Possibly relocating to Oregon - Any advice?

[mochajava666]

I've lived in Wisconsin since I was 4, so I have no memory of being anything other than a Cheese-head. After a 22 inch snowfall and the coldest winter in almost 30 years (I was in High School back then), I have had it with Wisconsin weather. My wife and I currently don't have jobs we like so much that would keep us in Wisconsin, either.

Oregon, Arizona and California, in that order, are on our short list.

[Reader Rabbit]

1. Secure a job before moving.

Our economy isn't the greatest, and housing is probably more expensive than Wisconsin, at least in the Portland Metro area. You may want to visit in the winter when it rains nearly 24/7, just to make sure you can deal with that. Many people move here, then move away after two or three years because they hate the rain so much.

Definitely visit before you make a commitment.

That said, I moved here from Chicago seven years ago, and I love it.

[mochajava666]

2. I have several leads on jobs right now

When some job offers come, things can move fast, so I will need to know if I should commit or not. I assume I'll be visiting for an interview, but a visit is far from actually living there.

That's why I think that people like you who have moved from the Midwest can really offer a valuable perspective.

I've never done this kind of relocation thing before, but I assume that I will move out there first, while my family sells the house. My daughter (my youngest) is graduating High School in December.

[Greyhound]

17. Insist on an offer in writing before you commit. I know 4 people right now

that quit their jobs and moved on a promise of employment that got here and found the company was lying.

Also, and this is new to me, check out the financials and source of income for the company, another friend quit his job for a new one and now the company can't pay him because their "Angels" (a local alternative to VC that places no accountability on promises to fund) simply haven't written the checks they committed to.

Buy hoodies, say good-by to the sun, and prepare for a "different" standard of living.

[sandnsea]

3. We have flowers in February

I grew up in California, and lived back and forth between Montana and Oregon pretty much since I was 16. I did a few months in Biloxi, Little Rock and Reno and I use the word "did" on purpose. I love Montana, but my husband can't handle the cold anymore. I live on the coast, but I could easily live in Portland. Yes there is rain, and this year has about driven a lot of crazy with the lack of a summer; but any time I get frustrated I just remember what cold really is and that We'll Have FLOWERS in February!!! That gets me through everything. Arizona is miserable hot and much of California is too. And the people, like ants all over, gaaaa!!! Oregon is it. You'll love it. Unless you can manage to land something in San Francisco or the central coast. That'd be pretty awesome too. Good Luck!

[mochajava666]

5. I had 2-3 feet of snow on the ground in February

Some winters are worse than others, and the last one was unbelievable.

The idea of baking in a desert in Arizona sounds very appealing now, but Oregon seems like a better fit in the long term.

As for California, I'm pretty intimidated by large cities, so the whole LA thing doesn't appeal to me. I've visited San Francisco for a while, and I thought it was fantastic, even though it's pretty big. The cost of living seems very high, and Arnold as the Governator? Not so appealing.

I'm getting the impression that the West coast of Oregon is pretty progressive. I'm a Kucinich or Feingold liberal, so I have a comfort level in Madison, which is somewhat liberal. I don't remember Oregon being blue until maybe the Dukakis election?

[LWolf]

4. I don't know about advice,

but I can think out loud about your list, lol.

Arizona? Do you love the desert? I do. I lived in the Mojave for 30 years. I have great respect and appreciation for the spare beauty of the desert. I also spent 30 years HATING the heat. Think carefully about your lifestyle, your air-conditioning budget, and climate before you make that move. Not all of Arizona is that extreme, of course, but the areas that aren't are relatively few.

California? I love the Golden State. I lived there for 38 of my 48 years. If I were to move back, I'd try for northern CA. It depends on what you are looking for. Do be prepared to live with earthquakes. My oldest son, who still lives in So Cal, called me right after the recent larger quake; he was on a freeway overpass. He had me look up the epicenter to see how close it was to where he was going, since he couldn't reach his destination by phone.

He called me on his cell phone, 1000 miles away, to get info that was not immediately available locally. ;)

California has much to offer. Natural beauty (I like nature better than people, most of the time, lol) along the coast, in the Sierras, etc.. Yosemite, Redwoods, Sequoias... Art, music, culture, and a wonderfully diverse population. It's a happening place. :D A good community college and state university system. There are plenty of areas that have mild winters without blood boiling summers, too.

