Moving to Eugene,Oregon - we hope (rental homes, homes)
Eugene areaEugene - Springfield metro area
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Can anyone in Eugene tell me about the economy in Eugene and the surrounding area? We live in the Southwest, (Yuma,AZ), and we want to move asap as the economy here is at a dismal 25% and shows no signs of slowing down. I need to know about the rental homes for ( $ 700.00 a month) is this a possibility? There are four adults and a little one (2 months old) and we need to move at the end of January/2011. Now as for the weather at this time, would it be wise to wait? We need a change at this area and Eugene minus the rain looks great. So we are looking for anything positive regarding Eugene as I have researched other States and Oregon is our top pick right now, thanks for any responses.
Eugene does not sound quite as bad as Yuma, if you meant 25% unemployment there. However, the economy is not doing so great, so if you have a big family to support, not very promising at the moment. Washington State is doing much better than Oregon right now. Eugene, in particular, seems to attract a lot of people who have done inadequate planning, and they seem to have a lot of homeless as a result. What type work do you or your other family members do?
The Pacific Northwest is beautiful, that is for sure, but these are difficult times to get established. Also, the climate will be a tremendous contrast from Yuma. It will be like moving underground. Much, much less sun. January is the height of the rainy / cold season, so not the easiest time to move later in spring would be better.
Thank you Fiddlehead; I am from British Columbia Canada and I am used this this weather but my wife will have to get used to this weather. I will look into Washington and thanks for the info. I work in the assembly environment but I have researched Eugene quite extensively and I am currently working towards a degree in Sociology so I am leaning towards that as my final career goal. Also the weather here gets to 120 degrees so it really a time for a change. Yes the unemployment rate is at 26 %, so no chance at a job anytime soon. We live in a border town and we get the Oregon SNOWBIRDS down here, quite alot of then actually. We need to move asap as the job situation is going to get really bad once the snowbirds leave so thanks again for the info. Also Happy New year to you as well.
$700 for rental home will be tough if you want to live in the nicer areas of Eugene. Most rent for around $400 per bedroom, e.g. a two bedroom runs around $800. This is just a rule of thumb and of course you can find some higher or lower than this number, BUT it won't be much lower than this range unless there is a reason, i.e. crappy location or very rundown condition.
As for the job situation, you probably should not move to Eugene unless you have a job arranged here in advance. From what I have read, it is very difficult to get a job here. Many light manufacturing sites here are partially or fully shutdown, waiting out the economic downturn. Having a college degree is not a big selling point either, since there are so many college grads in this area. Some other posters have mentioned that they needed to drop their salary expectations by 50% and even then it was very difficult to find anything. There are many posts on this topic throughout this forum, so you should probably check them out before making a decision.
Re the weather: I am keeping a daily weather log on my profile page here. You can have your wife take a look at it to get a non-statistical feeling for the weather in Eugene (in other words, not just the normal science-y graphs of temperature and rainfall): http://www.city-data.com/forum/membe...ed-530124.html
Thank you Fiddlehead; I am from British Columbia Canada and I am used this this weather but my wife will have to get used to this weather. I will look into Washington and thanks for the info. I work in the assembly environment but I have researched Eugene quite extensively and I am currently working towards a degree in Sociology so I am leaning towards that as my final career goal. Also the weather here gets to 120 degrees so it really a time for a change. Yes the unemployment rate is at 26 %, so no chance at a job anytime soon. We live in a border town and we get the Oregon SNOWBIRDS down here, quite alot of then actually. We need to move asap as the job situation is going to get really bad once the snowbirds leave so thanks again for the info. Also Happy New year to you as well.
I was wondering about your name...I'm from SE Alaska but spend winters in Oregon a few miles out of Eugene.
Have you considered Seattle? People seem to be leaving this area because the job situation is so bad.
Hey Haida - sorry Ididn't know you had started a new thread. Ianswered you in the other thread where you posted. Good luck to you! Happy New Year everybody!
Hi Metlakatla; I am from Haida Gwaii ( white name - Queen Charlottle Islands ) and I have lived here for the past elevem years now, met my wife online, came down after meeting her online and married her 6 months later. I currently live in hell, a place called Yuma,Arizona, 120 degrees in the summer months and 100 to 110 degrees starting in May, so a change for us needs to happen now. We have researched so many other States and Orgeon suits our needs but now we are getting answers that are making us look at other States now. So I will look into Washington, nice States as well. Thanks for the info.
Last edited by Cornerguy1; 01-19-2011 at 08:23 PM..
Hi Metlakatla; I am from Haida Gwaii ( white name - Queen Charlottle Islands ) and I have lived here for the past elevem years now, met my wife online, came down after meeting her online and married her 6 months later. I currently live in hell, a place called Yuma,Arizona, 120 degrees in the summer months and 100 to 110 degrees starting in May, so a change for us needs to happen now. We have researched so many other States and Orgeon suits our needs but now we are getting answers that are making us look at other States now. So I will look into Washington, nice States as well. Thanks for the info.
I agree that you should get out of where you are, sounds awful. There are a lot of people from SE Alaska and BC living in the Ballard neighborhood in Seattle...that's the only area I have any familiarity with so I couldn't tell you about other neighborhoods.
I spend some time just North of Haida Gwaii before I came back here for the winter.
Southeast AK had an extremely cold and rainy summer...
anyway...I've never seen the job situation in Oregon so bad. There seem to be plenty of nice rental properties in the small town east of Eugene that I live in that are just sitting empty. People are moving to where the jobs are.
Last edited by Cornerguy1; 01-19-2011 at 08:23 PM..
You don't say what kind of a job. Unless it is a Doctor, with no job, there is no reason to move to Eugene unless you plan on welfare. While Eugene has some jobs, as compared to much of the rest of the state with no jobs, there are thousands looking for menial work and just as many looking for technical work.
Reading some of your other posts in other threads it would seem you are somewhat homophobic. Are you aware Eugene and many other Oregon towns are somewhat Gay?
Yuma is no better and no worse than the half dozen other forum city's you have indicated you were moving too.
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