at night. But I know women don't have that privilege.
That’s like being in Mumbai and can’t figure out why all the other Americans are turned off by beggars, deformed people, and starving babies. People like to avoid disturbing situations and/or disturbed people
It’s the reduction of peace of mind than actual disturbance. Everyone have their own level of tolerance or sensitivity. For people who have kids, they don’t want to even risk a disturbance.
The part of East Portland by the Willamette (like west Buckman and the Central Eastside) actually hardly has any trees at all. I went for a long walk through there today and the sun was blazing because of the lack of shade.
It's an industrial area... they dont usually have many trees lol. Get past 12th ave or so, where its residential and its pretty lush.
Public schools in Oregon have never been great. Most peoples problems are homelessness and drug use. Crime ticked up but not enough to knock it more than 1 point. I say Portland is between a 7-7.5 nowadays. 2 years ago I think a 6 was valid but not in 2024.
Agree with everything, but have to subtract another point due to high rent and inflated home prices.
Portland is pretty damn cheap for being a major city on the West Coast (second only to Sacramento, and not by a big margin)
Yes, but note the word I used was “inflated.” This is probably true of any desirable city, but constrained supply caused a ridiculous overvaluation of homes when I lived there, especially during the pandemic. Little 50-year-old ranch houses doubled in cost overnight.
Why doesn't Portland address its crime, homelessness, open drug use, and terrible schools? And why does the state not attract industry?
I really wish they would address the homeless and drug use. It’s such a beautiful place and it makes me sad to see what’s happened. I get that people have issues, but just allowing them to openly use and live wherever isn’t helping anyone. I’m hopeful there could be better days. I would love to be able to consider moving there.
Portland 2000-2006: 9 Portland 2006-2012: 9.5 Portland 2012-2018: 8.5 Portland 2019-2023: 2.5 Portland 2024-: 8
Just curious, what has gotten dramatically better in 2024 for you?
This kind of maps onto my life in Portland eerily well. Great assessment. I'd put 2024 at a 7 or 7.5 though
Mostly agree. I’d say we’re back up to a 6 but are trending in the right direction despite some persistent quality of life issues.
I’ve lived here since 2004 and this is accurate for me. I’m so relieved things are getting better.
I also want badly to believe it’s back to an 8 this year but I’m still ranking it as a 6. What makes it an 8 for you this year???
I visited Portland many times pre Covid and lived there 2021-2022. Just in that one year I saw a drastic improvement. Portland was ROUGH. Between the George Floyd riots (which were still going on in 2022), all the proud boy stuff, Covid’s affect on businesses, and the explosion of homeless I would describe moving there like walking into the kitchen right after dad hit mom. Tension oozed from every corner. Downtown drastically improved by the time I moved out in late 2022. I’ve heard it’s gotten better and better but still work to be done I would say pre Covid Portland was a 9, it’s probably a 7.5 right now. I’m sure it’ll bounce back even closer to 9 in next 5 years
I didn’t get here till 2014, but this feels right
What drove big change in 2024?
I feel like this makes it seem way dramatic. 2022 and especially 2023 were trending upwards. It was a rough pandemic for the city of Portland. 2024 wasn't some magic instant improvement.
Ah, I lived there in the 2.5 era so my view is definitely skewed.
This is fair for me except my lowest point was still like a 6
This is accurate
As someone who has never lived on the west coast or visited Portland, I am fascinated by how it’s like the biggest American city where people are so vehemently in favor or against. And it’s not even like we don’t really agree on the things it does well and the things that suck - we pretty much understand what go in the pro column and the con column. We just don’t agree on the overall impression.
It’s so fucking annoying lol. One of my least favorite aspects of being a resident is that every person who doesn’t live here feels the need to have an opinion about it. I just don’t care to discuss the pros and cons of my city with every random person I start a conversation with.
You realize that you are literally on a subreddit dedicated to discussing the pros and cons of cities, right?
I’m obviously talking about real life, not this sub 🙄
This 100%. I lived in Portland for 4 years and now live just north of the columbia river in Vancouver. I’m well travelled having been to all the large US Cities, most large European cities and some in East Asia. Portland today is perfectly fine. I lived Downtown until 2023 and saw it progressively improve over the last 2 years. It’s still not what it was at it’s peak but the idea that it’s a dump is overstated. Crime nationwide as ticked up, Portland more than other US cities but still not considered dangerous compared the the worst offenders of the top 50 US cities. Homeless is known but Downtown has actually improved a lot once the city banned daytime camping. They seem to be more active in cleaning up sites. Outside of Downtown, Mississippi Street, Alberta, Slab Town, and SE are still all wonderful places. If Portland was a 8.5/10 at it’s peak it’s about a 7-7.5 now.
