[IceQueen]

Define reasonable! Coming from New York, it may seem cheap to live here, but Portland is getting more and more expensive each day. Oregon relies on income tax for revenue, as well as property tax which is quite spendy. There is also a Multnomah County tax - that as a resident of Portland, you are required to pay. Condo costs depend on where you want to live. If you want to live downtown - be prepared to pay for it. I saw one condo downtown (431 square feet 1 bed, 1 bath) for $189,000. Riverfront condos I've seen are $325,000. The Pearl District (the artsy area in town) are about $335,000. So it depends on where you are planning on living. Nonetheless, housing prices are rising.

We have nice public transportation, as we should since we were forced into paying for it. Roads are not expanding, and too many people are moving in. Highways are a joke. The weather is crappy. If you move here - it is nice for 3-4 months out of the year, during the summer. You hear it rains here? It's not rain that goes away after 30 minutes. It is rain that lasts days without stop. Generally, our rainy season lasts Nov-May. If you suffer from SAD, Portland isn't the place to live. In fact, it is still depressing (and there are stats to prove it!)- even if you don't suffer from SAD. Grey skies are constant - we don't see the sun for months sometimes.

Jobwise - I guess it depends on what you do. We slowly recovered from 2001, and jobs have been increasing (more so it seemed, the last year). Keep in mind that a lot of tech places are not necessarily in Portland.

Overall, Portland is a beautiful place. It used to be a small big city - but there are too many people coming in, condos (not the pretty kind) are rising, and suburbs are sprawling. As pretty as it is, I forsee a time where I will be leaving for something else.