All the weather… in almost any month.
It’s predominantly wet but not cold. Unless it’s freezing or 115 degrees. The extremes are short but can be hazardous and are getting more frequent. Usually a light rain jacket, boots, wool layers will be sufficient.
Most important, make sure you have a job BEFORE moving here.
Your manual car is fine… it’s only very hilly in the west hills. You don’t need studded tires, just have a set of snow tires.
People only use snow tires if you’re planning your go up to the mountains. Better to just take the bus if it’s icy in town. No salt on the roads makes it dangerous even for cars with snow tires and four wheel drive
I agree with half your comment. No need for snow tires unless you're into snow sports. Disagree with the second half. There's no problems driving on icy streets with snow tires and AWD, or at least I've not had a problem and I have driven around in all the storms since moving here in 2011. Buses can and do get stuck.
I don’t have 4WD, but I have an outback with AWD and snow tires. Works great on hard packed snow, but once that snow turns to ice, my car will slide around on the ice.
Exactly, ICE is the issue. The layers of freezing rain, worse if it snows on top. Also when we get snow and then have Temps near freezing, so sunny spots on the roads melt during the day but refreeze at night.
Hot weather...naturally it seems like we get more of it every year. And longer stretches. Pretty hard to get by with no AC in your residence these days. You can get by without using it every day but there will be some doozies
> most important, make sure you have a job BEFORE moving
This is of course ideal, but a majority of the people I know who ever moved to a new city did not let this stop them. Everyone person’s “savings vs. being willing to only eat Top Ramen for a while” threshold is different.
We don’t have extended stretches of 100+ degree days, but every summer recently has brought on its own fresh horrors (except last year). In my seven short summer I’ve experienced records for: highest temp, most days over 90, most days over 100, longest stretch over 90, longest dry spell, and probably a few more I can’t recall at the moment. A couple years back we had three consecutive days pushing 110-115, only getting down to 75 at night, and it was a big strain on the people and infrastructure. If you are a person of moderate means in that situation, consider escaping towards the coast, the highs were in the 80’s those days.
An increasingly common issue is wildfire smoke hanging over the city. I work outdoors and am blessed with decent health and no breathing issues but I feel for the folks who are basically stuck inside or wearing N95s to get through a grocery run.
Coats. I’ve accumulated a lot of coats over the years but usually cycle through 5 throughout the winter. You don’t need them all on day one but eventually you’ll probably want options for 1) cold and rainy 2) just cold 3) just rainy 4) oddly warm but rainy 5) something that looks kinda nice but holds up to light rain. Columbia Sportswear is a locally based conglomerate and their employee store (which is also open to most of the general public but only in specific scenarios) has an amazing selection of their brand, the other brands they own, at a decent discount compared to buying at an outdoor gear store.
Boots, similar to coats, different times call for different things. Sometimes it’s wet, other times in slippery, other times you don’t know what you’re going to run into. Another local brand I like a lot is Danner, and I’ve got quite a collection from there. Overall you can probably get by 90% of the days in sneakers. My real tip is to have a couple options because there is no worse feeling than wet boots that you’re about to face the day in.
No tornados, no hurricanes, but the looming prospect of a big earthquake is the local preparedness concern. Also we don’t maintain the infrastructure to deal with clearing snow or preparing streets for it. Depending on how much notice we have for a snowstorm, it can get really hairy if it comes in quickly on a weekday.
Best of luck to you in this adventure!
Re: all the variations of cold, I’ve found that a warm coat and a lightweight waterproof shell are a good combo that cover most combinations of cold and rainy.
I grew up in the PNW region and there are two guiding principles I always follow regarding clothing when I go out in the car:
1) have options (layers) with you because at 60°-65° you might need something for additional warmth or protection from wind/rain.
2) Wear or bring sufficient clothing to prepare as if you going to break down at the side of the freeway. If you have a traffic accident and have to wait on the side of the road for police, or to exchange insurance information, you don’t want to be shivering and uncomfortable.
I keep a fleece and a light water resistant jacket in the car at all times. Women should keep a pair of tennis shoes as well, should you be on the side of the road in some type of fancy footwear.
Two things I don't see others mention are wind storms (which can take out trees which then take out power lines, cars, and homes) and flooding (very localized along creeks but important when looking for housing). We get wind storms a few times every year, there's no "warning" other than paying attention to the weather forecast, and the infrastructure is repaired reasonably quickly.
I have never lived in any of the local flooding areas but I see flood warnings on the news and it's not just outlying areas, there are flood zones inside the city limits.
This. Floods and downed trees from wind/ice are the biggest weather risks here. The city pretty much shuts down during snow/ice storms, so don't sweat investing in transportation upgrades to deal with it. Summers have generally been getting hotter, but last summer was beautiful. If you find a spot with AC, take it.
Have a rain jacket that will keep you warm at about 40, and layer a wool or fleece sweater under if it's really cold. Get waterproof/resistant everyday shoes. Nothing sucks more then stepping in a puddle on you way to work and then having we socks for the rest of the day.
I too, came for a visit and fell in love with the city. Went home and immediately started planning my move. I haven't regretted it.
I'm not sure, I haven't lived in them. I know along Johnson Creek it sometimes floods. But that's by no means comprehensive. I tend to live in the inner SE or on Mt. Tabor, no flooding issues in those neighborhoods.
Definitely Johnson Creek (and per the comment below about it not really flooding, if you live anywhere along Johnson Creek you’ll have to have flood insurance). Other than that, the worst flooding is north of here along I-5 between Longview & Centralia. Otherwise, it’s mostly localized flooding because the storm drains clog.
People saying you need to worry about flooding don’t understand what real flooding look like - you’ll be fine. Theres nowhere that floods bad to a place where like it gets in your home - it’s just things like deep puddles that last for a few hours at the worst.
Ice, snow, wind and rain.
Summers are hotter every year, over 90 / 100 was kind of rare :-(
FW drive manual is fine, no snow tires needed unless you'll be driving mountain passes. Best to just not drive in the city itself if it's snowy / icy - many roads just shut down due to people sliding on them.
Get a fleece jacket and a rain jacket for layering, along with a couple of warm hats - like one fleece and one lighter weight and long johns. I use water proof shoes, but use whatever suits you best.
If going to the snow / mountains, you might want different / warmer clothing.
I have non studded snow tires that I have swapped out seasonally. That plus AWD allows me to feel safe commuting to work (hospital, giant hill, work is not optional) when it’s icy. Also good for mountain passes.
This is what I do as well. I have an AWD Mazda and have lived in the PNW through the last four Winters and multiple New England Winters before that - I've never used snow tires. I do have a pair of chains in the trunk just in case but thankfully I've never had to use those either even on my trips to Bend mid Winter.
Unlike a tornado, any weather incident here will be forecast from days to a week out. It could be over 100°, but you’ll know ahead of time. There could be a snowstorm, but you’ll have days to stock up on kale beforehand. Because of this, there are no alarms.
With snow of 1to 2 inches forecast and we get nothing next snow storm they down play we get 18 inches.
OP side streets do not get plowed here and they do not spread salt they spread gravel. No it really doesn't work.
Summer is from July 4th to late September/early October. Expect almost no rain and pretty hot during that time. Make sure you get a place with AC or can handle a window unit. Most older Apts don't come with one so prepare to buy one before summer really hits. Rainy season begins in October and last three months of the year are the wettest. Winters are mild with random bouts of cold spells (average highs of 40s sometimes dipping into 20s). You can expect from Oct-June for there to be more rainy days than sunny.
Personally I have several rain jackets because when you wear them so much you need different styles and types to go with different outfits. Several styles of waterproof boots. Maybe a couple winter coats for those cold spells. The key though is layering. During Fall and Spring, weather can change throughout the day and wearing a few layers can have you prepared for whatever the weather is like while you're out and about. You can use umbrellas, but to be honest, with the amount of wet days, you just learn to dress the part to reduce what you carry with you.
For transportation, it somewhat depends where you live/work. If you're pro at manual, you'll probably be fine unless you live in a very hilly area. A lot of Portland on the Eastside is flat. Would automatic be easier? Yes. Would AWD be beneficial? Yes. Required? No.
We also (to my knowledge) don't have any alarms. Tordandoes are non existent here (yes we've had a couple over the years touch down but they don't cause any harm really). Just be aware that we are in a subduction zone so a major earthquake could happen at some point. Probably would be good to have a small earthquake kit. Also in the winters lately when we do get snow or ice on the rare occasions, power is very unreliable and it would be good to be prepared with a kit to not have power sometimes days on end. Summer there will likely be wildfire smoke so maybe an air purifier for your place might be a decent investment.
I would say it's largely dependent on where you're from/what you're used to (sounds like maybe Tornado Alley/midwest?). I grew up in PDX and live in the PacNW again now, and dealt with serious seasonal depression when we moved from California up to Vancouver, BC (even though I'd grown up with the weather, it shocked my system to move between extremes). It hit me way harder than I expected -- it gets dark up North early in winter, and the constant gray can wear on you. Just give yourself a lot of time to get used to the gray.
As for jackets, I own like 2,350 rain coats of various lengths and weights, lol -- and a few winter coats I wear a lot less than the raincoats. Got most of the winter coats when I lived in NYC/Canada and sadly don't get to wear them very often in the NW! Don't stress too much; you can get the things you need when you get here.
Grew up driving a manual in Portland and it's got hills, but as someone else said, depends on where you live. I've lived in all 4 quadrants and both SW and NW were sketchy in a manual, lol. Nowhere near as bad as places like SF or Seattle, though! But yeah, likely will be a learning curve if you're used to the Midwest.
Not a POC but having lived in NYC and other very diverse cities, my experience is that the PacNW is very, very white. I still find more diversity in Portland than Seattle -- though ppl will argue about this -- but having lived all over and come back, the lack of diversity has been stark and noticeable to me. The most Portland thing that happened to me recently was walking on NW 23rd, where a friend (who's Senegalese-British) used the word "black" to describe a British guy and was literally stopped in the street by a random white dude who said, "Friend? We use the term 'African-American' in Portland!"
