Everything is relative, as they say.
I know folks talk about the liberals ruining Oregon, and socialist laws and such. I moved to Oregon from CA in Dec. I lived in the Bay Area my entire life. Compared to where I'm from, Oregon is a libertarian paradise. Seriously. I have run into the occasional liberal whackjob, but they're like cockroaches. The human race can't hope to eradicate them, only keep them out of the well lit, clean places.
Portland is a bit much for me, honestly. I moved to a town of 8,000. We're the last gas for 70 miles as you head East toward Bend. Everyone knows one another, and people don't throw their trash on the ground. Corvallis is nice. If I wanted "city life", I'd probably move to Corvallis. I'm really enjoying the fact that I have to drive an hour to get to a mall. Of course, the drive to the mall is breathtaking. Of all the pictures I've seen of different states, I've yet to see any as beautiful as the scenery I see here everyday. I can't think of anyplace I'd rather live than where I do now.
I feel like I've gone back in time 40 years, as far as people's attitudes and laws go. When I tell people here what CA was like they don't believe me. I've actually had people think I was lying about how bad it was, how peanut butter isn't allowed in some public schools, and 7th graders are required to have three weeks of training in Islam, and so forth. They complain about traffic and crime, and they really have no idea. I feel sometimes like I've moved from a third world country.
Oregon is wonderful. You won't regret the move. It's nice to live in the USA.
Oh, yeah, about the rain. You said you're from New York City, or thereabouts. People warned me about the rain, and seasonal affective disorder. I've actually had more exposure to sunlight since I moved here than I got in CA. You should be fine. I would suggest some full spectrum light bulbs, just in case. And the rain leaves everything fresh and clean.
Did I mention no sales tax? The taxes here are actually a lot lower than what I'm used to. My property taxes on my 837 square foot shanty in CA were 3400 a year. My home here is 1700 square ft, and I pay 1200 a year. As I said, everything is relative.
If you have more questions, feel free to email me, and I'll answer if I can.
We can always use more gunnies, especially in the cities.
By the way, there are large areas of publicly owned land where I guy can just go shoot, with no fee or anything. At least, that's what they tell me.