[Coastal_habitat]

OK. I'll post this one too on the Oregon forum, but the reason behind the urgent tone of my post is because we have to get out of our house by the end of the month!

So the countdown has begun for us and we REALLY need to decide: is it Oregon or is it Connecticut for us?

(NOTE: I don't mean to offend anyone with my perception on both places.)

So. It all boils down to this:

For us:

Oregon

Pros: Portland, its walkability, the fact that my husband loves it, it's on the West Coast, its diversity (we are a racially diverse family ourselves), its natural beauty, and of course, affordability.
Cons: Heard that public schools are not that great, the nearest big city is 2 hours away, AND, husband would have to work Saturdays and Sundays (he's in car sales)


Connecticut:
Pros: its proximity to two big cities (either NY or Boston depending on where you live), its natural beauty, GREAT public schools, AND the fact that hubby would have Sundays OFF (we have a 5 year old boy)

Cons: Cost of living, lack of diversity (comparatively to other parts of the country), pervasive suburban feel, and, from what I've read and been told, materialism and a little bit of a snobby attitude.

I don't know. My husband grew up in the Bay Area so he loves colder climates. He really likes Portland but we'd love for our son to have his family together on Sundays. I'm Asian, and so I need to feel some diversity around me. But all in all I can adjust almost anywhere as long as I'm not the only secular, liberal, "person of color" around...!


What would you do?

Thank you.

[andthentherewere3]

Has he had a job offer in either location? I would be very hesitant to move right now without one. And we'd need some idea of what kind of budget you have to work with, since Connecticut can be quite expensive.

[JViello]

Originally Posted by Coastal_habitat

OK. I'll post this one too on the Oregon forum, but the reason behind the urgent tone of my post is because we have to get out of our house by the end of the month!

So the countdown has begun for us and we REALLY need to decide: is it Oregon or is it Connecticut for us?

(NOTE: I don't mean to offend anyone with my perception on both places.)

So. It all boils down to this:

For us:

Oregon

Pros: Portland, its walkability, the fact that my husband loves it, it's on the West Coast, its diversity (we are a racially diverse family ourselves), its natural beauty, and of course, affordability.
Cons: Heard that public schools are not that great, the nearest big city is 2 hours away, AND, husband would have to work Saturdays and Sundays (he's in car sales)


Connecticut:
Pros: its proximity to two big cities (either NY or Boston depending on where you live), its natural beauty, GREAT public schools, AND the fact that hubby would have Sundays OFF (we have a 5 year old boy)

Cons: Cost of living, lack of diversity (comparatively to other parts of the country), pervasive suburban feel, and, from what I've read and been told, materialism and a little bit of a snobby attitude.

I don't know. My husband grew up in the Bay Area so he loves colder climates. He really likes Portland but we'd love for our son to have his family together on Sundays. I'm Asian, and so I need to feel some diversity around me. But all in all I can adjust almost anywhere as long as I'm not the only secular, liberal, "person of color" around...!


What would you do?

Thank you.

Each place has it's share of problems, and it's share of good things.

I will say that you can put your "diversity" worries to rest here in CT. The state is very diverse in culture, color, economy, landscape and attitude.

A + I'll put in for CT is the HUGE amount of historical things around here. It seems like you can't go 2 miles in the backroads without coming upon a historic home, farm or building. CT is a very unique place in that within an hour drive it's LOADED with things to see and do. Mountains, ocean, city all within a short drive. Just have a read on this thread and you'll start to get an idea:

http://www.city-data.com/forum/conne...do-see-ct.html

To answer your question about "what would I do". *I* would go where my family would benefit the most. Period.

[vvolin]

It all boils down to what you like and your job opportunities.

Do you feel an urge to be in a big city at least once a month? CT

Do you want to live in a city? I know Portland a bit: it may not be a big city, but it is a city enough for me. On the other hand, much of CT is small towns and some of the few big cities have quite a bit of crime and poverty issues. However, you can find city life in both, I think.

Schools: in CT they are good only if you choose the right place, which is often not a city. And if you have to go private, then I know I could afford Portland's private schools easily, but the CT ones would force us into extra sacrifices.

Climate: I don't know ... everywhere it gets cold and humid for over six months a year kind of melts into one big blog for me, so I don't see a lot of difference between the two.

Diversity: I disagree with the above post. Portland culture is more diverse than most CT is. In CT, diversity is concentrated in some areas, which becomes a kind of an oxymoron, I think.

Snobbery: I am afraid it is a trait of the North East more than it is of the North West. But I would not choose based on this trait alone. It is all relative, and if I remember there are neighborhoods in Portland where I am sure you would find much of the same character you find around Glastonbury, my CT town.

I would have chosen CT over Portland (and in fact we never applied for jobs on the West coast) exclusively based on the fact that I need to reach Europe frequently and easily. Everything else is certainly different, but the quality of life may be actually very similar. Then your job opportunities become a little more dominant, don't they? job and career opportunities, pay and future income raises, weekend work, need to commute: these are major points, and I think they are more important than any minor cultural differences you can analyze between the two places.

Good luck!

[missionhill]

For diversity I'd choose NJ or NYC itself over Connecticut but I guess that's where your husband's job opportunity is. True, Conn is very suburban (in the sense that you have to drive everywhere), but suburban in New England is different than suburban in, say, Calif or Arizona. New England towns have lots of layers; none of them started out as suburbs of anything. They all have personalities and character that transcends the cookie-cutter development formulas of suburban areas elsewhere. I'm afraid that's also what makes them expensive; developers have to jump through lots of hoops.