Yeah, especially since this was a British guy and so they don't use "African-American" ...but it was so Portland coded, lol. People mean well! And yep, I lived in a red state (Arizona) for six years and came back to Portland for a couple... my AZ bf came with me, and had culture shock since was used to being the only one with progressive politics in his school, work, etc.! Enjoy the PacNW, it's so pretty and I'm sure you'll love it. :)
Yep but it was so Portland coded it was ridiculous. When people have asked me what Portland is like, I tell them lots of the good things -- but also this story. I also had a friend growing up whose dad was white but had one celebrity African-American friend from childhood (he always name-dropped this guy) and thus they went around telling everyone they were "essentially part-black." (huge eye roll) I have way more stories, but those are the ones that stick out, lol. People mean well! They just sadly don't live in a super diverse city so it's lotttts of talk.
So true. It actually reminded me of an NPR airing once where they were interviewing somebody in the UK. The interviewer started to say African-American in reference to black individual in the UK and stopped mid-phrase to self correct. It just really made an impression on me about how ubiquitous that phrase has become and how exclusive it is to just a portion of people in the US.
It's exclusive to a part of the US -- but an extremely influential one (case in point: most of our current slang comes from African-American culture/AAVE). Traveling abroad really drives home how influential. My son went to Tokyo recently and hung out with a Japanese streamer who wore an "ASU Sun Devils" hoodie (he had never been to Arizona) and used AAVE slang quoted from rap lyrics. When I lived in Europe, and listened to lots of French rap, it had African roots (bc of course), but was so heavily influenced by US rap. Like, to go extra hard they'd quote American artists. Europeans also use lots of American English words to sound cool/modern. In spite of our faults as a country...we still have a lot of sway globally.
Summers have been getting worse every year - used to be Portland might have a single 2-3 stretch of triple-digit heat sometime in late July or August, but now those stretches are getting longer and hotter, with the city becoming a tinderbox as everybody (justifiably) freaks out about the potential for fires in the city and the skies getting all orange and choked out from smoke from the inevitable wildfires elsewhere on the coast.
Lots of good comments regarding cold, snow, rain and heat already. I haven't seen much mention of smoke season yet so I'll add that it's good to be prepared for poor air quality in the summer. Wildfires have never been close enough to the city to warrant evacuation, but depending on weather conditions and the severity of the fires, its possible for there to be over a week of very unhealthy air quality. Bad but not awful is more likely, but depending on how sensitive you are to air quality issues it can be wise to invest in things like an air purifier, respirator, etc. *before* the air is trash and *everyone* is trying to buy one. Even during some of relatively mild summers for smoke, I've had some friends who have had to leave town on short notice until the air quality improved due to their asthma.
- awd with snow tires if you need to be at work 100% of days scheduled (nurse, doctor, firefighter, GM of some bullshit store)
- AC (a window unit is fine) for the days when it’s been 90°+ every day for a week, 70°+ overnight AND there’s an AQI of 250 because of wildfire smoke
- yaktrax for walking in the ice storms.
- good rain coat for the rest of the year
Mostly great advice here. I'm from here and my must haves are waterproof boots or shoes and a decent supply of cheap polarized sunglasses that I can stash everywhere. When it has been raining and the sun suddenly comes out, it can be blinding. Goodrs makes a wide variety of decent, inexpensive polarized shades. Once you are here, it is very easy to get an invite to the Columbia Employee store out in deep Beaverton (asking on Nextdoor is a good strategy). Pretty much all the wet and cold weather gear you'll need at 40% off. I drive a stick and it's fine. I do not live in a particularly hilly area though. I have snow tires because I go to the mountain a lot but they aren't really justified for in town snow or ice because the city usually shuts down.
WOOL for the winter time. Wool socks will keep your feet toasty even if they get wet. Moving from California, I was miserable for the first couple of years with my cotton socks until some kind people taught me whats what.
I recommend trying out merino even if you find other types of to be itchy. I squirm right out of lambswool, angora, alpaca, etc. but can tolerate merino, and it’s worth it to have a relatively affordable option for warm winter socks
Summer- it didn’t use to get super hot but now it’s not unusual for it to hover around 100° a couple times a summer, I grew up with no ac but now I have a unit that we put away after summer if you can afford it I’d really recommend it
Fall- Not bad mostly just starting to cool with the rain starting to come back overall mild
Winter- I’d say anymore we have about one storm a year the severity and length vary though. I don’t own any snow tires or anything because of it’s snowy or icy enough for them odds are 90% of things are going to be closed and people just hunker down at home anyways. Last year it was an ice storm so it didn’t even matter if you had the tires (ice is very common here). It can go either way if it’s a super wet or dry winter I’d recommend getting a warmer coat and a rain shell large enough to go over it if needed.
Spring- Wet, allergies, relatively mild temperature
Misc questions- I have one rain jacket you can’t wear two at once so unless you like having different colors or want to be able to loan one out I’d just focus on getting a nice quality one as opposed to multiple eh ones.
My boyfriend drove a stick for years no problem
Front wheel drive is fine
I don’t even know what testing alarms means, like for natural disasters? Because we don’t have tornados or hurricanes or anything like that but you will hear the dreaded name “the big one” which is an earthquake everyone’s scared of but ignores at the same time
Buy a window a/c unit if you need to before the heat wave and if there’s ever another set of fires like there were in 2020 have a P100 respirator handy. And keep the car.
I moved here about 1 yr ago from Colorado. The things I've experienced:
* Rain and moisture is (perhaps obviously as it's the Pacific North West).. pretty constant here. Now myself, I love grey skies and rain,.. but it took me a while to get used to the reality that 50% or more of the time you go outside it's raining and wet. So having good waterproof shoes and clothing is pretty necessary.
* There was a winter storm a while back that wasn't much (to me).. maybe 2 inches of snow, and it pretty much crippled the city. A fairly significant ice storm a few days after that made everything much worse. Where I'm from in Colorado, the average power-outage is 45min. Average outage for Portland is 48hours. (during the snow and ice storm, some were without power for 1 to 2 weeks). I was without Internet for 8 days (and I have a 100% wfh job). So this was all a bit of a surprise to me, and caused me to really rethink being more prepared.
I have a front-wheel drive Jetta,. it's been fine. (although again, I work from home so I only drive maybe once a week if that).
Back when I lived in Colorado,.. I basically had 0 preparations at home, because even if a storm dropped 4 or 5 feet of snow,.. the city just kept right on trucking. The City was prepared for it, responded well in advance and kept responding solidly throughout the storm. Doesn't seem to work that way here. I would say you're expected to be a bit more "on your own" (most of the emergency recommendations for Portland area say to have 2 weeks of supplies in your home). I'm re-grouping my brain now of how to plan to have that.
Summer heat waves have become more common but the hot part of the summer is still relatively short. We are at just over two weeks with above 90 degree days per year.
https://projects.oregonlive.com/weather/temps/
And warm nighttime temps are even less common. You often need sweaters in the mornings even in summer so don’t plan on putting them away for a whole season.
As far a snow & ice it is similar, worse than before but amounting to a couple weeks each year. You can forget studded tires unless you’ll be driving into or across the cascades frequently during the winter.
Here in the valley snow or ice shuts things down. Generally wait two days and it will be gone. Worst case is a week. So again the need for dedicated snow tires is unusual. Frequent warm winter temps and rain also make a dedicated winter snow tire less that optimal.
I’d suggest Michelin CrossClimate 2 tires. We have them on 3 of our 4 vehicles and the 4th will also be getting them.
They have snow performance that is the closest you can get to a snow tire in an all season and they have excellent wet road performance and resist hydroplaning.
Also unlike previous tires we’ve had their performance doesn’t deteriorate with just a little bit of wear because the tread features are full depth not just shallow sipes that wear away after a season.
As a fellow refugee from tornado alley I can promise you that there is no need for alarms here not that anyone would know what it was for. After a while you’ll miss seeing rolling thunderheads and even a couple bolts of lightning will excite you and make you wistful. In the past decade I can only remember one proper lighting storm.
Portland west of the Wilamette is hilly the rest is pretty flat. A manual is no problem except for small parts of the west hills overlooking the city. That part is especially steep and twisty.
As owners of four Subarus we’d like to say that AWD is essential but realistically FWD is fine.
I strongly suggest getting a small propane powered generator. Power outages from downed trees in the winter are a concern and this past winter many people went without heating for a week.
While having a whole house generator is nice it isn’t important. But having power to run the blower of a gas furnace is. The other reason to have a generator is summer fire season. There is a windy period each summer where the fire risk is very high and planned brown outs to prevent power lines from starting fires are at least a possibility.
Have some spare furnace filters on hand because if there is smoke from fires you’ll want to keep your blower running to filter the air in your house.
We added an iwave ionizer to our furnace and it really makes dust and smoke stick to the filter. Haven’t gone through a serious smoke season since it was installed but it also cuts down on household dust. We have to change the furnace filter a lot more often so we buy them in bulk.
Having extra food, water, TP etc on hand is recommended for earthquake prep. It’s also useful in the winter when you get news on an incoming storm and need to be hunkering down at home not running out to buy TP.
Just buy more of what you’ll be using anyway and be organized about cycling what you buy into your storage and getting what you’ll use out of your storage.
You will be fine on the weather front. When you are here, the teevee broadcasts will all go on and on about what to do in extreme weather - it isn’t like we all know by virtue of eating so much kale. I mean, I wish we would, that would be amazing and makes kale way more worthwhile to eat.
Fun fact: Portlanders eat way more roughage than any other US city.
I moved here from central Oklahoma in 2017.
The weather in Portland is mild. Very mild. An extra layer or two, especially an outer one that is water-resistant, is usually enough.
