Finding a New City - Portland, OR

Portland...  It's a beautiful city.  Views of Mt. Saint Helens to the north, Mt. Hood to the east, and the Willamette river and its many bridges running through the center of town, there is always a great view.  BUT it rains...  a lot.  And its climate is cooler than anywhere I have ever lived before.  June is supposed to be warm and nice...  not cold and rainy.

There are more breweries in Portland than in any other city in the nation.  That is a very good thing.  So much competition makes for some very very good beers. And I like beers...  a lot.

There is work in Portland, but not as much as you would think.  The economy took a real hit in 2008, and that sunk much of the tech opportunites.  Could I find one that pays me the same?  If I looked hard enough and made some sacrifices, yes.

Cost of living in Portland is about 24% higher than in OKC.  Housing cost is the biggest difference, which makes sense as the Portlandians are obsessed with "green" stuff.  This dries the cost for anything up.
Oregon uses a standard progressive income tax system with 5% being the lowest and 10% being the highest.  They have NO sales tax, witch is good.  Their property taxes are high, but, as we plan on renting, that won't be an issue.

Their cars have strict pollution standards, so I very much doubt that getting our old cars up to standard will be worth it.  Leasing new ones is very attractive, but that is a big extra cost.

There is aviation in the area, and some really good opportunities for learning how to fly sea planes.  That really interests me, and with all of OR's lakes it might be worth it to do.

OR is a shall issue state so getting a CCW won't be an issue.

Portland has a good Japanese community, and has a direct flight to Tokyo.  That checks a very important box for the wife.

There are some places to train in Portland, but not as many as I thought their would be.  To find a good place, I will likely have some driving to do.

All in all, I really liked Portland.  The weather kind of sucks, but the winters are rainy and chilly, not snowy and cold.  That is very good!