Portland’s buzz with Gen Y – Greenlight Greater Portland

On a trail hike in northern New Mexico this month, I met a young woman who, along with her husband, works at the Los Alamos National Laboratory. They’d been at the research facility for nine years since graduating from college with engineering degrees. Now, she said, they are getting antsy, ready to relocate.

"Where to?" I asked.

"Oh, we’d love to get to the Portland area," she said. "I’m from the Northwest and we think we’d really like Portland."

The woman fits the newcomer profile for the Vancouver-Portland-Beaverton, Ore. metro area: Young, hip, well-educated, upwardly mobile. Portland has buzz among this late-20s age group for its quality of life, commitment to green building, local food, renewable energy and alternative fuels.

A group called Greenlight Greater Portland http://greenlightgreaterportland.com/ is working to capitalize on these strengths to grow a sustainable economic future here.

BY JULIA ANDERSON

Full Story: http://columbian.com/article/20090830/BIZ01/708309994/-1/BIZ