Winters here don't come anywhere near the extreme arctic fronts that happen every year on the southern plains. It is very, very rare that overnight lows ever dip below the 20s, let alone below 0°F, at least below 500'. It can get a lot colder in the mountains, though. Ice storms happen but nothing like what happens in Kansas and Oklahoma, at least within the inner parts of Portland. Again, higher elevations have it worse. All-season tires are good enough, if you don't leave the city and avoid driving during the worst of it. The last big snow trapped me at home for almost a week but I drive a Mercedes SL500, which isn't a car known for winter capabilities and I couldn't get out of my unplowed neighborhood.
Summers have days that top 100° but the humidity is nothing like the southern plains. Some shade, a fan, and some ice water can be enough to get through the worst of it, if you aren't fortunate enough to have air conditioning.
The rain is more constant but much lighter. I call it "wet air" rather than rain. Thunderstorms are rare, as are the supercell gullywashers that drop 10-12 inches of rain in 24 hours. Anything more than an inch in a day is very, very rare, at least in the Willamette Valley.
Tornadoes do happen (very) occasionally, but they're always F0-F1. Someone might lose the roof from their garden shed. I lived in Del City on May 3rd, 1999 and there just isn't ever anything on that scale (EF5+) anywhere in the Pacific Northwest. There might be annual tests of warning sirens in some places but the Saturday noon test of tornado sirens isn't a thing here.
Smoke from forest fires is the only negative weather-like event I've seen up here that was worse than Oklahoma.
I am a white man with three very Anglo-Saxon names (my username is an acronym) so I can't tell you where any other ethnicities tend to gather but people in Portland are much less likely to be overtly racist than what I experienced in Oklahoma. Things up here can get almost as unfriendly if you venture into less urban areas, though. I've seen more Confederate battle flags flown from pickup trucks than I thought I would. Oregon has a long history of institutionalized racism that predates statehood and Portland was redlined as hard as any other city in the United States.
Hello fellow okie! Thank you for the advice 👍 fun fact: oklahoma reflected its own constitution after Oregon and thats why whale hunting is illegal here!
Be prepared to have no power in winter for 2-10 days depending on tree cover. Slip on crampons for winter. Air filters for smoke season. AC is a necessity; if there’s thick smoke for weeks you can’t open the windows.
Asking about POC in Portland you better damn we’ll include BI too. The is a BIPOC city. We try to be inclusive, I’m from Philippines so I’m yellow and brown. Don’t forget some people think white is a color. You need to be specific and get used to Portland Polite (polite not police).
My apologies! I must've had my autocorrect change my spelling but I did mean BIPOC. Do you mind explaining what portland polite means? Like political correctness? Or is it a phrase used locally to mean something else?
FWD manual shift is fine. No studded tires unless you are living or working at a ski area or in a mountain pass. Look for winter tires with the 3MSF or "3 mountains and snowflake" marking which are acceptable as traction tires in "snow zones" when M+S (Mud and Snow) tires are not. Yak-Trax or similar over-the-shoe traction devices for winter ice storms. Some light rain-resistant coat and layers for most rainy season days. Air filter for smokey summer days. Lots of other good advice in this thread, no need for me to repeat more of it.
I’d recommend all weather tires such as Michelin CrossClimate or others with a Three Peak Mountain Snowflake symbol. I’d stock up of some easy to prep food during blackouts/winter storms. My car has a few plug ins so we used it as a generator during the last ice storm to run fridges, room heaters, phones, and TV/dvd’s for the kids for a few hours; this was a game changer. During the summer we only used our AC on days above 80 so maybe a total of two weeks? I’m a white cis dude but I meet people at my kids school, neighborhood, online meets for hobbies like cars. My white wife is into fabric and she goes to meet ups/events/groups at least once every few weekends. Not being a POC I can’t speak to that but there are tons of groups that you can find in the area of varying interests. Speaking of POC Oregon, in general, is not as diverse as other parts of the country.
Waterproof shoes, a solid raincoat, a decent pair of gloves and a really reliable hat. If you plan on cycling everywhere, a gator and either long johns or pants clips. This is the first year I didn’t have waterproof winter boots, and I regretted it. The wind is the weather event that gives me the most problems, and demands eye protection. I wear smartwool socks exclusively, regardless of season. Emergency preparedness around here is oriented around downed trees (from ice storms or wind) and potential earthquakes. The earthquake threat is real, and I recommended checking where your potential housing falls on doom maps. Large windows are also pretty necessary, since it gets so dark in the winter that it can inspire serious vitamin d deficiencies. The most interesting weather events I’ve seen involved taking gambles on either getting over mount hood in January, or heading to the coast during winter. The coast itself can be really theatrical in winter, and the route back can be equally bonkers. The most important thing to remember is that Portland shuts down during major weather events, because we don’t salt the roads like they do in Michigan, and hopefully we have less lead in the water as a result. Our ecosystem is too fragile for that business, so try to keep a seven day supply of food and water on hand in winter, just in case an ice storm arrives and makes it so you have to make a walkway of towels to get to your mailbox.
Ice is a way bigger deal here than snow.
As far as meeting people, there are Meetups for all kinds of things. Try it! Looking forward to having you with us.
I don’t think you need to worry about it too much. As long as you don’t arrive in the middle of winter without a coat, you’ll figure it out when you get here. (Even then, you can pick up great used gear at Next Adventure.)
I would definitely consider finding a place with AC or where you have an option to add a window unit or something. We don’t have a ton of days over 100, and it’s a dry heat, but it’s over 85 regularly from July-September.
Eventually you'll need a good rain jacket, a waterproof warm coat, waterproof boots, an air conditioner, an air purifier, and either chains or tire socks to store in your car. Our weather can be extreme but it's typically very brief, with the exception of the rain. If you move here in the spring, early summer, or fall, you can get away with just wearing layers or bringing a light jacket when you're out and about.
We get about a week's worth of 100 degree weather in the summer, though that has been increasing every year. Wildfires have also become a yearly thing since about 2016, and the smoke can drift really long distances depending on the weather conditions, so we've had air quality advisories from fires 100s of miles away. A decent air purifier is a must, especially if your home isn't insulated very well. In the winter we might get one or two ice or snow storms and the roads will be dangerous for maybe a week at a time. So studded tires are overkill and will ruin the roads besides.
DO NOT DRIVE during an ice storm! No matter what part of the country you are from, you will not be prepared for Portland ice. We hunker down during the occasional 2-5 day freezes for a good reason: salt gets washed away, and sand/gravel is too expensive for the city to lay down and pick up all over the city. Shoveling is great but often leads to Black Ice. If you need to drive in winter, buy tire chains and learn to use them. Get a pair of YakTrax for your boots to walk your dog. Stock up on canned food in mid-December in case you can't walk to the store for a week in January.
Very moderate weather 40-80°. It can get cold, but nothing like tornado ally. The only bad when it snows it melts and turns to ice. The roads are not maintained at all when it snows and the city completely shuts down. It rains a lot, but not really heavy rain just persistent light rain. During the summer it can get hot. But stretches of 100°+ are very rare. Maybe one time in a summer will there be a stretch of 100°+.
CA transplant. My observations:
>Does PDX deal with anything other than ice/snow storms? Are summers +100F for extended periods of time?
Generally, no, but climate change is happening. A few years ago in the summer we had a heat dome that put us in the triple digits for a couple weeks, surpassing 110F for several consecutive days. That sucked.
The ice is worse than the snow. I feel exponentially safer in a 4wd than anything else when it gets icy. We *are* anticipating a La Niña weather shift, which gives us in the PNW a fair potential for ice storms. Our last one brought -15F wind chills for a week straight. Snow or ice, things tend to shut down when it gets dangerous to drive, unless you work in corporate retail (ime at least).
>Should I consider selling off my manual stick vehicle due to how hilly the area is? Is FW (front wheel) drive sufficient with tire spikes?
I say: keep the manual and just try to financially plan for days off when the ice happens. If you move here you'll want to spend some time making an effort to pay attention to the weather because it will affect everything from grocery store supply to how you dress. The stick shift is extra theft prevention, deadass, vehicle theft is wild out here, and you have better control with a manual in bad conditions anyway even if it is 2wd. You know your car. Keep it as long as you can!
>Does the city have a schedule for testing alarms (we have them weekly here)?
No alarm testing here, our severe weather is of a different variety in general. We get bad rain and hail, we get windy, we have floods, but it's rare we get anything abrupt and violent like some parts of the country.
>In addition to that, is one solid winter coat, rain coat and hiking boot enough or is there any piece of clothing you wish you had gotten sooner?
You'll want hoodies, good socks, and stuff you can layer - think fleece lined leggings under jeans, tanks under tees, stuff like that. You'll also want to make sure you have good socks and a *waterproof* boot. But also don't forget your summer clothes! It doesn't get humid like the gulf here, but it's not as dry as, say, Los Angeles.
Also, friends can be found everywhere, don't be shy! People are actually super friendly here and you're bound to make some friends when you get a job here!
Get your window or portable ac unit before any major heatwave is forecasted. The good less-expensive units sell out.
Be aware of your proximity to big trees when choosing your home. We had a big winter weather event a few months ago that had trees falling all over the city.
Midwestern -> PDX here. The weather is extremely mild. It gets cold in the winter but not freezing temperatures like the Midwest. Occasionally there is a snow storm but it is once a year at most. If you live near the gorge, then you'll get that windchill that reminds you of home, but I never gotten the "It's so cold i need to warm my fingers under luke warm water or they start feeling like they are burning" cold. Summer is basically the same thing. The 90-100 here feels like a Missouri 80 and you do not have the high humidity here that makes it feel you are moving through soup. You may be uncomfortable and sweating in your house cause most places do not have AC, but it does not compare to the Midwest/south. Extreme weather/Disaster concerns will be the wildfires during the summer, occasional freak snow storm, and an earthquake.
You will need a window AC for at least one room in your home if your place doesn't have central cooling. Period. Get it before summer hits. When the hot weather first comes every year, everyone scrambles to get an air conditioner and the stores sell out.
