[SassyLeo]

I moved to Portland about 3.5 years ago... thanks to June & Kat , well and I fell in love on first visit

As June mentioned, we are very queer/trans/fat/liberal/funky...

There is something queer to do on any given day/night of the week in addition to the many non-queer things to do, which often still involve lots of queer folks.

We have an amazing transportation system (TriMet)!

We are super bike friendly, very caffeinated, very microbrewed, very politically active...

The mountains and beach are close. Lots of hiking, mountain biking. Many dog parks.

We have amazing food here! Lots of foodies. I think we have at least 3 Portland magazines dedicated to food & wine! A fair amount of variety in terms of restaurants (save Chinese, which is awful here).

Also, I am a big lover of fresh produce. I've been doing some research for a work project so I can tell you that, in the state of Oregon, we have: 126 farmers markets and in the Portland metro area, there are 38. We also rank FIFTH in the US for number of registered organic farms. My partner and I often go fruit picking as we have many pick-your-own farms. It is very inexpensive and a fun outdoor activity.

The challenge that most people talk about and that we have been "known" for is the unemployment rate. June/Kat/AJ might have more history on that than I, but I have read and been told that the economy here, in terms of jobs, has been traditionally unstable. Jobs don't pay as much as other places, but the cost of living is relatively low in comparison. I make less money than I did in the bay area, and have learned to be much more frugal, but it is much easier to do because it is cheaper to live here.

I grew up in the bay area, so I am used to sunny and 75 about 70% of the year. I also do love the rain, however this past year, we had close to 6 weeks of constant rain and it was really tough. I have been told this is not normal. But it does rain about 60% of the year.

I love it here and I have no plans to live anywhere else anytime soon (if ever!)