Best Places to Live and Launch 2008: No. 6, Portland, Ore.
What do you think of Portland, the No. 6 town on our 100 Best Places to Live and Launch list? Do you run a local business? How do you feel about the town’s taxes and regulatory climate? Have you been able to attract good workers? Tell us about it. The best replies will be published here, and possibly in future stories in Fortune Small Business.
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DiggEver since the 80’s recession and collapse of the timber industry in Oregon, city of Portland transformed from a lifeless city of porn shops, neglected theaters and parking lots into a truly dynamic ‘east coast’ city with european trolleys, gondolas and bike lanes.
That being said, some aspects of Portland hasn’t changed. It’s still a small-town business community that operates like a network of cartels. It is tough to wedge yourself into the ‘family’ of Oregon industries and markets unless you do your time and toe the line. This exists because out-of-state companies like to hire out-of-state talent, hence a somewhat protectionist slant in Oregon politics that doesn’t match the Portland brand image expressed in this article.
The good part about this is that there is so much talk about high taxes and anti-business sentiment (which there clearly is), that it helps many small businesses survive as it tends to slow the rush of newcomers opening up shop next door. And in Portland, small business lingo also includes non-profit startups in addition to new neighborhood shops and contractors, so not to be misled about presuming that great things are happening with new business owners. It has always been a very tough and fickle consumer market. The only roads in Portland paved in gold is in government and non-profits.
The rest of us have to tough it out on our own, and somehow hybrid cars and bicycling are considered solutions for commuters worried about losing their jobs or keeping their business venture afloat. Go fig.
Sorry CNN but this was not fully researched on your part. Fees on small business are very high and varied.Such as suddenly a $100 fee appears out of nowhere on your business water bill. Fees collected if it is one day late.Processing fees added to pay your bill. It adds up.
Crime very costly. Sluggish and small economy. Highest minimum wage.A state were employees get hired,lay back, get fired on purpose and get unemployment easily. Employers are left as guilty until proven innocent.
Some of the highest wholesale prices as compared to other cities for food inventory.Unsophisticated business environment and inexperienced state and city government. Good luck.
yawn-Portland? There isn’t much culture and seems to be primarily sheltered suburbanites trying to be edgy in a “wannabe” small city
We moved to a suburb of Portland from SoCal 18 years ago. Clean air, clean water, lots of trees, beautiful summers, gray and dreary drizzly winters.
Overall feeling is antibusiness, antiautomobile, anti-”traditional values.” Pedophile gay mayor. Proud motto on many bumper stickers–”Help keep Portland weird.” Fortune 500 companies one by one have left over the years we’ve lived here. Aching to do the same, but anchored by job at the moment.
So I’d have to say Portland is a nice place to visit, but you sure as heck won’t want to live here, unless you have lots of piercings and your role models are Fidel and Che.
I’ve been to many major cities due to my previous sales job. Then my family and I moved to Portland (East side – Clackamas) end of 2005. If you want to talk about traffic, potholes, crime, rudeness, unaffordable housing, lack of attractions, lack of outdoor activities, tons of garbage, stinky air, frigid winter, damn humid summer, sales tax of 8.75% (highest in the US) and tons of other negatives things then NYC is the place. Lived there for 22 years and it got worse every year.
Unless you’re are teenagers and teeny-boppers who love tho patronize the NYC clubs then there are nothing much to look for in NYC.
I’m happy here in Portland. Samll city with tons of good things to offer. I don’t look for bad things here and if there are nad things, they’re so minute in comparison to NYC. I would never go back to NYC.
The State of Oregon , in this severe economic time, went ahead with raising the minumum wage on January 1, 2009 to $8.40 per hour. HIGHEST in the nation in one of the poorest states. That is an increase of .80 per hour
They never thought it would be a good idea to freeze that increase until this worst economic storm in 40 years subsides. I feel for my old freinds who own small business back there.
Coming out of the cave they did finally decide, are you ready, strip clubs have a negative effect on other nearby businesses. Wow! They might sometime in the next millenium create zoning restrictions for strip clubs. Portland has more strip clubs than ANY city worldwide.
I watched 3 major building renovations occur in a the almost 4 years I owned a business in downtown Portland on my block. Very daring and very costly renovations. Then I watched 3 other people , like us, dump a pile of money into that block and open businesses on that once half empty street.
After all this, with crime high and worsening, the City of Portland allows a strip club to open on this block on a corner! Investigate the state and city PRIOR to investing a dime in Portland, Or.
It’s a nice place to live if you are into outdoor activities, like I am. Lots of fun but easy class 2 rivers for kayaking! I won’t tell you about the rest. Locals secrets, so stay away. As for the business side and the screwed up politicians who hate cars (and hate the people who use them to get to rcreational areas), you have to put up with it if you want to live here. Some of the people are cool, but I can’t stand the hipster wannabe “creatives” who think they are innovaters but only work at coffee stores and think their poetry, drumming, or tatoos are important. Portland would be much better if all the losers, including Vera Katz, Sam Adams, etc. would find another place to screw up.
Portland is a very nice city; good shopping, excellent restaurants, great parks, excellent public transportation (bus, light rail and street car), nice size (about 2-3 million in the metro area) and is pretty diverse. It’s about 75% White, 7% Black, 7% Asian, 7% Hispanic.