Oregon? Natural beauty. Trees. Rivers. Lakes. The Cascades, the coast...all of them incredible. Smaller, less (for the moment) populated in many areas. Portland is a wonderful city. The Cascades divide the state politically; more population, and more liberal west of the mountains, less population, more red to the east. If you want to get away from cold winters, stay in the west. We get quite a bit colder east of the mountains. It rains quite a bit on the coast, especially for this desert rat. The area between the Cascades and the coast range gets less rain than the coast, but is still milder than the high desert east of the cascades.

How do you want to spend your life when you aren't at work? That's where I'd start. ;)

[mochajava666]

6. I spend too much time indoors

If it's not the bone chilling cold, it's the swarms of mosquitoes and humidity in the summer. Boy, do I sound like a whiner! The spring and fall are great - all 10 days of them.

When I talk to people that live in Arizona, I hear there are less mosquitoes, but you get ants and other bugs coming in from the heat. Many Wisconsinites that I know have found Arizona great. Is that thing about "dry heat" real? If it's over 100 degrees, I can't imagine getting in my car saying, "Thank God it's not humid - 180 degrees in my car would be so much more uncomfortable".

I think I'll bump Arizona to a distant third on my list. I kind of wrote off California because I assumed that it was too expensive to live there. My kids are grown up, so a large house isn't necessary, but I am used to a decent yard. I have dogs, so a little room to run would be nice.

[LWolf]

7. It's definitely true about dry heat.

I won't soft pedal it; it's HOT. 90s and 100s in a dry climate are more bearable than 80s in humidity, in my experience. And, there's a point in which it really doesn't matter 105 and above is simply miserable regardless of the humidity. It doesn't matter in the car, which bakes like an oven. Don't plan to live in Arizona, or southern california, without air conditioning in the car.

I lived in the SF valley in CA for several years. I drove a car without air conditioning for a year. I'd shower, get ready for work, drive to work, and arrive literally soaked with sweat. I finally started taking work clothes with me, sponging off in the restroom, and dressing there.

Check housing prices in the areas you are looking at; there are more places in Oregon with bigger yards. They are also getting pricey. More money than they are worth relative to local wages, in my area.

I believe the housing "bubble" popping hit CA harder than Oregon (again, at least in some places,) so that might make a difference in what you find, as well.

I love both CA and Oregon. I'm happier in Oregon, with less traffic, a lower population, more trees, and milder summer temps. They both have a lot to offer, though.

[eagertolearn]

8. I spent the first 35 years of my life in CA. and have been in Oregon

ever since (15yrs) and this is where I will die. Everything got way to crowded and expensive in CA but you can't beat the weather there. We live in a small college town in Eastern Oregon where there are four seasons but I would say that winter is our longest. It snows and then melts and stays about 30 degrees all winter. But there our wilderness area's everywhere right out our back door and many opportunities to cross country ski and a small downhill ski resport with the best snow in Oregon because it is so high. We are lacking in the job market out here right now though. In CA I had the beach but I had to go so far to ski or backpack (my real loves)and now it is the opposite. Our kids are in high school and our oldest especially is ready to move on but it has been a great place to raise kids. Western Oregon is rainy but when the sun comes out there is no place like it. Most people just do their normal activities rain or shine. But it's the people of Oregon I like more than anything. Mellow, down to earth and care about other people, the environment and the whole world! Good luck.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

9. I grew up in Minnesota, lived in Oregon for 19 years, and left only because it

had utterly stopped working for me on a personal level. Now I'm back in Minneapolis.

However, I absolutely love the climate. The rain didn't bother me, except that one year when it drizzled seemingly non-stop between February and May. The summers tend to be moderate and dry, though, and spring, beginning with the heather and plum blossoms in February, is hard to beat.

Here's how I explain western Oregon's climate to Midwesterners:

It has three seasons: summer, fall, and spring. Snow shows up every couple of years and never lasts more than a week or two. Average highs in the winter are in the high 30s or low 40s. By March there's no doubt that it's spring: camellias and cherry blossoms, followed by azaleas, rhododendrons, and roses in the subsequent months.

