Week Three: Portland

Portland is an amazing city located in the North West tip of the state of Oregon. With a population almost identical to that of Denver, the city might be a nice transition for those CSU students who feel comfortable with the size of Denver but are nervous about moving to a "big city." Portland is has been nicknamed the city of roses due to the average rainfall of 36" year, making it an ideal climate for growing roses. If
living under gloomy skies and always having to carry your umbrella with you seem intolerable, I would advise a move to a city other than Portland. However, if these conditions sound tolerable or even pleasant, allow me to tell you why Portland has my vote for one of the best places to live in America.


Real Estate
As you are by now familiar, with each city I profile I always like to include information on the cost of living. According to CNN Money Magazine, the median home price in Portland is 225,000. This is just slightly lower than the 212,000 median home price Money Magazine gave Fort Collins. This is roughly 1/3 the cost of the median home price in Los Angeles or Berkeley. So, from a cost of living perspective, Portland is certainly impressive. If your like me, the thought of living in the suburbs seems like a worst nightmare. Instead, perhaps you prefer a vivacious, culturally rich, and coffee house infused urban lifestyle? If so, you should consider living in the Pearl District. In a past life, the Pearl District was a home to various warehouse and light manufacturing industries. But, within the last 10 years the area has been transformed into an eclectic mix of art galleries, coffee houses, "hippie hangouts,"and residences. The abundance of of old warehouses that have just recently been transformed into condos and lofts means there is an abundance of really cool places to live. Like any hot spot, rental rates reflect desirability of the area, so rentals in the Pearl are more expensive than the the rest of the city as a whole. Below is a newly renovated warehouse that has been turned into a two bedroom condo renting for 2,000 month. As you can see from the pictures, the kitchen is top notch and there is an abundance of space, the square footage on this unit is over 1200.




So, if you find a roommate and split rent down the middle, for 1,000 dollars a month you can live in a top-of-the-line loft in the trendiest part of the city. If you don't feel the need to live in a loft or in the Pearl, you can expect to find rental rates comparable to Fort Collins.


Food/Drinks
Portland has a great restaurant scene, which plays host to every type of cuisine imaginable. The Food Network recently awarded Portland with their "Delicious Destination of the Year 2007" award. An excellent resource I found was http://www.portlandfood.org/ which includes an alphabetical index of many restaurants in Portland and then allows users to post comments on their favorites/least favorites. Nothing to go better with all that food than a great beverage. Portland has often been called the home of the microbrewery revolution in the United States. Home to 28 microbreweries, Portland has more microbreweries than any other city in the U.S. The city embraces their beer culture as is made evident by the many annual beer festivals, the biggest being the Oregon Brewers Festival held each summer. According to their website, over 60,5000 attended last years event sampling over 65 different types of microbrews. For more information visit http://www.oregonbrewfest.com/ .







Outdoors
Portland has an abundance of outdoor activities. Again winning accolades, Outside Magazine named the city "One of the Ten Best Places to Live" in 2006. Nearby Mount Hood offers ski and snowboard junkies all they could ever ask for. There is also an abundance of hiking trails in the surrounding areas. A great resource for those interested in local trails is http://portlandhikers.com/ . My favorite aspect of this site is the section called local events, which lists dates and times for hikes led by local outdoor groups that are available to all. I think this is a great way to meet people in your area that share similar interests, which is always important when you are new to an area. Given the fact that Portland is situated at the confluence of the Columbia and Willamette rivers, it should come as no surprise that water sports are popular in the city. Every weekend the rivers fill up with kayakers looking to have a good time. So, with an abundance of outdoor activities, great food and drink, and relatively low rental rates Portland is definitely a city worth checking out after graduation.