Portland today is pretty much accepted by those in the N.W. as being what Seattle was 10 years ago – so it is another high tech place where grunge culture flourishes and the weather sucks. For singles – the girl to guy ratio is way out of whack – thus it is the strip club capital of the North West..Lots of dumpy dressers – no style – similar to Seattle – Bellevue .. McMinnville is far nicer and 1/2 hour to the west.
We were on 4th near Stark and we are very happy to be out of that primitive business environment after 4 years at that location and 2 years at another. Looking back I cannot even believe the level of constant business stopping in store crime we experienced. The danger, the expense of security and closings.
The out in the open drug, dealers,shelter criminals, strong armed robbers know they can walk into any business and do whatever they like and suffer zero consequences. A few police told as much and said “They’ll be back out in a few hours and may come return.”
Yes, I did appeal to one sane council person at City Hall all 3 years. He would get word to police and suddenly the drug dealers did a disappearing act for about 7-10 days and it was all back.
Both my partner and I were assaulted in the last 6 months.He was seriously assaulted while waiting on the corner for the light one afternoon by a violent warrant laden shelter pampered meth maniac. It was sudden and random and police did arrive finally and chased him down. My partner never fully recovered from that Spring 2008 assault. I was assaulted in the store at close in July by a very addicted woman who was violent.
Our first year it I learned never to call police on the drug dealers at my front table and on on the corners at certain hours when that drug franchise operated in the open. 1.The police NEVER RESPONDED during the heaviest daily drug selling hours 2. Somehow the dealers found out I called police early on and I was threatened over and over. I stopped calling for help unless they were violent in the store. A customer sitting outside had our sidewalk sign tossed at her because she wouldn’t give him dope money.
Fought off two strong armed robbers often bymyself with staff screaming , no answer at 911 while customers looked on.No answer at 911 an hour later either.
We paid our vendors in September 2008 and left as long planned. ( final straw-read story below). Sold all and are back in our hometown preparing our structure of our new location in a city that supports and assists small business.Taxes high, services poor.Like another comment read ..”Type B city with Type A fees”.
Crime difficult to report in Portland and it began to look like that was how they kept crime numbers down. Also The Clean and Safe program I believe is a buffer to keep you from making official crime tracking police reports on instore disturbances and attacks. We were the busiest establishment on the block and maybe why we attracted strong arm robbers.
An expesine web based s3 camera secirity system didn’t even deter them. It was nice venue. Why at certain hours is their zero response from police to spill over crime by drug dealing franchise? 1+1=2.I oft We would often be forced to lock down the restaurant once we got the intruder out then wait the 30 + minutes until police arrived because the intruder was often still out front. Lost biz all the time. . The Portland Business Alliance placed this buffer of the Clean and Safe Patrol Program patrols in to deal with the mess the mayor and city council have allowed areas of downtown to become. We were 7 streets from City Hall…half the incidents never make it to official record. Also they do NOTHING to support businesses. It is a very primitive city business environment.
Check state business protection laws too. Very little. Some local vendors very preadtory. Go with national companies with proper contracts esp.
in the laundry/mat/apron area.
Here is a story and it was when we fast tracked an exit date.
A person from Bureau of Environmental Services entered our establishment the Friday before our 2007 3rd Annual Thanksgiving Dinner and announced loudly in front of staff and customers that our building would be shut in 30 days. Never asked to speak to me in my office/in private.I was a tenant and it was addressed to a previous BUILDING owner. It was never delivered to the other commercial tenant next door.It pertained to a pipe under the bus lane in the street.Never even proven to be cracked. Our building owner informed us he called a hearing before a judge the year before to make the city tell the judge why it was his responsibility and to prove it was broken. The City BES never showed for the hearing. They were trying to force that building owner to dig up the BUS LANE at his expense to fix it. The only people working below the street at that loaction was PGE. Power utility and corrUpt in my book. By the time we left the building owner spent $80k in research and attorneys fess on this issue. We never had issues with our sewer in 4 years.I pressed for an explanation after entering into a closing procedure for December.
An apology came from the BES office 2 weeks later. FOLLOWED BY 2 MORE NOTICES we were being tossed out by January 30, 2008. We knew it was erroneous but also in past dealings with the City of Portland we were well aware how flagrantly irresponsible departments are with zero recourse. ZERO. My business owning friends in other cities said ‘So now they are erroneously taking your business away from you?” Yes, that is right.We were selling off inventory all month, two staff quit..Only at the end of January did our building owners attorney STOP THIS ERRONEOUS and abusive harassment by The City of Portland BES. It went all the way to an investigative local news report that showed how wrong the city was. We stayed out of the televised report but supported the building owner. The city was wrong and other building owners downtown were told they were now respsonsible for the pipes under the traffic lanes in the street. There was a huge uproar and some replied “We were never told this and therefore never obtained proper business insurance coverage.”
The city was wrong, wrong, wrong.
That is just ONE story of serious business damaging trouble our very successful establishment suffered ‘doing business’ in Portland, Or.
We were urged by people who wanted to assist our expansion into to other countries/cities to ‘Leave that troubled Portland location and move forward”. We are.
We loved our customers and we had a large and loyal crowd.
