Okay, so I’ll give you the basic rundown. First of all, rural Oregon and Portland are very, very different places on par with Austin and rural Texas. The difference is that politically the state is reversed, with Portland’s liberalism outvoting rural Oregon’s conservatism. But just like with rural Texas, rural Oregon is a lovely place with its own appeal.

Portland and Austin have a very similar feels to them. They have a strong tech industry, good food, are of a similar size, and have areas that are great to raise kids in. I have a cousin who is raising his two sons with his wife in Austin and it seems like a great fit for them, but many of the same factors that are present there are available here.

I’m not sure how important non-car transportation is to you, but Portland proper has very good transit as long as you’re not out too late. It’s quite bike friendly due to a commitment dating back to the 1970’s, outdoing most North American cities, though many European cities easily are much more comfortable. It’s to the point where an older kid can safely bike to school along one of many predesignated bikeways.

Portland has a strong emphasis on proximity to nature. Very close in, the city parks are one of the prides of the city. Mt. Tabor is a large park built on a cinder cone with views overlooking the city. Laurelhurst is another park nestled in the neighborhood that bears its name. The accurately named Forest Park is the largest park within city limits in the US, with 70 miles of trails virtually adjacent to downtown Portland.

Now for some of the problems. Like in Austin, Portland hasn’t been building out housing at anywhere near the level it needs to. That has led to skyrocketing housing prices, both for renters and owners. From there, we get more pressure on household incomes, pushing more people into houselessness. There’s a whole discussion around that that I’m not nearly qualified enough to have, but suffice it to say that it sucks for homeless people and it sucks for housed people like myself who have our beautiful city trashed out. That and COVID-19 have contributed to a hollowing out of the downtown core, though there are signs of it coming back to life.

Are there any specific questions? I would be happy to answer those.

Edit: LOL, someone is going through my comment history and downvoting everything. How ridiculously petty.