I'm feeling a bit stifled in my city and want to move. My priorities are $1500-2000/mo rent and a path to an affordable house (see: picture), a unionised city workforce, good greenspace with an extensive parks system, good biking infrastructure, a good public university, and a good political scene. That leaves Portland, Minneapolis, Chicago, and maybe an East Coast city I haven't researched yet. Of those, Portland is at the top of my list because I'm getting an ocean for Great Lakes prices.
What's bad about the city that makes people move away? Is there a better option in Oregon, especially one that would let me commute into Portland without whatever problems it has?
A robust urban forest would be amazing. It's the highlight of my city and the big focus of my municipal stewardship, but we're also so dry that we struggle to keep it alive and safe from invasive species that homeowners plant.
If Bull Run gets too low I believe we supplement it with groundwater from a Columbia aquifer. You can tell usually because the water goes from the tastiest water of all time to exceedingly mid.