SoCal to Bend OR (Portland, Eugene: low income, apartment complex, rent)

[CaliDad]

Hi Everyone,

I ,like most posters I have seen recently, am looking at Bend Oregon as a place to work and move to.

My family and I live in Ridgecrest CA, and have been unable to find a job here. My background in Information Technology doesnt seem to be getting me anywhere. I had several job leads, as well as head hunters who have pointed me to Bend Oregon and the surrounding area for IT work.

At this point we are seriously considering it. I was hoping for some information though that this group would be able to help with that wasnt covered in the FAQ.

Due to the job market here falling out from underneath us, we have been living in low income housing and the like. Is it bad living conditions for those who are on this program, even if it is temporary? Here it is pretty bad with trash and such, and is something we are hoping to avoid. How are the neighborhoods there? We have 3 girls and 1 boy on the way and I hope for them to be able to enjoy the parks and such we have seen in the information flyers we have gotten.

Is the job market there pretty decent or is it on the way down as well?

Any and all information and helpful comments are welcome! Thank you so much for the help

CaliDad

[Silverfall]

Someone said there were IT jobs in Bend?

Bend has around 14-15% unemployment or so. I wouldn't move there without a job.

[CaliDad]

I do not plan on moving there without a job set in stone. I learned that lesson the hard way in here California. The headhunter group gave me a listing of IT jobs here in bend, but if there is a better place I am all ears.

From the searching I have done, I see Portland or Redmond seem to be the IT places, but I was hoping to continue with the small town feel.

[Bendite]

Redmond Washington where Microsoft is perhaps a place to look, but certainly not Redmond Oregon. Bend has only a few, small IT companies and I would imagine some are hiring one or two people but they have a large selection of unemployed to hire from. You might look at the front range of Colorado (east side of the Rockies - Boulder, Denver, Colorado Springs) as unemployment there is not as bad as it is here. For certain, I would not move my family to Bend without a solid job offer.

[CaliDad]

Thanks for the information.

What about the low rent housing and such? Are the neighborhoods there pretty decent?

[AndrePDX]

Cali dad. not sure if you ever been to Portland. I live in Palm springs looking to relocate to Bend eventually. As an X Portlander I wont be going back as it rains to much. something to think about.

[Fiddlehead]

CaliDad,

Best wishes. This is a hard time for many, and unfortunately, Bend is suffering too. Depending upon where you are from before Ridgecrest, you might find the westside climate in the PNW a bit of a shock. MUCH wetter and cloudier. But one must often move to find work. Obviously, Redmond/Seattle would be best for IT jobs, but you really just need to land a good one. I would look widely (Boise,Spokane Portland, Eugene, Medford, Redding, Chico, Seattle, Tacoma,Denver, Salt Lake City,etc.) and see what comes up. You have not posted enough on your lifestyle preferences to give you good feedback on the trade offs in these places.

[tahoerobin]

In answer to your question regarding low income housing here in Bend; I definitely think it is nicer than So. Ca. I moved up here two months ago, and although i didn't end up going the low income route, I talked to quite a few property managers who told me about several properties. I've seen about three from the outside, and they have the typical problems... i.e. one looked a little run down, there were a fair amount of kids, and the parking lots weren't the greatest.

However, sometimes you can luck out and the economy is pretty awful here, so there is plenty of availability across the board - I'm not sure exactly how it is in the low income housing market specifically.

Surprisingly enough, the nicest low income housing apartment complex I've seen EVER was in Stateline, Nevada (South Lake Tahoe?). The units were nicer than the regular priced housing. I just moved from there and they DEFINITELY have no jobs.

I agree with the posters before me that there are NO jobs in Bend that I've seen. I saw a "For Hire" sign in the "Big Five" Sporting Good store yesterday and I was shocked. Definitely minimum wage - retail type of employment unless you are a professional, i.e. Doctor, Lawyer, Dentist, etc., and I bet a lot of them are suffering, too.

Maybe a lot of recruiters think Bend Oregon is a techie area because the media reported that either the second or third highest amount of ipads ordered the first day (week, or month, I forget) were purchased in Bend. They must have been ordered because we don't have an Apple store

Good luck. And PLEASE, verify what I've said about the low-income housing being nicer here, because that is just based on a little looking around, not a lot. Plus some instinct, because I'm FROM So. Cal. originally.

[CaliDad]

Thanks for all the suggestions and help guys/gals. It really means alot to have so much input.

To the poster about lifestyle. I am a former Dell tech, worked for them for about 4-5 years, going up to work as a level 3 tech. Got laid off in the big layoff in Nashville. Moved to Ridgecrest for Military contracts but those are slowly drying up.

My wife has lived in the desert most of her life due to not being able to put up with humidity. We spoke to a specialist and he suggested Bend or any of the areas in the high desert of Oregon. We liked what we saw and really want to get out of Ridgecrest. We want more green in our color pallette. We still want the small town feel just more green.

I had spoken to a group of IT headhunters who sent me some job postings from there in Bend and the surrounding area, so we decided to start digging more into the area and getting people's opinion. I found this forum and well..here I am.

Thanks again for all the help!

[cheaptrick]

Hi,

You're going to hear quite a bit of woe regarding Bend, and compared to the boom times it looks pretty bad. But it is not terrible for the frugal of mind.

Bend is loaded with a lot of people who overextended during the boom. They bought multiple vehicles, overpriced houses, 200k RV's....etc. and are now staring at thousands of dollars a month in payments they can no longer afford. If you have little to no debt, Bend is a good place to be.

Finding a job is the key, and they are few these days, but they are out there. I do not know what the IT field offers here, but if you're willing to work outside your field you might find something.

I do not know anything about low income housing either, but rents are pretty cheap right now. 3 Bdrm 2 bth homes in nice areas can be had for 850-900 a mo. When you consider the area, that's a bargain.

A great number of people in Bend need to make 5k plus a month to cover their expenses. Those I think are the loudest moaners about the Bend economy. If you have small financial needs, you can live here just fine and enjoy life doing it.

One place that is doing fine up here in the PNW, and it is east so the climate is dry and arid, is the Tri-Cities area. Not the most beautiful area up this way by a long shot, but plenty of jobs and economy.