your thoughts on Portland and Boston

[bethofftherecord]

Hi.

So I am moving away from my beloved Madison, WI.  It is sad.  Madison is utopia (I don't know if you knew that, but it is).  I thought I'd request some much needed input from my favorite forum!  My husband is finishing grad school and can't get a job in his field here, but has some sweet job opportunities in both Portland, OR and Boston, MA.  I am wondering if anyone has any thoughts on these places.  It is going to be both of our decisions, but he is the one who has to pick the right job for him.  However, we can't live somewhere we don't like.  I have some thoughts about both places, but am looking for some outside perspective.  Flying out to Boston next week to check it out.  this has been years in the making and is going to happen really fast.  I am kinda freaking about leaving my comfort zone and my friends and family.  

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.....

main thoughts on my mind....
i am kinda (ok, really) a food freak.  i am vegetarian. any thoughts about that and boston?  i know portland is super veg friendly.  

places to eat out?

places to shop that are not chains? areas to find household stuff that aren't chains.

cool neighborhoods w/o a coffee shop that isn't a starbucks?

good local bookstores?

good places to see smaller local shows?

[Jenny]

Well, obviously i'm bias... where in boston are you talking? the city itself? I live, and have lived, in boston all 16.8 years of my life. Brookline, to be specific...
To your vegetarian question: there are a lot of veg-friendly places around here. my brother's vegan, and he's recently been introducing me to all sorts of vegan and vegetarian restaurants all around town as well as a huge variety of good restaurants. though I guess it depends on where in Boston you're talking about... but obviously there's the (surprisingly un-)reliable subway system that can, and will, get you to the 'heart' of the city (park street, government center, copley square, harvard square etc.) from the suburbs (brookline, newton dorchester, quincy etc).
I guess I'm really just talking Brookline/Newton/Cambridge/Boston area, which, I think, is a super nice place to live.  Then again, i'm not really that familiar with areas outside of this...  There're plenty of book shops and cute cafes.  Of course, there're a lot of smaller venues here: the Middle East, The Paradise, TT the Bears, Great Scotts, all of which are pretty small and personal. and a lot of colleges (tufts, massart) host a lot of good shows, too.

eh, there's my two cents. hope it helps...

[colleen]

I love Portland more than any other city I've visited in the entire US of A. I'm too sleep-deprived and brain dead today to fully elaborate, but if I had a partner (or myself for that matter) who had a great job opportunity there, I'd move there in a heartbeat. I lived for years in Olympia, WA, which is similar but smaller, because I had a great teaching job there. But, I always wanted to be in Portland. I'm veg too, and it's superb for food. I've had some of the best meals of my life there.

Huge, beautiful parks within the city limits, Japanese gardens, waterfalls, hiking, great public transit system, lots of independent theatres, great music venues, thriving art and music scene, fab thrift and vintage clothing & household stores, etc. etc...I can't remember ever stepping foot in a big box store there, not that I seek them out. The urban planning has kept that sprawl on the outskirts of town for the most part and what a relief that is both aesthetically and conceptually. People let wild flowers grow all over their lawns. Even though it's been gentrified in some places to the point where non-yuppies absolutely cannot afford it, there are still a lot of neighborhoods that are not that way at all.

Oh, and it's home to the best book store(s) on the planet-Powells and the most stylish record store I've ever been to-Jackpot Records. The frump factor is pretty minimal there and most people take pride in keeping themselves up. Even the homeless people seem to be happy there. I once witnessed a sharp dressed man vomit on the street and promptly lift his head, offering me an ear to ear smile and wishes for a lovely day. Bizarre, yes, but I can only dream of that kind of experience happening in Albany, NY, where I now live. Yes, I am prone to tangents.

You'll of course hear about the rain, etc. But I can say for sure that Portland had 10 more nice days a year (at least) than Oly, which is only 1.5 hours north. You can garden year round (if you resign yourself to committing daily slug holocausts) and if you live there, you do not have to see disgusting muddy snow/ice piles ever again. But you can get to places with snow very easily. Come March, the gray days can be close to unbearable, but if you get yourself some full spectrum bulbs and read for a couple of hours a day under them, you won't go vitamin D deficient or you can go to the ocean for a magnificent winter storm. And it is heaven in the summer- no humidity, 80ish degrees everyday. You are close to so many beautiful places and some of the most stunning coastline. Of course your friends and family will miss you, but it's a fabulous place to visit. All of my relationships improved as a result of me moving to a fresh new place.

I won't attempt specific recommendations as to places to live, etc. because I think there are a couple of people on here who live there now and my recs might be a little dated. Vespachick, you live there, right?

[Jaimoe]

One of the only American cities I could live in is Boston: great history, vibrant downtown, amazing architecture, progressive-thinking civic leaders, education without equal in the US, fairly safe for a US city, being a port city on the ocean is a bonus and oh yeah, the Boston Bruins.

[vespachick]

What Colleen said.