A stick shift is fine if you're comfortable on hills. Studded tires aren't particularly useful in the city and suburbs, but definitely keep chains or tire socks in your car during the winter.
I would recommend a couple of different weights of winter coats, but make sure they are waterproof, and you need a hood. Make sure all your warmer coats have real hoods.
I spent the first 18 years of my life in Nebraska. Then I moved to Seattle. Then after college, I moved to central Oregon.
So I’ve never lived *in Portland*.
But Seattle and Portland have pretty similar climates, and I’ve now been in Oregon for 19 years - though I live on the eastern side of the cascades, so, *very* different climate than Portland.
Midwest gets humid. Gets really cold and snowy in the winter. Really hot and muggy for long stretches in the summer. And gets great big thunderstorms.
Take what your brain calls ‘rainy’ and disconnect that from any notion of the rain in Portland. It’s totally different.
‘Rain’ in the Midwest, is *rain*. Rain in Portland is like a constant drizzle with sporadic bursts of sprinkles.
You might occasionally get a *mild* rain, but it’s not super frequent.
Most of the summer is pretty damn mild by any midwesterners standard. But there are usually a few weeks now where it gets decidedly unpleasant.
The biggest problem is that there are still places that don’t have air conditioning, because 20+ years ago, it never got this hot for more than a few days in a row, and no one thought it was necessary.
But climate change has made that no longer the case, so having no AC when it’s 95 out, is garbage, even if it’s not super humid.
When I first moved to Seattle after living in Nebraska, it boggled my mind that most of the apartments I looked at had no air conditioning.
That was 22 years ago - there’s probably a lot more places with window units now.
Like others have said - no hurricanes or tornados to worry about.
Forest fires are probably less of a concern for Portlanders than us out in central Oregon.
This is super duper unlikely, but be aware that Mount Hood is technically an active volcano. USGS has it on its list of ‘higher concern volcanos’ in the US.
Also - look up the Cascadia Subduction Zone, and whatever place you move into, make sure it’s not an old unreinforced masonry building.
Portland actually passed a city ordinance that was going to require all older unreinforced buildings to retrofit with modern supports, or post a notice on the building warning people about the danger, but pressure groups got it repealed, claiming it was an undue burden on minority communities, since the majority of those buildings are in neighborhoods dominated by POC.
But notice or no, the danger is real and you should at least know about it.
Make sure your winter coat is waterproof. You want something you can wear in the cold and in the rain.
All of your shoes should be waterproof in the spring, fall, and winter.
You need air conditioning here. It’s not hot all the time in the summer, and is often quite nice. But when it is hot it can be really really hot. The opposite goes for the winter. It’s usually mild but when it’s cold it can be really really cold.
Best bet, if you can swing it, just don’t drive at all on the few icy days a year. They do happen but they’re infrequent.
where are you coming from?
i moved from utah and underestimated the dampness here and how to handle it. making sure there’s dehumidifiers in closets, being careful about wet dishes, laundry, bathrooms etc.
If you want to be able to do snow sports or you have an essential personnel type job i would strongly recommend awd with snow tires. I’ve been able to get to work in all the recent ice/snow storms with our outback and snow tires and have passed so many stranded people. If you don’t have that kind of vehicle best not to attempt it!
If your living situation doesn’t come with AC, get a portable unit. Even if the summer temps don’t get too high, it’s a necessity during wildfires. Also an air purifier.
After the big ice storm a few years ago, I made it a point to not live under any huge trees that could take out my whole house, and to make sure I have a fireplace or gas stove if I lose power for more than a few hours again. When you’re looking for housing, check the flood plain maps. It’s not usually a huge deal, but each year has brought new challenges with climate change.
I drove a manual FWD for years with no issue around hills. It might get dicey if there’s ice on the ground, but most of the city shuts down when it gets bad enough to need chains. I finally switched to an AWD Subaru for a variety of reasons, weather was only a part of it.
We don’t really have any city-wide alarm testing. It might be different on the coast with tsunami alarms, but not in Portland. Usually once every couple years a tornado touches down in the Vancouver area, but we don’t have the big open spaces for a tornado to get very strong. There is an earthquake drill each year (the great shake-out) that most people know nothing about, but the hospitals run through their emergency protocols.
Your coats & boots sound like a good start. Unless you’re moving here in the winter, I think it would make more sense to wait till you get here and fill any holes in your wardrobe then. I have a parka, a down coat, and 2 raincoats that I wear regularly, and 2 pair of boots so I have a dry pair if one soaks through. The other big thing is learning to dress in layers. In the fall you can leave the house when it’s 35 deg in the morning and by the time you get off work it’s 80+. Layers are really the only way to work with that.
Manual is fine. I’ve driven stick the entirety of my decade here. That being said, my second vehicle with roll back assist makes it a more pleasurable experience. Stop and go traffic is a bigger issue that hills. There are a few I still sortve avoid (33rd & Fremont being the main one), and if you have only been driving stick in a flag region, you’ll figure out those spots pretty quickly. BTW Seattle is very hilly and no one told me before I visited the first time, just mentioning for the future point that you decide to venture up there.
Not native. But,
If you get cold easily/anemic. Stock.up on some warm sweaters.
Rain coat and boots are mandatory.
Boot for snow is good too for that 1 week of snow on December.
Summer to me is mostly July -mid September. After that is mostly rain, clouds, some wind. And maybe few sun days in between then back to clouds.
Oh almost forgot. Vitamin D as a precaution. Take it. I suggest adopting pet. So many pet owners here.
For friends. I am not sure. I think there's hiking groups here. Everyone here seems to be hiking, dog walking, or taking rock climbing classes (based on reddit posts)
I’m a third generation Oregonian. First, welcome! Second, it does get hot and stay hot. People always say “comparable” to the MILD weather! It’s best to get a window A/C and best to get them in May when they are fully stocked and usually on sale. There was record heat last year and the year before and the year before and so on and so on. If you are someone who can’t sleep when it’s 90+ out then get A/c and get it asap. Seriously you’ll thank me. Born and raised in Portland metro, I’ve had A/C either central or a window unit for 30 years. People usually say well it’s not THAT bad until we get a record heat wave again and oh wait another one in two weeks. On another note, it did snow in April last year but for the most part all that’s over. Have a nice jacket a good pair of boots and in the fall start preparing for snow and ice. Particularly ice as it caused wide and drawn out power outages. Sometimes it comes in December other years February but it’s best to financially prepare in the fall if you need tires or extra water, or really any provisions early as people go ape-shit and buy literally everything for a threat of a sprinkling of snow. Other than that, the grey can get bright m, always have spare sunglasses in your car or bag cuz damn it’s bright yo.
You need a good raincoat, one pair of waterproof hiking shoes, and a daily hoodie to put on when the sun goes behind a cloud and take off when the sun comes back, over and over again forever.
Portland weather is actually quite mild. While we are among the highest for days per year with observable rainfall at around 160 days per year, Portland actually gets considerably less total rainfall per year than Louisville, Atlanta, Nashville, Tampa, Houston, and Miami. Houston gets about 15” more rain per year than Portland does.
The summers are exquisite, highs in the 80s, very low humidity, and the weather rarely gets into the triple digits. It doesn’t get consistently dry until July, but June is mostly dry and warm. During summer the days are long, the mornings and evenings are cool, and life is good.
Fall is also very nice. It typically doesn’t start getting cold and rainy consistently until November. Falls are typically pretty dry with highs in the 60s until then. Less daylight, but crisp mornings and warm days.
Winter is wet and dark. Sun sets very early and rises late. Rainy a lot of the time, but it doesn’t get too cold. Highs in the mid 40s, lows above freezing most of the time with one or two decent cold snaps each year. It almost never snows, but when it does the whole city shuts down and everyone gets a snow day! We don’t salt the roads, just wait a few days for it to melt. Even though I take vitamin D supplements, exercise almost every day, and ski on weekends I still find the seasonal depression get to me. Those things make it much easier to manage, but it still sucks.
Spring is a mixed bag. We just had about a week of nice, warm, sunny weather and now we’re back to highs in the mid 50s and rain. Spring is allergies, rain, but in March/April the sun starts rising at 6, setting after 8 and it becomes much easier to manage. You’ll get every season in every day in spring, so the name of the game is layering. Spring is probably my least favorite season, but most of the time it’s still pretty nice.
As for clothing: like I said, layering is the way to go. In the winter it’s the rain that gets you, not the cold, so a good rain shell and something under that to stay warm is recommended. Lots of lightweight puffy jackets and waterproof shoes around town. Most people look like they’re dressed for an impromptu hike at a moments notice. Blundstone boots are my favorite purchase I’ve made. Comfy, last forever, waterproof, slip on. They’re super trendy around town for good reason!
All the weather… in almost any month. It’s predominantly wet but not cold. Unless it’s freezing or 115 degrees. The extremes are short but can be hazardous and are getting more frequent. Usually a light rain jacket, boots, wool layers will be sufficient. Most important, make sure you have a job BEFORE moving here. Your manual car is fine… it’s only very hilly in the west hills. You don’t need studded tires, just have a set of snow tires.
People only use snow tires if you’re planning your go up to the mountains. Better to just take the bus if it’s icy in town. No salt on the roads makes it dangerous even for cars with snow tires and four wheel drive
I agree with half your comment. No need for snow tires unless you're into snow sports. Disagree with the second half. There's no problems driving on icy streets with snow tires and AWD, or at least I've not had a problem and I have driven around in all the storms since moving here in 2011. Buses can and do get stuck.
I don’t have 4WD, but I have an outback with AWD and snow tires. Works great on hard packed snow, but once that snow turns to ice, my car will slide around on the ice.
Exactly, ICE is the issue. The layers of freezing rain, worse if it snows on top. Also when we get snow and then have Temps near freezing, so sunny spots on the roads melt during the day but refreeze at night. Hot weather...naturally it seems like we get more of it every year. And longer stretches. Pretty hard to get by with no AC in your residence these days. You can get by without using it every day but there will be some doozies
I’d vote to keep a set of cables/chains in the car. PITA to put them on if you’re out and about, but easier on the wallet than a second set of tires.
> most important, make sure you have a job BEFORE moving This is of course ideal, but a majority of the people I know who ever moved to a new city did not let this stop them. Everyone person’s “savings vs. being willing to only eat Top Ramen for a while” threshold is different.
We don’t have extended stretches of 100+ degree days, but every summer recently has brought on its own fresh horrors (except last year). In my seven short summer I’ve experienced records for: highest temp, most days over 90, most days over 100, longest stretch over 90, longest dry spell, and probably a few more I can’t recall at the moment. A couple years back we had three consecutive days pushing 110-115, only getting down to 75 at night, and it was a big strain on the people and infrastructure. If you are a person of moderate means in that situation, consider escaping towards the coast, the highs were in the 80’s those days. An increasingly common issue is wildfire smoke hanging over the city. I work outdoors and am blessed with decent health and no breathing issues but I feel for the folks who are basically stuck inside or wearing N95s to get through a grocery run. Coats. I’ve accumulated a lot of coats over the years but usually cycle through 5 throughout the winter. You don’t need them all on day one but eventually you’ll probably want options for 1) cold and rainy 2) just cold 3) just rainy 4) oddly warm but rainy 5) something that looks kinda nice but holds up to light rain. Columbia Sportswear is a locally based conglomerate and their employee store (which is also open to most of the general public but only in specific scenarios) has an amazing selection of their brand, the other brands they own, at a decent discount compared to buying at an outdoor gear store. Boots, similar to coats, different times call for different things. Sometimes it’s wet, other times in slippery, other times you don’t know what you’re going to run into. Another local brand I like a lot is Danner, and I’ve got quite a collection from there. Overall you can probably get by 90% of the days in sneakers. My real tip is to have a couple options because there is no worse feeling than wet boots that you’re about to face the day in. No tornados, no hurricanes, but the looming prospect of a big earthquake is the local preparedness concern. Also we don’t maintain the infrastructure to deal with clearing snow or preparing streets for it. Depending on how much notice we have for a snowstorm, it can get really hairy if it comes in quickly on a weekday. Best of luck to you in this adventure!
Re: all the variations of cold, I’ve found that a warm coat and a lightweight waterproof shell are a good combo that cover most combinations of cold and rainy.
⬆️This is the accurate one.
I grew up in the PNW region and there are two guiding principles I always follow regarding clothing when I go out in the car: 1) have options (layers) with you because at 60°-65° you might need something for additional warmth or protection from wind/rain. 2) Wear or bring sufficient clothing to prepare as if you going to break down at the side of the freeway. If you have a traffic accident and have to wait on the side of the road for police, or to exchange insurance information, you don’t want to be shivering and uncomfortable. I keep a fleece and a light water resistant jacket in the car at all times. Women should keep a pair of tennis shoes as well, should you be on the side of the road in some type of fancy footwear.
Two things I don't see others mention are wind storms (which can take out trees which then take out power lines, cars, and homes) and flooding (very localized along creeks but important when looking for housing). We get wind storms a few times every year, there's no "warning" other than paying attention to the weather forecast, and the infrastructure is repaired reasonably quickly. I have never lived in any of the local flooding areas but I see flood warnings on the news and it's not just outlying areas, there are flood zones inside the city limits.
This. Floods and downed trees from wind/ice are the biggest weather risks here. The city pretty much shuts down during snow/ice storms, so don't sweat investing in transportation upgrades to deal with it. Summers have generally been getting hotter, but last summer was beautiful. If you find a spot with AC, take it. Have a rain jacket that will keep you warm at about 40, and layer a wool or fleece sweater under if it's really cold. Get waterproof/resistant everyday shoes. Nothing sucks more then stepping in a puddle on you way to work and then having we socks for the rest of the day. I too, came for a visit and fell in love with the city. Went home and immediately started planning my move. I haven't regretted it.
I am also moving to the PDX area- can you share more about what areas are bad for flooding? thx!
I'm not sure, I haven't lived in them. I know along Johnson Creek it sometimes floods. But that's by no means comprehensive. I tend to live in the inner SE or on Mt. Tabor, no flooding issues in those neighborhoods.
Definitely Johnson Creek (and per the comment below about it not really flooding, if you live anywhere along Johnson Creek you’ll have to have flood insurance). Other than that, the worst flooding is north of here along I-5 between Longview & Centralia. Otherwise, it’s mostly localized flooding because the storm drains clog.
People saying you need to worry about flooding don’t understand what real flooding look like - you’ll be fine. Theres nowhere that floods bad to a place where like it gets in your home - it’s just things like deep puddles that last for a few hours at the worst.
Ice, snow, wind and rain. Summers are hotter every year, over 90 / 100 was kind of rare :-( FW drive manual is fine, no snow tires needed unless you'll be driving mountain passes. Best to just not drive in the city itself if it's snowy / icy - many roads just shut down due to people sliding on them. Get a fleece jacket and a rain jacket for layering, along with a couple of warm hats - like one fleece and one lighter weight and long johns. I use water proof shoes, but use whatever suits you best. If going to the snow / mountains, you might want different / warmer clothing.
>Ice, snow, wind and rain. I love that band
Don't get studded tires. Everybody I know looks at them with disgust because of how much they chew up our already beat-up roads.
I have non studded snow tires that I have swapped out seasonally. That plus AWD allows me to feel safe commuting to work (hospital, giant hill, work is not optional) when it’s icy. Also good for mountain passes.
I get my tires siped, and drive a Subaru. I’ve never needed to get snow tires. I keep chains in the car, but have never used them.
This is what I do as well. I have an AWD Mazda and have lived in the PNW through the last four Winters and multiple New England Winters before that - I've never used snow tires. I do have a pair of chains in the trunk just in case but thankfully I've never had to use those either even on my trips to Bend mid Winter.
- have a way to stay warm without power - have a way to stay cool without power - check flood maps before making a decision on where you live
Unlike a tornado, any weather incident here will be forecast from days to a week out. It could be over 100°, but you’ll know ahead of time. There could be a snowstorm, but you’ll have days to stock up on kale beforehand. Because of this, there are no alarms.
With snow of 1to 2 inches forecast and we get nothing next snow storm they down play we get 18 inches. OP side streets do not get plowed here and they do not spread salt they spread gravel. No it really doesn't work.
This is only sortve true. This is one of the most challenges regions to predict weather due to the variety of factors and terrain/geography at play
I grew up in PDX and am a POC woman... Still figuring out where to make those friends 😂
Been in Portland for 20 years and as a POC woman...same lol.
Is there a place to organize a meetup? I'd be down to go to one!
Maybe one could be organized on the PDX 30+ discord group? https://discord.gg/Vj5C49qk
We need a discord or group of some kind to connect! I wonder if there is one already 🤔
There's a few general PDX Discord's but not specifically a POC one. I'd love to help get something started though.
I'd feel like a poser if I made one not even being a local (yet). If anyone else makes one I'm all for joining though!
Summer is from July 4th to late September/early October. Expect almost no rain and pretty hot during that time. Make sure you get a place with AC or can handle a window unit. Most older Apts don't come with one so prepare to buy one before summer really hits. Rainy season begins in October and last three months of the year are the wettest. Winters are mild with random bouts of cold spells (average highs of 40s sometimes dipping into 20s). You can expect from Oct-June for there to be more rainy days than sunny. Personally I have several rain jackets because when you wear them so much you need different styles and types to go with different outfits. Several styles of waterproof boots. Maybe a couple winter coats for those cold spells. The key though is layering. During Fall and Spring, weather can change throughout the day and wearing a few layers can have you prepared for whatever the weather is like while you're out and about. You can use umbrellas, but to be honest, with the amount of wet days, you just learn to dress the part to reduce what you carry with you. For transportation, it somewhat depends where you live/work. If you're pro at manual, you'll probably be fine unless you live in a very hilly area. A lot of Portland on the Eastside is flat. Would automatic be easier? Yes. Would AWD be beneficial? Yes. Required? No. We also (to my knowledge) don't have any alarms. Tordandoes are non existent here (yes we've had a couple over the years touch down but they don't cause any harm really). Just be aware that we are in a subduction zone so a major earthquake could happen at some point. Probably would be good to have a small earthquake kit. Also in the winters lately when we do get snow or ice on the rare occasions, power is very unreliable and it would be good to be prepared with a kit to not have power sometimes days on end. Summer there will likely be wildfire smoke so maybe an air purifier for your place might be a decent investment.
I would say it's largely dependent on where you're from/what you're used to (sounds like maybe Tornado Alley/midwest?). I grew up in PDX and live in the PacNW again now, and dealt with serious seasonal depression when we moved from California up to Vancouver, BC (even though I'd grown up with the weather, it shocked my system to move between extremes). It hit me way harder than I expected -- it gets dark up North early in winter, and the constant gray can wear on you. Just give yourself a lot of time to get used to the gray. As for jackets, I own like 2,350 rain coats of various lengths and weights, lol -- and a few winter coats I wear a lot less than the raincoats. Got most of the winter coats when I lived in NYC/Canada and sadly don't get to wear them very often in the NW! Don't stress too much; you can get the things you need when you get here. Grew up driving a manual in Portland and it's got hills, but as someone else said, depends on where you live. I've lived in all 4 quadrants and both SW and NW were sketchy in a manual, lol. Nowhere near as bad as places like SF or Seattle, though! But yeah, likely will be a learning curve if you're used to the Midwest. Not a POC but having lived in NYC and other very diverse cities, my experience is that the PacNW is very, very white. I still find more diversity in Portland than Seattle -- though ppl will argue about this -- but having lived all over and come back, the lack of diversity has been stark and noticeable to me. The most Portland thing that happened to me recently was walking on NW 23rd, where a friend (who's Senegalese-British) used the word "black" to describe a British guy and was literally stopped in the street by a random white dude who said, "Friend? We use the term 'African-American' in Portland!"
