Reply #15: I'm a life long Bay Area Born and Raised that has moved to Oregon..

[tmooses]

I don't live in Portland but live in Corvallis-a college town of about 50,000 about an hour and a half's drive from Portland. I believe the weather is similar in Portland as it is in Corvallis with minor variations so let me give you my take on the Bay Area versus Portland weather. I grew up in Marin and find the summer's pretty similar, but very different than SF. Portland has a bit higher humidity and summer will have more consecutive warm days than you will find in the Bay where the fog inevitably rolls in after a couple of hot days. I moved up here late 2003 just in time for some pretty heavy (but rare) snow
which blanketed the valley floor. The biggest atmospheric change is in the skies here-very dramatic with constant changes and very beautiful
sunrises and sunsets. It may be just me, but cloud formations just seem very different than I recall living in the Bay. I was surprised when I found the annual rain totals in Portland or Corvallis are about the same or even less than occur in Marin. I couldn't figure that one out until I was here for a year or so and now I think it might be because the rains don't seem so intense (downpour-wise) as I remember in Marin.
Many days that have rain here also have sunshine and there are days of light rain which doesn't really stop you from doing anything.

I have made a few trips to Portland and my wife has relatives there
and have really enjoyed my visits there. There are areas in Portland that remind me of 24th St or Union St. in SF-but maybe that's everywhere. I get lost in Portland everytime I drive there but I'm sure that I got lost in SF when I first moved there in the 70's- but that period does not seem particularly clear to me. Anyway hope this helps you a bit and good luck!