Moving from Boston, MA, to Portland, OR

Move from the East Coast to the West Coast

Moving from Boston, Massachusetts, to Portland, Oregon, is a coast-to-coast journey of almost 3,100 miles.  

Boston is the largest city in its state, with around 676,000 people living within the city limits and almost 5 million in the metro. Portland is the largest city in Oregon but smaller than Boston, with around 653,000 people in the city and around 2.5 million in the metro. 

Keep reading to learn more about life in the coastal city of Portland. 

Warmer winters with less snow in Portland 

Like Boston, Portland has all four seasons, with summer highs in the low 80s and average yearly rainfall close to 45 inches. 

You’ll notice a difference when winter rolls around. Not only does Portland get significantly less snow than Boston, with an average of 3 inches, but the low temperatures are higher, too, at around 36 degrees. Boston typically has 48 inches of snow with lows around 19 degrees. 

Learn more about the history of the City of Roses

The official nickname for Portland was adopted by the city council in 2003, but the name's origins predate the resolution by more than a century. 

Portland was first referred to as “the City of Roses” by attendees of an Episcopal Church convention in 1888 because of the abundance of roses along the main stretch of town. A year later, the Portland Rose Society was established. The organization oversaw the planting of more than 20 miles of rose bushes. 

By 1907, the city decided to host an annual Festival of Roses — a tradition that continues today. You can learn more by visiting the International Rose Test Garden in the town, which has over 7,000 rose plants of 550 varieties.  

Finding work in Portland

With a lower cost of living than Boston, Portland is an excellent place to raise a family. If you’re looking to advance your career in information technology or health care, salaries are higher than the national average, and the city has low unemployment rates. 

Here are the top employers in or around Portland: 

  • Intel Corporation 
  • Oregon Health & Science University 
  • Nike (located 7 miles away in Beaverton) 
  • Providence Health & Services 

Move to Portland with U-Pack

U-Pack® has service centers near Boston and Portland, and we can make your move easy and affordable. As a self-moving service, you do the packing, loading and unloading, and we handle all the driving. Get your free online quote today or give us a call at 844-362-5303844-594-3077.