If your mindset is $$$ first it doesn't matter where you live. We have a ton of valley expats here in Portland. The ones who are really artists and creatives at heart and work to subsidize their outside lives tend to thrive here. The ones who just want to live more cheaply end up miserable because this is not California North.

Wanna move to Portland? By all means come on up! But leave your dot-com privilege and your "live to impress VC's" mentality back home. Come to Oregon and be an Oregonian.

Also- if you're attached to your car, Portland is not for you. The commutes from the 'burbs are as nasty as the Bay Area, and the inner city is made for biking and walking. Your car is good for the weekends- getting to the Coast and the Mountains- but not for your work week. Change your perspective on commuting. This ain't CAr-ifornia

Note- I said "weekends", meaning Saturday and Sunday when you are not working. If that is a foreign concept to you, Oregon is not for you.