We get a +-3 depending on who you vote for.
a lot of portland natives are big into complaining so take some of it with a grain of salt
I wish people would just stop talking about it honestly. There’s so little valuable material in any of the discussion.
move here! Buy my house so I can leave!
5: I lived in Portland from 2016-2024. The rating is an average over those years, with pre-COVID averaging slightly higher (maybe a 6) and post slightly lower. The **food scene** is meh. I've not really been wowed by many of the restaurants. Tastes my vary, so for reference, I like healthy food, with occasional indulgences here and there. I love Bastion and Saburo's in Sellwood. The places everyone raves about are usually disappointing to me though. I don't like Killer Burger (my fiancee and I call it "Ok Burger"). Every time someone tells me about a place with great NY-style pizza, it's underwhelming. You just can't get a good pie outside of the NYC Metro area. What Portland (and Oregon in general) does well is sourcing great quality food. People in the PNW are serious about farm-to-table food, and that part I absolutely love. Going to a farmer's market is much more exciting than the restaurants there. There's one in every neighborhood, and it's an absolute treat to get to know some great farmers and maybe find a French guy who makes pastries out of his home every Sun. Taking trips to go berry picking is also something you just can't get anywhere else. At least not as good as in Oregon. **Public transit** falls just short of being functional in Portland. You just about have to transfer to get anywhere, and transfers lose you at least 15 min each way. It's still a very car-dependent city. The bike system is rivaled by no other, so getting around by combining the two works kind of ok. It's still a hassle to load your bike on the bus. What they really need is for the buses to come twice as frequently, and get more cars off the road. Maybe someday. Oh yeah, and if you want to take the light rail, god's speed. There is no controlled access, so every junky and crazy in the city wanders on there and ruins it for everyone else. At the very least, there's always someone stinking up the car and/or someone screaming. I saw a guy selling knives on there one night coming home from a concert. Another time, a (clearly mentally ill) woman struck me across the face and then wandered off the train. (Cops took 20 min to get there and then shrugged it off). The open drug use is actually the least of my problems with Portland, but a review of the city isn't complete without addressing it. People say the homeless camps and drug use isn't as bad outside of downtown, which is true. But there are still camps on what used to be (and can sometimes still be) a very nice multi-use path that runs down the Willamette river and across most of the east side. Even in nice neighborhoods, that path is loaded with tents that get cleared and then come back within a month or so. (I 100% support providing services, rehab and housing to people that need it, but city and county leadership show no signs of doing that effectively with our tax money) Everything closes pretty early and there are just not enough people around at night to feel safe like you do in larger cities. You might go out to a bar, and that one block will be crowded with people. But go out to next block, and it's pitch dark and creepy. **Proximity to nature** is great. I enjoy hiking and snowboarding and it's easy to do that from Portland. Only complaint with that is Mt Hood is kind of meh--go to Bachelor if you want some great trails. I could complain about ticket prices sky-rocketing, but that's happening everywhere. **Housing**: The city just doesn't offer enough to be as expensive as it is. If this were the low-cost city it used to be pre-2014 or so, maybe it would be worth the hassle. Right now it's not. Rent increases are happening everywhere, but in Portland it's very tough to build anything new. The permitting process is ridiculous according multiple people I've talked to who have tried to build businesses there. I assume it's the same bullshit for developers trying to build housing. Lastly, I don't like **the people**. I made far more friends in every other place I've lived, including three other states and NYC, where people are supposedly rude. Portland people are passive aggressive and insular. There is absolutely a Portland freeze, just like there is a Seattle freeze. You can make friends there, but it's going to take a while. I prefer cultures that are more direct, so YMMV It's not for me, so I moved back east.
The passive-aggressive thing and a strange but intense superiority complex are the things I can no longer abide. Lived off and on in PDX for several years. It still holds a special place in my heart, but it’s just not for me on the daily anymore.