There were a few things that I liked about Portland in particular:

1. The transit system. I lived without a car for ten years, and I didn't realize how much money I was saving until I moved back to Minneapolis and suddenly found myself spending an extra $3,000 per year.
2. The compactness. Minneapolis-St. Paul actually has more going on, but it's not as easy to get to. Portland has a lot of theater, music (classical and jazz), and foreign and independent films for a city of its size, and everything is located pretty close together.
3. Powell's Books
4. The fact that there's no real winter but if you ever get homesick for snow you can always take a day trip to the mountains
5. Did I mention the transit system, with its ever-growing network of light rail lines, streetcars, and a bus system that runs where and when you need it? (sob!)

[mochajava666]

13. Any information about living in Bend or in Clackamas?

I'm so glad that I started this thread. Advice from people who actually live in the area is the best kind of way to gather information. I'm happy to see it is helping Dumpbush, too.

My two best job leads right now are in Bend and Clackamas. Other than Bend being rated as most overpriced housing in the US last year and in the top 5 the year before, it sounds great.

[LWolf]

15. Bend:

Beautiful area. Close to mountains, lakes, hiking, skiing, etc.; a playground for outdoor lovers. The Deschutes River runs through town.

It's high desert. When there's no irrigation, you get junipers and sagebrush. And ROCK. Central Oregon is a thin bit of soil on top of a bed of volcanic rock.

Bend has 4 seasons; summers are warm, with a few heat waves. Mostly dry heat, although there have been thunderstorms and rain this week. Spring and Fall are nice, winter is COLD.

Bend, and the rest of central Oregon, has grown faster than is comfortable, with too many parasitic housing tracts springing up. The infrastructure is struggling to keep up with the growth.

While Bend is still relatively small, as cities go, the community is active and there always seems to be something going on.

Biggest drawback? The cost of living is too high for the average wage in the area. The wealthy flourish. Real estate prices are high in comparison to wages for the rest of us.

[mochajava666]

16. How hot are the heat waves? How cold is COLD?

Are we talking in the 100's during the heat waves? In Wisconsin, it frequently gets over 90-95 with high humidity for our summer heat waves, and for winter, the lows well below zero, with highs in the single digits during our cold snaps.

Also, any sign of a bubble bursting in this housing market? I don't want to buy a house just to see it devaluate like a car. I assume that I'll rent an apartment until my family sells the house, but I'll need a house with some yard for my dogs.

What kind of people are mainly moving to Bend? Elderly Californians? I'm hoping there are families moving there, since my wife will be looking for a teaching job in a grade school.

[LWolf]

18. Good questions.

We were in the low 100s several days last week. That's not common, but it can happen a few times during the summer. High 80s and 90s are more usual, with cool evenings. While this is a dry climate, heat waves are sometimes more humid, relatively. Last week's culminated in thunderstorms, with some big cloudbursts over the weekend and on Monday. Still, what we consider humid is nothing like the humidity you are used to. "Normal" here is EXTREMELY dry. A mummy's paradise.

Cold...the low at my place last winter was -4. More often it ranges in the single digits and teens. We can get days (and longer, but not usually,) where the high never makes it into the 30s. Hard frozen nights, ice, some snow but not excessive. Officially, a frost can occur on any night of the year. Summer frosts would be an extreme. We did have snow that didn't stick in early June this year. After a mini-heat wave (80s) in late May.

Our heat wave has cooled down nicely. I don't know what the high was today; I was working indoors all day and not paying attention. It's about 70 degrees right now, with a slight, chilly breeze. Tomorrow's forcast is for 76, warming back up to the 80s after that.

Housing market? Still overpriced (imo,) but it's slowed down. I see lots of places for sale, and there are some foreclosures going to auction. Rentals are not too pricey (but I don't know what would be considered pricey in Wisconsin!)

