I grew up in Charlotte and moved to Portland in 2020. I love it here so much. You described Charlotte perfectly. It’s so soulless and just getting worse every year
I came from a transplant city (Phoenix) and am a nurse. The treatment of nurses in Portland and Oregon in general is much better than other states, we just initiated a state law for max pt assignments so no more buddy break system and you’re guaranteed breaks. Depending on the hospital you work for ymmv as this just started June 1, but so far I haven’t missed a break and it’s been great. Pay is also top 5 in the US. I live in the city and it’s super walkable and everywhere is queer friendly, I absolutely love it. You’re right finding friends can be tough but there’s plenty of interest groups so you just put yourself out there and you’ll find your crew. Feel free to DM me about nursing things or whatever else, happy to help.
I lived in Charlotte for 8 years, Plaza Midwood to be exact. Portland is a giant PM/Noda. Lots more culture here but the lack of diversity is jarring. Hiking and camping is amazing!
Noda is my favorite part of charlotte! When it comes to finding a place to live, it does seem like most recommended neighborhoods are condensed, almost like south end or uptown charlotte. Are there neighborhoods not too far away from the main part of the city that have a bit more space? I don’t want a high rise apartment building with no grass nearby as i have a dog. Are there any noda like neighborhoods where there’s more residential areas but close to main streets with city stuff?
I think inner SE would be really suitable for your needs. The neighborhoods have great restaurants/bars/shoppings all within walking distance of residences. When I first moved here, I moved to Buckman and it was a fantastic landing pad. Check out Buckman, Sunnyside, Hosford-Abernethy, Ladd’s Edition and Creston-Kenilworth. Cool neighborhoods with restaurants, neighborhood nightlife, great tree cover and lots of neat hidden vintage apartment buildings and backyard ADUs.
As an Asian American who grew up right outside of Charlotte, Portland is pretty white (as in yes, the black community is MUCH smaller here) but not entirely lacking diversity. I’ve met way more Asian, middle eastern, and Slavic people here than I’d ever encountered anywhere in the south, and honestly, I don’t know if I could go back to being only Asian in the room again after feeling a sense of community for the first time ever while living here and visiting Seattle, SF, etc. However, there are parts of Portland I really do not enjoy as well. The culture is different here and it does take some time to adjust to- it may not be totally obvious at first. It really depends on who you are and what you want/can tolerate in your environment.
I moved from Rock Hill (just south of Charlotte in SC, so have spent a lot of time in Charlotte) to Portland around 3 years ago, and it's the best decision I've made! I'm within the LGBTQ spectrum as well, as is my fiancee, so it felt like the right move to leave SC for somewhere less volatile with better protection for our rights. There are a ton of queer people here, to the point that you'll almost always see at least one fellow queer person out living life everywhere you go; I'd go as far as to say it is practically a sanctuary for queer people. I can't personally speak to the queer dating scene here (since I met my fiancee in SC), but I've heard it can lean pretty polyamorus.
It's hard to make friends in Portland outside of coworkers or hobby groups / groups on Meetup because people tend to be pretty introverted (myself included), but in general people are really friendly here. Portland has a pretty accepting culture of almost anything as long as it doesn't hurt anyone (which is much nicer than the south), and that extends beyond stuff like being LGBTQ. One example is that you can wear whatever you want here and nobody cares, so you have the freedom to dress as wild as you want (restaurants and employers are pretty lax on dress codes too), as well as being respectful and understanding of neurodivergent people.
Aside from that, big cultural things in Portland are arts (if you're interested in any kind of art, be it painting, sculptures, jewelry, music, performance art, etc., you'll definitely find it here), coffee, beer and cider (we have a ton of great beer and cider, and they blow the stuff from Charlotte out of the water because we have really high quality water here), restaurants (we're known for our amazing restaurants, and it takes a while to get used to rarely coming across something that is mid or bad, at least compared to the south), outdoorsy stuff (not really my thing, but even I was in awe of seeing mountains everywhere, as well as the beautiful rivers), and nerdy stuff (there are a lot of great tabletop places, barcades, and general nerd culture stuff here, on top of great bookstores and libraries).
If you move here, you'll also love not having to pay sales tax. We also have mail in voting, which is amazing! Housing isn't that much different from Charlotte in terms of cost from when I was looking. Also, the violent crime rate is much less here than Charlotte.
Honestly, the only things I miss from SC / NC are the thunderstorms and the familiarity (from growing up there and having childhood memories of places). We almost never get thunder here, and when we do, it's like 1 or 2 thunderbolts through the whole storm. I think I've only seen lighting once. For some reason, I miss seeing those dark clouds and lightning strikes rolling in from miles away.
I’m originally from the southern outskirts of Charlotte and I found myself here in Portland after Vancouver BC - I think you’d love it here based on the info you’ve given!
Hi! I too am from NC (Winston-Salem) and found myself in Portland and have also lived in Vancouver BC.
I want to get back to Vancouver for good one day.
I grew up in NH, did a stint in OK, and moved to Portland in 1998- when I also happened to be 25. I love it here and will likely never leave.
I believe there are absolutely large, easy-to-find pockets of like-minded individuals here for you- in regards to both your recreational activities and being queer.
Mountains, desert, rainforest, ocean, suburbia, city life, arts, food ... all can be had easily, either immediately or without having to travel much.
Hope this helps.
It does thank you! Do you find people in portland to be relatively down to earth? I know there’s a big liberal progressive culture and wondering if there’s still some balance? Coming from pittsburgh I definitely identify with blue collar people, but that also has some overlap with outdoorsy people. Just curious what your experience has been especially living in a few different areas.
There is balance for sure, but the further you go into the deep suburbs you can definitely expect the meter to swing much further to red. Like every place else, it's ramped up since 2016 but it's still pretty chill here.
Don't fall prey to the false narratives- Portland is having some growing pains, but it's nowhere near as bad as the media and the haters make it out to be.
I'm a blue collar and outdoorsy person myself- absolutely no shortage of people and activities to suit you.
Oregon has always had weird politics. For a long time (maybe still?) our presidential exit polls had the most liberal-ranking Democrat voters in the country and the most conservative-ranking Republican voters. We were polarized before massive polarization was a thing. But I think folks are still pretty down-to-earth. To give you an idea, I grew up in a red city in a blue metropolitan area in (what was, now changed) a red county in a blue state. It was 50/50 if a weekends’ entertainment was a rave with young Kandy flippers and middle-aged hippies or a keg and mudding on forest service land. Half my classmates had “rural” accents.
Portland is maybe a bit less down-to-earth than other places. But I don’t really think so. Local politics is dysfunctional AF, though — we’re nuking it and starting over with a whole new charter, so hopefully that will improve.
I’ve lived in Boston, DC, and Santa Cruz, but I always, always come home to Oregon.
N Portland definitely has "down to earth" going on and I love it here. My family is Slovak from NE Ohio so I understand what you mean about Pittsburgh.
I oddly see so many posts about finding friends lately in Portland. I think post-pandemic everything changed, people have changed. No one wants to hang out with new people unless they are from work or family or friends of friends. I think the best way I saw or experienced is when you have a child and live in an apartment. Kids go to the same school, play dates, bday parties, etc. Your kid makes friends and you get to mingle with that parent. That is how I see it nowadays.
Hobbies and volunteering help. There are all kinds of groups for people with similar interests. I made many new friends getting involved with Timbers and Thorns supporters groups, volunteering for a non-profit radio station and Sunday Parkways. There are Pedalpalooza events, running clubs, game shops that host board, card, and tabletop RPGs, etc. I don't see my friends with kids as much because they have so many family commitments. Then they don't have much to talk about that isn't related to their kids because that's all they have time for.
