Moved out to Vancouver, WA in 2012. It is a city of 250,000+ just north of Portland across the Columbia River.
No state income tax in WA & no sales tax in OR. So live in WA shop in OR = low taxes. Property taxes are pretty low and schools are better than OR.
Housing here has exploded in the last few years. Generally, you can expect to pay $50,000 - $100,000 less for a house than just across the river in Portland.
We have a wet season and a fire season. It is grey and rainy from late october through june then it dries up and there won't be rain or any clouds till October. Hence the forest fires.
I'm an hour away from Mt Hood (snow boarding, snow shoeing, mtn biking, camping, fishing, etc.), two hours away from beautiful coastline. Weed. Beer. Wine. Weed. Great food.
I love the proximity to Portland for restaurants, concerts, museums, parks, etc. But I also love not living in Portland. The homeless camps make me sick, sad, & angry, and I don't know who or what to direct that at.
I feel that the Democratic leadership in WA is better than OR. It seems more reasoned and practical. Oregon can't stop fucking everything up.