Add insult to injury the incoming mayor , Sam Adams, tacked on a $100
fee to the water bill in August. A small business owner down the street came running in pointing it out to me shaking her head. She couldn’t afford another increase.
I hear now that the minimum wage is going up to $8.40 January 2009, in the middle
of a serious economic crisis with small businesses closings everywhere and larger ones laying off..The State of Oregon raises the min wage? A death knell.Here is a tip for employers..it is extremely easy for any Oregon worker to talk you into hiring them work a few days then cause themselves to be fired so they can easily obtain unemployment. I have seen this discussed on blogs. I can tell you 30% of Oregon workers we hired followed this plan. I fought most claims and won over half. It took time away from my business and it wad disruptive and discouraging.
Here is a last note about the old biz guard. Outsiders with good plans that will be competing with established old biz guard owners will have difficulty. I know. Yes we were ‘bothered’ constantly by a portion of the old biz guard there and they wanted us to know who they were. Bold harassment.
Research doing business in Oregon before you invest.There are very few laws to keep predatory local vendors from damaging you.They need more laws.
3 months after we opened
The Portland Business Alliance sent me a 7 page questionare that I was directed to fill all of it out and return it.Questions such as our daily gross sales, how many staff, what rate each one is paid and what was our financing structure and from where. I laughed and tossed it into the recycling. They kept sending them and even went so far as to send one of their lackeys in to ask why I hadn’t filled it out. I said ‘I will only fill out a form that intrusive if it is from a government agency and I am bound to do so and my attorney suggest I do.”. In front of staff the lackey made a tearful speech about how he was “Sick of the Portland Business Alliance higher ups making him do their dirty work for his assigned block.” This actually happened and staff watched agog.
We lingered for our customers but
were actually forced out in the end.
To the business with crime problems in downtown. You should post your business name or the specific neighborhood so the community can support you.
Rains all the time. Stay away!!!!
Yeah, sure, Portland is a great place to live and start a business. As long as you dont mind a local government that itches to tell you what to do, consistantly raises the minimum wage and a State government that assumes a “silent partner” role in all small/med buisnesses but is no-where to be found when it comes to helping out in tough times.
And you get to deal with all the fruit cakes. I mean to say~ these people would make californians take notice. Oregon has much better cities, in much better locations, with much better regulations and work force than Portland. And even better than Oregon is Washington.
-b
I LOVE PORTLAND! It’s a really great place to live. I love NE, NW, and SW! its just the best place to live, and downtown is really great!
I am in Rancho Cucamonga, and I really like it here. Unfortunately the key point to your comments is Apple Valley. I do not wish the High Desert on anyone.
I moved from So. Calif. to Portland about ten years ago. While I miss the beach lifestyle and the interesting job and entertainment opportunities one has living near Hollywood (and oh, yes, my family), Portland really is one of the best places to live. The change of seasons here is stunning, Fall and Spring color is a photographers dream and our Summers are very pleasant and we get very few extremely hot days. Winters are mild mostly rain but we can get a little snow some years we get none at all. Just enough to appreciate the novelty of snow and then it is gone within a week or so. The access to gorgeous mountains, lakes and the coast is great, all within an hour or so from Portland. Our economy isn’t swell as some of the big high tech employers have been in a downsizing mode for several years now however if you are an entrepreneur or are a creative type you’ll do well here with a little ingenuity and persistence.
I love Portland, but it is not smart to live there. Vancouver, WA is about 6 or so miles from Portland, OR. If you have a job, Washington is the place, no income tax. If you have disposable income, then Portland, but really all of Oregon is sales tax free. In effect, you can earn 20% less than others and have the same net income.
I moved from outside of Detroit to Portland almost 2 years ago, in retrospect I would have stayed. Portland is a Paper tiger. Yes there are a lot of wonderful things here, such as the scenery and many outdoor activities. But this is coupled with high unemployment and a less than perfect business climate. My wife’s job brought us here. I fortunately found a job soon after I arrived; they do not seem to value education as much as they do back east. And when you look for a job, company’s post 20 positions online but are really only hiring 1 or 2 people, I would not start a business here. Its West coast cost of living does not come with West coast salaries, unless you are one of the lucky ones. Rent is too high to justify the traffic for retail, and you will get just as good of employee for less money elsewhere for industrial work. We will be moving back east to be closer to family, as it is too expensive to fly a family of 4, unless some miracle happens.
Portland is one of the best places to live. The people are nice, the scenery is splendid, and commuting is really not that bad. It’s worse downtown, but not by much. The crime? It’s average, most cities have crime though, so what can you do?
I moved from Alaska to Portland, Oregon where I happily resided for over 15 years. Portland, in my eyes, is PARADISE. Sheer PARADISE. It is full of beauty as far as the eye can see, art and culture. The people are laid back and very nice. I truly believe there is not a more lovey place to live in the world. Unfortunately my husban’s job transfered us from Oregon to Southern California’s High Desert in 2003, and not a day goes by that I do not long to be back home in Oregon. The whole of Southern California is a dung heap. The drivers are RUDE. There is garbage aka trash, litter, EVERY WHERE you look. There is ZERO state pride and ZERO culture. The weather is HORRIBLE too, it never rains, it is always dry and hot or humid and hot, key word being HOT. There is not one iota of green, it is all dirt, rocks, and people’s filthy litter. A horrible place to live. I can not wait to move!