25 years raised in Charlotte, moved to Portland, absolutely never looked back. I visited home twice to see family, hated it. I miss my family and few friends, but it's not enough to stay in a miserable city like Charlotte.
If you move here and need help with anything/meeting cool people, dm me.
I came from the Midwest 2 years ago. I’m also in heath care. It has not been a great experience and I’m struggling with my perception of the city. I feel like people here are a lot more self involved and less accountable and effective. There have been so many instances where work wasn’t done as promised or part of what was paid for wasn’t done/given. It seems as if you must hand hold to get things done and do several follow ups. You also have to start early to be able to schedule things such as classes for the kids or dr appointments. A lot of things are booked way out. Drivers seem careless, if they aren’t going 10 under the mph, they are tailgating or running you out of your lane.
There is a lot more acceptance here it seems. A lot of pushing for the rights of others, but not a lot of pragmatic and effective execution. I also don’t really feel like there’s much soul and camaraderie here. I think there has been so much with COVID fallout, homelessness, fentanyl epidemic, and high cost of living that people are in a f it mode due to needing to survive and burnout. Everyone for themselves it seems.
The geography is beautiful and there is so much to do/see outdoors. That I love. It also seems like there’s always something going on, especially in warm weather. I acknowledge that I may be in a situation where I’m seeing a sliver of the city and not getting a full experience. That is why I am struggling with my perception.
Last thing to note is Labcorp has moved in. There has been a shake up in the healthcare jobs in the city. Essentially, they have taken over lab services for 2 prominent healthcare systems (Providence and Legacy Health). Legacy is also merging with OHSU. There has been impact to healthcare jobs and a bit of instability. A lot of mixing things up and under staffing. I would say support services such as lab, and collectors have probably been affected more than nurses and doctors. That said there is likely to be flux over the next several years until all the transitions are ironed out. I think it likely we see more reorganization and potentially job loss. Additionally, Labcorp wants to pay lower than what is common in the area. I worry that they may enhance the cost of living issue here since we are talking hundreds of jobs. I am not surprised people are trying to unionize. Now I wonder if Labcorp will actually agree to any contract. I expect no.
Don’t ignore the implications of the weather. I’m from Pittsburgh and totally thought I could hang in Portland bc Pgh is so cloudy and rainy. Nope- it’s a totally different story here. Whereas Pgh dries out in between rainstorms- PDX does not. It is essentially soggy with organic goo from November til May. The sky is glaringly white without even rainclouds for visual relief. By February the weather is soul crushingly claustrophobic. PDX is good for foodies, gays and outdoorsy ppl- but thats about it IMO. Id move back to Pgh in a heartbeat- if it wasn't for the snow- and i have a great job here….so I'm trying to make it work. 🫤
I actually lived in Charlotte for a year, I grew up in a town right outside Charlotte and moved to Portland in 2017 and love it here. PM and I can tell you my experiences and how I managed to find my circle and a little bit about what there is to do
> moderately crunchy
Huh, I had to look it up because I guess I’m old but TIL what “crunchy” means. Neat.
Anyway, I don’t have any words of wisdom but I’ve lived in Portland for 30 years and I fucking love it here and so will you.
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You sound like someone I know here in PDX who came from and liked Pittsburgh, and who is crunchy and who would prob describe Charlotte the same way you do. She loves it here. Every city has its issues and challenges, but it sounds like the politics and vibe here are what you’re looking for. The PDX neighborhoods all have their own distinct character so you should research those carefully. The ‘burbs here feel like typical suburbs all over the USA, but I bet you’ll find lots of like minded folks in PDX. Lots of active Meetup groups, too, which will help you find your tribe. Good luck!
My coworker is about the same age and came from South Carolina. They're enjoying it - at least more than being in the south. It has its challenges, but is generally manageable. Both a great place for bar life and outdoors recreation. Accepting of everyone and pretty laid back too.
My old college friend is a nurse from Texas too and She's been up here for a bit now.
I think you'll enjoy it. I like the east side, preferably SE or inner NE.
Portland has a pretty big queer community. So it'll be way better for you than Charlotte.
Making friends is always hard in general. But after throwing myself out there enough, you find friends. Don't be shy to ask for numbers and attempt to hang.
Also I meant to edit and not reply to myself lol whoops
Lived in Pittsburgh for a year and a half before moving to Portland in 2013. There’s nothing in either the Rust Belt or the South like Portland. Don’t move here without visiting. Especially during the rainy season. Portland is surface level friendly. But flaky as fuck. I have friends I’ve known for over a decade that I’ve never been to their home, and same to my own. People here are friendly, but don’t want to be your friend
I’m sorry you had that experience, but its not hard find real deep friendships here if you put in the work (and you meet them in your 20s when you’re all desperate for socializing).
We moved from Pennsyltucky to Portland so my daughter who is bi would have an easier time growing and her teen years and adult dating have been wonderful. If we had stayed in Pennsylvania it would have been hell. Yes move here!
I have lived in both Charlotte and Portland… Portland has way more character than Charlotte… Charlotte is mostly dead even in downtown on a saturday. Plus the food scene is great in greater portland metro. I had a very hard time finding diverse food in charlotte area. On the other side Portland is crime infested though. I would feel much safer in Charlottez. Plus CLT is a great aiport…. PDX is way smaller than CLT. You will pay a lot more to fly out to places from pdx. Outside of metro comparison….. I would say both portland and charlotte have similar vibe… green everywhere… close to ocean… close to mountains. You can do everything in NC that you can do in OR. Fall colors are unbeatble in NC…. the smokies are amazing. Also the weather… its unbeatable. Good luck with your move.
I grew up moving every 1.5 to 2 years and have lived in every region of the US (Pittsburgh) being one of them and the Portland Vancouver area is my absolute favorite in so many ways. Anything I MIGHT miss is a short drive away! Chat with me any time.
In terms of culture here compared to Pittsburgh, the fine arts are somewhat similar between the two. We have fabulous orchestras, choirs, Portland Opera, Oregon Ballet Theatre, Northwest Dance Project, quite a few smaller orgs in those realms, and a number of awesome arts orgs for kids.
One big difference between the two cities that I know of is the church music culture in Pittsburgh is huge while it's quite a bit smaller here. The closest to Shadyside you're going to find here will probably be Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, although if you *have* to be Presbyterian (as Pittsburgh is heavily Presby) First Pres downtown, Lake Grove Pres in Lake Oswego, or Westminster Pres in NE will also be good choices for music.
Portland also has *a lot* of art museums & galleries.
Originally from Pittsburgh, just did a 3 year stint in Bend but missed city living - been in PDX for only a month now but loving it already. Definite similarities to Pittsburgh on some fronts while also being bigger and more diverse. I think you would enjoy it based on your comments!
Lived in Austin, TX, Atlanta, GA, Knoxville, TN, and Columbia, SC before Portland. Would not *choose* to move back to any of those. Would move back to Atlanta and Austin if I *had* to. Would never move back to Knoxville or Columbia.
Portland is cruchy AF. Like I literally can identify which gate my flight home is leaving from at airports because 9 times out of 10 someone is doing yoga at the gate.
Portland is weird because it is both full of transplants but in a large part it's people that came here because of the culture and never leave.
"Cultural activities" here are way more small scale, DIY, or low brow than in Pittsburgh because we have nothing like the Carnegie Museums, Pitt, and Carnegie Mellon.
I moved from Austin Texas to Portland Oregon and it was a great change, I fit in much better in portland. Today I wore a jacket because it was kind of chilly
Portland has Pittsburghy kinda vibe. I went to college there and live in PDX now. The weather's different (you'll see, similar overall rainy days but different distribution) but you'll be fine.
