back to eugene? (Portland: apartment, health insurance, find a job)

[tceffo]

Im 52 yrs old with a G/F of the same age(we,ve been together 17 yrs)- I HAVENT been in Oregan , never mind Eugene since my younger Grateful Dead years - She grew up in Vermont so she thinks the transiton will probably be easier for her (also she has no family to speak of)
Well - I left in my 20,s and its always been in the back of my mind that someday ,when the time felt right, I probably would like to retire out there- and maybe live out my days- - Im not in bad health so it could be a long time
I have been living and working in NY City and Northern NJ for close to 25 years , and I was recently laid off from my company after 15 yrs. I was a production manager for a cable assembly company ,who had to get rid of 20% of thier employees- so my position was eliminated as they are now outsourcing all the work that I was over-seeing.
With $$ saved up, and a 401K (Which Id rather not touch if I dont have too) is it reasonable to believe that the economy would allow me to find a job-Im through with looking for a career again- hell I had one and look at what all that loyalty got me*
Me and the G/F would be looking for an apartment in the city- we own a pretty new acura,that we would drive out there- w/o bringing any thing from this NJ apartment. So all household items -from furniture to a computer to knives and forks *would have to be aquired .

I do have a lot of NY and east coast in me , I figure it could work for me or against me
The bottom line is , I guess I need to know - how is the job situation? the cost of living?? etc,,, Do I need to make sure all is setup before hand or is it worth the shot that all will work out ??
The good things are , we only need a small 1 B/R and would like to be near the part of town that doesnt shut down at 6 pm- - after living in NY/NJ you get used to everthing being open 1/2 the night- I dont need to know about the school systems, or anything like that -my son will be staying in NJ, My G/F is all for it- but she,s probably right when she sez " we,ll only be able to come back once a yr if were lucky- its not around the corner
mY mOM is still here and she is well takin take of by by siblings, my son ,s life is here in Nj so he sez he,s fine with it- he,ll have a place to visit when NJ stresses him out- which it will
Any info , advise good or bad would be appreciated- I have about 1 more month of a severance package* then about a year on unemployment if I want(or need it)
Thanks
ceffo

[Mr Eugenified]

As has been mentioned in other threads, now is not a good time to come to Eugene looking for a job. If you really are set on Eugene, then I would suggest you stay where you are, look for job ads on the internet, even pay for a cheap flight out here for interviews if you need to, but...Don't relocate here until you have been offered and officially accepted a job.

In your case, it should be workable since you can move on fairly short notice, i.e. pack up the car and go. (I suppose you could let your son keep your household stuff or he could sell it on your behalf after you are gone and keep 20% as his selling commission.)

In terms of location, from your description of your interests, the downtown area is the one for you. Still, you should know that even downtown shuts down fairly early by New York standards (aside from a few late night bars/clubs). It also gets a little "dicey" there in the evening with some grungy people.

As for cost of living, some people say it is higher here, and some people say it is lower. Maybe some statistics could give you the answer, but I often feel those statistics are not quite accurate (usually they are based on the entire Lane county area, which has a wide variety of different living conditions, so maybe that is the reason for the weird results). Here are some very rough monthly numbers that I would estimate for you:

Monthly Figures for two adults living in one bedroom apt. in downtown Eugene
Rent: $650
Groceries: $400
Cable TV: $100
Phone/Internet/Cell: $200
Electricity/Water: $130
Health Insurance: $400
Restaurants/Entertainment: $350
Gasoline: $100
Trash: I think apartment dwellers don't pay this
Car Insurance: $100
Total: $2430

For sure, not a complete list, but hopefully you can use those numbers to build your own full budget plus compare costs with other areas.

Good Luck!

[tceffo]

Lotta useful information- - thanks a lot

bestregards
ceffo

[CCCVDUR]

Originally Posted by Mr Eugenified

Don't relocate here until you have been offered and officially accepted a job.

Monthly Figures for two adults living in one bedroom apt. in downtown Eugene
Rent: $650
Groceries: $400
Cable TV: $100
Phone/Internet/Cell: $200
Electricity/Water: $130
Health Insurance: $400
Restaurants/Entertainment: $350
Gasoline: $100
Trash: I think apartment dwellers don't pay this
Car Insurance: $100
Total: $2430

Reply to Mr. E Living w/ Attitude in E --
However nobody has any job ads on-line anywhere that pay more than $12 an hour. Therefore it is not worth the cost of the flight. So if one doesn't have a job in their current City, is it better to go on the road and live out of your car while looking for a job? Would you suggest elsewhere besides Eugene to secure employment just after arrival? Of course these questions don't have answers. However lots of people WANT to move to Eugene, and what are some strategies for securing a cheap place on arrival, and then, finding a job? Since this question is in several threads, should there be a new thread on strategies for relocating to Oregon?

Where did you get these Cost of Living figures?