I'm a teacher. I live and work in the area, but not in Bend itself. I put applications in at the 3 largest local districts, did a hiring fair in April, and attended MANY interviews before I was finally picked up. I brought experience and some special training and skills with me. Still, in 2005, the job market was so tight that (as I was told later) there were 60 - 90 applicants for every teaching position in that district that year. I think it's eased up a little; the area has grown, which means that more teachers are needed each year. I don't know what teacher salaries are like in Wisconsin; I took a massive 1/3 cut in pay moving from so cal. That's probably why I think housing costs are inflated in comparison to wages. ;)

There are plenty of families in Bend. Lots of California (and other) transplants of all ages. Bend attracts outdoor enthusiasts of all ages, and central oregon has way too many golf resorts, imo. Anyway, there are plenty of families. It's definitely not a retirement community.

[hamerfan]

10. Some fine advice here, thanks!

Thanks for all the good reading, people! This is a very timely thread for us.
Me and the missus are heading out next week for a 10 day vacation in Oregon, specifically the southwest corner (if you said Brookings/Harbor, go to the head of the class!)
Anyway, we are thinking very hard about moving out there permanently. Currently stuck in Kansas City, Missouri, which has the only redeeming factor of being an affordable place to live. I’m from Oregon (Willamette valley) and these last 15 years in Missouri have been a waste of my time in all ways except this is where I met my wife and being able to build a decent nest egg.
I am aware of the rain factor, but as someone pointed out above, when it’s nice on the Coast it’s one the most gorgeous places on earth.
So, we’re considering buying a used mobile home with our savings, and trying to find jobs to just cover the monthly bills, as we are still 10-15 years away from Social Security.
I’m thinking one of the hardest things to do out there will be to have to go to work on a beautiful day....
We’re also going to check out Grants Pass, as that town sounds like a good place, too.
Sure do miss the coast... And the clamming... And flowers in February! And I’ll be happy to have someone else pump my gas.....
dumpbush

ON EDIT... FWIW, my wife suffers from allergies and asthma out here, but every time we've been on the coast, they really seem to clear up. I don't know if this is a temporary thing or not, but she sure does enjoy the easier breathing out there!

[here_is_to_hope]

11. I am just north of your vacation hotspot!

...and its raining, 61 degree's out. We didn't have a summer, just a few days of 'not rain'.
Brookings/Harbor is in the Banana Belt so it is warmer than most of the coast. Not much going on there though, elderly, retired Californians and super pricey housing.
The jobs seem to be in the med field more than anything.

[hamerfan]

12. Thanks, here_is_to_hope!

Hello,
Yeah I read about the rain you had out there this summer. Hopefully the businesses out there that depend on tourists were able to make it through okay.
And the pricey home market in the Brookings area does not sound good, either. There's a web site here:

http://www.mobilesbythesea.com/realdb/realdb_display.cgi

that lists used mobiles for sale and a few of them are within our reach. So that's something for us to consider, as is living somewhere near Brookings and commuting to work. Those dang retired CA's really messed up the housing market in a lot of places....
My wife works in the local hospital as a unit secretary, so that should come in handy in that area. I work in broadcast television (the local PBS station here) and wouldn't mind at all getting out of that. Not the PBS part, the television part. So basically any job that includes health insurance would be fine with me.
We've been scanning the Curry Pilot classifieds online and think we'd be able to come up with something there. Coos Bay area is just too big for us, but Gold Beach might work. We are going to check that area out. Port Orford was a great looking little town, but I don't think there are many ways to make a living there outside of fishing.
Next Monday we will be out there and looking around, so wish us luck. Sure do miss the Pacific.....
dumpbush
PS... I've got a couple of guitars hanging around here myself. Maybe after the move we could run into each other.

[here_is_to_hope]

14. Coos Bay....

My wife is fifth generation here otherwise I would get as far away as possible.
Gold Beach is alright though rather small and they tend to come up here to Coos for shopping.
The population here in Coos is much older-we don't even have a skate park for the kids though Reedsport, Port Orford and Brookings do...and we have three times the population of those three added together.
The elderly here tend to despise change of any sort and they are the largest segment of the population.
And they love McB*sh.
I have come to despise the elderly here.


Our medical centers are thriving while everything else is going down the tubes.
Oh, the Casino is doing well too but it has put 16 cafes and bars out of business since opening.

When you get to Brookings you will notice one thing though...a few thousand Obama signs, in fact, up and down the coast (except for Coos Bay) you will find overwhelming support for Obama. Just north of Gold Beach there is an 8' by 10' sign that says "Obama 08" in the middle of a pasture!
And Gold Beach has a movie star too...Gregory Harrison lives there.