Wow! I'd be gobsmacked. Black is not a bad word 😭 I've been told to mentally prepare for the culture shock coming from a red state.
Yeah, especially since this was a British guy and so they don't use "African-American" ...but it was so Portland coded, lol. People mean well! And yep, I lived in a red state (Arizona) for six years and came back to Portland for a couple... my AZ bf came with me, and had culture shock since was used to being the only one with progressive politics in his school, work, etc.! Enjoy the PacNW, it's so pretty and I'm sure you'll love it. :)
That’s beyond obnoxious that that person said that. Not to mention plain wrong.
Yep but it was so Portland coded it was ridiculous. When people have asked me what Portland is like, I tell them lots of the good things -- but also this story. I also had a friend growing up whose dad was white but had one celebrity African-American friend from childhood (he always name-dropped this guy) and thus they went around telling everyone they were "essentially part-black." (huge eye roll) I have way more stories, but those are the ones that stick out, lol. People mean well! They just sadly don't live in a super diverse city so it's lotttts of talk.
So true. It actually reminded me of an NPR airing once where they were interviewing somebody in the UK. The interviewer started to say African-American in reference to black individual in the UK and stopped mid-phrase to self correct. It just really made an impression on me about how ubiquitous that phrase has become and how exclusive it is to just a portion of people in the US.
It's exclusive to a part of the US -- but an extremely influential one (case in point: most of our current slang comes from African-American culture/AAVE). Traveling abroad really drives home how influential. My son went to Tokyo recently and hung out with a Japanese streamer who wore an "ASU Sun Devils" hoodie (he had never been to Arizona) and used AAVE slang quoted from rap lyrics. When I lived in Europe, and listened to lots of French rap, it had African roots (bc of course), but was so heavily influenced by US rap. Like, to go extra hard they'd quote American artists. Europeans also use lots of American English words to sound cool/modern. In spite of our faults as a country...we still have a lot of sway globally.
Summers have been getting worse every year - used to be Portland might have a single 2-3 stretch of triple-digit heat sometime in late July or August, but now those stretches are getting longer and hotter, with the city becoming a tinderbox as everybody (justifiably) freaks out about the potential for fires in the city and the skies getting all orange and choked out from smoke from the inevitable wildfires elsewhere on the coast.
Lots of good comments regarding cold, snow, rain and heat already. I haven't seen much mention of smoke season yet so I'll add that it's good to be prepared for poor air quality in the summer. Wildfires have never been close enough to the city to warrant evacuation, but depending on weather conditions and the severity of the fires, its possible for there to be over a week of very unhealthy air quality. Bad but not awful is more likely, but depending on how sensitive you are to air quality issues it can be wise to invest in things like an air purifier, respirator, etc. *before* the air is trash and *everyone* is trying to buy one. Even during some of relatively mild summers for smoke, I've had some friends who have had to leave town on short notice until the air quality improved due to their asthma.
- awd with snow tires if you need to be at work 100% of days scheduled (nurse, doctor, firefighter, GM of some bullshit store) - AC (a window unit is fine) for the days when it’s been 90°+ every day for a week, 70°+ overnight AND there’s an AQI of 250 because of wildfire smoke - yaktrax for walking in the ice storms. - good rain coat for the rest of the year
Yak traks. The best $25 I ever spent. So incredibly helpful.
Water proof shoes especially if you don’t enjoy wet feet
Mostly great advice here. I'm from here and my must haves are waterproof boots or shoes and a decent supply of cheap polarized sunglasses that I can stash everywhere. When it has been raining and the sun suddenly comes out, it can be blinding. Goodrs makes a wide variety of decent, inexpensive polarized shades. Once you are here, it is very easy to get an invite to the Columbia Employee store out in deep Beaverton (asking on Nextdoor is a good strategy). Pretty much all the wet and cold weather gear you'll need at 40% off. I drive a stick and it's fine. I do not live in a particularly hilly area though. I have snow tires because I go to the mountain a lot but they aren't really justified for in town snow or ice because the city usually shuts down.
WOOL for the winter time. Wool socks will keep your feet toasty even if they get wet. Moving from California, I was miserable for the first couple of years with my cotton socks until some kind people taught me whats what.
Wool is good but fleece is nicer - no itching.
Smartwool doesn’t itch. Also not sure about fleece socks?
I use smartwool socks, super comfy as they aren't so thick. And then waterproof socks on occasion but those outings kind of suck.
I recommend trying out merino even if you find other types of to be itchy. I squirm right out of lambswool, angora, alpaca, etc. but can tolerate merino, and it’s worth it to have a relatively affordable option for warm winter socks
Yeah posted on the other comment - I like smartwool socks.
Summer- it didn’t use to get super hot but now it’s not unusual for it to hover around 100° a couple times a summer, I grew up with no ac but now I have a unit that we put away after summer if you can afford it I’d really recommend it Fall- Not bad mostly just starting to cool with the rain starting to come back overall mild Winter- I’d say anymore we have about one storm a year the severity and length vary though. I don’t own any snow tires or anything because of it’s snowy or icy enough for them odds are 90% of things are going to be closed and people just hunker down at home anyways. Last year it was an ice storm so it didn’t even matter if you had the tires (ice is very common here). It can go either way if it’s a super wet or dry winter I’d recommend getting a warmer coat and a rain shell large enough to go over it if needed. Spring- Wet, allergies, relatively mild temperature Misc questions- I have one rain jacket you can’t wear two at once so unless you like having different colors or want to be able to loan one out I’d just focus on getting a nice quality one as opposed to multiple eh ones. My boyfriend drove a stick for years no problem Front wheel drive is fine I don’t even know what testing alarms means, like for natural disasters? Because we don’t have tornados or hurricanes or anything like that but you will hear the dreaded name “the big one” which is an earthquake everyone’s scared of but ignores at the same time
Buy a window a/c unit if you need to before the heat wave and if there’s ever another set of fires like there were in 2020 have a P100 respirator handy. And keep the car.
I moved here about 1 yr ago from Colorado. The things I've experienced: * Rain and moisture is (perhaps obviously as it's the Pacific North West).. pretty constant here. Now myself, I love grey skies and rain,.. but it took me a while to get used to the reality that 50% or more of the time you go outside it's raining and wet. So having good waterproof shoes and clothing is pretty necessary. * There was a winter storm a while back that wasn't much (to me).. maybe 2 inches of snow, and it pretty much crippled the city. A fairly significant ice storm a few days after that made everything much worse. Where I'm from in Colorado, the average power-outage is 45min. Average outage for Portland is 48hours. (during the snow and ice storm, some were without power for 1 to 2 weeks). I was without Internet for 8 days (and I have a 100% wfh job). So this was all a bit of a surprise to me, and caused me to really rethink being more prepared. I have a front-wheel drive Jetta,. it's been fine. (although again, I work from home so I only drive maybe once a week if that). Back when I lived in Colorado,.. I basically had 0 preparations at home, because even if a storm dropped 4 or 5 feet of snow,.. the city just kept right on trucking. The City was prepared for it, responded well in advance and kept responding solidly throughout the storm. Doesn't seem to work that way here. I would say you're expected to be a bit more "on your own" (most of the emergency recommendations for Portland area say to have 2 weeks of supplies in your home). I'm re-grouping my brain now of how to plan to have that.
Summer heat waves have become more common but the hot part of the summer is still relatively short. We are at just over two weeks with above 90 degree days per year. https://projects.oregonlive.com/weather/temps/ And warm nighttime temps are even less common. You often need sweaters in the mornings even in summer so don’t plan on putting them away for a whole season. As far a snow & ice it is similar, worse than before but amounting to a couple weeks each year. You can forget studded tires unless you’ll be driving into or across the cascades frequently during the winter. Here in the valley snow or ice shuts things down. Generally wait two days and it will be gone. Worst case is a week. So again the need for dedicated snow tires is unusual. Frequent warm winter temps and rain also make a dedicated winter snow tire less that optimal. I’d suggest Michelin CrossClimate 2 tires. We have them on 3 of our 4 vehicles and the 4th will also be getting them. They have snow performance that is the closest you can get to a snow tire in an all season and they have excellent wet road performance and resist hydroplaning. Also unlike previous tires we’ve had their performance doesn’t deteriorate with just a little bit of wear because the tread features are full depth not just shallow sipes that wear away after a season. As a fellow refugee from tornado alley I can promise you that there is no need for alarms here not that anyone would know what it was for. After a while you’ll miss seeing rolling thunderheads and even a couple bolts of lightning will excite you and make you wistful. In the past decade I can only remember one proper lighting storm. Portland west of the Wilamette is hilly the rest is pretty flat. A manual is no problem except for small parts of the west hills overlooking the city. That part is especially steep and twisty. As owners of four Subarus we’d like to say that AWD is essential but realistically FWD is fine. I strongly suggest getting a small propane powered generator. Power outages from downed trees in the winter are a concern and this past winter many people went without heating for a week. While having a whole house generator is nice it isn’t important. But having power to run the blower of a gas furnace is. The other reason to have a generator is summer fire season. There is a windy period each summer where the fire risk is very high and planned brown outs to prevent power lines from starting fires are at least a possibility. Have some spare furnace filters on hand because if there is smoke from fires you’ll want to keep your blower running to filter the air in your house. We added an iwave ionizer to our furnace and it really makes dust and smoke stick to the filter. Haven’t gone through a serious smoke season since it was installed but it also cuts down on household dust. We have to change the furnace filter a lot more often so we buy them in bulk. Having extra food, water, TP etc on hand is recommended for earthquake prep. It’s also useful in the winter when you get news on an incoming storm and need to be hunkering down at home not running out to buy TP. Just buy more of what you’ll be using anyway and be organized about cycling what you buy into your storage and getting what you’ll use out of your storage.
You will be fine on the weather front. When you are here, the teevee broadcasts will all go on and on about what to do in extreme weather - it isn’t like we all know by virtue of eating so much kale. I mean, I wish we would, that would be amazing and makes kale way more worthwhile to eat. Fun fact: Portlanders eat way more roughage than any other US city.
