Difference in Seattle and Portland question to someone who knows both cities well.?

Portland, slummy? You must have looked in the wrong places?

Any city is going to have good and bad parts. It all depends on where you go. Seattle certainly has it's "slummy" parts, but it also has very very nice parts.

I don't think you'd be disappointed in either city if you gave them a chance to grow on you.

I live outside of Seattle and have been to Portland many times.

In general I think (but don't have the statistics on hand to prove it) that crime in both Portland and Seattle is lower than in Philadelphia. Though there are "not great" sections of town in both cities, I wouldn't have described either as "slummy".

Both cities are fairly new, at least in comparison with everything on the east coast. The "vibe" in Portland is a bit less big city, a bit more artsy, independent and free thinking. The "vibe" in Seattle is a little more big city. Both cities are rather left leaning, racially diverse (though what may be in a very different way from Philadelphia), not very religious. Overall they will seem more casual than most east coast cities of similar size.

Oregon has a income tax but no sales tax. Washington state has no income tax, but a 8%+ sales tax. Seattle is rather known in this area for talking public works projects (like light rail) to death without actually doing anything about it, while Oregon is known for actually getting these things done. Oregon has charter schools for kids. Washington state does not allow charter schools. Both cities have large numbers of educated people (over 50% in Seattle over the age of 25 have a bachelor's degree), lots of bookstores, coffee shops, and a plethora of outdoor activities within easy drives from the city.

So, not sure what you are seeing as "slummy" - it would be helpful to know more so you can make a good choice -- or even perhaps decide that neither city is a good one for the two of you!

Seattle has a big city feel. Portland does not. Seattle gets more rain and is on average 5-8 degrees cooler. Portland is safer than Seattle as well.

The Pacific Northwest is beautiful. Each city is unique and I honestly think most people would be happy in either Portland or Seattle. I left Boston and Washington DC for the Northwest and can't imagine living anywhere else.

First, while there are less desirable parts in both cities I would not categorize either city as "slummy" nor in any way comparable to the crime and feeling of east coast industrial cities like Philadelphia.

I personally like Portland more than Seattle. Portland is a smaller city and it feels like it. It does not rain as much as Seattle. It is a recreational city. There are a lot of softball leagues in the Portland/Vancouver area, as well as indoor and outdoor soccer leagues. In addition, like Seattle there are a lot of fitness clubs for raquetball and tennis. Also, the skiing on Mt. Hood is the best in the Northwest.

Portland is a trendy city. As others have said it is a city for bookstores, coffee shops, and independent businesses. Portland has a reputation for being anti-business. Sometimes that refers to the taxes and regulations that Oregon has enacted. Whether that is fair or not is not important, but what is important that Portlanders in general are very supportive of locally owned businesses. Powell's Books is a destination in itself.

What I don't like about Portland is that the city brings you in, but doesn't give you a lot of reasons to live in the city itself. Let's go to the city for this, or that, let's visit OMSI, or go to the Blues Festival but there isn't much that makes you say let's buy a house there, or rent an apartment there. Also Oregonians have not invested in their school systems. Bonds are consistently voted down and in my opinion the children here are ill-prepared for higher education, but perhaps worse, are not motivated to pursue it. I say this in comparison to the schools in New England, or in Arlington VA where I moved from. The people are very loyal to their state universities which is great but people here think Reed is comparable to Yale. It isn't. The public schools just are not good enough and high school age children are better off in private school. Vancouver, Washington on the other hand which is just on the other side of the river from Portland does have much better schools and recently passed another levy for their schools so that is an option.

What I love about Portland is that it is safe. It has great microbreweries and unique establishments . Consider the McMenamin's at Edgefield which has an eighteen hole pitch and putt golf course, a restored Victorian-era hotel, microbrewery with pub that shows movies for cheap (usually they are movies that came out three months earlier). In Vancouver and in Beaverton are Cinetopia. A modern movie experience with leather reclining seats, wine served to you in the theater and the best of everything in presentation. Northwest Portland has great trendy shops, microbrews, and pizza. I love movies on the bricks at Pioneer Square, and the Rose Festival every June. Within ninety minutes is Cannon Beach in one direction and Mt. Hood and Hood River in the other. Thirty minutes away is the Columbia River Gorge which has enough hiking trails to keep you entertained for the rest of your life if you enjoy hiking.

Seattle on the other hand is a wonderful city. It is a true city though. It does rain more, and the traffic is worse. There isn't income tax which is great, but the sales tax is high and there always seems to be some hidden fee. It like Portland though is a safe city. The EMP is unique, and to me the city skyline may be the best in the country. Portland has had waves of immigration especially from eastern Europe but Seattle has true diversity with new waves of Asians, Indians, Europeans.

In my opinion your decision between the two cities should come down to how you answer the following. Do you want to live in a city where the city itself is a destination and it isn't important to you whether you ever leave the city limits, or do you want to live in an area where there is always something going on, somewhere to go? Portland and Seattle really are great, safe, beautiful and fun cities. Either way you can't really go wrong.

I live in Corvallis, OR and I have visited both cities several times. I believe that they are both really nice cities, but I think that Seattle has a lot more traffic. If you don't mind traffic you are good.

Come visit us again and again, but for heaven's sake, don't come here to live."

Tom McCall Governor of the Great State of Oregon from 1967 to 1975.

And spend some money while you are here.

Holy ****. I came on here to ask the exact same question. Amazing.