I'm surprised that you left natural beauty out of your assessment of Oregon--isn't that one of the things it's known for? I've never set foot in the state myself so must defer to others' judgment. Also, Portland, though no Boston or New York, is a pretty big place.

[missionhill]

Oops--silly me--you did cite the beauty in Portland.

[UnschoolerinCT]

Originally Posted by Coastal_habitat

OK. I'll post this one too on the Oregon forum, but the reason behind the urgent tone of my post is because we have to get out of our house by the end of the month!

So the countdown has begun for us and we REALLY need to decide: is it Oregon or is it Connecticut for us?

(NOTE: I don't mean to offend anyone with my perception on both places.)

So. It all boils down to this:

For us:

Oregon

Pros: Portland, its walkability, the fact that my husband loves it, it's on the West Coast, its diversity (we are a racially diverse family ourselves), its natural beauty, and of course, affordability.
Cons: Heard that public schools are not that great, the nearest big city is 2 hours away, AND, husband would have to work Saturdays and Sundays (he's in car sales)


Connecticut:
Pros: its proximity to two big cities (either NY or Boston depending on where you live), its natural beauty, GREAT public schools, AND the fact that hubby would have Sundays OFF (we have a 5 year old boy)

Cons: Cost of living, lack of diversity (comparatively to other parts of the country), pervasive suburban feel, and, from what I've read and been told, materialism and a little bit of a snobby attitude.

I don't know. My husband grew up in the Bay Area so he loves colder climates. He really likes Portland but we'd love for our son to have his family together on Sundays. I'm Asian, and so I need to feel some diversity around me. But all in all I can adjust almost anywhere as long as I'm not the only secular, liberal, "person of color" around...!


What would you do?

Thank you.

Having lived (and loved) in Austin as a non-Texan native, born and raised in the Rockies, spent several weeks touring Oregon, and now living happily in CT, I have to say that given you are so happy with southwest Austin and have extended family on the west coast, you would probably be better off choosing Portland. Portland is much closer to the feel of southwest Austin than CT. Portland has more of the laid-back vibe that you like.

Are you aware that Oregon has an extremely high income tax rate, around 9%? I love the state of Oregon; we considered moving to Bend a decade ago from Austin, because we could not longer stand the Texas heat. Coming from 0% state income tax rate in TX to 9% in Oregon was too much of a shock for us.

I completely disagree with your perception of CT being a materialistic and snobby state as a general rule. I've lived all over the United States and really love living in CT. I have found people here, once you get to know them, to be tolerant of others, socially liberal, and fiscally conservative, especially in the northern half of the state. Texas, including Austin, is much more materialistic, IMO, than CT.

Austin really isn't the hippie utopia that it was once was and the rest of Texas....well, bigger is almost always considered better in Texas. I recently returned to Austin last winter to visit and my 1948 house, that I renovated while living there in Tarrytown, had been completely swallowed up by a 3+ million dollar behemoth house on less than a 1/2 acre lot. They built right over the existing house without tearing it down. What a shock.....

[Coastal_habitat]

Hey guys, thanks so much for your input.

Going post by post, the conclusion so far is that I should do what is right for my family, which right now translates into: good schools for our kid and having Sundays off for my husband.

On the other hand, it would be nice not to be constantly stressed out about paying the rent! Which brings me back to Oregon. Which brings me back to the fact that I do like Portland a lot, it's a very beautiful city, but honestly, the unemployment rates in OR scare me a bit. (see why I'm so confused?)

About our budget, I'm sure Fairfield Co would be a bit harsh on our pocket, so I guess a possibility would be living more towards Hartford, even if it's far from the coast and NY or Boston.

----------------------

Dear Unschooler, I see you've gone through some of my older posts!

I've enjoyed the laid back attitude in Austin, and the fact that, contrary to the way it was in the Bay Area, the level of snobbery here is near to zero.

The reason we're moving is the heat (the same push factor you and your family experienced). I've really enjoyed having my husband around to spend our Sundays together as a family, but that would change if I were to move to any state with no blue laws.

So CT is somewhat a stronger option right now because of that.

The only concern to be completely honest with you is the high cost of living, the lack of major urban centers in CT itself and the "diversity" issue. All these regarded comparatively to Texas (cost of living) and California (diversity and urban centers).

About the snobbery issue, I have no personal opinion about it in CT, since I didn't experience it as a week-long tourist there. It's just based on the many comments one hears and reads. All I can say is that I already had my share of that while living in the San Francisco Bay Area for 6 years!!!

---------------------------

So. Maybe the trade off will be to think that what we're saving in private school fees (by not sending our kid to one) will go into our monthly rent. All for the sake of having daddy home on Sundays.

Hmmmm....

But thanks again for helping me brainstorm. You guys are great.

[Slipperman]

just wondering how did you end up narrowing your choices down to Oregon and CT being that they are on opposite ends of the country.

[usmcfamily]

Originally Posted by Slipperman

just wondering how did you end up narrowing your choices down to Oregon and CT being that they are on opposite ends of the country.

I was wondering the same thing. And why on earth you would even consider CT with the perceptions that "people" are telling you?

And you have a child and have to move in 3 weeks with no decision yet made?