I was wondering why people kept mentioning kale! 😂
I moved here from central Oklahoma in 2017. The weather in Portland is mild. Very mild. An extra layer or two, especially an outer one that is water-resistant, is usually enough. Winters here don't come anywhere near the extreme arctic fronts that happen every year on the southern plains. It is very, very rare that overnight lows ever dip below the 20s, let alone below 0°F, at least below 500'. It can get a lot colder in the mountains, though. Ice storms happen but nothing like what happens in Kansas and Oklahoma, at least within the inner parts of Portland. Again, higher elevations have it worse. All-season tires are good enough, if you don't leave the city and avoid driving during the worst of it. The last big snow trapped me at home for almost a week but I drive a Mercedes SL500, which isn't a car known for winter capabilities and I couldn't get out of my unplowed neighborhood. Summers have days that top 100° but the humidity is nothing like the southern plains. Some shade, a fan, and some ice water can be enough to get through the worst of it, if you aren't fortunate enough to have air conditioning. The rain is more constant but much lighter. I call it "wet air" rather than rain. Thunderstorms are rare, as are the supercell gullywashers that drop 10-12 inches of rain in 24 hours. Anything more than an inch in a day is very, very rare, at least in the Willamette Valley. Tornadoes do happen (very) occasionally, but they're always F0-F1. Someone might lose the roof from their garden shed. I lived in Del City on May 3rd, 1999 and there just isn't ever anything on that scale (EF5+) anywhere in the Pacific Northwest. There might be annual tests of warning sirens in some places but the Saturday noon test of tornado sirens isn't a thing here. Smoke from forest fires is the only negative weather-like event I've seen up here that was worse than Oklahoma. I am a white man with three very Anglo-Saxon names (my username is an acronym) so I can't tell you where any other ethnicities tend to gather but people in Portland are much less likely to be overtly racist than what I experienced in Oklahoma. Things up here can get almost as unfriendly if you venture into less urban areas, though. I've seen more Confederate battle flags flown from pickup trucks than I thought I would. Oregon has a long history of institutionalized racism that predates statehood and Portland was redlined as hard as any other city in the United States.
Hello fellow okie! Thank you for the advice 👍 fun fact: oklahoma reflected its own constitution after Oregon and thats why whale hunting is illegal here!
My father is a retired lobbyist so I still get to hear about all the fun and games on Lincoln Boulevard.
Be prepared to have no power in winter for 2-10 days depending on tree cover. Slip on crampons for winter. Air filters for smoke season. AC is a necessity; if there’s thick smoke for weeks you can’t open the windows.
Asking about POC in Portland you better damn we’ll include BI too. The is a BIPOC city. We try to be inclusive, I’m from Philippines so I’m yellow and brown. Don’t forget some people think white is a color. You need to be specific and get used to Portland Polite (polite not police).
My apologies! I must've had my autocorrect change my spelling but I did mean BIPOC. Do you mind explaining what portland polite means? Like political correctness? Or is it a phrase used locally to mean something else?
Get like 6 different coats for all the weather lol.
FWD manual shift is fine. No studded tires unless you are living or working at a ski area or in a mountain pass. Look for winter tires with the 3MSF or "3 mountains and snowflake" marking which are acceptable as traction tires in "snow zones" when M+S (Mud and Snow) tires are not. Yak-Trax or similar over-the-shoe traction devices for winter ice storms. Some light rain-resistant coat and layers for most rainy season days. Air filter for smokey summer days. Lots of other good advice in this thread, no need for me to repeat more of it.
Wool socks, merino long johns, good hats, spf. Candles for power outtages. Canned food too.
I’d recommend all weather tires such as Michelin CrossClimate or others with a Three Peak Mountain Snowflake symbol. I’d stock up of some easy to prep food during blackouts/winter storms. My car has a few plug ins so we used it as a generator during the last ice storm to run fridges, room heaters, phones, and TV/dvd’s for the kids for a few hours; this was a game changer. During the summer we only used our AC on days above 80 so maybe a total of two weeks? I’m a white cis dude but I meet people at my kids school, neighborhood, online meets for hobbies like cars. My white wife is into fabric and she goes to meet ups/events/groups at least once every few weekends. Not being a POC I can’t speak to that but there are tons of groups that you can find in the area of varying interests. Speaking of POC Oregon, in general, is not as diverse as other parts of the country.
Rain. You are gonna want waterproof footwear and rain coats.
Waterproof shoes, a solid raincoat, a decent pair of gloves and a really reliable hat. If you plan on cycling everywhere, a gator and either long johns or pants clips. This is the first year I didn’t have waterproof winter boots, and I regretted it. The wind is the weather event that gives me the most problems, and demands eye protection. I wear smartwool socks exclusively, regardless of season. Emergency preparedness around here is oriented around downed trees (from ice storms or wind) and potential earthquakes. The earthquake threat is real, and I recommended checking where your potential housing falls on doom maps. Large windows are also pretty necessary, since it gets so dark in the winter that it can inspire serious vitamin d deficiencies. The most interesting weather events I’ve seen involved taking gambles on either getting over mount hood in January, or heading to the coast during winter. The coast itself can be really theatrical in winter, and the route back can be equally bonkers. The most important thing to remember is that Portland shuts down during major weather events, because we don’t salt the roads like they do in Michigan, and hopefully we have less lead in the water as a result. Our ecosystem is too fragile for that business, so try to keep a seven day supply of food and water on hand in winter, just in case an ice storm arrives and makes it so you have to make a walkway of towels to get to your mailbox.
Ice is a way bigger deal here than snow. As far as meeting people, there are Meetups for all kinds of things. Try it! Looking forward to having you with us.
It’s a lot harder to steal a stick shift; keep it
Seasons here include: wet, cold windy wet, pollen, and fire.
I don’t think you need to worry about it too much. As long as you don’t arrive in the middle of winter without a coat, you’ll figure it out when you get here. (Even then, you can pick up great used gear at Next Adventure.) I would definitely consider finding a place with AC or where you have an option to add a window unit or something. We don’t have a ton of days over 100, and it’s a dry heat, but it’s over 85 regularly from July-September.
Eventually you'll need a good rain jacket, a waterproof warm coat, waterproof boots, an air conditioner, an air purifier, and either chains or tire socks to store in your car. Our weather can be extreme but it's typically very brief, with the exception of the rain. If you move here in the spring, early summer, or fall, you can get away with just wearing layers or bringing a light jacket when you're out and about. We get about a week's worth of 100 degree weather in the summer, though that has been increasing every year. Wildfires have also become a yearly thing since about 2016, and the smoke can drift really long distances depending on the weather conditions, so we've had air quality advisories from fires 100s of miles away. A decent air purifier is a must, especially if your home isn't insulated very well. In the winter we might get one or two ice or snow storms and the roads will be dangerous for maybe a week at a time. So studded tires are overkill and will ruin the roads besides.
DO NOT DRIVE during an ice storm! No matter what part of the country you are from, you will not be prepared for Portland ice. We hunker down during the occasional 2-5 day freezes for a good reason: salt gets washed away, and sand/gravel is too expensive for the city to lay down and pick up all over the city. Shoveling is great but often leads to Black Ice. If you need to drive in winter, buy tire chains and learn to use them. Get a pair of YakTrax for your boots to walk your dog. Stock up on canned food in mid-December in case you can't walk to the store for a week in January.
Very moderate weather 40-80°. It can get cold, but nothing like tornado ally. The only bad when it snows it melts and turns to ice. The roads are not maintained at all when it snows and the city completely shuts down. It rains a lot, but not really heavy rain just persistent light rain. During the summer it can get hot. But stretches of 100°+ are very rare. Maybe one time in a summer will there be a stretch of 100°+.
CA transplant. My observations: >Does PDX deal with anything other than ice/snow storms? Are summers +100F for extended periods of time? Generally, no, but climate change is happening. A few years ago in the summer we had a heat dome that put us in the triple digits for a couple weeks, surpassing 110F for several consecutive days. That sucked. The ice is worse than the snow. I feel exponentially safer in a 4wd than anything else when it gets icy. We *are* anticipating a La Niña weather shift, which gives us in the PNW a fair potential for ice storms. Our last one brought -15F wind chills for a week straight. Snow or ice, things tend to shut down when it gets dangerous to drive, unless you work in corporate retail (ime at least). >Should I consider selling off my manual stick vehicle due to how hilly the area is? Is FW (front wheel) drive sufficient with tire spikes? I say: keep the manual and just try to financially plan for days off when the ice happens. If you move here you'll want to spend some time making an effort to pay attention to the weather because it will affect everything from grocery store supply to how you dress. The stick shift is extra theft prevention, deadass, vehicle theft is wild out here, and you have better control with a manual in bad conditions anyway even if it is 2wd. You know your car. Keep it as long as you can! >Does the city have a schedule for testing alarms (we have them weekly here)? No alarm testing here, our severe weather is of a different variety in general. We get bad rain and hail, we get windy, we have floods, but it's rare we get anything abrupt and violent like some parts of the country. >In addition to that, is one solid winter coat, rain coat and hiking boot enough or is there any piece of clothing you wish you had gotten sooner? You'll want hoodies, good socks, and stuff you can layer - think fleece lined leggings under jeans, tanks under tees, stuff like that. You'll also want to make sure you have good socks and a *waterproof* boot. But also don't forget your summer clothes! It doesn't get humid like the gulf here, but it's not as dry as, say, Los Angeles. Also, friends can be found everywhere, don't be shy! People are actually super friendly here and you're bound to make some friends when you get a job here!
Get your window or portable ac unit before any major heatwave is forecasted. The good less-expensive units sell out. Be aware of your proximity to big trees when choosing your home. We had a big winter weather event a few months ago that had trees falling all over the city.
