Would you prefer to live in Vancouver, Seattle or Portland

It actually rains more in the south than it does in the Northwest - the precip is just more frequent in the NW. And yeah - umbrella's ARE weak. Most Oregonians look like they're ready for a boat shift on Deadliest Catch, hoodie or fleece under a rain slicker and a ball cap or a beanie. And that's when it's really raining.

 

This thread reminds me of the hills in Seattle. My friend lives atop one of them. I absolutely hate walking up them.

 

There's a great view at the top of Queen Anne hill (see below) ... but walking down is even worse than climbing up, at least for my knees.

 

Great time to be in Portland this time of year, the annual Rose Festival and the annual clash between Antifa and Patriot's Prayer.
Antifa and Patriot Prayer demonstrators clash in downtown Portland; 4 arrested

 

Seattle city officials cave in to pressure from Amazon and other businesses, repeal construction tax:

About-face: Seattle City Council repeals head tax amid pressure from businesses, referendum threat

I'm not sure how much of a dent this tax could have made in the affordable housing problem, anyway.

 

And the rich get richer...

 

In fairness, Starbucks, Boeing and a lot of other companies were pissed too. Amazon isn’t the only one to blame.

 

Taxing headcount for large employers?
That's not good for the long-term economic health of your city.

 

One story I saw said Seattle was spending $78 million on homelessness this year, up from about $68 million last year. Not exactly an insignificant amount, which makes you wonder what the hell they're spending it on if the problem is getting exponentially worse and also if another $47 million is going to do much except be a starting point for this tax.

 

Not to mention all the money private organizations (YMCA, Salvation Army) and churches spend to help the homeless.

It's a huge problem in a lot of west coast cities, including the three we're discussing in this thread.

 

I’ve been to Seattle a few times now. Homeless camps are common in or near downtown, especially under I-5.

Amazon has lots of highly paid employees who are driving up rents and property prices. So does Microsoft.