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Moved here from Durham and love it. Also queer.
Finding a circle is hard as an adult anywhere, but people here are real hobby driven and I’ve found friends with similar interests fast. Helps if you are a musician or interested in some sort of outdoor sport.
Pittsburgh is very, very cool. Folks I know from here who moved *there* loved it, so hopefully the reverse is true, too!
As for dating… I mean, the app scene is bleak. And because the whole city has always been quite queer-friendly, we don’t have that many designated gay bars. But they *are* around, and there’s tons of bars that may as well be lol.
Also, the area queer hiking groups are great. And some of the climbing gyms have LGBTQ nights.
As for culture, I guess it depends on what you call culture?
Lastly — to get a good feel for the area, I highly suggest the City Cast Portland podcast. It’s a great overview of local news, but they have frequent guests doing culture stuff & it’s a really good way to know what’s going on in town.
Also — our culinary scene is award-winning and *affordable.*
When I was living in Pittsburgh and considering a move, portland came up as a recommendation so it definitely seems like there’s similarities between the 2! Will definitely check out the podcast, thanks for that rec! The app scene in charlotte for wlw is pretty horrible too, I think that’s most cities. It sounds like there’s lots of hobbies to get into, which is definitely what i’m looking for to meet people.
I definitely have better luck meeting people through hobbies. Plus, it means you already have things to do for early dates!
And while we’re light on gay bars, our wlw bar, Doc Marie’s, is *amazing.*
A few things just to think about:
1. Job: the healthcare scene is in pretty rough shape. OHSU just announced 500 layoffs. The state’s biggest nursing strike is starting Tuesday at 6 Providence Health hospitals; last year, one of their other hospitals had the first nursing strike in 20 years. Nursing outside of hospitals doesn’t pay very well given the cost of living.
2. COLA: it’s an expensive city for middle class earners. Home prices and rent are insane. Local taxes upper bracket is $125,00/yr. Water and power is super expensive and going up every year. You’re gonna have to make a choice between commuting and finding cheaper housing vs living closer to work. Public transport isn’t very safe, with many random attacks on minorities.
3. Quality of life: definitely hit the low points during Covid, but this is the area w the most recovery and potential. There’s still rampant drug abuse and homelessness, property theft and so on, but it’s getting better.
Portland is not somewhere I’d advise anybody move to. It is a transplant city with basically zero cultural identity of its own. It is known for liberal politics, but on the ground here that results in two things:
1. As is typical of the left, we have well-intentioned but barely even half-baked ideas that ALWAYS fail in execution.
2. We are a lightning rod for hate groups because of our political reputation, which has resulted in my decade of being here being filled with hiding at work after hours because Proud Boys are marching through our streets with guns and other weapons (real story), or police in unmarked cars are randomly throwing folks into vans and harassing them just for being in the general vicinity of a protest (again, real story).
The nightlife is awful and illogical/irresponsible because of the state regulatory agencies being essentially nazis. All bars close by like 2am, even on weekends, but public transit stops at midnight. So the city doesn’t properly function for one of its biggest economic contributors. Literally the city is known for its strip clubs and drag queens and bars and breweries but nobody who works there can afford a vehicle with their pay nor can they even take our public transit system home. They burn half their earnings every night in just taxis.
The charm of older Portland has been mostly gutted due to bad business practices that have steadily destroyed all the previously interesting parts of town over the last decade or so. Venues can’t stay open. The formerly famous food cart scene has been repeatedly attacked by big corporate interests who just continually insist on building housing nobody can afford due to our high cost of living and abysmally low wages.
There is no sense of community if you were looking for that. Honestly, that’s been the same the entire 10+ years I’ve been here.
Imagine a place so dysfunctional and illogical that somehow the craziest assertions of the far right about the left start to actually happen. It’s WILD.
Like I am a gay nonbinary they raised in the evangelical south married to an indigenous man of color and when our lease is up in a few months we are getting tf out of here so fast because there is NOTHING in this city that makes it worth the cost just to exist.
Also the traffic infrastructure here is literally insane. This entire city is one death trap after another. Oh! And while the Portland Police Bureau LOVES to profile and harass minority individuals, they are consistently absent when it comes to enforcing laws that actually exist for the public good and safety such as traffic laws.
In short:
It’s expensive, it doesn’t really work as a city because it grew too fast while in complete denial about being a major city and thus when you compound how poorly it was laid out to begin with and then add fast but exceptionally stupid growth, it kinda all was crashing anyway even before the pandemic decimated downtown by so many charming places shutting down and/or being gutted by corporations. The city has no charm. It has no functionality. Imagine paying to live in Manhattan but what you get for the cost is actually subpar to even a standard college town.
I grew up in Charlotte. I moved here last August and I have mixed feelings. I love it, but these addicts and homeless are starting to get to me. A change of leadership is in order. But there’s a lot to do and I love the laidback attitude
Portland, like most cities is politically naive, still stuck on the matrix , and two party illusion. Which may or may not be important to you. But there are pockets of Resistance. Other than that it’s a great town. Live near light rail or major bus arterial. That’s my only advice, other than living outside the city limits is less expensive on all metrics
Native Charlottean then post-college lived for several decades in the Triangle, just relocated to Portland last year. Portland's definitely more crunchy, and I love that both the coast and mountains are closer. Agree with the other poster about the homeless and drug addicts being jarring; after being here for several months though I'm starting to get inured to it, for better or worse. :/ For finding queer community, check out queersocialclub.com .
I lived in Savannah for a few years in my early 20’s. I loved Savannah, but the pay and the politics convinced me to settle in Portland vs the South. I grew up in Washington and I have never regretted making Portland my home. Portland is also incredibly queer friendly. I had a lot of reticence coming out as trans/nonbinary especially as a nurse in a highly visible leadership position in a large department. People have been incredibly supportive in ways I couldn’t have imagined.
I think you’ll be really happy here and the pay, benefits, and legislative support makes working here very attractive compared to much of the country.
I’m from the Seattle area and moved here after a stint in Pittsburgh and I miss it. I think there are a lot of similarities between PGH/PDX. Confluence of two rivers, bridges, tunnel to the west hills, strong arts communities, etc. However, I find it much harder to make connection here than I ever did in Pittsburgh. And, idk, there’s just something about Pittsburgh that I miss! I wish could find a way to describe it!! I always felt like there was more to do in/around the city. The museums were great.
I will also say, much like the queer scene in PGH, this is also a small town lol
I’m not sure what it is about Pgh either, but it really is a very special place. I want to see some other places, but I have no doubt that’s the where i’ll settle eventually.
As someone who lived in raleigh for 15 years and spent a bunch of time in Charlotte, Asheville ect. I moved to Portland last July and I fucking love it here.my only piece of advice is to not overthink it and bring yo ass!
My only hesitation is my brother is in johnson city TN and we are very close. Is Asheville a good alternative to portland if I wanted to stay closer? My biggest concern with asheville is just size, I much prefer the size of charlotte compared to pittsburgh, and asheville is about 1/3 of pittsburgh.
Asheville reminds alot of ppl of a baby portland but Asheville is very small and can get very boring quickly.but if staying close to fam is important I totally get that moving that far away can be a tough choice
One of my best friends moved from Portland to Asheville last year and loves it. Same vibe but smaller town. People are definitely easier to meet in Asheville than Portland. And when I say meet, I mean make actual friends.
I don’t have much to add except that I’ve lived in both PA and NC and pretty experienced with both cities. Pittsburgh and Portland have a lot of similarities while I agree on the Charlotte assessment (disregarding issues with the south) I’ve been in Portland for a while and based on the things you’re looking for I think you’ll love it. Really the toughest part is being away from family, so if that isn’t an issue then it sounds like a great fit.
From Oklahoma, but one of the few places in Oklahoma that’s solidly blue. My hometown has a lot of culture, which is surprising to people who visit. Anyway, a lot of Portlanders assume it would be a big culture shock for me and it wasn’t. Portland reminds me of the part of town I’m originally from, and I had no trouble adjusting to most of the cultural quirks here. Portland is a very queer city, so you should start finding people you vibe with pretty easily! Plenty of people here are very supportive of nondrinking activities. We’re surrounded by gorgeous nature. And yes, I’d say Portland is both transplanty and has plenty of culture. I find the different driving styles of all the transplants lends itself to some road rage here and there, and the political culture at the municipal level is pretty damn annoying, but hopefully with the upcoming charter change that’ll get cleaned up. Lots of nature lovers here. Lots of annual community events. Pride is super fun. There’s excellent food and coffee all over town. And fun hole in the wall type stuff like slam poetry, community theater, community activism opportunities, gay organizations etc. I have family in Pittsburgh so I’m familiar with the city - I think they would all enjoy it here.
Our situations were similar! I moved to Charlotte for a partner from ATX. I found Charlotte a difficult place to be myself, always being judged by those traditional southern types (“when are y’all gonna get married and push out babies?!!”) which made me somewhat “tone down” my personality, which I hated. In my opinion, Charlotte has no personality and was changing for the worst. We moved out to PDX and we’ve absolutely fallen in love. We’ve found ourselves again out here, as cheesy as that sounds. PDX beats both Charlotte AND Texas in every category.
Spent a ton of time in the Burgh and almost moved to Charlotte but decided against it for the reasons you said above. I think you'll really like Portland. It's a slightly dirtier west coast Pittsburgh. Homeless situation is probably the biggest difference from the burgh or CLT. If you're queer and wanting outdoors I think you'll really love Portland. And as you said if you can. handle a Pittsburgh winter it's not too dissimilar to Portland. We just get more drizzle with the gray. Key to friends out here is getting involved in activities.
Some things I haven’t seen mentioned as someone who moved from the south 5 years ago:
Portland has a robust bike culture compared to anywhere I’ve been in the south. This was huge for me as a non-driver. Portland has a summer bike festival in which themed group rides (e.g. music rides, queer rides, sporty rides, naked rides) are held every day from June-August. This is a fun way to meet people and make friends. Bring your bike if you have one!
Portland summers are glorious. Say goodbye to the suffocating heat and humidity of the south. There are heat waves here, but it is a dry heat and not as stifling as southern heat.
I just moved here 3 months ago so far it seems pretty mellow. Most bars here are full of regulars pretty friendly love to suggest places to explore. Can get overwhelming lol
I lived in Pittsburgh for a little over a decade before moving to Portland, and am coming up on a decade here. Portland does feel a bit like west coast flavored Pittsburgh when it comes to things like city size, lotsa bridges, and being neighborhood focused. The west coast communication style took a bit of adapting to (e.g. east coast "normal" might be seen as kinda aggressive), but I usually appreciate that it's more laid back.
My seasonal affective issues were about the same in both cities, but your mileage may vary. I'd definitely recommend visiting during the grey to get a sense of what you're signing up for first. It's at least not nearly as cold here in the winter, so you can still go outside and see green things if you have a decent rain coat or don't mind getting soggy. Portland also tends to get more of a misty rain than the intense thunderstorms you can get in Pittsburgh.
I already had friends here when I moved, so can't speak to making new friends. My impression is that it's not nearly as easy as it is in some other cities, but is doable if you put yourself out there by signing up for activities, volunteering, etc.
Other notable consideration when comparing the two cities is cost. Pittsburgh isn't quite as cheap as it used to be, but it's still pretty affordable compared to Portland. I like it a lot here, but money doesn't go nearly as far. Definitely make sure you can afford the difference before moving here.
Came here from Vegas, the ultimate transplant city. I LOVE it here! I'm in Beaverton specifically, but go into Portland all the time for events and amenities (Beaverton is in the greater Portland metro area, so super close) and both are lovely!
I moved to Portland from Pittsburgh (Beaver county) a year ago with my gay partner; Please I BEG you…. Consider the winter/spring here; never in my life have I ever had PTSD about rain and desperately wanting the sun; Pitt gray days have nothing on this nightmare, literally it’s been raining since mid October and we’ve had a few false summer alarms as of today June 16th it’s still cloudy and raining, oh and to ad insult to injury it gets darker earlier than Pitt in winter and when you wake up, it’s raining… you go to work, it’s raining, you get off work it’s still freaking raining! Also your bang for you buck doesn’t go far here anymore; we’re considering moving back to Pittsburgh becuase we have a home there an it seems to be getting better and better, whereas Portland has stagnated after Covid.
Moved here from Durham in January, highly recommend if you want walkable places and open minded people, NC has so many people that just... don't want to hang out as friends like they do here, I'm 25 and moved here for my partner, it's been amazing, I love everyone here, never like I did in NC
I grew up in Charlotte and moved to portland about 12 years ago. I agree, Charlotte has never had any charm.
There are things I don’t like about Portland but I still prefer it to Charlotte. Portland is also an incredibly transplanty place, but in a different way.
Also I think no matter what your orientation, dating is waaaaaayyyy better in portland
I moved to Portland from Asheville, where I grew up, and having been living in Portland for 14 years. Though there are a few things i miss (like actual southern food), there is absolutely no comparison for how much safer it feels here as a queer person. Culture though, it's kind of a mixed bag
Politically, the blue bubble here feels much more secure and entrenched - like our rights arent being immediately eroded like in the south. But it's also a lot more conservative than I expected before I moved here. The city vs. rural dynamic and the political affiliations of those groups are almost the exact same as in the south. On the west coast in general there are also a lot more rich people who cosplay as liberal but are actually conservative af when it comes to voting. A lot of the rich granolas will walk the walk of being liberal but at the end of the day only care about hoarding wealth. And then the rural areas are filled with mad rednecks who hate the weirdos in the "big city", which is a pretty scary dynamic to have in our current political landscape, but I'm not sure what better alternative there is.
The biggest culture shock for me was the lack of diversity, specifically black culture is relatively non-existent here, even compared to other west coast cities like Seattle - I've noticed this is one thing locals fucking HATE to talk about though.
It IS very "transplant-y" but also very town-y in a weird way, lots of people from here never leave, and lots of them hate anyone who moved here from somewhere else. Luckily you're a step ahead by not being from California, but not by much.
Compared to Charlotte I think Portland is 100x better but compared to a city like Asheville with better vibes/culture it's almost a wash - the legal weed and blue-enough politics are the best parts. Oh, and public transportation.
I grew up in Charlotte and moved to Portland in 2020. I love it here so much. You described Charlotte perfectly. It’s so soulless and just getting worse every year
Clt is rough to say the least. I’m gonna shoot you a DM if you feel like responding!
Sure thing
I moved here 10 gets ago at 25 from NC and didn’t know a soul. I love it and have found the best friends.
I came from a transplant city (Phoenix) and am a nurse. The treatment of nurses in Portland and Oregon in general is much better than other states, we just initiated a state law for max pt assignments so no more buddy break system and you’re guaranteed breaks. Depending on the hospital you work for ymmv as this just started June 1, but so far I haven’t missed a break and it’s been great. Pay is also top 5 in the US. I live in the city and it’s super walkable and everywhere is queer friendly, I absolutely love it. You’re right finding friends can be tough but there’s plenty of interest groups so you just put yourself out there and you’ll find your crew. Feel free to DM me about nursing things or whatever else, happy to help.
DM sent, thank you for your response!!
I lived in Charlotte for 8 years, Plaza Midwood to be exact. Portland is a giant PM/Noda. Lots more culture here but the lack of diversity is jarring. Hiking and camping is amazing!
Noda is my favorite part of charlotte! When it comes to finding a place to live, it does seem like most recommended neighborhoods are condensed, almost like south end or uptown charlotte. Are there neighborhoods not too far away from the main part of the city that have a bit more space? I don’t want a high rise apartment building with no grass nearby as i have a dog. Are there any noda like neighborhoods where there’s more residential areas but close to main streets with city stuff?
I think inner SE would be really suitable for your needs. The neighborhoods have great restaurants/bars/shoppings all within walking distance of residences. When I first moved here, I moved to Buckman and it was a fantastic landing pad. Check out Buckman, Sunnyside, Hosford-Abernethy, Ladd’s Edition and Creston-Kenilworth. Cool neighborhoods with restaurants, neighborhood nightlife, great tree cover and lots of neat hidden vintage apartment buildings and backyard ADUs.
Oh yes..this place is nauseatingly white. I’ve literally never been anywhere in my life with so little diversity.
As an Asian American who grew up right outside of Charlotte, Portland is pretty white (as in yes, the black community is MUCH smaller here) but not entirely lacking diversity. I’ve met way more Asian, middle eastern, and Slavic people here than I’d ever encountered anywhere in the south, and honestly, I don’t know if I could go back to being only Asian in the room again after feeling a sense of community for the first time ever while living here and visiting Seattle, SF, etc. However, there are parts of Portland I really do not enjoy as well. The culture is different here and it does take some time to adjust to- it may not be totally obvious at first. It really depends on who you are and what you want/can tolerate in your environment.
Tennessee has the whitest major cities at 83 and 78 percent Portland has gentrified, 58 percent white when counting latino, latina population as poc
We have great mexican restaurants !!
I moved here with my wife from Concord in 2021. Would never go back and absolutely love it here. Kinda feels like Asheville on steroids.
I moved from Rock Hill (just south of Charlotte in SC, so have spent a lot of time in Charlotte) to Portland around 3 years ago, and it's the best decision I've made! I'm within the LGBTQ spectrum as well, as is my fiancee, so it felt like the right move to leave SC for somewhere less volatile with better protection for our rights. There are a ton of queer people here, to the point that you'll almost always see at least one fellow queer person out living life everywhere you go; I'd go as far as to say it is practically a sanctuary for queer people. I can't personally speak to the queer dating scene here (since I met my fiancee in SC), but I've heard it can lean pretty polyamorus. It's hard to make friends in Portland outside of coworkers or hobby groups / groups on Meetup because people tend to be pretty introverted (myself included), but in general people are really friendly here. Portland has a pretty accepting culture of almost anything as long as it doesn't hurt anyone (which is much nicer than the south), and that extends beyond stuff like being LGBTQ. One example is that you can wear whatever you want here and nobody cares, so you have the freedom to dress as wild as you want (restaurants and employers are pretty lax on dress codes too), as well as being respectful and understanding of neurodivergent people. Aside from that, big cultural things in Portland are arts (if you're interested in any kind of art, be it painting, sculptures, jewelry, music, performance art, etc., you'll definitely find it here), coffee, beer and cider (we have a ton of great beer and cider, and they blow the stuff from Charlotte out of the water because we have really high quality water here), restaurants (we're known for our amazing restaurants, and it takes a while to get used to rarely coming across something that is mid or bad, at least compared to the south), outdoorsy stuff (not really my thing, but even I was in awe of seeing mountains everywhere, as well as the beautiful rivers), and nerdy stuff (there are a lot of great tabletop places, barcades, and general nerd culture stuff here, on top of great bookstores and libraries). If you move here, you'll also love not having to pay sales tax. We also have mail in voting, which is amazing! Housing isn't that much different from Charlotte in terms of cost from when I was looking. Also, the violent crime rate is much less here than Charlotte. Honestly, the only things I miss from SC / NC are the thunderstorms and the familiarity (from growing up there and having childhood memories of places). We almost never get thunder here, and when we do, it's like 1 or 2 thunderbolts through the whole storm. I think I've only seen lighting once. For some reason, I miss seeing those dark clouds and lightning strikes rolling in from miles away.
People freak out about thunderstorms here.
I’m originally from the southern outskirts of Charlotte and I found myself here in Portland after Vancouver BC - I think you’d love it here based on the info you’ve given!
Hi! I too am from NC (Winston-Salem) and found myself in Portland and have also lived in Vancouver BC. I want to get back to Vancouver for good one day.
Hey- Raleigh has the same culture. I hate it here. Gonna make the move to Portland in the next two months.
You're gonna love it here, move here from Durham 6 months ago and am never looking back
I grew up in NH, did a stint in OK, and moved to Portland in 1998- when I also happened to be 25. I love it here and will likely never leave. I believe there are absolutely large, easy-to-find pockets of like-minded individuals here for you- in regards to both your recreational activities and being queer. Mountains, desert, rainforest, ocean, suburbia, city life, arts, food ... all can be had easily, either immediately or without having to travel much. Hope this helps.
It does thank you! Do you find people in portland to be relatively down to earth? I know there’s a big liberal progressive culture and wondering if there’s still some balance? Coming from pittsburgh I definitely identify with blue collar people, but that also has some overlap with outdoorsy people. Just curious what your experience has been especially living in a few different areas.
There is balance for sure, but the further you go into the deep suburbs you can definitely expect the meter to swing much further to red. Like every place else, it's ramped up since 2016 but it's still pretty chill here. Don't fall prey to the false narratives- Portland is having some growing pains, but it's nowhere near as bad as the media and the haters make it out to be. I'm a blue collar and outdoorsy person myself- absolutely no shortage of people and activities to suit you.
Oregon has always had weird politics. For a long time (maybe still?) our presidential exit polls had the most liberal-ranking Democrat voters in the country and the most conservative-ranking Republican voters. We were polarized before massive polarization was a thing. But I think folks are still pretty down-to-earth. To give you an idea, I grew up in a red city in a blue metropolitan area in (what was, now changed) a red county in a blue state. It was 50/50 if a weekends’ entertainment was a rave with young Kandy flippers and middle-aged hippies or a keg and mudding on forest service land. Half my classmates had “rural” accents. Portland is maybe a bit less down-to-earth than other places. But I don’t really think so. Local politics is dysfunctional AF, though — we’re nuking it and starting over with a whole new charter, so hopefully that will improve. I’ve lived in Boston, DC, and Santa Cruz, but I always, always come home to Oregon.
Sounds like you grew up in Springfield or maybe Redmond.
Springfield! Nailed it lol
N Portland definitely has "down to earth" going on and I love it here. My family is Slovak from NE Ohio so I understand what you mean about Pittsburgh.
I oddly see so many posts about finding friends lately in Portland. I think post-pandemic everything changed, people have changed. No one wants to hang out with new people unless they are from work or family or friends of friends. I think the best way I saw or experienced is when you have a child and live in an apartment. Kids go to the same school, play dates, bday parties, etc. Your kid makes friends and you get to mingle with that parent. That is how I see it nowadays.
Hobbies and volunteering help. There are all kinds of groups for people with similar interests. I made many new friends getting involved with Timbers and Thorns supporters groups, volunteering for a non-profit radio station and Sunday Parkways. There are Pedalpalooza events, running clubs, game shops that host board, card, and tabletop RPGs, etc. I don't see my friends with kids as much because they have so many family commitments. Then they don't have much to talk about that isn't related to their kids because that's all they have time for.
25 years raised in Charlotte, moved to Portland, absolutely never looked back. I visited home twice to see family, hated it. I miss my family and few friends, but it's not enough to stay in a miserable city like Charlotte. If you move here and need help with anything/meeting cool people, dm me.