Portland is an amazing city which offers something unique and exciting for everyone. Be it social, outdoors, great beers/wines, fantastic food, transportation…PDX has got it going on. As a resident of Stumptown for 23 plus years…I can tell you there is no better place to live. I’ve traveled the US and the world and I swear that every other city is trying to be like the Rose City!
I now live in the Sacramento area and have been here for just over 5 years. Sure, Sac-town has its charm, but still doesen’t come close to P-town. Portland offers a small town feel with the big city experience (if that make sense).
PS…the rain isn’t that bad people!!!
Portland is amazing. Eventhough it has less than perfect weather. It does have something for everyone. I love the culture. You can pretty much get some of everything for anyone. If I could settle it would be in Portland.
Les than optimum weather year around………….
Well, I live in Vancouver. Use to live in Portland. Vancouver is wonderful if you are a red neck. Clarke county’s, where Vancouver is situated, has the lowest educational level of any county in Washington and it shows. We have lived here 16 years and we are moving back to Portland. Sure we will have to pay more taxes but I look at it this way – - – I will be paying for a better life style. The Vancouver City and County planners have never seen a strip mall or fast food joint they don’t like. So this placed has turned into an abomination. The builders, who specilize in building cheap crap, have the planners in their hip pockets. In time this place will be a great big ticky tack slum. During the boom years they had a opprotunity to make this a show place and they blew it. There is a dearth of parts and green space.
There are no jobs…just like the rest of the country. We’re in a recession dingbat. You must live in a cave.
I used to live in Portland… from 6 yrs old to 25. I didn’t mind the rain that much, but I agree with the liberal takeover of the city. Schools have gotten worse, crowding is ridiculous, house prices higher than they are worth (probably to increase property tax expenses), and traffic is absolutely unbearable… I know, it’s all relative, but I saw the change over a twenty year span and got sick of it. I lived in Charlotte NC for a few years and now live in Spokane WA. Both places are MUCH better than Portland. If anyone is living in Portland for the outdoors, come check out Spokane. Tons of water, hiking, biking, etc… and no traffic to deal with.
High, higher and worsening crime has driven out our daytime restaurant in downtown Portland. Unsafe to leave staff
alone for afternoon in store disruptions, strong arm attempts and unchecked rampant drug dealing on the street afternoons. Bullied by criminals all the time. Loaded with shelters where hardened warrant heavy criminals are
housed that roam the downtown all day.
Leaving asap. Police /downtown patrol overwhelmed at times. City Hall could truly care less.Not wasting another year . Add high and higher fees, taxes for very little services. City actually ANTI SMALL BUSINESS.
Leaving behind extremely nice clientele and beautiful surrounding environment.Good luck in the future Portland.
Portland is the best, IMHO. Yes things have gotten a bit crowded etc recently. But people are friendly, entertainment options (arts, restaurents) are great. I moved to Austin, Tx about 18months ago after living in PDX for about 9 years. I still miss PDX, believe it or not we went on a “vacation” to PDX over July the 4th. Wish I could move back …
Dear “From Portland OR”. I’m a native, and ya know, I’ve gotta agree with you on all the difficulties you had. You may credit the leftist ultra liberal
growth-haters in City govt. It’s a leftist autocracy. This isn’t the Portland I grew up with and loved. The people are hypnotized zombies. I don’t know if they all came from Californica, or were brainwashed by them, but you know what it is like now more than anybody.
The next time you get an angry response from the socialist leftist elites in city Govt., call Victoria Taft on her show (or Lars), and let’s get some action going. These monsters should be exposed for what they are.
Loved it hated it and am being drawn back. I don’t know enough about buisness to comment on that end but, If you like the outdoors there are few places that can compare. The only one I can think of is still in Oregon but I’m not telling.
P.S. Houston is dirtier than Portland and might even rival Dutch Harbor.
I was born and raised in Portland Oregon and I would not live there again if you paid me! Reasons are what happens to every big city, crowded streets and freeways with potholes and ruts that never end! Crime has run rappant, overpriced everything, prices driven up by the Californicators moving there in groves since the 1960’s! Check out some place else because all it does there is rain which causes its residents to take mind altering chemicals to deal with it! Besides the standing joke is Oregonians don’t tan, they just rust during the summer months!
Housing here is outrageous, so much so that it drives natives out of the city they have worked so hard to create.
Employers focus on hiring from outside the region and the new “talent” buys up property at a premium. This is what is causing the most strife in the state as a whole.
Living wage jobs are increasingly given to people from outside the area and the rest of us are being pushed out. They are willing to spend more because they have more to spend. They move from areas where housing is more expensive for the exact same reason. It is only a matter of time before Portland Becomes just like Los Angeles.
This is especially true of “high wage” offering tech industries and construction firms who continually hire foriegn nationals instead of locals to fill their workforce. Because they do not demand basic things like healthcare, a living wage, or even a reputable employer.
Its no mystery that most of the city actually lives below the poverty line. For the above reasons. The unemployment rate here is significantly higher than reported, the unemployment rate is simply the people still eligible and receiving unemployment benefits. So when 6% is advertised, figure 4 times that many people are not receiving unemployment because employers continually practice labor farming.
