Portland or Seattle, how to choose?

[sparklypoodle]

I need help, and was hoping for advice. I am in the thick of looking for a place to relocate following residency, and have narrowed it down to either of these 2 cities. I'll be headed out to both shortly for interviews, but really don't have a good sense of which I should lean more towards. Both seem like good options. My gut tells me that Seattle has more stuff going on, and I am an urban girl at heart, but the cost of living in nice places like Bellevue seems a little crazy... Argh.
Any advice from you wonderful pricescopers? How do both cities compare? I feel stuck.

 

[TooPatient]

Sammamish is a LOT less than Bellevue. There are also great options in Issaquah (check out the Issaquah Highlands -- really building over there!) and other places here in the area. You get to be close to Seattle but live in a nice place!

LOTS of medical stuff in Bellevue and even Issaquah. We were just at a newly opened hospital/medical-center in Issaquah. It is huge!


DH and I live in Sammamish and love it! We're able to get to anything pretty easily. 12 minutes to one Swedish hospital and an Overlake Urgent Care. 15 minutes to several others towards Issaquah. 20 minutes to the big hospital next to the Highlands (Issaquah).
30 minutes into Seattle with mild/moderate traffic. Even in the evenings, we can make it into Seattle for concerts during the week in 45 minutes or less (usually).
Our house in Sammamish cost $100,000 LESS than a smaller less nice house in a not as good Bellevue neighborhood.


I'm not very familiar with Portland.


ETA: We have EVERYTHING around here! Music from around the world (check out the Meany Theater at the UW). Food from around the world. Art, wine, biking, hiking,....

 

[Smith1942]

I'm assuming you mean Portland Oregon. Portland is pretty but it's really small. I haven't been to Seattle but it looks amazing in films and I've heard there is so much going on there. I think I'd pick Seattle.

 

[movie zombie]

know a guy who relocated to Portland, Oregon. he loves it. everything a big city has but smaller and perhaps cleaner.
he went there from San Francisco.
Seattle is wetter.....and the commute traffic is not fun.
why not take some time and go visit both before making a decision?
I think I'd go to Portland.

 

[SMC]

why not take some time and go visit both before making a decision?

Best advice ever.

I've lived in Seattle for the past 2 years, moved here straight from NYC. I've also lived in Chicago, Hong Kong, Boston, and San Francisco. Just speaking from personal experience, I don't think Bellevue is a good representation of Seattle, since it's sooo - I don't how to describe it - homogenous? Since it's so close to MSFT and the good school districts, I feel that Bellevue people tend to be richer, more suburban, and more from the same class. Please note that this is just my personal opinion. It's like living in the Upper West Side in NYC, if you know what I mean. Where is your hospital located? I would recommend not living in Bellevue unless you're also working there since you get tolled crossing the 520 bridge when you go into Seattle (yes, there you can take the I-90 which is free but that makes it more crowded and it's less convenient a lot of times). Even if you are working Bellevue, there are places on the east side that are more affordable.

I like Seattle, but it's a far cry from NYC, which will always be my favorite city in the world. I agree that Seattle seems more urban to me than Portland. Portland is more "granola" to me, maybe because Seattle has more tech jobs which tend to attract people of similar backgrounds. Not to say that Seattle is ethnically homogenous, because it's not.

If you're "outdoorsy" both cities are equally good for that stuff. I am more of an "indoorsy" person. I prefer living in Seattle because it is almost exactly in between Portland (the one in Oregon) and Vancouver (the one in Canada) so we can go visit either city anytime we want. Since Seattle and Portland are so close to each other, I find the climates very comparable.

Finally, WA has no state income tax while OR has no sales tax. Depends on your income, but if you are making a lot of money, then WA is the better choice for you financially. In my opinion, sales taxes tend to penalize the poor whereas income taxes tend to penalize the rich.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

I'd pick Seattle over Portland if you're looking for urban life. Portland is smaller. Seattle is larger and has tons of activities going on.

Bellevue is nice, but more what I'd think of as a city to live in when you're looking for a good school & a home...but, as Toopatient mentioned, there are other cities in proximity that are more affordable along the Eastside, so Bellevue wouldn't be top choice. One family I know in Bellevue paid a ton for a house that's half the size of a house I was looking at the other day outside of Bellevue. Basically a rambler vs a 3100 sq foot house (both in nice neighborhoods w/excellent schools) for the same price.

And, yeah, re: taxes. No state income tax is always nice. ALWAYS! The idea of no sales tax is great, but in reality, there are SO MANY sales these days that you can find most retailers have great deals that make up for paying sales taxes on items.

 

[ericad]

We moved from SF to Seattle 12 years ago and love it here. I worked in downtown Seattle for years, though we actually live out in Gig Harbor (long but easy commute via express bus). We decided to live far and commute so that we could build a custom home on acreage for much less than the cost of a fixer on the east side - but there's a part of me that would love a loft in the heart of the city. Seattle is great - lots of wonderful neighborhoods within Seattle if you want a house in the city, or many suburbs to consider (Bellevue, Issaquah, Mercer Island, etc.) If you don't mind paying ferry tolls, you can even consider Bainbridge Island for a more rustic existence - great schools there too.

I also love Oregon, and it would have been my next choice if Seattle didn't work out. But we've been very happy here - just plan mid-winter vacations to sunny destinations for the years when we have a short summer or particularly crummy winter. We've been on a stretch of terrific weather since spring - it's still sunny with blue skies most days, though temps are in the 20's. And we had a fab summer. But it's not always like that - some years can be rough, it varies. I'm a homebody at heart, so the weather suits me fine - summer is the time for outdoor activities, but you kind of have to be content staying indoors the rest of the year because of the rain.

 

[TooPatient]

For Seattle area:

Also some great neighborhoods in Redmond and Kirkland.

We have all the outdoorsy stuff -- skiing, hiking, kayaking, boating, swimming, camping
HUGE assortment of scenery -- rainforest, lakes, rivers, mountains, desert
artsy stuff -- Leavenworth, San Juan Island, etc beyond just the museums in the city
music -- Seattle Symphony, Seattle opera, Meany Theater (world famous musicians of all sorts), plus country & jazz
theater -- Seattle, Issaquah, and Auburn (just to name a few I've been to)
food -- authentic and fusion stuff. Lots of farmer's markets. Whole Foods.
wine --- Woodinville has bunches of tasting rooms. Wineries across the state have tastings there.

Some of the best schools in the country. For kids and also the UW.

I don't know of anywhere else that you can drive 20 minutes one way and be in a major city or drive 20 minutes the other and be in the mountains! (there may be places, but this is the only area I know!)

 

[sparklypoodle]

Wow, well Seattle has an overwhelming number of positive responses compared with Portland so far. It's what I was thinking as well, but I seem to get better job offers so far in Portland for some reason. I'm about to go see both for myself, but have very little time to actually see the cities and will be spending most of my time meeting people unfortunately. I'm excited about the move, but want to make sure I pick the right place for my family. Does anyone know anything about Vancouver WA? I know it's a suburb of Portland, is this worth looking at? I have the fortunate problem of too many choices...

 

[movie zombie]

Vancouver, WA: been sometime since I've been there but it is an alternative to living within Portland proper.
if you're moving your family, are you looking at schools as well for children?