# Possibly moving to Portland



## teapotter (Feb 1, 2007)

Hey Pacific Northwesterners:

So I might be moving up to the Portland area to go to school. And a good chance I'll be there after. Kind of bummed to be moving from the "Yay" area, but as I look more into the Portland, it's looking good. It also seems there is a lively cycling/racing scene up there. Outside of it being a bit colder in the winter, warmer in the summer, and a fair amount of wetter, it seems similar to down here. Anyone care to weigh in?

Thanks in advance!


----------



## bigbill (Feb 15, 2005)

teapotter said:


> Hey Pacific Northwesterners:
> 
> So I might be moving up to the Portland area to go to school. And a good chance I'll be there after. Kind of bummed to be moving from the "Yay" area, but as I look more into the Portland, it's looking good. It also seems there is a lively cycling/racing scene up there. Outside of it being a bit colder in the winter, warmer in the summer, and a fair amount of wetter, it seems similar to down here. Anyone care to weigh in?
> 
> Thanks in advance!


I think you'll get several responses over the next few days. PDXMark is a good source of information. From visiting the city, the place is alive with bikes. I'm getting a new custom steel frame and I chose a Portland builder due to the whole vibrant cycling scene in the city.


----------



## SwiftSolo (Jun 7, 2008)

teapotter said:


> Hey Pacific Northwesterners:
> 
> So I might be moving up to the Portland area to go to school. And a good chance I'll be there after. Kind of bummed to be moving from the "Yay" area, but as I look more into the Portland, it's looking good. It also seems there is a lively cycling/racing scene up there. Outside of it being a bit colder in the winter, warmer in the summer, and a fair amount of wetter, it seems similar to down here. Anyone care to weigh in?
> 
> Thanks in advance!


Some of the best summer / fall riding anywhere is 60 minutes away in the Mt St Helens area. That entire area from Randle Washington to White Salmon is as good as it gets. Good luck.


----------



## PomPilot (May 17, 2006)

So which school are you looking at? Reed, Lewis & Clark, George Fox, Portland State, the Univ. of Portland, or one of the other (many) smaller schools? Each is in a different part of the Portland (and environs) area, and each neighborhood has a slightly different cycling culture.


----------



## bismo37 (Mar 22, 2002)

I moved here 6 yrs ago from South Florida. The cycling scene is great. Overall, the drivers on the roadway are considerate of cyclists. Not everyone is considerate, but better more so than in FL. 

It is cold, wet and crappy up to 8 months out of the year. If you're dedicated, it won't keep you off the bike. Just need the proper gear. I have trouble getting out for a ride when the day starts off dark, raining and cold. If I leave when it's not raining, I have a better attitude. 

Overall, there is lots of great riding (road) here. A few hours north and south gets you to great mtn biking too. Mtn biking nearby the city is not so great. 

Portland is a great town for food, coffee, pubs, music, hikers, runners, bikers... I love it (despite the 8 mos of rain, it's awesome here.)


----------



## teapotter (Feb 1, 2007)

PomPilot said:


> So which school are you looking at? Reed, Lewis & Clark, George Fox, Portland State, the Univ. of Portland, or one of the other (many) smaller schools? Each is in a different part of the Portland (and environs) area, and each neighborhood has a slightly different cycling culture.


Pacific University, the Hillsboro campus...


----------



## Wookiebiker (Sep 5, 2005)

teapotter said:


> Pacific University, the Hillsboro campus...


Great school and lots of riding around there.

I live in Hillsboro and there are a lot of roads in the area. Out in the western part of Washington county you can easily string together 100 mile rides where you do very little climbing or you can do the same climbing most of the way.

There are also multiple groups/teams that ride in Washington Count on the weekends, so plenty of groups to join should you so choose.

If you are into racing, there is the Banana Belt races out at Hagg lake every year, PIR in the city, some crits and a few other races nearby.

If you are into MTB'ing you can head out to Browns camp, Scappose or Hagg lake in the summer...Other than that, there isn't much to offer in the area for MTB's.


----------



## mcsqueak (Apr 22, 2010)

Hey teapotter,

As others have said, I think you'll find Portland very good for riding. If you don't mind the rain, the winter isn't so bad, outside of it getting dark really early. Having a trainer or rollers is a good investment if you live here. 

If you're going to be living out in Hillsboro, there are tons of roads to ride out that way as Wookiebiker stated. If you go west away from the city, it turns into farmland with a lot of low-traffic roads.

A good group to perhaps join when you get out here is Portland Velo, as they do group rides out of Hillsboro on Saturday mornings, and riding with them would be a good way to get to know they area and other riders. They have a race team as well if you're into more competitive cycling.

I'll second bizmo's stance of considerate drivers. Maybe I'm just lucky, but I've only had a "few" bad experiences, such as people buzzing me way too close. For the most part, if you follow the rules of the road and don't bike like an a-hole, drivers give you a lot of room and don't treat you like trash.