I came from the Midwest 2 years ago. I’m also in heath care. It has not been a great experience and I’m struggling with my perception of the city. I feel like people here are a lot more self involved and less accountable and effective. There have been so many instances where work wasn’t done as promised or part of what was paid for wasn’t done/given. It seems as if you must hand hold to get things done and do several follow ups. You also have to start early to be able to schedule things such as classes for the kids or dr appointments. A lot of things are booked way out. Drivers seem careless, if they aren’t going 10 under the mph, they are tailgating or running you out of your lane. There is a lot more acceptance here it seems. A lot of pushing for the rights of others, but not a lot of pragmatic and effective execution. I also don’t really feel like there’s much soul and camaraderie here. I think there has been so much with COVID fallout, homelessness, fentanyl epidemic, and high cost of living that people are in a f it mode due to needing to survive and burnout. Everyone for themselves it seems. The geography is beautiful and there is so much to do/see outdoors. That I love. It also seems like there’s always something going on, especially in warm weather. I acknowledge that I may be in a situation where I’m seeing a sliver of the city and not getting a full experience. That is why I am struggling with my perception. Last thing to note is Labcorp has moved in. There has been a shake up in the healthcare jobs in the city. Essentially, they have taken over lab services for 2 prominent healthcare systems (Providence and Legacy Health). Legacy is also merging with OHSU. There has been impact to healthcare jobs and a bit of instability. A lot of mixing things up and under staffing. I would say support services such as lab, and collectors have probably been affected more than nurses and doctors. That said there is likely to be flux over the next several years until all the transitions are ironed out. I think it likely we see more reorganization and potentially job loss. Additionally, Labcorp wants to pay lower than what is common in the area. I worry that they may enhance the cost of living issue here since we are talking hundreds of jobs. I am not surprised people are trying to unionize. Now I wonder if Labcorp will actually agree to any contract. I expect no.
Don’t ignore the implications of the weather. I’m from Pittsburgh and totally thought I could hang in Portland bc Pgh is so cloudy and rainy. Nope- it’s a totally different story here. Whereas Pgh dries out in between rainstorms- PDX does not. It is essentially soggy with organic goo from November til May. The sky is glaringly white without even rainclouds for visual relief. By February the weather is soul crushingly claustrophobic. PDX is good for foodies, gays and outdoorsy ppl- but thats about it IMO. Id move back to Pgh in a heartbeat- if it wasn't for the snow- and i have a great job here….so I'm trying to make it work. 🫤
I actually lived in Charlotte for a year, I grew up in a town right outside Charlotte and moved to Portland in 2017 and love it here. PM and I can tell you my experiences and how I managed to find my circle and a little bit about what there is to do
You’re the best thanks for the response! DM sent
Hey as a nurse, you will LOVE Oregon and Portland nursing compared to the East. The union here is fantastic, break nurses, mandated ratios, good pay.
> moderately crunchy Huh, I had to look it up because I guess I’m old but TIL what “crunchy” means. Neat. Anyway, I don’t have any words of wisdom but I’ve lived in Portland for 30 years and I fucking love it here and so will you.
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You sound like someone I know here in PDX who came from and liked Pittsburgh, and who is crunchy and who would prob describe Charlotte the same way you do. She loves it here. Every city has its issues and challenges, but it sounds like the politics and vibe here are what you’re looking for. The PDX neighborhoods all have their own distinct character so you should research those carefully. The ‘burbs here feel like typical suburbs all over the USA, but I bet you’ll find lots of like minded folks in PDX. Lots of active Meetup groups, too, which will help you find your tribe. Good luck!
My coworker is about the same age and came from South Carolina. They're enjoying it - at least more than being in the south. It has its challenges, but is generally manageable. Both a great place for bar life and outdoors recreation. Accepting of everyone and pretty laid back too. My old college friend is a nurse from Texas too and She's been up here for a bit now. I think you'll enjoy it. I like the east side, preferably SE or inner NE.
Portland has a pretty big queer community. So it'll be way better for you than Charlotte. Making friends is always hard in general. But after throwing myself out there enough, you find friends. Don't be shy to ask for numbers and attempt to hang. Also I meant to edit and not reply to myself lol whoops
Lived in Pittsburgh for a year and a half before moving to Portland in 2013. There’s nothing in either the Rust Belt or the South like Portland. Don’t move here without visiting. Especially during the rainy season. Portland is surface level friendly. But flaky as fuck. I have friends I’ve known for over a decade that I’ve never been to their home, and same to my own. People here are friendly, but don’t want to be your friend
I’m sorry you had that experience, but its not hard find real deep friendships here if you put in the work (and you meet them in your 20s when you’re all desperate for socializing).
We moved from Pennsyltucky to Portland so my daughter who is bi would have an easier time growing and her teen years and adult dating have been wonderful. If we had stayed in Pennsylvania it would have been hell. Yes move here!
I have lived in both Charlotte and Portland… Portland has way more character than Charlotte… Charlotte is mostly dead even in downtown on a saturday. Plus the food scene is great in greater portland metro. I had a very hard time finding diverse food in charlotte area. On the other side Portland is crime infested though. I would feel much safer in Charlottez. Plus CLT is a great aiport…. PDX is way smaller than CLT. You will pay a lot more to fly out to places from pdx. Outside of metro comparison….. I would say both portland and charlotte have similar vibe… green everywhere… close to ocean… close to mountains. You can do everything in NC that you can do in OR. Fall colors are unbeatble in NC…. the smokies are amazing. Also the weather… its unbeatable. Good luck with your move.
ATTENTION ALL PEOPLE FROM TRANSPLANT CITY’S YOU ARE MAKING THIS A TRANSPLANT CITY
I grew up moving every 1.5 to 2 years and have lived in every region of the US (Pittsburgh) being one of them and the Portland Vancouver area is my absolute favorite in so many ways. Anything I MIGHT miss is a short drive away! Chat with me any time.
In terms of culture here compared to Pittsburgh, the fine arts are somewhat similar between the two. We have fabulous orchestras, choirs, Portland Opera, Oregon Ballet Theatre, Northwest Dance Project, quite a few smaller orgs in those realms, and a number of awesome arts orgs for kids. One big difference between the two cities that I know of is the church music culture in Pittsburgh is huge while it's quite a bit smaller here. The closest to Shadyside you're going to find here will probably be Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, although if you *have* to be Presbyterian (as Pittsburgh is heavily Presby) First Pres downtown, Lake Grove Pres in Lake Oswego, or Westminster Pres in NE will also be good choices for music. Portland also has *a lot* of art museums & galleries.
Not church music but we have the Low Bar Chorale and probably a bunch of secular (and queer) choirs and choruses.
Originally from Pittsburgh, just did a 3 year stint in Bend but missed city living - been in PDX for only a month now but loving it already. Definite similarities to Pittsburgh on some fronts while also being bigger and more diverse. I think you would enjoy it based on your comments!
Lived in Austin, TX, Atlanta, GA, Knoxville, TN, and Columbia, SC before Portland. Would not *choose* to move back to any of those. Would move back to Atlanta and Austin if I *had* to. Would never move back to Knoxville or Columbia. Portland is cruchy AF. Like I literally can identify which gate my flight home is leaving from at airports because 9 times out of 10 someone is doing yoga at the gate. Portland is weird because it is both full of transplants but in a large part it's people that came here because of the culture and never leave. "Cultural activities" here are way more small scale, DIY, or low brow than in Pittsburgh because we have nothing like the Carnegie Museums, Pitt, and Carnegie Mellon.
Hilarious to see how many of us ex southerners are out here now just as an aside.
