Cost of living: overall is cheaper in PDX than Seattle or SF. Property taxes range from insane to reasonable (we pay $2500 a year for a newer house on 0.2 acres). Income tax rate is 9%. No sales tax. As of yesterday, gas was about $4 per gallon in the area. Housing in PDX is reasonable compared to areas like Seattle and definitely compared to the Bay Area or So. Cal.

Rent is so-so. A three bedroom unit will cost you a bit ($1300+). The apartment companies have realized those are money makers and many of them won't quote you a price for rent until you are ready to sign a lease. Not sure about smaller places.

If you are looking to buy, McMansions with 0.14 square foot yards are common on the west side, as are townhouses. The north end is undergoing a renaissance (or massive gentrification, depending on your point of view). There are nice places to be had on the inner east side, but plan on spending some money.

Public transportation system: rocks. You can currently take light rail from the extreme west to the extreme east of the metro area for $2.05. Also from downtown to North Portland and the Airport. They are finishing up the tracks to run along I-205 on the East side. Should be done in a year or so. Lots of buses and most major lines run every 15 minutes. All of the above are accessible for bikes and the operators are very accustomed to it.

Bicycle Friendliness: Portland wins awards for bicycle friendliness and rightfully so. There has been a concerted effort to make cycling a viable option in Portland. Bikes are pretty common, particularly in the inner city. There are a few multi-use paths that become bicycle freeways during commuting hours. I'm not a huge fan of them because I prefer riding on the street, but I know this makes bike commuting viable for a lot of option. Drivers are pretty tolerant of cyclists most of the time but there is always the odd jerk. I've been riding bikes in the area since 1984 and I've never had a major run-in with a motorist.

The area is not particularly flat. Not super hilly but not really flat unless you go to the extreme west end. If you are thinking of living on the west or south side and have a fixie, I'd recommend against it.

Also, Portland has a velodrome with walls banked at 44 degrees. It's a kick in the pants.

Weather: Portland is similar to Seattle. However, it gets more rain per year (46 inches per year for PDX vs. 36 for seattle) but has fewer cloudy days because the marine influence isn't as severe. The reduced marine influence also means more hot days compared to seattle (at least a couple of 100+ days per year in PDX, temps over 85 to 90 are very rare in seattle). Humidity is typically in the 30-60% range. Thunderstorms are uncommon and tornadoes are exceedingly rare. You'll hear about a small funnel cloud from time to time in the valley but that's about it.

The rainy season officially runs from Oct. 1 to May 1. The rains generally start in the second week of October or so and when the rainy season starts/ends, it happens kind of sudden like (within a matter of days). 30 days straight with rain happens about every other year. 30 days straight without rain in the summer happens every few years.

Once in a while the arctic highs come screaming down the gorge in winter and you get several straight days of cold (20-30 degrees, not MN cold) windy days. Also, you get the occasional warm winter storm that can dump a couple of inches of rain in a day or so. Usually one or two a year. If these happen in that order (like in 1996), things get very messy.

People: I grew up in PDX (and am moving back this weekend) so I'm probably a little biased about the people. With that disclaimer, I'll say they tend to be pretty friendly.

People in business are pretty direct. Not quite in-your-face, but definitely not passive aggressive. The west end of town has a large IT sector. For some reason, Portland has a lot of knife manufacturers. Gerber, Leatherman, Columbia River Knife and Tool and Bench Made are all in the Portland area. Also, there is the garment industry. Nike, Columbia, Addidas. There are a few other companies of note. FLIR (IR cameras, etc), Nautilus, Chris King (headsets) and several larger civil engineering firms (CH2M Hill, David Evans and Associates) are in the area.

Schools: The Oregon Community college system is well-developed. There are several around the Portland area. Also, three larger private colleges (Lewis and Clark, Reed and University of Portland) and one public university downtown (Portland State). As mentioned above, public school system is hit or miss. You get what you get.

Good coffee and beer is a way of life. You can't swing a cat in Portland without hitting a decent coffee shop or pub. McMenamin's is a big local outfit with pubs scattered throughout the area. They range from strip mall pubs to a couple of restored establishments that have hotels, spas, etc. Good food and outstanding beer.

Traffic is so-so. People in the area seem to think it's awful, but since I've lived in the Bay Area and Seattle, they don't quite realize how good they have it.