I’m a 23 year old female DJ, hoping to make a move to the west coast. So I’m trying to learn about a few cities in California and Oregon.
So I’m wondering a few things about Portland:
1. What’s the weather typically like? (especially during the winters and summers) Is the heat dry?
2. What’s the club scene like? (is there an appeal for electro and indie music there? Aka, is there a specific part of portland that is chalk fulla young hipsters? haha) (not because i’m hoping to jump on that band wagon, but the music i play usually appeals to that kind of crowd, so that’s where the money is.)
3. How far are the beaches from downtown? And how expensive is it to live close to downtown?
Thanks a lot of questions!!! Any helpful answers will really be appreciated 
First off, an apartment in Portland is going to be WAY cheaper than living in any decent cities in Cali, even downtown. I live in a studio right on the corner of NW 21st Ave which is one of the more popular and trendy areas, also very close to downtown, for $650/mo. A lot of the apartment buildings here are vintage and awesome and always full of lots of young people. A studio downtown would probably run about $700/mo.
As for the weather, it can be grey and rainy, but there are a lot of nice, sunny days, too. Keep in mind, everything around here is so lush and full of color because of the rain, so it’s a give and take. The winters are pretty mild. It snows, but it hardly ever sticks because we’re in a valley. It usually gets down into the 30′s and can be rainy, which is kinda miserable, but better than a place where it snows heavily and keeps you trapped indoors for 4 or 5 months out of the year. It can get up to the 100′s during the summer, in fact, we just had a heat wave last week and had record highs of 96, while the coast got up to 105, but it’s a dry heat. I’m from Florida originally and would gladly take 100 degrees and dry than 80 degrees and humid, any day of the week.
The music scene is very eclectic. Lots of local bands, lots of shows, lots of venues, etc. I’m not really into the club scene, but I know there’s a good amount of clubs and a taste for indie music all over the place.
The beaches are about an hour-hour and a half away and are GORGEOUS! I grew up on Siesta Key in Sarasota, FL, which is a world renowned beach that people come from all over the world to see and I would rather go to the less populated and more scenic beaches on the coast of Oregon.
I love this city more than I ever thought I could and really don’t have any plans to move anywhere else. I encourage anyone who even thinks they might like it to move here, because I know you’ll love it! Good luck in your search!
And don’t listen to the chick who makes Portland out to be a violent city. It’s not! It’s definitely less violent than what I was used to in Florida. All the violence you hear about on the news takes place on the far east edge of Portland where it’s ghetto and where you probably wouldn’t even venture to at any point. It also rains less here than it does in Florida.
Portland has a thriving DJ scene, but it depends on what you play. I love dub step, so I go to a monthly for that. There’s a lot of monthly nights for more ‘alternative’ DJ type stuff (i.e. not house). That said, that’s just what I’m into…there are plenty of places that cater to house music. Also lots of bars/clubs that have DJ playing but it’s not really a dance type club…anyway..yeah, lots of opportunities for DJs here.
The weather, in the winter is lots of rain. Lows in the 40s…highs in the 50s or sometimes 40s. But it does rain a lot in the winter. In the summer it pretty much never rains. June through mid October is usually just perfect weather. If it gets hot, it is dry heat. The humidity is super low.
The coast is about a 90 minute drive from Portland. So are the mountains (in the other direction). I think you’d like SE or NE Portland. Hawthorne area, NE Alberta area or N Mississippi area. All are pretty close to downtown (though downtown is on the west side). For a one bedroom in one of those areas, you’d pay between 600 to 750 probably. I live in close in SE (about 15 blocks from the river that separates east from west) and I pay about 600 a month (but I do have a room mate…cheaper that way).
If you want to see DJ listings, check out the websites below which are the two weekly papers here.
References :
http://www.wweek.com
http://www.portlandmercury.com
Here’s some links:
http://www.relocation-packets.com/Portland_Relocation_Packets.htm
http://www.portlandonline.com/
http://trimet.org/
http://www.travelportland.com/
Hope they help. Take this as an opportunity for an adventure.
References :
Traveling Dad of 7
Portland is a great town. I lived there for 7 years. I wasn’t exactly a club going person myself but my sense is that it would be a good place for music clubs and all that.
It wasn’t an expensive place to live when I was there, admittedly 20 years ago. There seemed to be a lot of housing especially east of the river.
It rains a lot, especially in the fall and winter months. In the summer it is a lot dryer. It seemed to me that it only rained on weekends when I wanted to go somewhere.
The nearest beaches are in Seaside, OR which is about a two hour drive through the coast range. The coast range itself is beautiful Saddle Mountain was one of my favorite places.
Check out my Flickr site for pictures I took of Portland, Or and the Oregon Coast:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/21022123@N04/sets/72157604000527793/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/21022123@N04/sets/72157603830212653/
References :
First off, an apartment in Portland is going to be WAY cheaper than living in any decent cities in Cali, even downtown. I live in a studio right on the corner of NW 21st Ave which is one of the more popular and trendy areas, also very close to downtown, for $650/mo. A lot of the apartment buildings here are vintage and awesome and always full of lots of young people. A studio downtown would probably run about $700/mo.
As for the weather, it can be grey and rainy, but there are a lot of nice, sunny days, too. Keep in mind, everything around here is so lush and full of color because of the rain, so it’s a give and take. The winters are pretty mild. It snows, but it hardly ever sticks because we’re in a valley. It usually gets down into the 30′s and can be rainy, which is kinda miserable, but better than a place where it snows heavily and keeps you trapped indoors for 4 or 5 months out of the year. It can get up to the 100′s during the summer, in fact, we just had a heat wave last week and had record highs of 96, while the coast got up to 105, but it’s a dry heat. I’m from Florida originally and would gladly take 100 degrees and dry than 80 degrees and humid, any day of the week.
The music scene is very eclectic. Lots of local bands, lots of shows, lots of venues, etc. I’m not really into the club scene, but I know there’s a good amount of clubs and a taste for indie music all over the place.
The beaches are about an hour-hour and a half away and are GORGEOUS! I grew up on Siesta Key in Sarasota, FL, which is a world renowned beach that people come from all over the world to see and I would rather go to the less populated and more scenic beaches on the coast of Oregon.
I love this city more than I ever thought I could and really don’t have any plans to move anywhere else. I encourage anyone who even thinks they might like it to move here, because I know you’ll love it! Good luck in your search!
And don’t listen to the chick who makes Portland out to be a violent city. It’s not! It’s definitely less violent than what I was used to in Florida. All the violence you hear about on the news takes place on the far east edge of Portland where it’s ghetto and where you probably wouldn’t even venture to at any point. It also rains less here than it does in Florida.
References :
rain rain rain
stabbings
fights
shootings
crime
References :