Lisa my DH commutes to Portland from Vancouver and I think it really just depends on where and when. He used to work on the waterfront and really had to time when he left from work to avoid traffic. Now he works over by the airport and its maybe a 10-15 min commute and he hardly meets traffic. We used to live in the Tigard area (south of Portland) and decided to move North rather than commute from the south. That is where the real mess is. I have lived in the Portland area my entire life and honestly they grey doesn't bother me. People will say it rains all year and thats not really true. We definitely have three distinct seasons, it just rains most of the Spring, Fall and Winter. LOL! In general the weather is pretty mild over all and since I really haven't known anything better its just normal for me. The Summers here can be really beautiful... mild and in the 70s/80s. Its close to the beach and the mountains and you really don't understand "green" until you have been here for an Oregon spring.