The location is nice here.. its fantastic and worth the additional expenses. But take it from a native, its not easy.
I love Portland! If I had a choice of living anywhere it would be Portland!
Well then shut up about it, Christie, if it is such a “huge secret” and you don’t want the rest of the dam* state of California moving here!
After 9 years I left Portland. Why? Too much rain, too many clouds, too few jobs (except for Starbucks), pay is low for the good jobs, housing is high. Other than these things — Portland is a nice place to be.
Raised in PO since grade school and couldn’t wait to get out. How can a city that sits between 2 major cities be so behind the times and slow moving? Looking at Seattle, Portlands Pearl District could have been something years before. The Alberta Street area…same thing.
I must say that the bus system is the best to get absolutely anywhere. Hmmm, I guess that’s the end of the good points!
The educational system is the worst ever, and heaven help you if you have a child with a disability needing to be educated.
Don’t you wonder WHY it has such beautiful scenery?? It’s called RAIN. Have you looked at the suicide rates for the NW? Hellooo, Portland is only beat out by Seattle due to not having any sun for 9 months!
I love the Bay Area and hope to never go back to that slow moving drab and dismal City of Roses, Portland, except to visit in the summer time…oh, and speaking of summer time, the heat doesn’t go away at night either. When it is in the 90’s it stays in the 80’s at night…still lovin the Bay!
In business 5 years in Portland.
Moved here 7 years ago.
Saving grace before I make my exit very soon.. my customers. Really nice people.I will miss them.
Tight market,not much spendable income and population so if you want to start a retail business in one of the most expensive to do so (rated #39 on the top business cost of doing business list)Recently updated.You better have a real good business plan.
HOSTILE
“Old Guard” business “community” is a real nice way of putting it.Maybe hostile is what I was met with.
Great, great difficulty and almost project killing delay at permitting for an already basic space.A TI.
Told several times THERE WAS NO SPACE at my address.Yet it had siesmic by the most reputable firm in the area, above and beyond , two years prior.?? Costly delays until a staff person at the Plans Office ran up to me and shoved a copy of the file
into my hand and said ‘Heres proof it is on file, keep this in a safe place” Exact quote.Long story short they flubbed it 3 redraws and I went over their heads.. only to have the command person upstairs look at the originals 3 months later and baffled collected my permits in 48 hours. When I requested even a small reduction in any fee it was met with anger. High fees. The project was truly resisted and I have a lengthy blow by blow with my attorney to prove it.
In my 4th year I am leaving. Growing business just too much crime downtown-CONSTANT and I am not even open at night. Alcohol free establishment. I pay $1200 per month to a security guard so my customers can dine in
peace and the business isn’t stopped by constant street criminals. Can no longer afford it. Lost 3 hours a day all alst summer because of crime around my downtown location. Staff refused to work late afternoons. Two female saff followed after close.I have ONE SANE city official I have pleaded with only 3 times for help. He came through but watch out for the anger if you SAY A WORD. They call you a “complainer”
Employees
It is a “young city” and it is often diffucult to find steady non drug/alcohol no shows to work consistently. It is a B city is right with A fees.Employer is GUILTY until proven innocent for dismissing a person.The game here is known. Get the job..idle, get fired/dismissed then get unemployment easily. Happened to me with workers frequently and so obviously it was laughable. You will be sent paperwork to try and defend yourself by the state.No tip credit here just a $7.80 across the board min. wage.
Non profits abound here and better not get on their bad side by not responding to the constant requests for free food and or money because I have had a few “blackballing” emails when I couldn’t afford to give.For real.
It is not an experienced government in my opinion as far as business goes
and that is really an issue. Also they need more laws to protect businesses from predatory LOCAL vendors. I have had to take people to court twice. Never in have I been forced to this in my career. I have managed and co owned other businesses in a large metropolitan city and laws were in place.WATCH OUT.
I leave you with this It is a pretty place, it is pro green, native Oregonians are lovely and reserved people. What’s wrong with that? Nothing.They save old buildings and re-hab quite a bit. They are TRYING in a few departments .Too late for me. I feel as if I have been through a war here downtown. Too costly in fees, crimes, employment taxes and dangerous old guard business cliques that will give you trouble.
I am looking at another good busy summer strectch -it isn’t worth staying- but will depart soon.
One of hundredes of incidents..
Strong armed robbery at 9;30 am and no answer at 911. Or 20 minutes later. Being attacked in your business and no one cares-customers or the city. Bye andGood Luck to Portland.
Oh and don’t ever criticise or you will be run out of town quickly.
I love the Pacific Northwest, and the place in the beautiful PacNW that I love most is Portland, Oregon! It has everything. Endless outdoor activities such as skiing (snow & water), hiking, windsurfing, sailing, whitewater rafting, golf, huge wine valley, outdoor summer concerts everywhere, etc, etc, etc, PLUS theater, arts, symphony, museums, great restaurants, micro-breweries, sports, less than an hour from the coast, and so much more!
And guess what, the mortgage prime melt-down affecting the rest of the country really hasn’t had a large impact on Portland. We’re still seeing appreciation here.
The weather? It’s not actually what many outsiders seem to believe. The weather is actually quite mild with rain typically being the worst thing the winters bring. (Yet plenty of snow on the mountains for great skiing!)