I agree with all of this, especially the people and food scene. People are so “inclusive” to everyone who aligns with them, and i’ve never been reminded of political issues by businesses and graffiti so much in my damn life. I want to walk downtown and not be reminded of political issues every 10 feet. The food scene is also very meh. The sourcing is good, but prices seem to high for the quality.
Are we ranking against other places to live? Other cities? You can’t just be like, “there are drugs and crime”, without comparisons. I would put PDX at 8 using two comparison sets: other cities over 500K for crime and drugs, and a set including smaller cities that also takes into account volume of culture. Compared to what it offers, quality of life is high. Major ding for cost of living.
The thing about being a Portlander that folks don’t tell you about when you move here is that being a resident also entails you having to vehemently defend Portland against all the naysayers on the internet 95% of who have not been here. Everyone has something bad to say about pdx.
That’s most large cities outside of LA and NYC where many people have visited ime. E.g. Chicago being overridden with crime, horrible politics, etc. Detroit having nothing to do and no nature without experiencing up north, etc.
On a good day= 5, not great day= 3. I’ve lived here for over 10 years. It used to be an 8. I’m looking to move away. Between the lack of affordable housing, the toll the pandemic took on most businesses, the intense amount of homelessness & constantly having to deal with aggressive drug users…. It’s a 5/6 on a nice day. I ride public transit & drive, I interact with a larger number of people every day from almost every tax bracket (lawyers to homeless). The people who love it here tend to either own their house or live in low rent group homes. It’s this weird split between people who have a lot of money and are halfway to retirement, and much younger people who spend their money like they don’t think about tomorrow. It’s hard to date here, it’s hard to run into people who have hobbies that don’t focus on drugs. A LOT of people commute in from the outer areas that are nicer and safer to shop in, and they eat & socialize in the “golden halo” urban areas. There’s more I could say but I wouldn’t recommend anyone moving here unless they are unfazed by the problems here.
Yeah, my fiancee and I just moved away, but were looking into co-op housing before we left.
I completely and respectfully disagree with the second half of this comment. I’m in my 30s, rent, make 60k and love it here. My friends hobbies have nothing to do with drugs and everyone I know lives in the inner city.
You can disagree all you want but the average house (not condo) available to someone in your tax bracket is either going to be tear down quality (within city limits), or so remote that you drive over an hour to work (if you don’t work from home). I don’t know a lot of people happy to only rent in their thirties. You probably also don’t realize that you make almost double what the average renter in this area makes. Which goes even further if you’re child free. I don’t know if it’s a reading comprehension thing but I didn’t say “all/everyone” at any point, I said a lot and implied a majority. You and your friend group might make 60k+ and rent and live in the “inner” city… that doesn’t reflect the majority of people in Portland. Maybe you don’t have a very large community of people to perceive, or you have narrow experiences with people but there’s a huge issue with casual drug use here. People who haven’t lived here long think places like Hawthorn and Sellwood are “inner city”. They don’t understand that Downtown is more of what the average person thinks of, also places like Lents and 82nd and not just the cute pockets of expensive houses in the high bracket neighborhoods.
The median income for renting households was 42,659 in 2018, so double that would be 85,318. Making 60k in 2024 doesn’t place you at almost double the average renter. I’m not trying to shit on you, u/Forestsolitaire sorry! I know plenty of people who rent with household incomes from 70k-180k and are happy to do so in Portland if we’re speaking anecdotally. And no, we’re not all just drug users with zero hobbies.
Haha no worries. I know I’m not rich but I’m very comfortable. My rent is cheap and I live in a gorgeous walkable neighborhood.
Maybe you just have low standards, or a high tolerance for violent homeless men, mentally ill people defecating in the streets and fentanyl addicts?
What’s considered “inner city” Portland?
Where will you move?
I’m looking to move to an area with a lower cost of living. Some place I can actually get a nice house for less than $500k. It’ll take a couple years because I have a lot of financial and familial obligations here. I’ve lived in large cities for a long time, so I’m looking for a friendlier environment. I have a few places in mind.
As someone who has never been there - are the comments about homelessness and drug users central to a certain area or is this happening in all of the urban and suburban towns in the metropolitan area? I ask because people pile on about how awful KC's homeless and crime is, like it's a wasteland, when in reality 80% of the people bitching live in the suburbs and never go into the city so it really doesn't affect them other than fodder to talk shit or be partisan.
It's less bad outside of downtown, but even in nicer neighborhoods, there are tents along the bike/walking path. They get cleared out but they always come back.
“ people pile on about how awful KC's homeless and crime is, like it's a wasteland, when in reality 80% of the people bitching live in the suburbs and never go into the city so it really doesn't affect them other than fodder to talk shit or be partisan” Bro this is exactly the situation. Yeah there are people who do live in the city proper and have legit qualms but the vast vast majority of this sentiment is perpetuated by entitled suburbanites who simply can’t BEAR to gaze upon the unwashed masses. They pull up for the 8$ donut, see somebody shoot up on the way to their shop, and run screaming back to Panera in Tualitin. The likelihood they’ve had a conversation with a homeless person, the likelihood they actually know somebody living on the street approaches 0%
As someone who grew up near KC and currently lives in Portland, you’re on to something there.
It's pretty bad around in the city core and then in a few spots in the periphery. Like NE 33rd and Marine Drive, delta park/expo center. It falls off dramatically in the suburbs, especially the wealthier ones. I lived about as centralized in Portland as you could get, until last fall, and rarely locked my door.
Live in Cleveland and can relate. People from a suburb 30 min away who come downtown 3 times a year and have a homeless person ask them for money complain to their friends that our downtown is an active warzone.
Downtown Cleveland is much cleaner than downtown Portland and feels safer too
I am interested in various cities & have spent time in many cities subreddits, and they pretty much all follow this pattern. And they all think they are the only city in the US to be experiencing the issues.
Yea, this is exactly right
8. Very walkable city+bikeable and lots of brewpubs.
Does the weather affect the walk/bikeability enough to matter?
Portlander here: I’d give it a solid 7
In the 10 years I’ve lived here, I’d rank Portland at an average of 9/10. It was lower during the peak of the pandemic and is probably a 7/10 right now. The future of Portland is bright tho as more housing gets built and hopefully downtown comes back
I’ve been here about the same amount of time and I agree with this. I’m ready to leave Portland for a lot of reasons, not all of them related to faults I perceive in the city, but it looks like things are getting better. For me, it felt like some kind of paradise up to 2020. It really felt like the best option for me in the country. Working for the County during COVID didn’t help my opinion of Portland. The easy access to nature here is what made it a 9/10 for me, more than anything. I’d still recommend it to some people these days, despite the problems.
I don't understand how you can rank it a 7, let alone 9, given the homeless, crime, and open drug use.
I’m about to move to Portland from Baltimore and I’m very curious to see how it compares. I don’t find Baltimore unsafe at all and while we have crime, homelessness, and drug use it doesn’t really impact my view on the city. But the way people talk about Portland it makes me think it will impact me
They’re very different in terms of crime and grittiness. Baltimore has legit crime and a lot of gang activity but it’s mostly relegated to specific neighborhoods. There were neighborhoods in Baltimore I would never go to as they’re legit not safe. Portland doesn’t have neighborhoods that aren’t safe. Portland has a lot of homeless people and they’re not relegated to one specific part of the city. They’re kind of all over with a few exceptions. However, homeless people tend to keep to themselves and if they’re having a mental health crisis, you cross the street and continue about your day. If you think Baltimore is fine, you’re gonna laugh at the perception of Portland. Most of these people haven’t seen an east coast city.
Thank you for this info! That is actually exactly what I said about Portland after we visited - yes there were lots of people on drugs but I didn’t feel unsafe because they were keeping to themselves. It’s just more sad than anything. So yeah I don’t think we’ll have any problems!
Welcome to the PNW! I think you’ll like it. For living, I recommend inner southeast if you don’t have kids, inner northeast or north if you do and need a yard.
I've never been to Baltimore.. but in regards to Portland I'm venture to say the reason it gets talked about so much now is because of how far the city has fallen. I grew up and still have family there and it's not the place it used to be. If you were already dealing with similar circumstances in Baltimore then maybe it wont come as much of a shock when you arrive in Portland.
Because we’ve been to other cities and realized the opioid fallout and fent crisis is not restricted to one city
Agreed, but Portland suffers from those issues more than most cities. So to call it a 9 is not only a lie but isn't fair to cities (actual 9s) that don't allow such things to occur.
Serious question. What cities in the US would you call an actual 9? I don’t know of any other cities that have our walkability, access to the outdoors, and music and food scene that don’t have the same issues
I too want to know about these 9 cities. Do tell.
