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?
Yeah...... unless you are a connoisseur of small batch methamphetamine, it's probably best for you to steer clear of this shit hole. The trades here are all contract work with no benefits, shit pay, and literally no work place safety.
But to be fair, that's quickly becoming all of America unless you actually own your own business that contracts out all their work.