The Coast is wet though, very wet, 120 inches of rain a year is considered a drought....
Today is 54 degree's with heavy rain and a Gale forecast for tomorrow.
A Gale.
Some Summer, eh?

[Karl_Bonner_1982]

19. Oregon Climate Summary

The Coast and coast ranges are the wettest, with many places over 100 inches of rain a year. Rain in most of Oregon is seasonal, with almost none during the peak of summer but a LOT between November and January. Along the coast there is not much difference between winter and summer temperatures; January highs average in the upper 40s in the north and gradually increase to balmy mid-50s near the California border (the south coast has especially warm winters and can grow most of the subtropical plants you see in California). Summer highs throughout the coast are in the mid-60s with few heat waves except an occasional warm spell in early fall when the wind blows off shore.

The western valleys have warm dry summers and chilly wet winters. Most places have winter highs near 45F. The summer highs, however, range from about 80 near Portland to over 90 around Medford. Not much snow in the western valleys though the valleys in the southern part of the state are a little higher in elevation and get slightly more snow.

The east side is mostly desert, though temperatures vary according to elevation. Most spots have hot days during summer, but the higher elevations cool down a lot at night while the low desert in the north central part of the state (where I grew up) stays warm all night in the summer. Winters are very cold in the highlands but only semi-cold in the low desert, where rain is more common than snow even in January. The low desert gets most of its rain in the winter while the high deserts further south and east get more from summer thunderstorms.

That about sums up Oregon's climate. We have a lot of variety, ranging from California weather in the southwest to cold prairie type weather in the northeast highlands around the Wallowas.

[BlueIris]

20. Don't move here. The economy is trashed.

Right this second, I can't come up with any real reason I'd tell anyone to move to this state.

[hamerfan]

21. The economy is trashed everywhere I think,

So if I'm gonna be poor, might as well be poor in a much prettier place than Missouri :)
Anyway, we are taking off tomorrow for a couple of weeks in Oregon, and when we get back I will post what I found out, both the good and bad. And, I will get my fill of clam chowder to boot, which is a damn sight better than the corn chowder they make out here!

[Trajan]

24. I moved here 3 years ago ....

And I can think of thousands of reasons ...

Lets start with 3

1 Pretty

2 Beer

3 Liberal (Cities at least)

Perhaps some DUers havent been to Missouri, or New England in winter ...

PM me if you wanna go grab an ale in the Portland area ... I can drag a couple of other DUers along too ...

[northernlights]

22. it must be something in the air

the timing for this thread is perfect. I wanted to move to Oregon out of college, but my parents crapped on my plans and I ended up in frigid new england instead.

The only thing colder than the climate here is the people, and after 30+ years of freezing, it suddenly dawned on me that I'm done. Last year's winter -- 3+ feet of snow, total melt in January, followed by another 3+ feet of snow. Temps below zero in Dec, Jan, Feb. Heating bills and property taxes through the roof. I'm done.

The economy here stinks as much or worse in Maine as anywhere else. I'm in school now for medical lab technology, so I think once I get that degree (spring '10) I'll be in my best position to escape. It was while writing a chemistry paper on Linus Pauling that my Oregon dream was reborn. I'm thinking Wilamette Valley. 24x7 rain for a couple months sure beats 24x7 blizzard. Flowers in February? I'm there!

Can someone fill me in on your property taxes? New England's are astronomical compared to some states. I pay $1600+/year for a little antique farmhouse on 2 1/2 acres. In Mass, I paid $800/year for a tiny, old 3-room garden-style condo in a depressed city.

I'm a outdoors type -- do you have any poisonous things? (The sole good point in Maine is we don't have poisonous snakes or spiders!)

[LWolf]

23. Rattlesnakes and spiders.

Really, while we have rattlers, I've only seen one once in the last 3 years. I see more gopher snakes.

My property taxes are high, but then, I moved here from CA, with prop 13 to keep them down. Since there is not sales tax, property taxes make up some of that difference.

[Karl_Bonner_1982]

25. Not many rattlers in NW Oregon

Most of the rattlers are east of the Cascades and south of Eugene, though a few sightings have occurred in the Willamette Valley.

