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Originally Posted by Elphaba
The one thing that I can tell you is that the Portland gridlock is just as bad as Seattle's, if not worse. Give some consideration to that when you are choosing a place to live. Think about alternative transportation if you are not keen about spending hours commuting.
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Portland has one of the best regional mass transportation systems, though. Seattle had a late start on mass transit, and the difference between the two cities is clear in that respect. Sure, Portland traffic may be bad, but there's always another choice--the MAX, the bus, the streetcar, etc. And lots of people in Portland bike.
In moving to Portland I would consider choosing a place close to the MAX line. The MAX connects you to everything in downtown Portland as well as the suburbs, and a lot of nice places to live have sprung up next to the MAX lines catering to commuters. Portland is a really great place to live, whether in the city itself or the suburbs. I used to live in a suburb of Portland, not far from the MAX line, and really enjoyed it (had to move away for college). The West side of greater Portland is home to major employers like Intel and Nike as well as a ton of retail and other tech businesses. I would say it's generally easy to find work here, the economy is doing well, and housing is not too expensive yet--provided you don't want to live downtown. The people are friendly of course, because this is Oregon.
I live about an hour and a half south of Portland, but I've spent a significant amount of time there, so if you have any specific questions, I can certainly answer them, or ask my roommate (also from Portland) to consult.