I haven't been to Hillsboro. I live on the east side of the Cascade mountain range, very different from the west side. That side is lush, green, rainy at times, but nice. This side is high desert and bitterly cold. It was 7 degrees here this morning.

I've been to a few places on the western side of the Cascades, though. Salem looks nice. I have been meaning to get down to Ashland to see a Shakespeare play. Medford is also a cool town. I really liked Willamette, and anything along the coast. Closer to Portland, I would suggest checking out Tualatin, or Vancouver, WA.

I have also lived in southern California, southwest Missouri, and grew up in northwest Louisiana. We used to go all throughout east and south Texas as kids. I still have lots of friends and family down there.