quality of life in portland

[Michi527]

Just like in any city...depends on your salary and your lifestyle!

I'd rather live in a studio or tiny 1bdrm...and live near the lively areas and have funds for going out! While some prefer more space and a more enjoyable home life. Everyone is different. What are your priorities...go from there.

[urbanlife78]

Well if you are in your 20s, Portland is a great place for young people to retire. Which is very true, it is a very easy city to live in and still be able to travel and enjoy the surroundings without having to work yourself to death to do it.

If you are in your 30s and up, then that becomes a different question because Portland can be tricky in finding a job that you want in some fields, as we do have a relative high unemployment.

I always laugh when someone asks if the city is safe, I grew up in a city that had severely dangerous parts of the city you did not go into. No where in Portland have I ever worried about my safety. Obviously if I was a girl, that might be a little bit different because there can be moments in some parts of the city where a girl might feel a little unsafe, but that is about it.

[Minervah]

Originally Posted by urban life 78

Well if you are in your 20s, Portland is a great place for young people to retire. Which is very true, it is a very easy city to live in and still be able to travel and enjoy the surroundings without having to work yourself to death to do it.

If you are in your 30s and up, then that becomes a different question because Portland can be tricky in finding a job that you want in some fields, as we do have a relative high unemployment.

I always laugh when someone asks if the city is safe, I grew up in a city that had severely dangerous parts of the city you did not go into. No where in Portland have I ever worried about my safety. Obviously if I was a girl, that might be a little bit different because there can be moments in some parts of the city where a girl might feel a little unsafe, but that is about it.

I think women for the most part are a bit cautious wherever they are. I was attacked by a rapist (fought the bastard off) in a very posh suburb of Chicago. The bad guys can travel to anywhere they like.

I have been threatened by druggies in downtown Portland but only a couple in all the 30 some years I worked downtown. I believe anything can happen anywhere so I don't make fear a deterrent as to where I want to travel. Unless, of course, it is an area well known to be dangerous.

Those who are relatively new to the city would probably be surprised that I was warned not to move to the area around Hawthorne Blvd back in the 80's. It was full of druggies and drug houses, some skinheads and half-way houses for the mentally disturbed some of whom loved to jump out at women getting off the bus and saying "boo!" or things more scary.

Drug busts occurred almost every Saturday night at the house next door to me. But at least you knew where you could find a cop on a Saturday night if you needed one.

But look at the neighborhood now! Complete 180; gentrified and genteel.