Portland Oregon

About 12 hours away (driving) from San Francisco is Portland, Oregon. 2/3 of the state's population lives in Portland. And many California residents are moving. Portland has experienced double digit property appreceiation as well as California. In fact, many people who work in Portland, live in the state of Washington across the river. The commute is 1-2 hours each way.

Why they live in Portland is beyond me. It rains there 9 months out of the year. Not severe rain. But drizzles on and off all day long. I guess you get used to it after a while. But I find it miserable.

Other then Portland and a couple other cities, Oregon is one big forest. Tress, trees, and more trees. But it is very beautiful. Especially the area around the Columbia River. Mt Hood is also a great ski spot!

Portland itself is right on the river, and the city government has done a great job at making it a pleasant place to live.

There is plenty of housing, walking paths, beatuiful scenary and things to do.


Here is the marina. Part of the charm of Portland is the many bridges that lead into and out of the city. There are 8 unique bridges in all.

In July, the city hosts a month long Festival of Roses. The city is know as the City of Roses and every year they celebrate. In the center of the city is the International Rose Test Garden.

With dozens of rose varieties and hundreds of other flowers this is a must stop if you are even in Portland.

Just check out this cool picture.

Another aspect of Portland that we loved was the abundance of waterfalls. The snowfall that they get every year has to find its way down to the river and this results in several small waterfalls all over the place.

One of the most famous ones is Multnomah Falls. Pictured above.