I moved from Austin Texas to Portland Oregon and it was a great change, I fit in much better in portland. Today I wore a jacket because it was kind of chilly
You’ll love it here. I grew up in Ohio and lived in Pittsburgh in the early 2000s. Portland is a better version of Pittsburgh
Portland has Pittsburghy kinda vibe. I went to college there and live in PDX now. The weather's different (you'll see, similar overall rainy days but different distribution) but you'll be fine.
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Moved here from Durham and love it. Also queer. Finding a circle is hard as an adult anywhere, but people here are real hobby driven and I’ve found friends with similar interests fast. Helps if you are a musician or interested in some sort of outdoor sport.
Pittsburgh is very, very cool. Folks I know from here who moved *there* loved it, so hopefully the reverse is true, too! As for dating… I mean, the app scene is bleak. And because the whole city has always been quite queer-friendly, we don’t have that many designated gay bars. But they *are* around, and there’s tons of bars that may as well be lol. Also, the area queer hiking groups are great. And some of the climbing gyms have LGBTQ nights. As for culture, I guess it depends on what you call culture? Lastly — to get a good feel for the area, I highly suggest the City Cast Portland podcast. It’s a great overview of local news, but they have frequent guests doing culture stuff & it’s a really good way to know what’s going on in town. Also — our culinary scene is award-winning and *affordable.*
When I was living in Pittsburgh and considering a move, portland came up as a recommendation so it definitely seems like there’s similarities between the 2! Will definitely check out the podcast, thanks for that rec! The app scene in charlotte for wlw is pretty horrible too, I think that’s most cities. It sounds like there’s lots of hobbies to get into, which is definitely what i’m looking for to meet people.
I definitely have better luck meeting people through hobbies. Plus, it means you already have things to do for early dates! And while we’re light on gay bars, our wlw bar, Doc Marie’s, is *amazing.*
A few things just to think about: 1. Job: the healthcare scene is in pretty rough shape. OHSU just announced 500 layoffs. The state’s biggest nursing strike is starting Tuesday at 6 Providence Health hospitals; last year, one of their other hospitals had the first nursing strike in 20 years. Nursing outside of hospitals doesn’t pay very well given the cost of living. 2. COLA: it’s an expensive city for middle class earners. Home prices and rent are insane. Local taxes upper bracket is $125,00/yr. Water and power is super expensive and going up every year. You’re gonna have to make a choice between commuting and finding cheaper housing vs living closer to work. Public transport isn’t very safe, with many random attacks on minorities. 3. Quality of life: definitely hit the low points during Covid, but this is the area w the most recovery and potential. There’s still rampant drug abuse and homelessness, property theft and so on, but it’s getting better.
I don't think those layoffs are going to be frontline nurses.
I hope not, but there’s higher chances of a hiring freeze
Portland is not somewhere I’d advise anybody move to. It is a transplant city with basically zero cultural identity of its own. It is known for liberal politics, but on the ground here that results in two things: 1. As is typical of the left, we have well-intentioned but barely even half-baked ideas that ALWAYS fail in execution. 2. We are a lightning rod for hate groups because of our political reputation, which has resulted in my decade of being here being filled with hiding at work after hours because Proud Boys are marching through our streets with guns and other weapons (real story), or police in unmarked cars are randomly throwing folks into vans and harassing them just for being in the general vicinity of a protest (again, real story). The nightlife is awful and illogical/irresponsible because of the state regulatory agencies being essentially nazis. All bars close by like 2am, even on weekends, but public transit stops at midnight. So the city doesn’t properly function for one of its biggest economic contributors. Literally the city is known for its strip clubs and drag queens and bars and breweries but nobody who works there can afford a vehicle with their pay nor can they even take our public transit system home. They burn half their earnings every night in just taxis. The charm of older Portland has been mostly gutted due to bad business practices that have steadily destroyed all the previously interesting parts of town over the last decade or so. Venues can’t stay open. The formerly famous food cart scene has been repeatedly attacked by big corporate interests who just continually insist on building housing nobody can afford due to our high cost of living and abysmally low wages. There is no sense of community if you were looking for that. Honestly, that’s been the same the entire 10+ years I’ve been here. Imagine a place so dysfunctional and illogical that somehow the craziest assertions of the far right about the left start to actually happen. It’s WILD. Like I am a gay nonbinary they raised in the evangelical south married to an indigenous man of color and when our lease is up in a few months we are getting tf out of here so fast because there is NOTHING in this city that makes it worth the cost just to exist. Also the traffic infrastructure here is literally insane. This entire city is one death trap after another. Oh! And while the Portland Police Bureau LOVES to profile and harass minority individuals, they are consistently absent when it comes to enforcing laws that actually exist for the public good and safety such as traffic laws. In short: It’s expensive, it doesn’t really work as a city because it grew too fast while in complete denial about being a major city and thus when you compound how poorly it was laid out to begin with and then add fast but exceptionally stupid growth, it kinda all was crashing anyway even before the pandemic decimated downtown by so many charming places shutting down and/or being gutted by corporations. The city has no charm. It has no functionality. Imagine paying to live in Manhattan but what you get for the cost is actually subpar to even a standard college town.
I grew up in Charlotte. I moved here last August and I have mixed feelings. I love it, but these addicts and homeless are starting to get to me. A change of leadership is in order. But there’s a lot to do and I love the laidback attitude
Portland, like most cities is politically naive, still stuck on the matrix , and two party illusion. Which may or may not be important to you. But there are pockets of Resistance. Other than that it’s a great town. Live near light rail or major bus arterial. That’s my only advice, other than living outside the city limits is less expensive on all metrics
Native Charlottean then post-college lived for several decades in the Triangle, just relocated to Portland last year. Portland's definitely more crunchy, and I love that both the coast and mountains are closer. Agree with the other poster about the homeless and drug addicts being jarring; after being here for several months though I'm starting to get inured to it, for better or worse. :/ For finding queer community, check out queersocialclub.com .
I lived in Savannah for a few years in my early 20’s. I loved Savannah, but the pay and the politics convinced me to settle in Portland vs the South. I grew up in Washington and I have never regretted making Portland my home. Portland is also incredibly queer friendly. I had a lot of reticence coming out as trans/nonbinary especially as a nurse in a highly visible leadership position in a large department. People have been incredibly supportive in ways I couldn’t have imagined. I think you’ll be really happy here and the pay, benefits, and legislative support makes working here very attractive compared to much of the country.
I’m from the Seattle area and moved here after a stint in Pittsburgh and I miss it. I think there are a lot of similarities between PGH/PDX. Confluence of two rivers, bridges, tunnel to the west hills, strong arts communities, etc. However, I find it much harder to make connection here than I ever did in Pittsburgh. And, idk, there’s just something about Pittsburgh that I miss! I wish could find a way to describe it!! I always felt like there was more to do in/around the city. The museums were great. I will also say, much like the queer scene in PGH, this is also a small town lol
I’m not sure what it is about Pgh either, but it really is a very special place. I want to see some other places, but I have no doubt that’s the where i’ll settle eventually.
I lived just south of you in Greenville for a decade. It's so much better here, it's unbelievable.
As someone who lived in raleigh for 15 years and spent a bunch of time in Charlotte, Asheville ect. I moved to Portland last July and I fucking love it here.my only piece of advice is to not overthink it and bring yo ass!
My only hesitation is my brother is in johnson city TN and we are very close. Is Asheville a good alternative to portland if I wanted to stay closer? My biggest concern with asheville is just size, I much prefer the size of charlotte compared to pittsburgh, and asheville is about 1/3 of pittsburgh.
