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Badjujubee I've only ever been through Portland twice and just spent the night there once on the way from CA ot WA, but I liked being there because I was aware of the scene from reading and listening, and possibly by that time I may have also already been watching Portlandia. Like NYC it seems like a bit of a hub where the scene isn't just comprised of local bands but also bands (e.g., The Prids) that have decided to relocate there too, ostensibly because of the scene
I don't necessarily think so much about SF as a music scene like I do Portland (which I'm sure is purely an error on my part, and I mean beyond obvious things like Primus and Jefferson Airplane), but what I love about SF over Portland is that it's by the coast (I mean at least this is one factor that I love about SF), and while Portland has river frontage, it's just not the same. On the other hand, if Portland had been founded on Oregon's coast, I'd probably be too scared to visit. Of WA, OR and CA, I'd be the most paranoid about the shore in OR because of the subduction zone-generated tsunamis that are very likely there and the local topography not really offering much escape from waves that will arrive in mere minutes. I mean even at the end of the subduction zone in Eureka, CA, much of the Eureka area is on higher ground and ground less likely to liquefy if you need to go running up a hill as quickly as possible. It seems like in general WA and CA have done more to prepare for earthquakes, based on some Oregon public tv program I watched while staying in WA.
Incidentally I had no idea you could see Mount Saint Helens from Portland until I saw it with my own eyes. Mount Hood I expected.
I can't say for sure but over the course of a year I would think SF maybe has more appealing weather days? I just have thought maybe Portland gets more rain while also potentially being pretty hot in the summer due to its inland location (and still having the wildfire risk too)? Nonetheless I imagine there's a lot to like about Portland.
With SF in particular if a lot of the office buildings will likely never be occupied again due to the major shift to working from home, I would hope much of that now-useless space could be converted to residential buildings and possibly bring down the cost of living a little but it probably wouldn't be enough to really help. I think it's one of the most beautiful cities of the world, not just the US, with others often being compared to it, e.g., like Istanbul sometimes being called the SF of Meditteranean.