[Mr Eugenified]

Tom Lane: I would disagree about the jobs situation. I am sure there are jobs that pay more than $12 per hour listed online. UO is constantly advertising a wide range of jobs. UO also has a batch of new lecturers and professors each year. The health care industry in Eugene is also running frequent ads. Of course, people need to have the right qualifications and experience.

Agree that maybe there should be a thread to discuss this topic in more depth and more proactively, i.e. "How to find employment in Oregon".

Cost of living figures came from the depths of my brain and are based on my personal experience. Do you think they are too high or too low?

[Olduvai2020]

Originally Posted by Mr Eugenified

Cost of living figures came from the depths of my brain and are based on my personal experience. Do you think they are too high or too low?

Obviously, some items like health insurance, car insurance, gasoline consumption, restaurants/entertainment, etc. will vary significantly from person to person depending on lifestyle and personal circumstances. I think your other numbers are in the right ballpark.

A nicer one-bedroom apartment with washer and dryer in the unit in places like Broadway Place Apts. or High Street Tower will probably run closer to $850 than $650, but rents are falling along with the occupancy rates, so I expect continued downward pressure on rents. Fall and winter would actually be a good time to look for a rental.

If I was in my 50's, I would not move across the country, unless I had job with good health insurance secured in advance. The premiums for an individual policy would be too high even with no coverage for pre-existing conditions, and you can't just go without insurance and hope for the best like one might do in his 20's.

[skinem]

Glad you've lived there before, and I'm guessing with family there you've been back quite a bit for visits.
My parents grew up in the Eugene area--Lorane, specifically. They left pretty much right after high school and lived all around the world and nation. They spent most of their years in desert or near-desert climates. They always intended on retireing back to the Willamette Valley. I heard sooooo frequently growing up that they wanted to move back "home" and intended to when they retired. They even bought property in the area to build on when that time arrived.
They finally retired, got a fifth wheel trailer and spent one winter in the Eugene area, just to "try it out". What they were trying out was the rain after 45 years more or less of not being in it and they were beginning to have doubts if they wanted to live in that climate again. They found that they did not like the weather at all. They told me that they just forgot how wet and gray it is much of the time and just didn't think they wanted to deal with it again. They ended up settling not too far from where they had been in a much dryer area.

I'm not saying that to discourage you, but it would be great if you had that issue nailed down before you committed to the area again. To some folks, the weather there is a zero factor, to others it doesn't work for them.

[CCCVDUR]

Originally Posted by skinem

They finally retired, got a fifth wheel trailer and spent one winter in the Eugene area, just to "try it out". What they were trying out was the rain after 45 years more or less of not being in it and they were beginning to have doubts if they wanted to live in that climate again. They found that they did not like the weather at all. They told me that they just forgot how wet and gray it is much of the time and just didn't think they wanted to deal with it again. They ended up settling not too far from where they had been in a much dryer area.
I'm not saying that to discourage you, but it would be great if you had that issue nailed down before you committed to the area again. To some folks, the weather there is a zero factor, to others it doesn't work for them.

Absolutely, and great advice.

The poster is from NY / New Jersey where there is a lot of rain, however, after each storm, things clear up ... unlike Western WA and Western OR where after it stops raining, it might stay cloudy w/ light rain for 5-10 days ...

Boulder, where they also mentioned, has sunshine all year long, with snow in the winter, quickly clearing to sunny and windy conditions. Totally different. However, some people can't tolerate the gusty downslope winds on the East side of the Rockies (Western Colorado such as Durango doesn't experience this).

The average amount of clear and partly cloudy days averages only 3 each for November, December, January, February in Seattle, Portland, Eugene, NW California, etc.

Overall, the best weather year round is in Northern Arizona and the high desert of SE California, as this area is not too hot, not too cold, and under the Southern part of the Surface High Pressure that is over Utah/Nevada for most of the year - with over 300 clear and partly cloudy days per year in places such as Yucca Valley, 29 Palms, Ridgecrest, Flagstaff, Sedona, etc. etc. etc.

[haggardhouseelf]

I just saw on the news that they are hiring 911 call center people and the starting pay is $17. - $24 per hour. I get emails every day from eugenejobs.net and there are almost always three or four jobs listed just in the few areas that I selected. I really have always felt, even before this "recession", that there are jobs here it's just that there aren't very many people here trained or skilled or sometimes willing to fill the openings. People are too picky. If I needed and were looking for a job right now, I'd take what I could get at first and then keep looking until I found something better. But it seems everyone I have met who are currently jobless and looking, are refusing to lower their standards or make any sacrifices (or cut their hair or wear a uniform...lol). If someone is truly serious about finding work, work is out there. It might not be your dream job, and it might not pay what you'd like, but it will be something while you figure out what you want or need to do next (like go back to school to get some kind of training for a better job...).

And... yep.... it's about to be that time of year. We have about two more days of sun and then the weather predicts the rains are about to start up again and be with us for the long-haul.... about 8 months of wet, grey, cold, and muddy. