Trying to decide where to move from Georgia (Portland, Eugene: for rent, low crime)

[mikeysangel25]

My husband and I are considering moving from Georgia and are trying to decide where would be best for us. We are at a point in our lives where we could pick up and move, probably the only time until we are old , so feel now is the time.

I love Georgia but the heat is killing me! I have often felt I should have been born in Ireland, with my pale skin and red hair. That being said, we are obviously looking for somewhere cooler, with less humidity. Below are the main things we are looking for:

*Decent job market, we wouldn't move til we found one
*lots of things for family/kids to do as we have a 5 year old daughter. Like hiking, parks, swimming, dance etc...
*four seasons! I love snow, dont mind cold weather as long as it is not -20 all winter. I hate summers with temps over 85. I have to stay inside most summer here. Which is sad because we love parks and hiking.
*lower cost of living. Currently we make about $55,000/year since I am not working.
*affordable housing, we would be looking to rent first year or so. Would like 3 bedrooms, at least half acre in area with lots of kids. No more than $1,500 per month for rent.
*low crime rate
*30-40 min outside a larger city but would prefer to live in smaller town
*no more than 3-4 hours away from coast

We have been looking at Oregon, which seems nice. [Mod]off topic[/mod] Would love some others opinions.

[delta07]

Originally Posted by mikeysangel25

My husband and I are considering moving from Georgia and are trying to decide where would be best for us. We are at a point in our lives where we could pick up and move, probably the only time until we are old , so feel now is the time.

I love Georgia but the heat is killing me! I have often felt I should have been born in Ireland, with my pale skin and red hair. That being said, we are obviously looking for somewhere cooler, with less humidity. Below are the main things we are looking for:

*Decent job market, we wouldn't move til we found one
*lots of things for family/kids to do as we have a 5 year old daughter. Like hiking, parks, swimming, dance etc...
*four seasons! I love snow, dont mind cold weather as long as it is not -20 all winter. I hate summers with temps over 85. I have to stay inside most summer here. Which is sad because we love parks and hiking.
*lower cost of living. Currently we make about $55,000/year since I am not working.
*affordable housing, we would be looking to rent first year or so. Would like 3 bedrooms, at least half acre in area with lots of kids. No more than $1,500 per month for rent.
*low crime rate
*30-40 min outside a larger city but would prefer to live in smaller town
*no more than 3-4 hours away from coast

We have been looking at Oregon, which seems nice. Moderator cut: off topic Would love some others opinions.

Bend is known for having a poor job market, and in fact all of Oregon is known for this. This may be your limiting factor. There are jobs, but there is also a lot of competition. It sounds like you are thinking about a potential move in the right way though, in that you won't move until you found a job. Best decision!

In terms of seasons, Bend does have 4 seasons, although some will say we only have 2-winter and a few weeks of summer. Winter is long compared with many other places, especially Georgia. I wouldn't say Bend is overly cold, but it's certainly cool for most of the year and the long, cool, unpredictable spring weather can get to people (me being one of them). There is a term that I think fits well with our spring weather here-Juneuary. Unlike most parts of the country that are experiencing summer weather, Bend is cool and sometimes downright cold for June. Here's a good weather summary for this month so far. We are all over the map. History | Weather Underground Once summer arrives, usually around the 4th of July, the weather is pretty phenomenal for about 3 months before it cools off again. We can easily have temps over 85° in the summer, but with very low humidity, so it doesn't feel as hot as places back east or down south.

I don't know what the cost of living will be like compared to Georgia, but I find Bend's COL to be about average or a little higher than most major metro areas (without the major metro area wages, etc). The housing market took a nosedive, so homes are about half of what they were a few years ago, but may be still high compared with the south. $55K/year would be doable for a couple here, but it would be tight. If you have children, that may be pretty hard to live off of. However, to find a salary in that price range may be more of a challenge (not knowing what kind of work you will be looking for). I've found many professional jobs pay about $10-$20K less than larger cities. But, people live in Bend for the lifestyle, not necessarily the pay.

Housing may also be a challenge for you, especially if you are wanting acreage in an area that is more of a neighborhood (I guess that's what I would associate with lots of kids). One thing that may be very different here, as opposed to the south, is that there aren't homes on small acreage in subdivisions. You might be able to find something in Deschutes River Woods or in the SE part of Bend that fits what you are looking for, but I'm not sure.

Bend is the "large" city in Central Oregon, but still pretty small (~85K people). The nearest larger cities are Eugene/Springfield (126 miles away), Salem (132 miles away), and Portland (162 miles away). We are about 4 hours from the coast.

The crime rate is Bend is very low.