Off to Vegas, Again

I would go with Portland just based on the fact that 60% of Oregon is public land and 4% of Texas is public land. I like to recreate outdoors, Colorado is 43%.

Generally, Portland, because living in Texas is like living in China without leaving the country. The average lifespan in Oregon is FOUR YEARS longer than in Texas.

But I'd take Austin over almost anywhere.

Portland: better weather, MUCH nicer people, money actually spent on public improvements, not stuffed in the pockets of fossil fuel companies, a far more attractive landscape, natural beauty, trees everywhere, lakes, rivers, waterfalls, spectacular mountains.

A tremendous variety of food, a vibrant cultural scene, festivals and fairs all the time. More jobs and higher average income. And yes, folks, a dearth of MAGAs, gun nuts, and anti-abortion crusaders.

There are, of course, some twisted wackadoodles who despite all the above, prefer Texas. I'm glad--we don;t want them here, pissing all over everything and starting gun battles on the freeway.

One thing I love about Portland is that there are awesome hiking trails five minutes from downtown (in the huge Forest Park), as well as within an hour in the Columbia Gorge. You can go north to Mt. St. Helens, west to the gorgeous coast, or east to Mt. Hood, all within 90 minutes, There are seven world-class whitewater rivers within two hours of here, And closer to home, there are lots of great municipal parks everywhere--they were obviously a priority back when the city was formed.

Portland is within easy reach of four different national forests. I can drive an hour in four different directions and go camping. Oh, and Mt. Hood has skiing and snowboatding.

But then...there's Texas (BLAUUUUUGH)

Texas  With the the much lower cost of living you can aford many more trips to vegas and colorado

How about those property taxes?

My oldest son was a "lifty" at Beaver Creek for one season, they had a special training meeting prior to the Texas schools' spring break, they all had to be more alert!

Why do Texans always come to Colorado for outdoor recreation, is it because Texas has so little public lands?

When I was in high school in Colorado we had a rhyme about Texans, mostly during ski season, if you can handle a high school rhyme, I'll share it with you.

Texas's cost of living is higher overall, thanks to a lack of regulation and control over utility bills, food costs, and a highly regressive state tax structure. You look up the raw numbers, and Texas has an ostensible lower cost of about 3%, but that ignores the fact that incomes in Oregon are about 4% higher than those in Texas. So for the same job and the same living situation, you come out a little bit ahead in Oregon.

There is no way that the cost of living in Texas is lower at all, much less "much" lower. Now, Texas could craft an advantage over Oregon if they took certain steps, such as tie into the national power grid (thus lowering seasonally insane power bills), shift taxation onto the wealthy rather than the poor (which would decrease the overall cost of living due to the economic multiplier effect), or modernize their woefully inadequate healthcare system (which currently, forces many people to travel hundreds of miles to obtain basic care). But they're conservatives, so anything that benefits people rather than corporations is anathema.

Because Texas is a blighted, ugly landscape where the only outdoor recreation possible is to load up yer pickup truck and try to shoot some Messkins. No country for old men, or anybody else for that matter.