It’s really a great place to live, and I can’t imagine living anywhere else.
If you call “Titty” Bars Culture then Portland is tops! I’ve spent months there just visiting those places and drinking the famous beer “Rainer”…but I had to leave in ‘94……I miss those days!
Not sure about the business friednly climate overall, but I’m an attorney who moved to Portland FROM San Diego. I love it here, its very affordable, tons of things to do, and its doesn’t rain that much, its just a Huge secret so the rest of California doesn’t move here.
If you like mediocrity and bland, oppressive weather, then this is the place for you!!
I just moved to Portland from Chicago and am not a business owner but have relatives who are. They complain about the high taxes for business but still enjoy the comforts of having downtown office space and not having to drive to Vancouver,WA or another suburb for lower taxes. Bottom line, if you have a good business with a good business model, it’s not going to be Portland that drives you out, it will be you that drives you out.
Portland is a great place to live; it’s easy to get around, there is a more diverse dining scene than Chicago without a doubt, and it is still a relatively affordable city to live in when you take it’s size and location into account. The people here are also incredibly kind on the whole from what I have discovered. As for the rain, no city is weather perfect unless you move to San Diego in my opinion. Chicago is bitter cold for 5 mo./ year and scorching hot for another 3, ill take the rain!
From a business perspective, Portland doesn’t know what it doesn’t know. It takes a while to penetrate the old guard of the business community, but once in they’re good people. It’s full of civic boosters who haven’t much experience in larger environments. So it sometimes feels insular.
The cool Portlanders like to call their town “gritty,” but how is gritty different from seedy? They put a hip gloss on run-down working class neighborhoods. Ma and Pa Kettle meet the Grateful Dead. Many of the new hip arrivals seem indifferent that buildings are dirty, a high number of residential streets aren’t paved or so full of potholes as to be impassable. Others have commented on crime. Even the better neighborhoods have a lot of crimes against property. Portland is historically a working class city and it shows as you drive through neighborhoods. Housing: Within the city your biggest pool of houses were built 60-100 years ago, mostly for poor workers. We’re not talking handsome Victorians, but often plain, bare-bones worker’s houses tarted up in recent years. They’re still what they are, even with granite countertops.
If you’ve lived in major metro areas, be prepared for the relative lack of sophistication. Portland doesn’t know that it’s not sophisticated, so it can be awkward. If you’re looking to jump off the fast track, it has many benefits.
I agree with Karyn and Chunk. They have the unique privilege to live in Portland and enjoy the awe inspiring beauty of mother nature right within their own city. To have such beautiful ocean views (arguably some of the most inspiring in the world), such magnificent mountain peaks, and lush forests, all within a few minutes’ drive; and then to have a city that’s full of culture, music, art, and good food, such as Portland is…where else could you go? You would have to search the world over.
I live in Eugene, Or, a few more the 100 miles south. We also enjoy many of these benefits and we “enjoy” the high cost of living in a place that has such benefits. I am not as well acquainted with the experience of starting a new business in a town like this, but I am aware of the high level of government regulation that exists in our state, particularly in Portland.
I would like to here somebody speak specifically to whether or not the “annoying” oversight and high taxes really do help sustain the natural beauty of these towns. And how can we see that happening in specific examples? Because if the natural beauty were lost it would be a terrible tragedy!
I’m a little baffled why Portland would be on this list. The economy is dependent on spillover residents (and their money) from California. The median income is extremely low compared to cost of living, and the economy is far from diversified. Portland has high structural unemployment and an entrenched homeless/semi-homeless class of people with low expectations in life. To put it bluntly, a lot of people in Portland are lazy and depend on and expect government handouts.
Definitely not a town where business gets done like NY, Chicago, or San Francisco. Add to that a slew of ridiculous taxes in Multnomah County and Portland City that drive most big business to the outskirts of the metro area, increasing commuting times for many. None of the major corporations in the Portand metro area (i.e. Nike, Intel) are in the city of Portland largely due to these tax policies.
I’m embarrassed by my fellow Portland business owners who’ve posted here. Their myopic outlook leaves me curious why they even live here. Portland’s emerging vitality, energy, and creative-class economic growth potential more than balance out the mildly higher business taxes and . My business is advertising, very difficult to establish in most mid-size cities, yet completely sustainable and growing in this forward-thinking city.
Portland is evolving into a model for balancing social, economic and ecological interests. I suppose if you think economic interests outweigh the other two, you’d be best off somewhere else.
With little bicycles slowing down traffic good luck getting to work. Tell that to the commuters??
I have been relocated to Portland, from Santa Monica, and have this to say:
Portland is a B list City, that has A list pricing, even if it is on the lower end of A list pricing.
2BR/2BA condo in a decent area? $450+K
Gas: $3.55/gallon
Lunch? $10-20
want to get a washed and pressed? $1.60
Home, food, and fuel are three largest expenses for most residents. I don’t see significant discounts in any of these areas. ESPECIALLY for a city that is less of a destiantion, and more of a ‘nice to visit’ location
With the incorporation of MAX, the line-rail line, the options for getting around have improved. If you are wishing to commute from the outskirts, be prepared to play the crawl and stall game. After 14 years living in there, I moved to Sandpoint ID. Not missing Portland last time I checked.