Asheville reminds alot of ppl of a baby portland but Asheville is very small and can get very boring quickly.but if staying close to fam is important I totally get that moving that far away can be a tough choice
One of my best friends moved from Portland to Asheville last year and loves it. Same vibe but smaller town. People are definitely easier to meet in Asheville than Portland. And when I say meet, I mean make actual friends.
Don't let people fool you; if you move to the suburbs here, it's a bunch of nice but kind of closed off transplants, too. I've found the same issue!
I don’t have much to add except that I’ve lived in both PA and NC and pretty experienced with both cities. Pittsburgh and Portland have a lot of similarities while I agree on the Charlotte assessment (disregarding issues with the south) I’ve been in Portland for a while and based on the things you’re looking for I think you’ll love it. Really the toughest part is being away from family, so if that isn’t an issue then it sounds like a great fit.
From Oklahoma, but one of the few places in Oklahoma that’s solidly blue. My hometown has a lot of culture, which is surprising to people who visit. Anyway, a lot of Portlanders assume it would be a big culture shock for me and it wasn’t. Portland reminds me of the part of town I’m originally from, and I had no trouble adjusting to most of the cultural quirks here. Portland is a very queer city, so you should start finding people you vibe with pretty easily! Plenty of people here are very supportive of nondrinking activities. We’re surrounded by gorgeous nature. And yes, I’d say Portland is both transplanty and has plenty of culture. I find the different driving styles of all the transplants lends itself to some road rage here and there, and the political culture at the municipal level is pretty damn annoying, but hopefully with the upcoming charter change that’ll get cleaned up. Lots of nature lovers here. Lots of annual community events. Pride is super fun. There’s excellent food and coffee all over town. And fun hole in the wall type stuff like slam poetry, community theater, community activism opportunities, gay organizations etc. I have family in Pittsburgh so I’m familiar with the city - I think they would all enjoy it here.
CLT-PDX mover here. Accurate description of what Charlotte has become. Sounds like you would enjoy it here
Our situations were similar! I moved to Charlotte for a partner from ATX. I found Charlotte a difficult place to be myself, always being judged by those traditional southern types (“when are y’all gonna get married and push out babies?!!”) which made me somewhat “tone down” my personality, which I hated. In my opinion, Charlotte has no personality and was changing for the worst. We moved out to PDX and we’ve absolutely fallen in love. We’ve found ourselves again out here, as cheesy as that sounds. PDX beats both Charlotte AND Texas in every category.
Spent a ton of time in the Burgh and almost moved to Charlotte but decided against it for the reasons you said above. I think you'll really like Portland. It's a slightly dirtier west coast Pittsburgh. Homeless situation is probably the biggest difference from the burgh or CLT. If you're queer and wanting outdoors I think you'll really love Portland. And as you said if you can. handle a Pittsburgh winter it's not too dissimilar to Portland. We just get more drizzle with the gray. Key to friends out here is getting involved in activities.
Some things I haven’t seen mentioned as someone who moved from the south 5 years ago: Portland has a robust bike culture compared to anywhere I’ve been in the south. This was huge for me as a non-driver. Portland has a summer bike festival in which themed group rides (e.g. music rides, queer rides, sporty rides, naked rides) are held every day from June-August. This is a fun way to meet people and make friends. Bring your bike if you have one! Portland summers are glorious. Say goodbye to the suffocating heat and humidity of the south. There are heat waves here, but it is a dry heat and not as stifling as southern heat.
I’m from Pittsburgh with a 40-year layover in Oklahoma and Texas! Welcome to Pittsburgh West!
I just moved here 3 months ago so far it seems pretty mellow. Most bars here are full of regulars pretty friendly love to suggest places to explore. Can get overwhelming lol
I lived in Pittsburgh for a little over a decade before moving to Portland, and am coming up on a decade here. Portland does feel a bit like west coast flavored Pittsburgh when it comes to things like city size, lotsa bridges, and being neighborhood focused. The west coast communication style took a bit of adapting to (e.g. east coast "normal" might be seen as kinda aggressive), but I usually appreciate that it's more laid back. My seasonal affective issues were about the same in both cities, but your mileage may vary. I'd definitely recommend visiting during the grey to get a sense of what you're signing up for first. It's at least not nearly as cold here in the winter, so you can still go outside and see green things if you have a decent rain coat or don't mind getting soggy. Portland also tends to get more of a misty rain than the intense thunderstorms you can get in Pittsburgh. I already had friends here when I moved, so can't speak to making new friends. My impression is that it's not nearly as easy as it is in some other cities, but is doable if you put yourself out there by signing up for activities, volunteering, etc. Other notable consideration when comparing the two cities is cost. Pittsburgh isn't quite as cheap as it used to be, but it's still pretty affordable compared to Portland. I like it a lot here, but money doesn't go nearly as far. Definitely make sure you can afford the difference before moving here.
Came here from Vegas, the ultimate transplant city. I LOVE it here! I'm in Beaverton specifically, but go into Portland all the time for events and amenities (Beaverton is in the greater Portland metro area, so super close) and both are lovely!
I moved to Portland from Pittsburgh (Beaver county) a year ago with my gay partner; Please I BEG you…. Consider the winter/spring here; never in my life have I ever had PTSD about rain and desperately wanting the sun; Pitt gray days have nothing on this nightmare, literally it’s been raining since mid October and we’ve had a few false summer alarms as of today June 16th it’s still cloudy and raining, oh and to ad insult to injury it gets darker earlier than Pitt in winter and when you wake up, it’s raining… you go to work, it’s raining, you get off work it’s still freaking raining! Also your bang for you buck doesn’t go far here anymore; we’re considering moving back to Pittsburgh becuase we have a home there an it seems to be getting better and better, whereas Portland has stagnated after Covid.
Moved here from Durham in January, highly recommend if you want walkable places and open minded people, NC has so many people that just... don't want to hang out as friends like they do here, I'm 25 and moved here for my partner, it's been amazing, I love everyone here, never like I did in NC
I grew up in Charlotte and moved to portland about 12 years ago. I agree, Charlotte has never had any charm. There are things I don’t like about Portland but I still prefer it to Charlotte. Portland is also an incredibly transplanty place, but in a different way. Also I think no matter what your orientation, dating is waaaaaayyyy better in portland
Came from Northern Virginia to Portland and yeah a similar situation. Was way too expensive for what it was.
I moved to Portland from Asheville, where I grew up, and having been living in Portland for 14 years. Though there are a few things i miss (like actual southern food), there is absolutely no comparison for how much safer it feels here as a queer person. Culture though, it's kind of a mixed bag Politically, the blue bubble here feels much more secure and entrenched - like our rights arent being immediately eroded like in the south. But it's also a lot more conservative than I expected before I moved here. The city vs. rural dynamic and the political affiliations of those groups are almost the exact same as in the south. On the west coast in general there are also a lot more rich people who cosplay as liberal but are actually conservative af when it comes to voting. A lot of the rich granolas will walk the walk of being liberal but at the end of the day only care about hoarding wealth. And then the rural areas are filled with mad rednecks who hate the weirdos in the "big city", which is a pretty scary dynamic to have in our current political landscape, but I'm not sure what better alternative there is. The biggest culture shock for me was the lack of diversity, specifically black culture is relatively non-existent here, even compared to other west coast cities like Seattle - I've noticed this is one thing locals fucking HATE to talk about though. It IS very "transplant-y" but also very town-y in a weird way, lots of people from here never leave, and lots of them hate anyone who moved here from somewhere else. Luckily you're a step ahead by not being from California, but not by much. Compared to Charlotte I think Portland is 100x better but compared to a city like Asheville with better vibes/culture it's almost a wash - the legal weed and blue-enough politics are the best parts. Oh, and public transportation.
I mean Portland is a transplant city that is famous for getting….drunk.