Moving: Portland, Reno, or Seattle?

I've lived in Fresno, Tahoe and Portland. If you fit in well in Fresno and Reno you probably won't like the people in Portland. Portland is liberal, veggie powered, and artistic. Reno is having a cultural renaissance but it is still Nevada... If you are into that kind of thing than Portland would be great. I do miss climbing granite but trips to index etc. help with that.

Portland has Mt. Hood which is great, so if you are interested in ski mountaineering at all it is a huge bonus. In general the rock around portland is slick, dirty and overgrown. But it is enough to keep you happy, healthy and fit, and when you get on grainy granite you will feel like a super hero. There are some truly great climbs within 30 minutes of downtown, classic crack to red eye, dracula, bite the bullet, lost boys...Hope you are not allergic to poison oak....Bonus season in May and June for ski/mountain objectives is great, and is truly what shines in the PNW.

That said, I would live in Reno for Donner Pass but I would be giving up all the great things Portland has to offer, nice coffee and beer, quality food and music, people who care about social issues and the environment, and not being in a constant drought is also nice, rain, green trees, flowing waterfalls, healthy forests, etc.

Seattle is a traffic nightmare, live outside of the city and you are in suburban hell, but closer to climbing. Index is a great place to climb.

Benjamin Chapman wrote: Anywhere is better than Fresno, Modesto, or Bakersfield.

Ya, your right there is no point living in Fresno. A lifetime of world class granite within day trip distance, zero crowds, crags no one has heard of. Ya, no reason to live in Fresno.

A particularly gloomy day in Portland yesterday got me back on this thread - looks like it has been 4 years though! 

OP- looks like you decided Portland? Are you liking it? Regretting it? Have you been here the whole 4 years, developing grimy basalt stockholm syndrome and burning gas $$$ to get to Smith? 

For the rest of you- wondering how this comparison fares in 2022: housing prices are quite a bit different (esp. Reno) now, and the smoke situation seems to have worsened. I used to think the smoke was a deal-breaker for Reno, but apparently it was awful in Seattle/Western WA for most of October, so I don't take the 'western PNW is generally smoke free' for granted anymore. Thoughts? 

For housing, I bought a house in 2020 and I don’t think I’ll ever be able to afford to leave it.

Princess Puppy Lovrwrote:

For housing, I bought a house in 2020 and I don’t think I’ll ever be able to afford to leave it.

Trev, what in the world do you do that allows you to afford a house and post so incessantly on MP?!