Portland was the first Smart Growth Town followed by my town San Jose. Smart growth provides high housing prices, road congestion and urban joblesness, a real looser.
If you read the negative comments posted related to business they actually speak to some of the hallmarks of Portland – to provide for 20 years of measured growth and services for which payment is already secured, to provide it’s residents with health care and a good quality of life, and to consider a balance of both the environment and people in the decisions made. I’m sure that sounds bad to some, but for others – like myself – that have come from smoggy, overcrowded, dirty, but perhaps more business “friendly” places, living here is literally a breath of fresh air. The easy access to culture, resturants, the beach, the mountains, wine country and countless activities isn’t too bad either. And Portland is the most reasonably priced large metro area on the West Coast.
After searching through most of the USA and some 30 countries for my permanent home, I chose Portland. There are many places that have some better futures, but not the whole package. When it comes to everyday life, nothing beats Portland Oregon.
To be fair, all these opinions are reasonably accurate. I own a business here, in high tech consulting. It’s expensive to run because the city is not business-friendly whatsoever. And the local clients can’t afford my rates, so I have ZERO clients here, they’re all in California.
The living costs are high because prices are average but the people make less than other cities of equal size to do the same work (I hire programmers here for $30/hr that I would pay $50/hr to in LA or Seattle, $70/hr in SF). So it is relatively expensive here.
Owning a home here is expensive because property taxes are obscenely, criminally high. But no sales tax! (Frankly, I’d rather have lower property taxes and a sales tax than what we have.)
The drug problem is quite bad, meth-wise, which leads to a lot of property crime. Because the city has so few sources of revenue, there are no police to speak of. On the other hand, it’s hard to get a speeding ticket because the few police there are have better things to do!
Speaking of traffic, all the federal highway funds get used for trains and bike paths. So the freeways suck as anyone driving south from Washington realizes as their 6 lane freeway out of Vancouver becomes a packed 3 lane freeway across the border. So everyone uses neighborhood streets to “cut through” and get to work making it very unsafe for pedestrians.
In the long run, the model is unsustainable. Either taxes are going to have to skyrocket to pay for better services, or the city is going to break apart and everyone will flee into the outlying counties that don’t have these expenses.
Now if the article said BEAVERTON (adjacent to Portland) was friendly to launch a business, that I would agree with.
I’ve owned and operated two small IT related businesses in the Greater Portland over the years. To sum up my thoughts regarding Portland: a great place to visit, a good place to live, but a poor place to do business.
The city prefers to focus it’s efforts on making the city more “livable,” which is fine, but this is often done at the expense of businesses and companies. Little help comes in the form of tax exemptions, credits, assistance in permit acquisition, and hiring. Add in the high taxes and minimum wage and businesses can struggle to remain profitable. Regarding talent and hiring, I’ve found the Portland area to be a mixed bag. Yes, there are many college educated folks here, but I’ve had troubles finding good technical/IT people. Washington County (Beaverton, Hillsboro, etc) is generally better for tech business startups. Office space is cheaper there, talent is easier to find, and the area is more business friendly.
You guys gotta be kidding. I am a native Oregonian and the only reason I have operated businesses here is my is strictly international focus. I do ZERO business in the state. The business climate is dismal and the politicians here are even more economically illiterate than in most other states.
The governor is a labor lawyer and the city is run by a pack of anti business professional bureaucrats. The mayor seems to think that gay rights is the most important issue out there.
True we have no sales tax but that only means that the most productive pay most of the taxes.
Universities in the state never reach beyond third tier rating and new residents are primarily here for retirement or the “cool” enviro based lifestyle. Wealth builders seem to avoid the area.
When I compare the dynamism of the Seattle area with the Portland I am apalled by the lack of vision, motivation and excellance based busness culture.
The arts community is constantly whining about the lack of support. Well duh! Maybe its because we have the lowest median income on the West Coast. Until recently we spent years with the highest unemployment rate in the nation (discounting Alaska)
There is a reason for having ONE Fortune 500 company here and Nike cannot do all the heavy lifting for an entire community.
You better revisit your ratings system. It sounds like a Quant Fund model!
John K
They are nuts, Portland and Oregon in general is not business friendly. I own businesses in Oregon and other states and the tax and labor enviorments are better every where else. Absolutle no support from the state polititions, I don’t know what they are thinking.
As one of 3 cities which gained in real estate appreciation, Portland is not seeing the downturn like the rest of the U.S. (www.portlandmonthlymag.com April 2008 issue)
I’m a happy resident who cannot say enough about our small town feel in a cultural metropolis. The tax free shopping doesn’t seem to take away from the economy either. Just think about your favorite place, it has a city, perhaps mountains, or a beach, and definitely wine or beer……Portland has it all!
Portland is fantastic. I lived there for four years but moved back to Albany, NY (which is horrible because the salaries are stuck in a time warp there) after a layoff. That was four years ago. I now work for a company that will let me work remotely, and I’m heading back to the Rose City. Great restaurants, culture, the mountains, and the beach all within a short drive. People are fantastic. I can’t speak to the business-side of things, but the city itself…is wonderful.
