Ahh Portland - the icon city of archinect threads. Use the search button and find the numerous threads about all the other architect bandwagoners heading to that city. Just beware, if you think Portland will be easier on your wallet than Columbus, you've got another thing coming.

portland is a very livable city. the bus system is really good. MAX is good but only runs in limited locations. there are only certain portions of portland i'm guessing you'll want to be. those tend to be more expensive than others but still livable. currently i would classify the job market as hot. many firms are hiring and there's lots of work out there.

i agree with A. i doubt portland is cheaper than columbus.

I thnk i need to rephrase my initial comment, I'm not looking for a place cheaper than columbus, i don't think that is possible.
what i meant was, portland seems a lot cheaper than its west coast neighbors.
thanx for ur feedback.

I recently moved to portland after stints in the midwest and east coast. I love it here. The job market is good and you are right, portland is the cheapest of the west coast big cities

the job market is pretty good right now, you shouldn't have a problem finding a job... what's your experience level?

Portland is an amazing city. It's fairly affordable, great atmosphere, lots to explore and do....
I don't know very much about the job market because I'm not quite there yet in my life but I imagine that you wouldn't have any problem finding jobs.
The public transportation is great.
If you like movies, go to Movie Madness.
Any specific questions about the place? We might be able to help you out.

i've 2 years experience in a good regional office. leaning towards a design oriented career track, leed accrd, software savvy, march.
specific questions,
1. is the city ethnically diverse?
2. i've heard horror stories about the weather, is it really that bad?
3. what r some good offices to explore?

thanx much.

the city, depending on where you live, is not very diverse at all.

the weather isn't that bad. what they call rain, i call drizzle: portland has a few good rains a year, but most of the time, its just weather man hype.

i'm sure you will get your fill of offices to explore if you try out the search.

As a native Portlander, here are a couple things to know.

1. Live on the eastside. The city is not that big so no matter where you live you are close to everything. The eastside is the cheapest and in my opinion the most supercool area the city has to offer. For housing look of of E. 21st street between Glisan and Hawthorne. Lots of good deals and lots of nice places to eat and have fun around there.

2. It does rain a lot. If it didn't I would still be living there. The city is great, minus the dreary winter months.

3. The Portland (P-Town as you will come to find) architecture scene is very busy right now. A little on the conservative side, which I attribute to Portlander's fear of too much change as far as any radical design goes. People there like their buildings to look like they belong in Portland, which is not a bad thing. Check out some of the local bigwig firms like GBD, ZGF, SERA, Ankrom Moison if you want to get into more larger development type of stuff. GBD is probably the busiest right now as they are in cahoots with local developers Gerding Edlen. Those guys are basically rebuilding the city ( Southe Waterfront development, Pearl District, etc). For a bit more cutting edge type of work, check out Skylab, Holst, and Alliedworks. Those guys are doing some fun stuff.

4. Enjoy the outdoors. There is tons to do as far as outdoor activities. Hiking, skiing, windsurfing, rockclimbing, chillin it Washington Park.

5. Lastly, Portland has a great music scene, and it is always really, really cheap to see a show there. Get out to see as many shows as you can, because you will easily be able to afford it.

Ok, thats it. Now I miss Portland a bit. Thanks.

Oh yeah. One more thing.

Get yourself a good Northface jacket. You will need it, and it is what all the cool kids wear in Portland.

haha, Northface is so 1998! All the cool Oregonians rock Mountain Hardware-

Yeah, with two years experience a local firm probably would snap you right up. I have a friend working there that probably would hire you sight unseen as he's trying to hire anyone that isn't a local grad - Oregon/Wash/Cali. (His perogative - don't ask me why.)

The metro region is around same size as Columbus with just around 2m people. The MAX is convenient if you don't want to really explore the city. I think people wrongly assume the place is a mecca of public transit making an auto obsolete. If you are into skiing it's great since Mt. Hood is just down the road, but rarely do you see any flakes inside the city of Portland. It doesn't get hot like Ohio. A day in the 90's is actually rare which many people like. Oh, and as my friends out there would say, yes, Portland is diverse from all the California crap moving up there.

What's with the shoe fetish in Portland – I visited recently and found more than a few shops dealing old-school Nikes and Pumas (but they were displayed like precious artifacts - which was kinda cool). Maybe I happened to run into the only two shops in the city but it did seem a little odd.

Thanx everyone for ur inputs.
I'll explore some of the oppertunities posted on the archinect job board.
in the mean time, keep it coming.

btw, anyone have any first hand experience with Allied Works Architects or BOORA?
Work environment, opportunities, compensation......? their work look cool on the website.

thanx much.