Portland, Oregon is a really great place to live.  She nailed it.  I'd lived my entire life in LA proper and moved here about a year and half ago. Don't regret it a bit. (Except for the lack of good Mexican food, but I can, I guess, get past that.)  People here are superb.  For the first time in my life I don't feel like a wierdo for saying "good morning" to people when I pass them; they actually expect it!  Outdoor life like you wouldn't believe.  Camping, hiking, all that stuff.  Live music o'plenty, but don't expect the marquee bands to be playing on a Friday or Saturday night, they're going to Seattle for that, but at least they stop here midweek.  Plenty, plenty of good live music though. Good food, especially if you're a Veg, which I'm not, but they cater to them here in a pretty grand way.  ("Nutshell" is one vegan restaurant I know is received well).  We're super big into local: it's all about locally sustainable and Veg.  A really great place to start a family if that's what you're planning. All in all, the rain doesn't bother me but I wonder if that's because I've always lived in place with no seasons? Best bookstore on the planet, "Powell's."  I Love it here.  I think Wizzard does too.

And if you're into art, there's "First Thursdays" in Downton/Pearl District which is when all the galleries open the doors, surprisingly on each first Thursday of the month, and there's wine, and art shows and nutty people. Other neighborhoods do Last Thursdays, First Tuesdays, etc., you get the idea, we're all about walking about and looking at shit. shiznit. shszzzniiit.

What you need to know about this place is that is broken into quadrants NW, SW, NE and SE.  All separated vertically W/E by the Willamette River and N/S by Burnside Street.  NW is known as the trendy section (where I happen to live) and it gets a lot of shit for being so, but it's good because really you don't have to drive anywhere and you can get your shit done easily on foot (perhaps this is true of many neighborhoods, but true mostly in this one).  The SE is the coveted area right now and if you're buying, it may be tough - there's a lot of competion to get in.  Actually the NE and SE both are pretty desireable right now because there's a lot of pockets of greatness with little communities that offer good restaraunts and "communitee feel".  The regular North part of town is considered to be the most rough, I think, but even still, depending on your point of reference it's not really that bad.  I haven't spent much time there.  Except at Por Que No, where they do have tasty taco's, but they're a bit overpriced in my opinion.  Anyway.

Feel free to send a pm if you want more info;  I'd be glad to give it.

[mjkoehler]

The only thing I know about Boston is Mike's Pastry in the North End where they sell this cream filled pastry called the Lobster tail. It was f'n phenom. The last time I went there for work, it was an in and out trip in one day and made a special trip just to try this thing.

[the_wizzard]

 I Love it here.  I think Wizzard does too.

Me + Portland = True Love 4 Evah!

Colleen and VC told as it is.  Portland is the most vegetarian place I have ever lived (I eat fish, but live a mostly vegetarian lifestyle).  I have lived all over the country (Western NY, Florida, Ohio, and Oly WA too) and have never felt more at home than Portland.  You get all the pluses of Urban Living, but you are equadistant from both the mountain and the coast (2 hours outside of the city in any direction is absolutely stunning and beautiful).  A large portion of the population here is made up of transplants...and we don't leave.  Actually (and ironically), i just heard that an old roomate of mine who moved away to Boston is coming back.  you cannot find a more relaxed and happy community.  I just love it here.
to have a good job opportunity here is a plus!

[Hawkeye]

Beth,
I've never been to either city, but I have been to Oregon (Klamath Falls and Ashland), and it was beautiful.  I would think that Portland would be a bit more laid-back and artsy, and Boston would be much "busier."  I am actually thinking of moving to Madison.  Any input?  My main question is is it affordable?  I'm thinking of going back to school for chemistry at UW-Madison.  My girlfriend would be moving with me, and she's a nurse, so I think we'd be ok.  I know the music scene is pretty good.  Anything else I should know about the city and moving there?
Thanks,
Dan

[pawpaw]

Well, I can't give you a fair judgement on which of the two cities is better, because I've never been to Boston, but I do know that Portland rules. If you're the type of person that places significance on nature and outdoor activities, Portland is your town. Mt. Hood is to the east for skiing, and there are decent surf breaks on the gorgeous, nearby coast. Tons of hiking, backpacking, and mountain biking, world class fishing. Yes, it can rain, A LOT, and it can affect your mood, but if you've lived through Madison winters, you should be fine.

Probably more than any other city, Portland is the place that people from San Francisco move to when they get tired of the bad aspects of the city (expensive housing, bad traffic, dirty streets), but want to keep the desirable things (jobs, great food, culture, eclectic people).

[bethofftherecord]

Thanks for all the great input!  This decisionsis really exciting and really polarizing!  It seems like both places are very unique in different ways.  I think both would suit different parts of my life.  Sometimes I wish I could just flip a coin and that would be it, but that's silly.  Too important a choice for that.  I'll let you guys know where I end up.  This week, off to Boston to check it out.  I put in notice at my job today.  Luck has it, my position was being eliminated so all is turning out for the best!

Dan- i'll PM you about Madison.  seriously, midwestern utopia.  if you move here, you may never leave and for good reason.  ;)