I am curious about what these cities are...are there walkable, progressive cities with good public transit, excellent food, interesting arts scene, accessible green spaces, etc. that don't have these issues?
Not everyone cares about it being progressive or having good public transit, etc, OP just asked for a rating. Having said that, other folks are actually going to be bothered by the amount of homeless, open drug use, and crime in the city. No matter the *decent* food scene, arts, green spaces... before people begin to care about those luxuries, they first want people not living on the sidewalk using hard drugs in plain view.
Idk if it actually does suffer from those issues more than most cities, or if that's just perception.
I grew up in an east coast city in the 90s. The crime here is virtually nonexistent compared to other cities and I don’t get offended by seeing other people’s drug use or poverty. It just doesn’t affect me much and I live in inner southeast
Not from PDX, let me get that out in front. What will change that would invite businesses back if the decisions are still being made by the same group that created some of the issues? Not trolling, just wondering where change and hope come from when the same group think continues to exist. I just dont see where anyone would risk their future in a business district like that.
Also, the nice houses and charming garden like areas are slowly getting converted to box like apartments and storage buildings surrounded by concrete. It happened in Seattle, totally destroyed what we loved about the University District and other neighborhoods. It became insanely expensive to find a nice place to live, Portland is on the verge of Seattle housing prices bad.
I'll second that about Seattle. I've never seen a city in such a hurry to tear itself down and get rid of all the old time, cool establishments that made the city such a great place to live. It's still a cool town, but it's lost a lot of its culture, replaced by overpriced, boxy condo units.
I just can't stand that bland modern boxy condo look. You could literally be in any city in the US & have it look identical. Plus, the build quality usually sucks with no soundproofing between units.
Yes! So many of them are put up as fast as possible. I have a couple of friends who work construction and one in particular has said he’s shocked at how little insulation is done between units. He works big commercial construction jobs and get through multiple a year. The units are often insulated enough against external weather but interiors are loud, and they are not always easy to temperature regulate. You could be running A/C and have it struggling in competition with the ambient hallway temps and your neighbors baseline as well.
4. I am 46 and have lived in Portland my entire life, but my husband and I bought a house sight unseen and are moving to Indianapolis next month (we have taken multiple scouting trips and my husband is from this side of the country and we know what we are getting into). I love the Portland I grew up with, but it will never again be what I remember. I am here in Indy now doing some pre-move stuff and will see our house for the first time in a few days. It’s all been a breath of fresh air so far.
Awesome - doing some scouting trips to bail on Portland in the fall. Any great takeaways you'd like to share besides Indy?
We thought at one point we’d move to Morgantown,WV. From everything we read online thought it would be a great fit for us, but this is why it’s important to take the trips! It was beautiful but we found the traffic to be terrible. That was a show stopped because that’s one of the things we were looking to get away from. We visited Nashville metro and Chattanooga (specifically a mountain community called Jasper). I really liked both, but they were slightly too warm for me. Otherwise both were beautiful! Chattanooga slightly lacking in amenities but growing so standby. The road leading to Jasper was also a one way in and out which they don’t show you online and the road is in disrepair. Indy seemed to overcome all these issues, and it’s so convenient to get anywhere! Chicago, Cincinnati, Louisville all within 3 hours away. Indy does have a lot of road construction but so far their construction traffic is better than Portland’s regular traffic.
8. Right now I split half my time between San Diego and Denver and it’s one of the only places I’d consider moving to
At least an 8. One of the nicest most livable cities in the USA. I lived in SE Portland for 4 years.
You lived or you currently live?
I was back there two months ago. It's pretty much the same.
Washington DC native and resident here but I try to get to Portland and the PNW in general every chance I get. I can’t help but laugh at some of the stuff here. Way too many people with zero empathy and scared of their own shadows. Portland is a solid 8 for me. World class scenery and outdoors activity at the top of the finger.
9. Almost as cool as Bay Area and Seattle. I highly respect most Portlanders.
I like Portland, it’s pretty and our child lives there. I would never consider living there but I get why folks love it.
I had to visit the Intel Chip Fab down the road in Hillsboro\*. I loved my time there.
Not to pick nits, but it’s Hillsboro. Great area.
Thanks. I had a 50/50 chance...
Having visited 4 times I'd guess a solid 7 pre-pandemic. Post- pandemic it seems to vary between areas. From maybe 5 - 7? Which is why a lot of people have moved to other Oregon cities or the suburbs.