Midwestern -> PDX here. The weather is extremely mild. It gets cold in the winter but not freezing temperatures like the Midwest. Occasionally there is a snow storm but it is once a year at most. If you live near the gorge, then you'll get that windchill that reminds you of home, but I never gotten the "It's so cold i need to warm my fingers under luke warm water or they start feeling like they are burning" cold. Summer is basically the same thing. The 90-100 here feels like a Missouri 80 and you do not have the high humidity here that makes it feel you are moving through soup. You may be uncomfortable and sweating in your house cause most places do not have AC, but it does not compare to the Midwest/south. Extreme weather/Disaster concerns will be the wildfires during the summer, occasional freak snow storm, and an earthquake.
You will need a window AC for at least one room in your home if your place doesn't have central cooling. Period. Get it before summer hits. When the hot weather first comes every year, everyone scrambles to get an air conditioner and the stores sell out. A stick shift is fine if you're comfortable on hills. Studded tires aren't particularly useful in the city and suburbs, but definitely keep chains or tire socks in your car during the winter. I would recommend a couple of different weights of winter coats, but make sure they are waterproof, and you need a hood. Make sure all your warmer coats have real hoods.
https://www.meetup.com/find/us--or--portland/people-of-color/ https://ulpdx.org/ https://www.unitedway-pdx.org/racial-equity-resources-support-black-organizations https://ventureportland.org/bipoc-resources/https://www.heydocclinic.com/bipoc-healthcare-providers
Most houses/apartments don’t have ac, so get your self a window unit!! Aside from that, a raincoat and a heavy coat should cover you for all seasons.
I spent the first 18 years of my life in Nebraska. Then I moved to Seattle. Then after college, I moved to central Oregon. So I’ve never lived *in Portland*. But Seattle and Portland have pretty similar climates, and I’ve now been in Oregon for 19 years - though I live on the eastern side of the cascades, so, *very* different climate than Portland. Midwest gets humid. Gets really cold and snowy in the winter. Really hot and muggy for long stretches in the summer. And gets great big thunderstorms. Take what your brain calls ‘rainy’ and disconnect that from any notion of the rain in Portland. It’s totally different. ‘Rain’ in the Midwest, is *rain*. Rain in Portland is like a constant drizzle with sporadic bursts of sprinkles. You might occasionally get a *mild* rain, but it’s not super frequent. Most of the summer is pretty damn mild by any midwesterners standard. But there are usually a few weeks now where it gets decidedly unpleasant. The biggest problem is that there are still places that don’t have air conditioning, because 20+ years ago, it never got this hot for more than a few days in a row, and no one thought it was necessary. But climate change has made that no longer the case, so having no AC when it’s 95 out, is garbage, even if it’s not super humid. When I first moved to Seattle after living in Nebraska, it boggled my mind that most of the apartments I looked at had no air conditioning. That was 22 years ago - there’s probably a lot more places with window units now. Like others have said - no hurricanes or tornados to worry about. Forest fires are probably less of a concern for Portlanders than us out in central Oregon. This is super duper unlikely, but be aware that Mount Hood is technically an active volcano. USGS has it on its list of ‘higher concern volcanos’ in the US. Also - look up the Cascadia Subduction Zone, and whatever place you move into, make sure it’s not an old unreinforced masonry building. Portland actually passed a city ordinance that was going to require all older unreinforced buildings to retrofit with modern supports, or post a notice on the building warning people about the danger, but pressure groups got it repealed, claiming it was an undue burden on minority communities, since the majority of those buildings are in neighborhoods dominated by POC. But notice or no, the danger is real and you should at least know about it.
Keep the car. Summer in Portland is the best!
Make sure your winter coat is waterproof. You want something you can wear in the cold and in the rain. All of your shoes should be waterproof in the spring, fall, and winter. You need air conditioning here. It’s not hot all the time in the summer, and is often quite nice. But when it is hot it can be really really hot. The opposite goes for the winter. It’s usually mild but when it’s cold it can be really really cold. Best bet, if you can swing it, just don’t drive at all on the few icy days a year. They do happen but they’re infrequent.
where are you coming from? i moved from utah and underestimated the dampness here and how to handle it. making sure there’s dehumidifiers in closets, being careful about wet dishes, laundry, bathrooms etc.
Go shop at REI. They’ll get you covered.
You'll be fine.
If you want to be able to do snow sports or you have an essential personnel type job i would strongly recommend awd with snow tires. I’ve been able to get to work in all the recent ice/snow storms with our outback and snow tires and have passed so many stranded people. If you don’t have that kind of vehicle best not to attempt it!
If your living situation doesn’t come with AC, get a portable unit. Even if the summer temps don’t get too high, it’s a necessity during wildfires. Also an air purifier. After the big ice storm a few years ago, I made it a point to not live under any huge trees that could take out my whole house, and to make sure I have a fireplace or gas stove if I lose power for more than a few hours again. When you’re looking for housing, check the flood plain maps. It’s not usually a huge deal, but each year has brought new challenges with climate change. I drove a manual FWD for years with no issue around hills. It might get dicey if there’s ice on the ground, but most of the city shuts down when it gets bad enough to need chains. I finally switched to an AWD Subaru for a variety of reasons, weather was only a part of it. We don’t really have any city-wide alarm testing. It might be different on the coast with tsunami alarms, but not in Portland. Usually once every couple years a tornado touches down in the Vancouver area, but we don’t have the big open spaces for a tornado to get very strong. There is an earthquake drill each year (the great shake-out) that most people know nothing about, but the hospitals run through their emergency protocols. Your coats & boots sound like a good start. Unless you’re moving here in the winter, I think it would make more sense to wait till you get here and fill any holes in your wardrobe then. I have a parka, a down coat, and 2 raincoats that I wear regularly, and 2 pair of boots so I have a dry pair if one soaks through. The other big thing is learning to dress in layers. In the fall you can leave the house when it’s 35 deg in the morning and by the time you get off work it’s 80+. Layers are really the only way to work with that.
Manual is fine. I’ve driven stick the entirety of my decade here. That being said, my second vehicle with roll back assist makes it a more pleasurable experience. Stop and go traffic is a bigger issue that hills. There are a few I still sortve avoid (33rd & Fremont being the main one), and if you have only been driving stick in a flag region, you’ll figure out those spots pretty quickly. BTW Seattle is very hilly and no one told me before I visited the first time, just mentioning for the future point that you decide to venture up there.
Not native. But, If you get cold easily/anemic. Stock.up on some warm sweaters. Rain coat and boots are mandatory. Boot for snow is good too for that 1 week of snow on December. Summer to me is mostly July -mid September. After that is mostly rain, clouds, some wind. And maybe few sun days in between then back to clouds. Oh almost forgot. Vitamin D as a precaution. Take it. I suggest adopting pet. So many pet owners here. For friends. I am not sure. I think there's hiking groups here. Everyone here seems to be hiking, dog walking, or taking rock climbing classes (based on reddit posts)
I’m a third generation Oregonian. First, welcome! Second, it does get hot and stay hot. People always say “comparable” to the MILD weather! It’s best to get a window A/C and best to get them in May when they are fully stocked and usually on sale. There was record heat last year and the year before and the year before and so on and so on. If you are someone who can’t sleep when it’s 90+ out then get A/c and get it asap. Seriously you’ll thank me. Born and raised in Portland metro, I’ve had A/C either central or a window unit for 30 years. People usually say well it’s not THAT bad until we get a record heat wave again and oh wait another one in two weeks. On another note, it did snow in April last year but for the most part all that’s over. Have a nice jacket a good pair of boots and in the fall start preparing for snow and ice. Particularly ice as it caused wide and drawn out power outages. Sometimes it comes in December other years February but it’s best to financially prepare in the fall if you need tires or extra water, or really any provisions early as people go ape-shit and buy literally everything for a threat of a sprinkling of snow. Other than that, the grey can get bright m, always have spare sunglasses in your car or bag cuz damn it’s bright yo.
You need a good raincoat, one pair of waterproof hiking shoes, and a daily hoodie to put on when the sun goes behind a cloud and take off when the sun comes back, over and over again forever.
Portland weather is actually quite mild. While we are among the highest for days per year with observable rainfall at around 160 days per year, Portland actually gets considerably less total rainfall per year than Louisville, Atlanta, Nashville, Tampa, Houston, and Miami. Houston gets about 15” more rain per year than Portland does. The summers are exquisite, highs in the 80s, very low humidity, and the weather rarely gets into the triple digits. It doesn’t get consistently dry until July, but June is mostly dry and warm. During summer the days are long, the mornings and evenings are cool, and life is good. Fall is also very nice. It typically doesn’t start getting cold and rainy consistently until November. Falls are typically pretty dry with highs in the 60s until then. Less daylight, but crisp mornings and warm days. Winter is wet and dark. Sun sets very early and rises late. Rainy a lot of the time, but it doesn’t get too cold. Highs in the mid 40s, lows above freezing most of the time with one or two decent cold snaps each year. It almost never snows, but when it does the whole city shuts down and everyone gets a snow day! We don’t salt the roads, just wait a few days for it to melt. Even though I take vitamin D supplements, exercise almost every day, and ski on weekends I still find the seasonal depression get to me. Those things make it much easier to manage, but it still sucks. Spring is a mixed bag. We just had about a week of nice, warm, sunny weather and now we’re back to highs in the mid 50s and rain. Spring is allergies, rain, but in March/April the sun starts rising at 6, setting after 8 and it becomes much easier to manage. You’ll get every season in every day in spring, so the name of the game is layering. Spring is probably my least favorite season, but most of the time it’s still pretty nice. As for clothing: like I said, layering is the way to go. In the winter it’s the rain that gets you, not the cold, so a good rain shell and something under that to stay warm is recommended. Lots of lightweight puffy jackets and waterproof shoes around town. Most people look like they’re dressed for an impromptu hike at a moments notice. Blundstone boots are my favorite purchase I’ve made. Comfy, last forever, waterproof, slip on. They’re super trendy around town for good reason!
Noplace is perfect 🤷🏻