Shhhhh! We are about to tell you a secret that only a few people know. Portland, Oregon is one of the nicest major metropolitan areas to live in—in the whole world! Okay, maybe a million plus people know it but it is still a pretty well kept secret. The truth be known, if people around America knew just how great a place this is to live we would probably have to turn them away at the borders. (See the Portland $5 snob game) Here is the lowdown:

We have a very mild year-round climate. Hot and cold snaps are generally only a few days long if they occur at all. It might or might not freeze once or twice in winter. Temperatures much below 30° F are uncommon. It rains a lot less than you think. We have some cloudy days in the winter and spring but they don’t always bring rain and cloudy winter days are usually broken up by some beautiful sunny days. When we get rain it is typically a light drizzle more often than heavy rainfall. Portland gets less rain than Seattle. It is rare to see someone carrying an umbrella except on a heavy rainfall day. Every couple years we will get some snow. It doesn’t usually last long. Snow in abundance is available at near-by majestic Mt. Hood. A hot day here is anything above about 85° F. 100° weather is very rare and extended periods of very hot weather are also rare.

The vistas are incredible—mountains, rivers, bridges, skyline, trees, farmlands, vineyards and lots of green. We have one of the most diverse landscapes in the US. The Cascade mountain range is very comparable to the Alpine mountains of Europe (but with much less pollution to blur the view). Up to five mountains are visible from some parts of Portland in clear weather. Because of the UGB (Urban Growth Boundary), urban sprawl is virtually non-existent. Forests, farmland or vineyards are a short drive in almost any direction. Consider the metro area as an island in the midst of a beautiful natural landscape.

The amount of outdoor recreation available—water skiing, snow skiing, snow boarding, skate parks, windsurfing, fishing, mountain climbing, hiking, camping, biking, etc.—is nearly unparalleled. Water skiing and boating is available at nearby Lake Hagg Reservoir, snow skiing at Mt. Hood, windsurfing on the Columbia River in “The Gorge”. Near the heart of Portland is mammoth Washington Park with hiking, biking, the Oregon Zoo, Forestry Center, Vietnam Memorial, Zoo Train, Rose Gardens and Japanese Gardens. The breath-taking Oregon coast is about 60 to 90 minutes away where you will find surfing and deep sea fishing along with some serious site seeing. Sights along the coast include numerous lighthouses, the maritime museum in Astoria, the impressive Oregon Coast Aquarium in Newport, abundant shore wildlife and miles and miles of pristine uncrowded beaches dotted with gorgeous rock formations. Think Big Sur with less people.

Oh…and we do a bit of Golfing here in the Rose City. There are actually about 50 golf courses in the greater Portland area. The Pumpkin Ridge course is a favorite and has been the site of the Jen-Wen Tradition event. Beautiful public and private courses are spread throughout the metro area.

Employment is very strong here and there is an abundance of well-paying high-tech jobs. Washington County to the west has gotten the nickname “The Silicone Forest” for all of the tech companies there. The terms ‘Job Opening’ and ‘Position Available’ are endemic in shop windows, want ads and online. If you are relocating you probably have a job already reserved but it is nice to know that your spouse and teenage children should also have little difficultly also securing employment. Online job portals for the area include: portland.craigslist.org, JobDango, and OregonLive.

Housing is affordable, especially when compared to other major west coast metro areas. You will find a very wide spectrum of price ranges for property in greater Portland. In some areas modest condos can go from 100k to 150k and modest single family homes from 200k to 250k. In other areas a small home can reach a half million and well over a million for something impressive. Our Pearl District downtown has garnered national raves for upscale urban living as has the smaller but unique Orenco Station in nearby Hillsboro. Many properties in the hills and along our rivers are available with jaw-dropping views – for a price, of course. Still, there are many nice neighborhoods in greater Portland with very reasonable home prices.

A word about our county governments. Three counties make up the greater metro area. They are Clackamas to the east, Washington to the west and small but populous Multnomah for the core area. The three counties work together in a governing body called Metro, the nation's first elected regional planning council. Other nearby counties include Yamhill to the southwest and Columbia to the northeast.

