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?
Any time Portland gets anyone left of center in there's a huge backlash and swing back to the right. Our AG used to be a Republican until 2016, for example. The mayor has been doing his best to stop using homeless money on rental assistance and public housing. And of course the local news outlets just put out constant hit pieces.
I've been pretty jealous of Seattle with Sawant and their new mayor.
True but for Portland the new charter is going to be huge, I just think it will take a couple of election cycles to "burn in". The DSAers finally got a foothold and they will only get better with governing experience. Im sure one of them will be mayor material before too long