U-Portland -Whats it like being in Oregon -Anybody ?

Hahaha nonononono. Portlandia is a comedy show. Portland is a really cool town that is often compared (favorably) with Austin. A lot of cool things happening in the city, you'll have plenty to do around town. It should be a really good time!

Ha !! Watching the second video, I thought it was mean't to say that a 'business' driven/professional person tends to change into a 'hillybilly' type after staying in Portland for a while. Gee I feel bad now.

I do hear Portland being a laid back city, but from a commercial perspective, are there any jobs/opportunities for work/internship etc. Specially for someone in finance sector ?

There will not be as many opportunities in the finance sector as there would be in NY, LA, or Chicago... but there will still be opportunties. Most likely they will not be with the biggest or best firms, especially since they will be less likely to recruit there.

Portland is also known for large amounts of rain in the winter, and hot summers. It's a beautiful place to live. My roommate in college was from portland (awesome guy) and he absolutely loved it there. It does not have a huge amount of diversity, but has a nice downtown (with skyscrapers) and plenty to do. They have some great college sports teams to follow, and the nike headquarters is up there. There are a lot of good things about portland, but I would not consider a "financial hub" of any sort. So depending on what type of finance you want to be in, you may have to look outside the city for the best positions. But of course, just like any big city, there will be plenty of corporate finance jobs. There will be less investment banking, private equity, etc... b/c these types of jobs only exist in there greatest form in the largest cities.

Overall, I think it is a great place to live, but might not have the most robust job prospects for finance. I would contact the schools career department and see what they say about finance jobs in that area b/c they will be much more of an expert in this area than I will.

Good luck!

Haha - love those videos! Fred Armisen for the win!!

Mist3rh - GMAT LA gives fantastic advice. I've heard all great things about Portland, but for the career portion, the school's career management center would be able to give you an idea of companies that recruit and the sort of roles they recruit for. If possible, also reach out to alumni of the schools in finance roles to glean more about their experience in the program and how the school helped facilitate opportunities for them.