NPR Morning Edition story - jobs, cycling, and quality of life.

In a series of stories related to the early release of the latest census data, NPR has been looking at different U.S. cities. This morning NPR's Morning Edition picked Portland; also known as Stumptown, Bridgetown, and PDX. The main focus of the story was demographics; mostly age and race, but woven through the story was issues such as cycling, brew pubs, quality of life, and outdoor sports.

"Biking to work and knowing that so many of my friends and peers are in that community and that culture is great," adds John Sterm, a young attorney who was in the process of grabbing some lunch at a Korean food cart.

Later in the story the city's higher unemployment rate is explained by Oregon economist Christian Kaylor, who states that "one of the reasons we have that higher unemployment rate is because people do continue to move here even as jobs disappear."

Kaylor also mentioned the city's strong brand as a livable place makes it more attractive to companies, too.

Recently, Sun Microsystems was trying to decide whether to close a plant in Portland or in California's Silicon Valley. The company asked employees from both places if they would relocate.

"And the responses were night and day," Kaylor says. "The skilled California workers they wanted to keep were enthusiastic about relocating their families to the Portland area. The Portland employees who were skilled indicated that they would quit rather than relocate in the Bay Area."

Final score: One more high-tech plant for Portland, one less for Silicon Valley.

What do you think? Did you relocate or continue to live in the Silicon Valley for quality of life issues such as the weather or the great cycling? Or do you stay for other reasons? Any thoughts?