Hi!

As you can see, we are currently residing in San Diego, but we just found out yesterday that we will be moving to Portland around July or so (military orders). Seeing as how neither of us has ever been to Portland (or Oregon, for that matter), I thought I would post here and see what those of you who live there have to say. So please, feel free to give us words of advice, warning, and/or welcome, and we look forward to meeting some of you in the future!

Thanks in advance!
Will

 

Hmmm. No responses. I'd read that people in Portland (and Oregon in general) don't like people moving there from California. Technically I'm not a Californian since I moved here after growing up and living the Midwest the first 40 years of my life. So I'll try again: please help if you can. If not, I understand, but we're still going to move there anyway!

 

Welcome!

You have to excuse the lack of responses. The PDX club doesn't post much here but they have a very active club. Check out their website www.pdxmini.org for lots of info. Be sure to attend a meeting or run if you can.

 

It's true this Thread is not checked for new Posts that often. I've got one on here and I just checked in on it, no repsonses...oh well.

Anyway, let me Welcome you to the Portland/Vancouver, WA Metro, yes I live on the Vancouver side of the Columbia River (East Vancouver to be exact), but work in Portland.

Wasn't sure much Military was left here in Portland, is the Guard Base at the Airport still active?

What can I tell you about housing? Portland is divided into 4 distinct sections, NE, SE, NW, SW, and many Bedroom Communities. A map of the City will give you ideas of the disection. Try Google Earth, it's a great way to get to know the lay of the land so to speak.

Traffic, well you already know CA Traffic, so it might not be such a big deal for you, but it is here. We have Light Rail (Max), Buses (TriMet/C-Tran), and
Street Cars, oh and the Arial Tram for OHSU. The Street Car project extension is what is going to be clogging a couple of major streets on the East side of Portland from now until November 2012, or so I'm told.

Our climate changes every year, there have not been 2 identical climate years since I've been here (almost 12Years), we had a dousy of a Winter last year, the Winter of 2003/2004 was the most Snow/Ice I've experienced. This year has been considerably drier, although now it seems to be making up for it. We have the most Beautiful Mountain in the World (Mt. Hood), great skiing and outdoor recreation areas. I think we are the Falls Capitol of the World, or we should be, Multnomah Falls is breath taking and another great outdoor recreation area.

I see I'm getting a little wordy, so if you want/need more information you can PM me and I'll see what I can do to help.

 

A couple of things to do: Go to the Tillamook Cheese Factory, Drive the Old Columbia River Hwy and check out on of our many microbreweries. If you are going to go to downtown Portland I would suggest you take the Light Rail (MAX). It doesn't rain here as much as is rumored. Try to stay off of hwy 217 if possible (way too much traffic) and enjoy the scenery. We have lots of great twisty country roads for you to try your Mini out on.

 

Thanks for the responses! We are really looking forward to moving there. It seems like an awesome place with some great people. We'll be sure to check the club out when we get there.

 

Do you need a winter wheel/tire setup in Portland?

 

You’ll find that a good many people do run studded tires during the winter months. There were definitely a few days this year where I would not have been comfortable driving on my summer setup. Still, it largely depends on where you plan on driving. I would generalize that the majority of people commuting don’t ‘need’ winter tires.

 

Thanks! I think I'll just sell my OEM wheels then.

 

Welcome

1. Watch out for the photo radar in Beaverton....
2. The PDXmini.org club is pretty fun... especially the first rally group leaving any event.
3. Oregonians are generally really friendly.
4. The weather is pretty good and there is much to do between the mountains and the coast. It is a good place to have your top down (on the Mini).
5. Lots of Minis here but not many people wave. (I do sometimes)