4 ms·

Could Portland be the best city in the country for developers right now?

27 points by lucperkins 14y ago

malachismith 14y ago
If only it were not for the weather....
- lucperkins 14y ago
  Well, the (admittedly) crummy weather produces (a) solidarity, (b) a lot of good music, and (c) our healthy coffee obsession. So get over it. I should also note that this summer has been absolutely magisterial.
  - malachismith 14y ago
    The summer is the silver lining without a doubt. So many berries....
- deleted 14y ago
  [deleted]
- bjclark 14y ago
  I moved here from a place in Colorado with 300 days of sunshine a year. Everyone said, upon hearing I was moving "You know it rains a lot there?". Buy a jacket. Go outside when it's nice, don't when it's not. Living your life by the weather is pretty silly.
  - lucperkins 14y ago
    Absolutely. Well said. I've never even owned an umbrella. 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).
- jcnnghm 14y ago
  I have been on 100% travel in the US for the last year, and the three weeks I spent in Oregon were very depressing. It literally rained every single day; the longest period without rain was about 6 hours, or the couple of days it snowed. I would never want to live there for that reason, I was happy to leave. 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.
turoczy 14y ago
If you've ever been curious about what's happening in the Portland startup scene, this is the post to read. Luc does an amazing job of capturing both the tech and the culture of the town. And if anyone has any additional questions about "Why Portland?" I'm always happy to answer those, too.
arjn 14y ago
Nice polite people, food carts, good restaurants, possibly the best coffee in the US, Ocean is 1 hour away, greenery, Mt Hood, the Cascades .... and much, much more.
- lucperkins 14y ago
  Yup. I'd add to that list, but it sounds like you're here already :)
adverscott 14y ago
Portland rocks!
xradionut 14y ago
What about Powell's? (Number one reason for a nerd to visit...)
- lucperkins 14y ago
  Ooooh, good call. Well, I couldn't include everything...
larrykubin 14y ago
Moved to Portland from Austin a little over a year ago. 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.
- lucperkins 14y ago
  WONDERFUL list. You really nailed it all on the head, and I'm impressed that you really know the place after only a year. RESPECT.
- laaph 14y ago
  While it is still high compared to zero in Texas, you get to deduct how much you paid in federal taxes from the state taxes, making that 9% sting a little less. 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).
jpxxx 14y ago
Great writeup on the best city on Earth. It's a blessing to live here.
- lucperkins 14y ago
  Yes. Yes, it is :)
mahyarm 14y ago
Why would you choose Portland over Seattle? It's nearly identical weather wise, except you have no state income tax, Canada a couple hours away, the ocean right next door, a second tier international airport (vs portlands third tier) and two large tech companies to help create a tech base.
- lucperkins 14y ago
  Have a look at the article. Portland is consistently rated above Seattle according to all kinds of livability metrics. The public transportation is far better, it's more bike-accessible, there are more breweries and coffeeshops per capita, etc. Now, this is not to bash Seattle, which is unquestionably one of the best cities in America. But Portland's strengths outweigh Seattle's for broad swathes of people.
- malachismith 14y ago
  The next time you're stuck in rush hour traffic in Seattle and cursing the gods you'll have your answer.
  - mahyarm 14y ago
    Isn't that the generic tradeoff between a larger vs smaller city too? I'll also be cursing the longer international travel times too.
    - lucperkins 14y ago
      You're right that this is trade-off is somewhat inevitable, but I feel like Seattle's traffic is disproportionately bad for a city of its size. Seattle is consistently listed as one of the top 10 worst traffic cities in America and is not even in the top 20 in terms of population.
  - lucperkins 14y ago
    Seattlites also talk up their light rail line. Ummm, yeah. The first MAX line was built in 1986.
OafTobark 14y ago
Grew up in Portland, live in SF. I'm the opposite. Prefer SF. Both have their pluses and minuses but for the tech and startup scene, it's not comparable for me. I love Portland and it'll always have a place in my heart but it's just not close to being comparable for me in this regard.
- OafTobark 14y ago
  Great. I got downvoted for having an opinion

