Is the grass really greener? People who left the Bay Area for the Pacific Northwest tell us why

Why people left the Bay Area for the Pacific Northwest -- people tell their stories. Why people left the Bay Area for the Pacific Northwest -- people tell their stories. Photo: SFGATE Photo: SFGATE Image 1 of / 27 Caption Close Is the grass really greener? People who left the Bay Area for the Pacific Northwest tell us why 1 / 27 Back to Gallery

Editor's note: SFGATE is exploring how people's lives change after leaving the Bay Area, for better or for worse, in a new series. Today we're focusing on those who have relocated to the Pacific Northwest. We'll explore other relocation areas in future articles, so keep checking back.

Amanda Nimitz, 30, has lived in the Bay Area for most of her life. After 16 years, she's moving to Portland, Ore.

"Oakland is getting really crowded and really expensive," Nimitz said, who is leaving at the end of the month, fiance in-tow. "We've become disgruntled old people."

Nimitz goes on to cite a laundry list of gripes contributing to the big move: traffic, impossibility of buying a house, the fast pace of life, a shrinking creative community. Those who live in the Bay Area have heard these complaints before – and then some.

"It feels like Portland has a better quality of life," Nimitz continued, "They're not so focused on paychecks and tech innovations."

If there's one thing people living in the Bay Area love to talk about, it's leaving the Bay Area. Redfin's annual "migration report" confirms this dinner party chatter. Analyzing a sample of 1 million Redfin users, the site found that Bay Area residents are leading the nationwide migration outside of urban centers.

When people leave the Bay Area, as they inevitably are, where do they go? According to a recent report from LinkedIn, Portland and Seattle. Why did they leave? SFGATE spoke to Bay Area ex-pats who moved to the Pacific Northwest to find out (see their responses in the above gallery).

Related video: What you'll miss when you leave the Bay Area (story continues below)

While many willfully jump ship, others are forced from the Bay Area by gentrification, eviction and the high cost of living. In 2015 alone, the local nonprofit Anti-Eviction Mapping Project recorded 317 Ellis Act evictions, a metric often associated with gentrification.

The median home value in San Francisco, according to Zillow, is $1,167,200. Portland's median home value is nearly three times lower, at $414,800, while Seattle sits between the two figures at $638,100.

Those looking to raise a family may feel especially hindered by the high housing costs, like 26-year-old Hailey Brook Marshall, a graphic designer who left San Francisco for Portland two years ago to settle down with her new husband.

"If I were by myself I would for sure move back to San Francisco," she told SFGATE. "But, yo, lifestyle change!"

Marshall says she misses the "vibes" of the city more than anything. The first time she returned to San Francisco after her move, she recalls touching down at SFO and thinking, "Oh my god, I left my heart here."

The weather is Marshall's biggest complaint when it comes to Portland life.

"It's rained every day since January 15," she said. "Summer is why I live here."

It certainly rains more up north, but is the grass really greener?

Wendell Rickets, 58, made the move to Seattle 10 years ago, citing "high rents" and "yuppification" as contributing factors. After a decade, he's not so sure he's better off.

"The trend followed us to Seattle," he said.

Have you left the Bay Area in search of greener pastures? Let us know by answering our survey (click here). We may share your story on SFGATE.