Our Trimet mass transit system here is truly outstanding. Our MAX light rail trains run from the city of Gresham and the PDX International Airport in the east to the Washington County administrative offices in Hillsboro to the west. The MAX is interwoven with a large and well run system of modern buses that serve the entire metro area. Downtown, our bus system and MAX are augmented by a new street car line. A large gondola style tram has recently been completed from the south waterfront up to the Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) hospital and campus. So many bridges are available to cross the Willamette and Columbia rivers that one nickname for Portland is “Bridgetown” (others are PDX, The Rose City and Stumptown – though the waning of logging operations in recent years has rendered the last name an anachronism). Our freeways do get clogged at times but we seem to be in better shape than most west coast metro areas and if you are stuck in traffic you at least have a pretty view. Folks who live in the city core often forswear autos for bikes and ubiquitous mass transit.

We like to eat in Portland and we set an impressive table. Recently, the Food Network had their first award show and Portland was named the “most delicious destination of the year”. Why are we not surprised? A number of our fine restaurants have come to national attention. Those would include Jake’s, Papa Haydn, McCormick & Schmick’s, The Ringside, McMenamin’s and Heathman’s to name but a few. Portland is home to the impressive Western Culinary Institute where the student body gets to test your palette with their homework. The best part of it is that food is cheap in Stumptown! A great meal here can be half of what you would expect to pay in New York or San Francisco.

We have wonderful public and private schools. A number of school districts have impressive credentials and homes in those districts are sought after. We have a large multi-campus community college system at locations throughout the metro area. Our universities and colleges of note include Portland State, the University of Portland, Concordia University, OHSU, Reed College, Lewis and Clark College, Warner Pacific College, Marylhurst University and Multnomah School of the Bible to name a few. There are numerous other small colleges and vocational schools in the area. The State of Oregon has two major Universities with a lot of rivalry between them: The University of Oregon in Eugene and Oregon State in Corvallis. They are both about two hours drive from Portland.

In case you are interested with have NO SALES TAX!

Support of the arts is enthusiastic and broad-based: Classical, Jazz, Theater, Opera, Ballet, Art, are all here in abundance and if your tastes run in the more popular vein Portland is a major stop for almost all national touring acts—and here you can actually get tickets. If you are an aficionado of certain musical styles here is the lowdown. Jazz is HUGE in Portland. There is a more vital Jazz scene here than anywhere west of the Rockies and Blues is also in great demand. Classical music is extremely popular with the renowned Oregon Symphony, Oregon Ballet and numerous smaller orchestras and chamber groups performing regularly and augmented frequently by touring musicians of international stature. There is also a big rock music scene leaning towards alternative with our own northwestern twist. Portland has the oldest art museum (1892) in the Pacific Northwest and galleries abound throughout the city. “First Thursday” is a highly regarded monthly art event here.

We have major league basketball (NBA Trailblazers) and minor league baseball at PGE park as well as a ferocious following of college and high school sports.

If you are interested in day trips and things to do here is a partial list of annual events: The Rose Festival & Parade, The Portland Air Show, The Portland Auto Show, The Portland Rod & Custom Show, The Portland Grand Prix, The Portland Home & Garden Show, Oregon Summer Zoo Concerts, Oktoberfest at Mount Angel, The Portland Jazz Festival, The Waterfront Blues Festival, A Bite of Portland, The Portland Greek Festival, The Oregon Seafood and Wine Festival, The Portland International Film Festival, The Portland Marathon , Oregon Brewers Festival, Cinco de Mayo, Peacock Lane Christmas Lights, Festa Italiana - at Ponzi Vineyards, Tigard Festival of Balloons and Summerfest –Beaverton’s annual music & food bash.

Above everything else there is an elusive quality to life here that people find very attractive. The pace is a little slower than LA, Chicago or New York. There is coffee on every street corner. You still see people in jeans attending the opera. There is just a cool vibe here and if things start to get intense, you can take the weekend off and head for the mountains or the vineyards…or the beach!