As a Portland local for almost 2 decades, I know my home city has a lot to offer.  And while I feel like this post could be five million words long because there is so much I could share about advice on moving to Portland, I’ll try to keep it short and sweet with only basic necessary information.  So if you’re considering moving to the Rose City, then here are my best tips and everything you need to now about moving to Portland.

We have a really strict Urban Growth boundary in the city center of Portland.

One of the reasons for our housing shortage is due to our really strict urban growth boundary here in Portland’s city center.  Though, this actually is a really good thing and one of the reasons Portland hasn’t ended up being a massive sprawl like LA, because we’re only allowed to build out so far from the city center.  It makes it more livable and a prettier city in the long term.

The city is broken up by the Willamette River and then cross roads divide sections of the city in quadrants.

The Willamette River splits the city into what we call the West Side and the East Side.  The East side is lower buildings and a lot more residential neighborhoods while the West side is the City Center and Downtown.  Within the Downtown/City Center section of the West Side, major roads basically split the neighborhoods into fours: North of Burnside and East of the 405 freeway is the Pearl District and Old Town, North of Burnside and West of the 405 freeway is NW and Nob Hill, South of Burnside and East of the 405 freeway is Downtown and South of Burnside and West of the 405 freeway is SW and Goose Hollow.  Each neighborhood has a very distinct feel and just crossing these roads you’ll know immediately you’re in a new neighborhood.

We have an incredible food scene here.

We take our food seriously here in Portland.  Not only do we have an amazing food scene and incredible local restaurants, we also go above and beyond for farm to table and organic foods here in the North West, so be prepared for healthy eating.  There are an endless amount of local restaurants in Portland serving every type of food you can imagine and the choices are endless!

Everyone is moving here… no but seriously.

Thousands of people have moved to Portland over the last handful of years and you can definitely feel it.  After living here for almost 2 decades, I can honestly tell you, Portland is way more crowded than ever before.  It’s a really livable city and while expensive for our size, still way cheaper to live than say San Francisco or Seattle.  And truthfully, I can’t blame people for wanting to move here, it is my beloved home city after all!

It doesn’t rain as much as everything thinks, but the Winters are cold and gray.

One of the things everyone thinks they know about Portland is that it rains all the time here.  And while yes, we do get a lot of rain and as I write this it’s pouring buckets outside, it isn’t as rainy as you may think.  However, we do have pretty long long, cold and gray Winters so if that isn’t your thing, I’m not sure Portland is the place for you!

The media attention is overhyped.

During the Pandemic and after, Portland got a bad wrap on a lot of things in the media.  I’ll tell you as a local, it was totally overhyped and the city is just that, a city.  We have our issues like every other city has, but in the scope of what the news wanted you to think about Portland, it’s not nearly the same experience as they are making it out to be.

Headed to my home town of Portland?

See all my posts on Portland here!