To fellow transplants now transplanted elsewhere:
I moved to Portland 10 years ago. I grew up in a small town in the Midwest, and the opportunity to move anywhere other than the Midwest seemed vastly superior to staying in that shit box. A friend literally asked me one day, "Hey, do you want to move to Portland in two weeks?"
I didn't know anything about Portland, but quickly learned that the weed was really strong, and living there was actually cheaper than "back home."
It was a no-brainer. I found a job on Craigslist, sold off everything I could, packed up the rest, and drove halfway across the country in three days.
Fast forward a few years. Portland is becoming more and more expensive and it's getting harder and harder to find a place to live. I was resentful, but I held out as long as possible in the city, making it from 2007-2017. Then I finally got priced out.
Now I live out in the western suburbs, and you know what? I like it here. A lot more than the city, actually. Things are simpler, the people aren't pretentious, and nobody is out here crying about "the OLD Beaverton." I enjoy it for all the reasons I started to hate the city. Granted, it's still not cheap, and definitely not as cheap as it was, but it's a hell of a lot cheapER.
I guess what I'm saying is this: Think about what you really need in the city, and maybe entertain the idea that you can still have access to everything Portland has to offer from further out.
Until then, quit bitching; Alberta, Division, Hawthorne, and Downtown all suck now anyway.