My friend lives there. She said I'd live it, as a vegan... said it's beautiful...
And on and on and on.
I look forward to visiting one day :)

I'm heading out there as soon as I graduate. I'm looking for jobs in Portland. Seattle is my second choice.

Let's go!!

I lived in Corvallis, Oregon.  Yes Oregon is pretty with all the nature, but on the west side of the state it rains, and rains, and rains, and rains, and rains some stinking more!!!  That's why it's so pretty and green.  Hiking is great, and the coast is pretty.  The beaches are cool and windy for the most part...not the kind of beach where you go sunbathing...even in the summer.  It's a different kind of pretty coast.  Portland is good for vegans...and for people that like consignment stores.  Houses are expensive to buy though and property taxes are high because of no sales tax.  Bend is pretty...but I've never lived there, so I don't know how it is with buying the cool veganised products...like vegan cream cheese and what not.  But there is more sunshine there, and great hiking, skiing and pretty, pretty mountains.  You can just make a road trip to the coast and see the beach on the weekend when you get the itch to see lot'sa water!!! 

I had a friend who lived in Portland.  It rains more in Portland than in Seattle.  And the cost of living is high.  And jobs are harder to come by.  And traffic is almost as bad as SoCal.  I'm not sure the great local music and vegan options would make up for it.

Eugene is halfway up the state.  I'd choose Eugene over Portland.  It's smaller, UC Oregon is there so there should be some sort of job available, and it'd still be vegan friendly.

I wouldn't choose Medford/Ashland, your southern Oregon choice.  It's small, not vegan friendly, and you're insanely far away from everything.

And South by Southwest is in Austin, right?  Not that I could ever afford a pass.  They're like $500-$1,000.

I am originally from West Texas, and lived in Houston, Dallas, spent some time in Austin--basically, I lived all over Texas.  All of that to say, I've lived in Portland for more than 3 years, and I can't imagine living anywhere else.  I live in Portland, and it's incredibly easy to be vegan here, that's true.  Most restaurants have vegan options which is great.  The farmers markets are frequent and easy to come by.  It's also really to live without a car if that's something your into.  I haven't owned a car the entire time I've lived here and manage just fine.  The people are nice, and we, of course, have the Vegan Mini-mall, which is awesome.  The beer and coffee are first-rate.  Tons of locally owned stores everywhere.  The money I make and spend goes directly back into the community, which I feel good about.  The summers in Portland are SO beautiful.  I can't even begin to describe how temperate they are.  Everything is green, the sun shines and rarely gets into the high 90s.  Fresh fruit everywhere - apples, persimmons, figs, asian pears, blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, marionberries oh my!  The summers make it all worth it. . .

Granted, there is definitely a tight job market.  Plenty of unemployed and under-employed people all over the city.  The liquor is expensive and not easy to get because there's specific stores and it's just a hassle. Now, the rain. . . First of all, and I hesitate to say this because it's a well kept secret that the myth of the rain is spread to prevent people (read: californians) from moving here.  Yes, there are times when it rains everyday for 20 or so days.  Depending on where you're from though, you have to think of rain differently.  Here it's an all day sprinkle, not a downpour or thunderstorm like we had in Texas.  Plus, after your first year it just becomes a fact of life and you get used to it pretty quickly.  Buy a decent rain jacket--people rarely carry umbrellas. That's how we spot tourists or new residents.  Also by how they pronounce certain landmarks - Willamette (wil-AM-it, like dammit) River, Couch (cooch, yes, i know) Street.

Eastern Oregon is much more arid.  Fewer trees, more snow.  I've never lived out there, but I understand it gets really cold. 

I can't really speak to the rest of the state.  It's all beautiful and definitely livable.  Feel free to send me a private message if you have any other questions. 

There are farmer's markets and city parks galore in Portland, and the cost of living is about HALF of east coast cities that I have lived in. I got a nice 1br for my boy and I in the middle of the city (woot Couch St.) for $600/mo.  I didn't have trouble finding a job at all but I work in tech support/computers where the markets are big in Oregon. You don't really need a car there like Jake said, the transit system goes on for miles outside of the city. Bike culture, DIY, live music, *ahem* smoking, and gardening culture are everywhere and people are laid back and cool compared to most places (with things like dress codes etc.) Their motto is 'keep Portland weird." It's overall a small, quiet walkable city, nice small local shops are all around without a Walmart even close to downtown. 

The smoking ban went into effect at Midnight, Jan 1st.  No more smoking in bars in Portland. 

The whole Northwest is beautiful, but sunshine isn't something thats very abundant. It's so easy to be vegan in portland. My girlfriend and I just moved here in October, and live down the street from a vegan resteraunt. People here are a lot friendlier than people form California, and the cost of living isn't very high (just a little more than the central valley of california, SIGNIFICANTLY less than SF/LA/San Diego).

I guess I'm just talking about portland, and not just oregon. But spending time outside of portland, the state doesn't seem as veg friendly as it gets credit for. Portland is half of the states entire population, and Eugene is TINY, you barely notice you drove through it on the 1-5. Salem sucks, and everywhere else is just a tiny town.