Would you prefer to live in Vancouver, Seattle or Portland

Love Jackpot and Mississippi Records. Not a huge selection at either, but all of it is damn good. When someone describes a record store as "well curated," Jackpot and Mississippi are what they're talking about. (Mississippi could use better signage, though. Went looking for it and couldn't find it. Almost gave up... when I realized I was literally standing on its doorstep.)

Also a big fan of Music Millennium, which has as good a vinyl selection as any store I've been in. I'd take it over Amoeba in Hollywood.

 

Powell's Books is not what it once was but I love it.

 

@Inky: No one's mentioned Bend yet, thank God!

 

Regarding the original question ... Vancouver is my "favourite" of the three cities, but who knows how anyone can afford to live there. Even the suburbs we went through had sky-high housing costs.

I love to visit all three, but even staying a few days puts a huge dent in the wallet.

 

Agreed. Hard for me to tell if it Powell's or me, though. Amazon and my Kindle have changed the book-buying landscape for he.

 

It has changed mine to. And Powell's had to close their auxiliary store. But I can still spend hours in there or at the Tatter Cover in Denver.

 

Portland is not fully Californicated. You can still see listings for houses in Portland that have two bathrooms for less than 450K. I can't vouch for anything else about the neighborhood or the condition of the but how far out in the Bay area do you have to go to get a house with two bathrooms for less than 700K? Seriously.

 

I can't believe we've been on the same bus.

 

The prices you're quoting would be similar to something in L.A. or San Diego, though. Definitely Sacramento. So I guess not fully Bay Area-ized, but Californicated, yes.

 

Here is the thing about Portland and Seattle, you might think well, I'm okay living 30 minutes away or in an outlying area. If you just like the outdoors? Sure. But if you think the Portland/Seattle "vibe" is everywhere - it isn't. The conservative parts of the state may as well be Alabama. Camouflage is a legitimate "style." Gun shows are family outings. And for a state that has a big agriculture industry, remarkably hostile to immigrants, whether they come from California or further south.

And the biggest problem with housing is the wage scale, which like most places is much lower than California.

 

I almost did!

Or a yurt in the mountains.