27 points by lucperkins 14y ago

malachismith 14y ago

If only it were not for the weather....

lucperkins 14y ago
Well, the (admittedly) crummy weather produces (a) solidarity, (b) a lot of good music, and (c) our healthy coffee obsession. So get over it. I should also note that this summer has been absolutely magisterial.
- malachismith 14y ago
  The summer is the silver lining without a doubt. So many berries....
deleted 14y ago
[deleted]
bjclark 14y ago
I moved here from a place in Colorado with 300 days of sunshine a year. Everyone said, upon hearing I was moving "You know it rains a lot there?". Buy a jacket. Go outside when it's nice, don't when it's not. Living your life by the weather is pretty silly.
- lucperkins 14y ago
  Absolutely. Well said. I've never even owned an umbrella. 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).
jcnnghm 14y ago
I have been on 100% travel in the US for the last year, and the three weeks I spent in Oregon were very depressing. It literally rained every single day; the longest period without rain was about 6 hours, or the couple of days it snowed. I would never want to live there for that reason, I was happy to leave. 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.

turoczy 14y ago

If you've ever been curious about what's happening in the Portland startup scene, this is the post to read. Luc does an amazing job of capturing both the tech and the culture of the town. And if anyone has any additional questions about "Why Portland?" I'm always happy to answer those, too.

arjn 14y ago

Nice polite people, food carts, good restaurants, possibly the best coffee in the US, Ocean is 1 hour away, greenery, Mt Hood, the Cascades .... and much, much more.

lucperkins 14y ago
Yup. I'd add to that list, but it sounds like you're here already :)

adverscott 14y ago

Portland rocks!

xradionut 14y ago

What about Powell's? (Number one reason for a nerd to visit...)

lucperkins 14y ago
Ooooh, good call. Well, I couldn't include everything...

larrykubin 14y ago

Moved to Portland from Austin a little over a year ago. 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.

lucperkins 14y ago
WONDERFUL list. You really nailed it all on the head, and I'm impressed that you really know the place after only a year. RESPECT.
laaph 14y ago
While it is still high compared to zero in Texas, you get to deduct how much you paid in federal taxes from the state taxes, making that 9% sting a little less. 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).

jpxxx 14y ago

Great writeup on the best city on Earth. It's a blessing to live here.

lucperkins 14y ago
Yes. Yes, it is :)

mahyarm 14y ago

Why would you choose Portland over Seattle? It's nearly identical weather wise, except you have no state income tax, Canada a couple hours away, the ocean right next door, a second tier international airport (vs portlands third tier) and two large tech companies to help create a tech base.

lucperkins 14y ago
Have a look at the article. Portland is consistently rated above Seattle according to all kinds of livability metrics. The public transportation is far better, it's more bike-accessible, there are more breweries and coffeeshops per capita, etc. Now, this is not to bash Seattle, which is unquestionably one of the best cities in America. But Portland's strengths outweigh Seattle's for broad swathes of people.
malachismith 14y ago
The next time you're stuck in rush hour traffic in Seattle and cursing the gods you'll have your answer.
- mahyarm 14y ago
  Isn't that the generic tradeoff between a larger vs smaller city too? I'll also be cursing the longer international travel times too.
  - lucperkins 14y ago
    You're right that this is trade-off is somewhat inevitable, but I feel like Seattle's traffic is disproportionately bad for a city of its size. Seattle is consistently listed as one of the top 10 worst traffic cities in America and is not even in the top 20 in terms of population.
- lucperkins 14y ago
  Seattlites also talk up their light rail line. Ummm, yeah. The first MAX line was built in 1986.

OafTobark 14y ago

Grew up in Portland, live in SF. I'm the opposite. Prefer SF. Both have their pluses and minuses but for the tech and startup scene, it's not comparable for me. I love Portland and it'll always have a place in my heart but it's just not close to being comparable for me in this regard.

OafTobark 14y ago
Great. I got downvoted for having an opinion