I no longer live in Portland, Oregon .
Early in 1999, I moved twice to smaller cities on the Washington
side of the majestic Columbia River. First, in February, I took
myself and my things up to Woodland,
WA. Actually I lived in a trailer east of town. This
wasn't the nicest place to live and so I got out of there as soon
as I could. In April I moved to Camas,
Washington. Camas is a little east of Portland and
is primarily known for the smell of the Fort James
paper plant in town. Actually Camas is a nice small city where
one can live at lower cost than in Portland or even Vancouver,
Washington. I have been to all of the lower 48
states plus Hawai'i
and to all of the Canadian
provinces west of New Brunswick. Many states have
something to offer. For example Northern California (I mean north
of San Francisco) and the Central Coast of California are
wonderful places. Vancouver, BC
is a fascinating city. Even some of the cities of the southeast
are more than tolerable. But for me the Portland area has an
almost ideal mix of moderate climate, friendly people, and decent
politics.
One of the advantages of the Portland area is how easy it is to get out of it. A short drive to the east and one can be in the Cascades or the Columbia River Gorge within 20 miles of downtown. There is not another moderately large city until one gets to Boise, Idaho over 400 miles away. North from Portland lie the largest cities is Western Washington including; Vancouver just across the Columbia and one of the fastest expanding areas of the state, the capital city of Olympia, Tacoma lost the battle as the western railroad terminus, Seattle is the largest city in Washington and is 150 miles north of Portland, and Vancouver British Columbia which is about 320 miles from Portland. South from Portland the nearest sort of major city is Sacramento, California but really the nearest true major city is San Francisco, 600 miles to the south.
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