Thinking about making a move out to Portland. I'm currently living in Chicago and would appreciate any insight on the difference between the two cities, such as standard & cost of living/crime/ect.

Thanks!

as far as crime goes, Portland is extremely safe in comparison to Chicago.

I really love Chicago, and I also love Portland, so I'm guessing you'll like it here.

cost of living here ain't much, you can find an apartment or a room in a house for pretty darn cheap.

per month, I've paid $210, $265 and $560. sooo...that's the cost of living, I suppose.

makeemsayhuh?:

where in chicago?

id liken portland to a giant lakeview.

Yep, I'm in Lakeview!

I need to buy that plane ticket!

I was going to say "in before people start talking about work" but Nate got to it first.
Portland is rad. However, the job market is VERY competitive. You will hear people talk a lot about the lack of jobs, and what not, but there are some success stories as well (if you are willing to work hard, and put your time in). If you are in a niche industry, do some research prior to moving to get a feel for the market out here. If you are just looking for a remedial job, those are around, but sometimes can be hard to come by. Lots of people looking for work right now. LOTS. But, the city itself is rad. Very low crime rate. Awesome atmosphere. Super white (something like 78% white people - however, board member "white folks" is actually native american, so do with that information what you will.)

i have a friend who grew up in hyde park then moved to portland. safe to say portland and chicago are completely different. you will probably miss some things about chicago but the almost complete lack of crime here is pretty nice.

and yes, portland is a lot like lakeview. so i guess it might not be a huge change. but life here is different, people are different. everything is slower-paced, which will be weird at first but you will like it. portland is less of a "small city" than it is a "big town". when you meet people, you will run into them randomly when you are walking around doing whatever. people are pretty close-knit here and because of that news travels fast. you will probably be the friend-of-a-friend of what feels like half of portland. food here is good too. there is nowhere near the quality and quantity of greek and italian food here as there is in chicago, though.

the west coast and the east coast have completely different cultures and even california is way different than oregon. come here with an open mind and dont live life like you're still in chicago cause that wont work out for you.

i love chicago. stay there.

cantstopwontstop:

What do you do for work? In some trades, good fucking luck...

i kind of sold out and went for a more desk job that offered health care, which as someone racing bikes, is important.
not to say you can't get a job as a machinist or whatever... i see ads all the time.
but it's a fact that jobs are far more scarce in portland than your average city.

our bike gangs are no where near as cool as rat patrol!

Chaitown.

Thanks for all the advice!

I'm coming for a few job interviews later in the week!