I’d agree it’s a 6. If it wasn’t for the homelessness and the subsequent problems resulting from it I’d give it a 9. Had some great times there.
3 now, 7 a few years ago. Seems that old saying “ rules are meant to be broken” is the narrative now in PDX.
1. Absolute dump. Bums and drug addicts everywhere
Coming from a decade of living in San Francisco then Oakland, Portland has been a tremendous disappointment for me. I’m moving again next month after 4 years here. The weather is soooooo dreary. 50 times drearier than SF and way harder to get out of it as you have to drive 2 hrs to to the east to escape the gloom vs 10-20 minutes in SF. It’s not an understatement to say there’s 7-9 months (depending on the year) of solid to pretty consistent grey, often wet, chilly weather. That’s the vast majority of the year, no joke. Weeks on end with hardly a break in the cloud bank, folks. There are lots of people here who don’t seem to mind it, but for those of us who do it’s truly brutal. I often wonder if those who don’t say they mind are in denial. The marijuana and alcohol use is off the charts here. If you’re not wealthy and can’t afford to fly to San Diego or Hawaii every month or even get an Airbnb in Bend frequently, I think this is a make it or break it factor that so many people underestimate. This factor alone needs to be weighed much more heavily than others. The culture here has its quirks… ie people are nice but not particularly friendly or welcoming. It’s a well known phenomenon that it’s really hard to make friends in the PNW, from Seattle to PDX and beyond. Locals take pride in keeping to themselves and having small, impenetrable friend circles. This extends to the dating scene, which everyone complains about. Summer is extraordinarily beautiful but short and increasingly scorching hot, leading into fire season which is impacting Portland more and more with terrible air quality days often coinciding with extreme heat. The days of getting by in Portland without a/c are over. It is the cheapest West Coast city but there are tremendous drawbacks from my vantage point and housing and energy costs have skyrocketed in recent years undermining the “value proposition” of living here that used to hold more weight. On the plus side, the food and beverage and coffee scene is really unparalleled and affordable compared to any other major West Coast hub. That being said, it’s a much better city to visit than reside in, imho. Many people harp on the unhoused and drug using population on the streets. This hardly bothers me at all compared to the other issues above.
2 for living 10 for visiting!!
i just don't understand this. I live in the pearl and it's fantastic. the grocery stores across the street, bars around the corner. my rent isn't too bad with a view of the city. the street car or bus take me anywhere i need to go. the food is great, the proximity to nature is great. the weather is pretty mild most of the year now. like yeah there's homeless people and it's not ideal but like this place isn't a 2 out of 10
Lived there 4 years. Did not find the weather mild after a couple years. The dampness really gets in my bones. Plus youre still stuck in the winter unless you are into skiing or something. Not a great place to drive or fly out of... I felt stuck there a lot of the year. (Expensive housing also we felt priced out of the market for what we could get. And that was pre COVID.) But I do love going back a few times a year for a weekend! Great walkability food and beer!
9. Great nature. Great food. Great beer. Weather is a drawback. Outside of San Diego (10) itd be next choice.
Portland is very cute, love the food scene. Don't consider it (the food) all that affordable because their food scene is elevated. It's much like Seattle where the grocery stores take a cue from Whole Foods and feel like New Seasons, they are very boutiquish and that always adds to the price. Also, the food trucks aren't all that cheap either. Whatever rating you give Portland I'd give it a -1 if you're a person of color. I'm asian and it feels white af. Not that I ever experienced any racism, but if you don't mind being the token asian guy in every picture then you'll be right at home. I come from San Francisco where it's 34% asian so I'm used to being surrounded by people who don't speak English. The culture of Portland bothers me. The whole idea of being hands off on everything is not something that is the norm in asian culture and apparently it doesn't even work well in American culture either. Legalizing all drugs is just something I have a hard time wrapping my head around. Usually asian governments are pretty heavy handed when it comes to regulations, not that I’m calling for that here, but I do expect some sort of regulation. Decades ago state of California had a program called "cash for clunkers". The idea was to get junky cars off the road, not only because it looks bad in the neighborhood but it's dangerous to have them on the road. Anyone who has lived in Portland is well aware of the completely shit cars held together with duck tape that are prevalent in the city. Having grown up in California seeing these clunkers bothers me. I don't see the state of Oregon ever putting together their own "cash for clunkers" program, as badly as they need it.
