Hello Northwest Evo owners.sorry, this is not very car-related, but I heard people up in the NW are generally pretty friendly, so I wanted some local advice and insight.

I am currently living in New Mexico, and I'll be visiting Portland in late March to check it out for fun/vacation, and possible relocation. Besides the infamous rainy weather, what should I expect? Any advice for where to go and what to do to get a feel for the area? My interests/lifestyle include cars, especially Evos of course, autocross, snowboarding, dancing to hip hop, breaks, and various types of electronic music, rocking out to live bands, and art. Seems like Portland might be a good place for me. I'm hoping to find a good job up there and finally buy some property. Although the real estate market is not at a national high, Portland doesn't seem too bad for a middle class single guy in his 20's. Any insight and advice is greatly appreciated, thanks.

 

whew.. Portland have wonderful lifestyle.. stay away from pearl beacsue they are expseive... also portland is expesive to living there but alot funs and lifestyle...

ya pac nw is freindly like washington and Oregon... u will find alot cool evos n dsm ppl... like Tuner famous of NW is Lucas English and Arron.. also hero nw 1100whp evo 8 by Paul Nelson...

 

Well you got Mt hood for your winter sports, few decent clubs(Though I don't go to them), Pearl district first thursdays are awsome for your art needs, we've got PIR for your tracking needs(not year long however) As for the property, yeah portland hasn't been heavily affected compared to the other part of the nation.
I say P-town is very alternative city. If you like that, then there's no where else really like P-town...
Good luck and maybe we'll see you soon

 

They only thing that you will have to get use to is the rainny months. The summers here are beautiful. PIR is a great track to race on. Down I5 a little ways is woodburn and they have a good drag strip

 

Thanks for all the replies guys. Yeah, PIR, ETS, English Racing, HPF, and hood are some of the reasons I am really interested in Portland. I know downtown is can get expensive, but it doesn't get much worse than my current location for income to cost of living ratio. I appreciate the foodback, and if I do end up moving there, I hope to meet you.

 

Sweet

 

Truth, I've lived here all my life and not gunna lie the weather is starting to get to me.

 

yo! we need Hood River Runs soon!

 

I have lived all over the country, and Portland is by far the best place I have ever lived in. The living costs are reasonable, the housing market is a little over valued right now, and there are a ton of things to do.

The rainy months are over rated imho. The average annual rain fall here is much lower then most of the US. If you are a snowboarder, then this wont bother you anyway, since rain == snow in the mountains. The skiing here is awesome. A huge selection of places to go, with a ton of different terrain. On Mt. Hood alone you have 3 different resorts, plus several snow parks.

The only place to avoid is living in Multonomah county. They tax the crap out of you. Best to stay in the counties surrounding the Portland area like Washington or Clackamas county.

In the summer you have access to several full track days at PIR (Portland International Raceway) and there are 2 drag strips that run all summer as well. You can even come watch the sun set on the Ocean in the evenings.

Portland is full of beautiful sites, things to do for any time of the year, and has a really hot nite life. Its hard to not be happy hear!

 

Thanks a ton for all the info! I just confirmed my flight itinerary 3/19-3/24. since I am flying, I won't have a car unless I rent one. Is is possible to get to Horsepower Freaks from downtown via public transportation? Or should I just rent a car?

 

You can get Mass Transit there pretty easily. You can plan this at www.trimet.org. Here is the route from Pioneer Square, in the center of PDX.
1. Walk south from Pioneer Courthouse Square (SW 6th Ave & SW Morrison St) to Pioneer Square South MAX Station (Stop ID 8334)
2. 1:44 p.m. Board MAX Red Line to Airport
3. 2:14 p.m. Get off at Parkrose/Sumner TC MAX Station
4. Walk south to Parkrose/ Sumner Transit Center (Stop ID 10855)
5. 2:34 p.m. Board 87 Airport Way-181st Ave to Rockwood TC
6. 2:43 p.m. Get off at 13100 Block NE Airport Way
7. Walk 0.1 mile northwest to 12905 NE Airport Way

Travel time: 65 minutes (including 6 minutes walking and 20 minutes waiting)

Look for a shorter waiting time.

Fares: Adult All Zone ($2.05), Youth/Student ($1.40) or Honored Citizen ($0.85) Where to buy

 

PDXEvo, thanks for the help!

 

Im not sure how it is in Portland, but I live not too far north in WA so I assume its about the same. I moved here from NC and I hated it here for the longest time...rain, cloudy skies, etc etc, but I love it here now and I had planned on moving back, but Im here for good!

 

Good to know Russel! Although I currently live in a place with weather that consists of sunny blue skies about 300 days a year, I was born in the Bay Area, so I don't mind cloudy and foggy and rainy that much. Besides,I'll take some rain over blue skies and endless dirt and dust that's out here though.

Realistically, how many days a year does it rain in Northern OR, WA? Does it rain for days and days on end for half the year? while looking at real estate listings, I see some property photos that are sunny, so it can't be as bad as a lot of people make it sound...

 

Portland is the best city on earth, and we have tons of stuff to do.

Oh and to the person that said Portland is over valued, you should probably rethink that statement. There is a reason that Portland is one of the only markets in the nation where home prices are not falling.

How much do you want to spend on a house and what are you looking for? If you want to be close to everything downtown now might be a good time to look for a condo in the downtown area. Home sales in most of the active projects are really really slow so I am sure you could find a good deal.