I just moved to Portland from the North SF Bay Area. I work as an independent contractor which means in theory I would work anywhere, but my experience has been

I just moved to Portland from the North SF Bay Area. I work as an independent contractor which means in theory I would work anywhere, but my experience has been it's usually in-person networking and locally-based online groups that help me get new contracts. I wanted to move to Portland because the cost of living—while increasing—is less than the Bay Area, yet the amenities and quality of life there is similar. (And in some ways, better!) I haven't gotten a full sense yet of what the startup scene is like here, but there's a great cowork space downtown (NedSpace) that is pretty active. There's also an online calendar of tech events that seems quite full: http://calagator.org http://calagator.org Anyone else here on HN embraced the cliché and moved from CA to OR?