Could Portland be the best city in the country for developers right now?
blog.appfog.com
blog.appfog.com
Benefits:
- natural surroundings are gorgeous, not surrounded by the rest of Texas, have seen more breathtaking scenery than at any other point in my life
- better coffee, beer, restaurants, food carts
- no sales tax is great while making a transition to a new place if you aren't bringing in any income yet, cost of living isn't very high
- it seems to be a good place to live for an introvert like myself. people are friendly, the neighborhood bars on the East Side are low key/don't have the loud fratty types, and people seem to keep to themselves a bit more.
- no 4-5 months of 100+ temperatures, or extreme temperatures at all
- lots of small live music venues with shows that rarely sell out, such as Doug Fir Lounge and Mississippi Studios
- There are many affordable local conferences such as Open Source Bridge. And the Portland Digital Experience + MusicFestNW badge is a steal.
- Very walkable/bikable, I don't have a car and plenty of access to great coffee/beer/entertainment. Love the neighborhood/small town feel.
- Powell's, Board Game Night at Lucky Lab, Ground Kontrol, Backspace, music video night at Beulahland, love it.
Drawbacks:
- January - March the cloudiness/drizzle gets a bit old. I personally enjoy the transition to Spring/Fall when the flowers come out, and the leaves turn colors, so after being here a year I wouldn't say the weather sucks 9 months out of the year, but maybe 4 months.
- Haven't really formed much of a social circle, many of the people I have met have moved away already because of the weather or go back to keeping to themselves and don't see them again.
- I hear the developer pay is lower
- high state income tax (vs. no state income tax in Texas), losing 9% of your income is much worse than paying no sales tax, and the cost of living is a little higher than in Austin.
Funny that you say cost of living is higher than in Austin, I felt Oregon has remarkably low cost of living compared to every where else I have lived (I have never lived in Texas though).
I should also note that this summer has been absolutely magisterial.
For those who suffer from S.A.D. (as I do), there are options: get a UV lamp. I also recommend acupuncture (how very PDX of me).
As for Portland itself, a friend told me to watch the show Portlandia before I went. At first, I thought the show was way too over the top to be funny. After actually spending some time there, it became apparent that if it was any less over the top, it would be a documentary.
On the plus side, Oregon is very nice. Crater Lake is spectacular in the winter, and perhaps the most beautiful area in the US. There are also many awesome Art Deco bridges along the coast.