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Is Portland the right city for me? (Single/M/24 approaching graduation)?

Some background: I am nearing the completion of my Computer Science degree, and as I start thinking about the job search I want to first choose a place to live. To me, my living environment is more important than career. I intend to stay single for the forseeable future, and as such I don't really care about the quality of the schools. 1. I have no intention of owning a car, so both my home and workplace must be easily accessible by safe, reliable public transit (this is something my current home lacks) 2. While I'm reasonably tolerant of crime (I live downtown in a Rust Belt city after all) I would prefer to avoid places I can't walk alone at night. 3. While I'm not worried about having the absolute highest dollar figure for a starting salary, there need to be jobs in my field. 4. I want to live in a proper neighborhood with all the normal amenities within walking distance (groceries, cafes, etc.) So does Portland make the cut, and might Seattle be a better choice?

Public Comments

1. Which Portland ? There are at least two.
2. Yep portland would make the cut in my mind. If you are looking for a place to live generally the West side is more trendy and expensive than the east side, but the east side is more liberal. If you do venture over to the east side try to find a place below 82nd street, as it tends to get more iffy if you go higher than that. Of course Portland is know for having Intel which is a short Max train ride to the burbs, and Intel provides shuttles to their campuses from the station. There is also other computer companies based in and around portland. I believe that Seattle has some of the worst traffic around and its public transit system is not the best, but that is from a biased point of view. The pros and cons of Seattle - Pro - no income tax. Con - really high sales tax Pro and cons of Portland - Pro - no sales tax. Con - have state income tax. Well that is the end of my two cents. Good luck in making your decision.
3. Portland has a vibrant downtown with great night life and plenty of culture. There are many upscale neighborhoods with a relatively low crime rate. There is a good public transportation system. If you live close to MAX you won't need a car. It does rain a lot. There are a lot of high tech firms. There are plenty of neighborhoods upscale to cool old neighborhoods with funky little cafes and fresh healthy grocery stores, that are walkable and safe. On points 1,2 and 4 the advantage definitely goes to Portland, On job opportunities it's probably a draw between Portland and Seattle.
4. Seattle is great, you wouldn't be living in seattle though more than likely you'd be in redmond or a surrounding area, since i'm assuming your wanting to work for microsoft? or maybe nintendo. the tech market is fairly saturatated you can make a decent salary but you'll be first to get cut when lay off's come unless your somthing of a wiz. The tech companies are located mainly in beaverton, although not impossible to get around without a car, i know it's quit difficult since it's a sprawling burb. might i suggested sunyvale? you can live in san jose for fairly cheap and work for any of the tech companies there. ie-google, yahoo, ebay, and so on.