Portland Or Or Seattle Wa, Or What Else?
Moved to Boston area recently. No can do. Portland OR or Seattle WA? Discuss.?
I moved to the Boston area recently and after visiting NYC and living here for a while I’ve decided the north east is just not my style. I lived in Phoenix AZ for 5 years, LA for 2 years, and San Fran area for 17 years (which is nice but far too expensive).
The area I’ve liked the most is the northwest. I have family there and I’ve stayed there for long periods of time, so I think I have a good idea of what its like.
My question is as a creative (musical) gay man which city would you pick? Seattle or Portland?
I think the people in the northwest are way more laid back like me . . . this whole north eastern overly educated way of acting is getting old, and I just dont think the area is for me. Plus northwest is much cheaper and the pay rate is similar for my job (cat scan).
Just want some opinions.
I can only speak of Portland, since I’ve lived there most of my
life. Apparently, you aren’t a stranger, so you must have an
idea of how the music scene is. I Googled jazz clubs, and
found five locations. Jimmy Maks sounds like the biggie there. It’s a bar and grill on 300 NW 10th Ave. And there’s LV’s Uptown Jazz Club, Theo’s Jazz Club (on Fri. and Sats) and Birdland Jazz (see http://www.citysearch.com). And Bitter End Pub.
I have seen Jazz Festivals during the year advertised, like
the Portland Jazz Festival in Feb. I heard that there
is one coming up soon in the Columbia Gorge location of
the Maryhill Museum up near Goldendale.
You may know that mayor Tom Potter is very supportive of
the gay community. And Portland is now considered a haven
of sorts. There are frequent Gay Pride parades in the
downtown core that are shown on local news. They look a
bit wild from what I’ve seen.
Portland has been very laid back, but with the multitudes of
people moving up from San Francisco, and other areas, the
area is more diversified with a mix of people now. And it’s
showing a little more wildness than it used to. But with so
many Californians relocating up here, I guess it’s to be ex-
pected. According to the motor vehicle dept, the heaviest
amount of people are still coming up from Calif.
I hope my info has helped you somewhat.
Portland is funkier and more laid back then Seattle, so think you’d prefer Portland based on your description of yourself.
Seattle is a big city and more expensive. Portland is less expensive and little more recreational. It sounds like you would enjoy Seattle more – great music venues- outside the city you can buy a house for a fraction of what you pay in the san francisco area . We live in the bay area near SF and own a home in Gig harbor – 45 minutes from Seattle. It seems like a bargain up there compared to here!