Portland Vs. Vancouver

My husband and I both live in Vancouver and commute to Portland, via I205. I commute later in the morning and earlier in the afternoon, so my drive is clear, but my husband drives at normal commute times and he often gets stuck in traffic in the evenings. I5 is generally much worse than 205. Also the traffic gets much worse in the winter; on rainy days traffic is lousy in both the mornings and evenings, especially on days where accidents happen on the bridge. Of course, public transportation is an option as well; there are many transit centers where buses will take you to various Portland locations. For our family the commute is completely worth it. We love Vancouver, it definitely has a more spread out, slower paced, more family oriented feel than in Portland. Many people like the Portland area for the opposite reasons - faster, denser, great public transportation, etc. The costs of housing are definitely lower in Vancouver. You do pay extra taxes when you work in Oregon State, but you get them back after you file your taxes. Anyways, hope this helps!

We moved to Vancouver from the deep South, and we really like it. One of the reasons we chose Vancouver was because of the excellent schools. I find the area very family friendly, and the people are very nice and helpful. I also find the people in Vancouver are a lot more laid back. It still has that quaint, smaller town feel, but if you need the big city, Portland is right there. So you really get the best of both worlds.

Well...there is a reason that they are looking to build another bridge - the commute is really bad. But I don't live there, so take it for what it's worth to you.

I drive to Vancouver from Portland every day, and if I hit I-5 NB anytime after 2:30 I'm screwed...traffic is SO bad. If your husband works regular office hours he's going to have to battle terrible traffic both to and from work. I'd recommend that he try to do the drive at least once before committing to a move, and then decide if the money you'd save in rent/mortgage will be worth the extra gas and commute time.

You will still have to pay Oregon state income tax if he works in Portland.