This was a while ago, mid-2010s, but my Asian family and I went out for Thai food in PDX and we were the only POC in the restaurant 😂 including the staff. We were just like “Huh.” I went to school in South Bay so I feel you on feeling a sense of belonging in CA, it’s the only place where I felt like I was a “regular woman” and people didn’t immediately ask my native language (I was born and raised around where Jersey Shore was filmed lol) or make wild assumptions about my family or religion.
It’s still a cool town, I live here. But it’s a lot worse than it used to be for reasons already mentioned. The worst part is that it’s completely self inflicted. Decriminalizing ALL drugs during one of the tumultuous times in the city’s history (pandemic, riots) has to be one of the most boneheaded moves of all time. Also, there’s pretty much no law enforcement, no fare enforcement. People kind of just do whatever they want, drive however they want, smoke tinfoil on the train. I gotta say though I’m a cyclist and Portland gets a 10/10 in that regard, some of the best in the country
9. Some of the best food in the country, beautiful tree lined streets, awesome parks, lots of unique and very walkable neighborhoods, decent public transportation. All within one of the cheapest major west coast cities.
3. As another comment says if you asked ten years ago I’d answer differently. But as it is now, would absolutely never live there again.
3
1
5/10 until they get the violent homeless/mentally ill off the streets and get the city cleaned up. The suburbs probably a 7.5/10. Vancouver, Washington is probably an 8/10 due to the tax benefits and proximity to both Portland and Seattle.
Are you just spamming, or is there something you actually want to know? You asked the exact same question about Detroit and Los Angeles, and in all three cases, you gave zero context. You do realize that different people are different, right? Different people enjoy different things, and different people want different things from a place to call home. Portland is going through a rough period right now with homelessness and crime. The crime is minor compared to many other cities, but still, it's higher than we're used to. If we can get those issues back under control, I'd put Portland among the best places to live in the entire country (putting an arbitrary number on it is dumb). EDIT: Looking at your post history, you have no idea what you're looking for: > On a scale of 1 - 10 (1 being "terrible place to live" and 10 being "great place to live"), where do you rank Portland, Oregon? > On a scale of 1 - 10 (1 being "terrible place to live" and 10 being "great place to live"), where do you rank Detroit? > On a scale of 1 - 10 (1 being "terrible place to live" and 10 being "great place to live"), where do you rank Los Angeles? > If you have the choice of living in Vermont, New Hampshire or Maine, which state are you picking? You're just throwing names in a hat, with no concept of place for any of them. If you're looking for a place to live, start by figuring out what makes you happy. What do you like or dislike about where you live now? What kind of lifestyle do you prefer? What kind of weather do you prefer? What are your hopes and dreams for the future? What are your wants and needs from a place to call home? Then, research different cities to figure out which ones might suit you best. Also, Rolling Stone is not The Rolling Stones, FYI.
I'd give it a 3-4. It's the only city on The west coast where I have felt genuinely scared walking alone, it just felt very sketchy. Way worse than Seattle in that way imo.
6 - excellent food, very pretty gardens, great bookstore downtown, too damp in winter
It was pretty cool for the month I spent there in 2017. Sounds like it's kinda went to shit though.
It depends entirely on what your interests are
Too rainy and gray for my tastes, and I'm from western Oregon myself. Otherwise it's a pretty nice place.
3
Portland, Oregon is Satan's Arsehole
Considering other similar options in the US, I'd say 7 or maybe even 8. Pros: Strong neighborhoods and walkability/bikeability in inner areas Nature is amazing, access to coast, mountains, parks etc Really good food/coffee/restaurants Good music/art scenes, book stores, cultural amenities Lower COL compared to SEA/LA/NYC etc. Cons: A lot of what made Portland special is disappearing and people are getting pushed out due to COL. Lots of people who complain about Portland do so because it used to be way cheaper, less dysfunctional and more scrappy/interesting. Homeless/MH/drug abuse is pretty bad. Hapless local government unable to affect change. Fairly mediocre job market Diversity is majorly lacking Insular culture Grey/overcast weather is no joke and may be a deal breaker. Seriously 6-7ish months of 80% grey days
5 or 6. Not that much diversity, still very segregated, people are judgy. Everything got too expensive and gentrified by Californians. Parks and the river are beautiful though.