----------



## teapotter (Feb 1, 2007)

Thanks for the Hillsboro club link!



mcsqueak said:


> Hey teapotter,
> 
> As others have said, I think you'll find Portland very good for riding. If you don't mind the rain, the winter isn't so bad, outside of it getting dark really early. Having a trainer or rollers is a good investment if you live here.
> 
> ...


----------



## TomH (Oct 6, 2008)

I moved from the east bay 4 months ago.. no regrets, its better in almost every way here. I miss mountain biking, but all the other benefits make the trade off worth it. 

Its always raining here. It just kinda becomes part of life, and its enjoyable. In the bay when it rains, its so gloomy and everyone stays inside,.. in a weird way, the rain impacts life less here in Portland than it did in California. Nothing really stops, people dont even use umbrellas. The weather was a major concern for me, but after being here a few months its a non issue (the random snow is kinda cool too!). 

Most things are cheaper here too, plus no tax. The housing situation is ridiculously, leaps and bounds better in Portland. I was over 6 figures in CA, and lived in a dump at the top of my budget, pretty close to the ghetto. Here you can get a really great place in a safe, friendly, clean neighborhood for shockingly cheap. Even as a student you can afford a cool place in a location you actually want to be in, not one that you have to be in due to a budget.


----------



## RJohn (Mar 24, 2009)

Welcome to Portland. Watch this clip. You will be in Hillsboro which is not Portland. 
http://www.ifc.com/portlandia/?utm_...ortlandia oregon&utm_campaign=original series


----------



## danielc (Oct 24, 2002)

RJohn said:


> Welcome to Portland. Watch this clip. You will be in Hillsboro which is not Portland.
> http://www.ifc.com/portlandia/?utm_...ortlandia oregon&utm_campaign=original series


I didn't want to be snooty but I agree, Hillsboro is not Portland. Riding wise though, if you can ride closer in to the West Hills/Skyline area, you'll have a blast. Lots of rollers and relatively friendly drivers and tons of cyclists when the weather turns fair.


----------



## teapotter (Feb 1, 2007)

Yes, yes, I should have said the Portland AREA. If the school was in Portland proper, I'd live there but I hate commuting.

Thanks for the input everyone!


----------



## RJohn (Mar 24, 2009)

danielc said:


> I didn't want to be snooty but I agree, Hillsboro is not Portland. Riding wise though, if you can ride closer in to the West Hills/Skyline area, you'll have a blast. Lots of rollers and relatively friendly drivers and tons of cyclists when the weather turns fair.


I'm sorry. I didn't mean that is a bad thing. Hillsboro is Hillsboro and Portland is well........did you see the video? That is my SE Portland. Great video by the way. I love it. 

Hillsboro has some great riding. Getting out of the city to ride on nice country roads is a lot easier that PDX. The Portland Velo club is very active with some of the best group rides around.


----------



## Wookiebiker (Sep 5, 2005)

RJohn said:


> I'm sorry. I didn't mean that is a bad thing. Hillsboro is Hillsboro and Portland is well........did you see the video? That is my SE Portland. Great video by the way. I love it.
> 
> Hillsboro has some great riding. Getting out of the city to ride on nice country roads is a lot easier that PDX. The Portland Velo club is very active with some of the best group rides around.


Yes, Hillsboro and Portland are two very different cities. 

Hillsboro is fairly conservative for a Portland suburb (well, Washington County is for that matter), while Portland...well, you can find a protest somewhere in Portland every day and every now and then a naked bike ride (which wouldn't go over too well in Hillsboro).

I love living in Hillsboro...From my house I can go to the end of my street, turn left and be in the country...turn right or go straight and I'm in the city. I'm 15 minutes away from the base of some of the west hills climbs and just a left turn from plenty of flat miles. It's just Awesome from a riding perspective


----------



## RRRoubaix (Aug 27, 2008)

Wookiebiker said:


> Yes, Hillsboro and Portland are two very different cities.
> 
> Hillsboro is fairly conservative for a Portland suburb (well, Washington County is for that matter), while Portland...well, you can find a protest somewhere in Portland every day and every now and then a naked bike ride (which wouldn't go over too well in Hillsboro).
> 
> I love living in Hillsboro...From my house I can go to the end of my street, turn left and be in the country...turn right or go straight and I'm in the city. I'm 15 minutes away from the base of some of the west hills climbs and just a left turn from plenty of flat miles. It's just Awesome from a riding perspective


More importantly, you can always find a great *brewpub* in Portland proper. 
Hillsboro? Nah.
We don't even have any good bars.
(Yes, that IS my biggest regret! :lol: )
Politically, culturally, etc... I'm much more of a Portlander than my fellow suburbanites. I live in Bethany, kinda between PDX and Hillsboro. Every neighbor has at least one giant SUV (always driven solo, naturally). 
While I've often thought about moving into PDX, I don't think I ever will- it's way too nice here; good neighborhoods, more dog-friendly, immediate access to Skyline and numerous great roads.
Besides, while the (downtown) Portland cycling scene is awesome in many ways, when I commute by bike, riding thru downtown is just something to put up with until I get to "the good stuff" on my way home.


----------