I visit Portland frequently, and I’ve never had a bad visit. The city is extremely eco-friendly, and the residents are friendly and warm (I live in the northeast – a transplant from the south – so it’s nice to return to an atmosphere where people are outgoing and personable). While it is expensive, I would certainly choose to live there over my current residential city of Albany, NY (which, in my opinion, should be bulldozed into a hole in the ground. Albany, for lack of a better description, is run-down, utilitarian and completely lacking of culture). But, unfortunately, the weather in Portland is too wet for me. I already deal with 9 months of terrible weather as it is. But, my friends who reside there say they wouldn’t live anywhere else.
There are several businesses that have moved “across the river” to Vancouver and Camas Washington to escape Portland’s high taxes, both property and employment (9%) to name just a few. The business climate is not very friendly ie high taxes and politicians that are idiots. Many business have been driven out of downtown Portland due to high taxes and costs. When an animal rights group kept constant harassment of a downtown furrier, that had been in business for over 30 years, the mayor’s comment was that the store close on Saturdays because that was the day demonstrators were most disruptive.
Are they kidding – maybe to live but definitely NOT to launch a business. We own two small restaurants – and ridiculous things like paying thousands of dollars because a small business/restaurant may increase traffic or tax the sewer system in an area really hurts small businesses. Minimum wage is out of control in Oregon for tipped employees – there is no way that they should be making $7.95 an hour and it goes up every year. Other states that are much more expensive to live in like Massachusetts and NY pay tipped employees something like $2.12/hr. We work so hard to keep what many consider one of the most difficult businesses to own (restaurant!) afloat and then to have the added difficulty of paying tipped employees $8/hour plus payroll taxes is insult to injury. IF we ever close down it will be because of this – labor KILLS us! In a state that touts doing business locally, they sure make it difficult for local small businesses to thrive. Maybe the bleeding heart ‘green types’ in Portland want to drive all local restaurants out then just have a bunch of chain restaurants who can afford to have a business here.
Now as for good employees – yes for the most part we are able to attract and hire good employees. This is mostly because of the type of employee we hire – it is usually their second job and most are in grad school or are teachers or work part time elsewhere and all are highly educated. But between the high minimum wage and then a modest average of $20/hour in tips – nearly $30/hour can be pretty attractive to even a college educated person.
Oregon is also ridiculous with health insurance. To be able to offer it to our employees insurance through our business we have to offer it either just to managers or to ANY employee who works over 17.5 hours and then it’s mandatory that we pay at least 50% of their premium. Having our employees have health insurance is important to us, however if we did this we would be out of business quickly. Therefore we do not offer our employees health insurance at all. Our Liquor Control Commission is strict – but I believe that something like this is needed to deter drunk drivers. And I do appreciate the no sales tax – but home owners and businesses pay for it in the long run. So if you are a renter who works for someone else – you’ve got it made!
I look at my friends who own businesses in other states and they seem to have it a lot easier than we do in Oregon.
I was in business in Portland for about 4 years and did enjoy success. However, the never-ending deluge of water falling on everything for 8-10 months a year finally got to me. Viva San Diego
I am a small business owner and not quite a native having moved here as in elementary school. I think Portland is a fantastic place to live. Although one does need to subscribe to a certain ideology of ‘ecotopia’ in order to feel truly at home. Costs are higher here than many parts of the nation, but relative to other west coast cities, the cost is less. Multnomah county is more costly than outlying counties for business. I find that the access to the ocean, to the mountains, to the desert, all within two hours of the city is a very attractive element of being in Portland. And yes, it does truly rain here for 7+ months a year. But the summers are glorious, and the winters do not try to kill you.
I don’t agree that Portland has a high cost of living. Compared to the country as a whole, maybe, but it is by far the cheapest of larger West Coast cities. I think it’s biggest drawback might be that there is no big university here.
There might be some red tape involved with starting a business, because this is a city that plans for long-term sustainability. There might be higher INCOME taxes, but if it goes to maintaining livability, it may save money in the long run by keeping employees happy.
Portland has first-rate talent, a growing population, a strong urban core, and reliable business climate. In ten years it will be on par with San Francisco and Seattle as a West Coast leader.
Portland is a lousy place for a business. The city has some of the highest system access charges. A Pizza restaurant owner had to pay tens of thousands in traffic impact system access fees on his move. The thing is, he moved across the street, not really changing traffic at all. Washington Mutual was delayed for 2 years in building their new bank to replace their own building. This is because the city no longer wanted them to have a drive up window, because it is not “green.” The city council forces large non green business away. Freightliner found a friendlier climate in the south.
It also rains here 9 months out of the year. I am not kidding. It starts in late October and ends the first week of July.
Portland is amazing. I am a native and have never had to “get out of here”. I am a small startup business owner and it has been easy to do that here. I don’t understand the “high living cost”, though. Rent is cheap, great public transportation, and no sales tax.
I mean, it’s horrible! You shouldn’t move here!
Portland is terrible. There are no jobs and people are rude. I should know, as a native, I am one of them.
Have you found the town supportive of local businesses?
Have you been able to find good workers here?
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We love Portland and have lived in Clackamas County since 1978. I’m from northern Ohio originally and I would never go back. I think you have to travel like we have to appreciate what Oregon has to offer. It has changed for the better each year we have been here. I see a bright future and the surroundings that we live in are like heaven. Truly, God’s country. And, we have made a good living in this state.