The Willamette Valley's summers are as dry as its winters are wet. We have this nice contrast between warm days and cool nights, and usually not too much humidity, which makes for very comfy outdoor weather. While we do get a few flowers in February, real spring doesn't get going until about the second week of March, sometimes even later.

The places in north central Oregon (Hood River, The Dalles, and east of there) have long, hot summers and are mostly desert country as soon as you get east of Hood River. If you like growing grapes, figs, cherries or apricots that is the best climate for them.

[WheelWalker]

26. Oakland, Brookings, Eugene & Portland. Depends on the size community you're

looking for. Spiders not deadly. You will probably go your whole life without seeing a rattlesnake, unless you're walking the Umpqua river - Even then, not deadly in most cases. Just tread lightly and pay attention. Woods can have a lot of scorpions under the loose bark of fallen trees. I wouldn't waste my life in Central or Eastern Oregon unless you like the cold in winters. Personally, at almost 60 years, I've settled on Oakland and Brookings. Oakland might be too small for you (pop 870), but it's got great access to I-5.

[Karl_Bonner_1982]

28. Brookings is so isolated!

But it does have the warmest winters in the state, and is able to grow date palm trees. The date palms near Gold Beach, specifically the one a few miles up the Rogue River, is the northermost mature date palm in the Western Hemisphere.

[bhikkhu]

27. Buy a bicycle

I've lived in Portland and now east of the mountains (snow, etc), but I guess if you are planning on moving here it would be Portland or the Rogue Valley. In either case, you'll enjoy things best and become "localized" best, taking advantage of one of the uniquely wonderful habits of the region, if you can manage getting about by bicycle.

My 2 cents, since you asked. :)

[L. Coyote]

29. The central valley is polluted, ....

The Coast has the best air quality, the south coast the best weather, the north coast the most clouds, rain.
East of the Cascades has continental winters, west side has Pacific weather.

Hood River has wind and water and Google, Bend has winter sports, Mt. Hood skiing and Portland partying.

Corvallis is a great University town, off the I-5 corridor, with highest education per capita in the nation. I'd start there if you don't require the cleanest air.

[funflower]

35. "Polluted" is a relative term. Ever been to the California Central Valley?

The Willamette Valley does get a bit smoggy at times, but it's nothing compared with most similar areas.

[cascadiance]

30. Are rental prices in Portland going up with latest housing crisis?...

Though I don't have finalized ccmmitments yet to allow me to do house hunting, I'm all but set to move to Portland shortly. If things work out for me, getting work there won't be an issue as I'd be transfering my present job there, but I am concerned about rental prices... I'd hoped to already made arrangements even before this Wall Street meltdown, and had looked at some places online. Is there a general feeling that prices will go up around there if people stay in rental units for the time being? I'm not looking to buy there just yet. Maybe in a year or so if things settle down. Housing affordability (relatively speaking to California) is a big reason for me moving too.

[Trajan]

31. I am now checking out rentals in LA ...

Portland is much more reasonable than LA ...

Check out : http://portland.craigslist.org/apa/

Good Luck ....

[Uncle Sinister]

32. Rental market is incredibly tight, and yes, rental prices ARE going up.

AS more and more people are forced out of their homes, and fewer and fewer can buy, the rental market is as brutal as I've ever seen it in PDX. Although, if you can get the credit, (and KNOW you'll keep the job) it's actually not a bad time to buy right now.

[cascadiance]

33. I think I have got my transfer authorized.. Think I can get a place by Tuesday?

I'm probably going to fly up on Sunday and leave Tuesday. Still don't want to buy in this market yet. Especially when I'm not really sure where I want to settle down there just yet. Beaverton sounds good location-wise for me, which is probably where I'll start looking. If anyone can help me get a lease signed by then, think of it as one extra vote against Gordon Smith (and an added progressive vote down the slate of other races) if I can register to vote before Thursday a week from today! Got my California absentee ballot in the mail yesterday, but I'd rather help you guys get rid of Gordon Smith!

I think I get my final terms of my move later today sometime for work... You think I should try to change my handle from calipendence to orependence?

[grasswire]

34. as you may have already found out...

...Beaverton is more conservative than Portland itself. The suburbs are filled with Republicans.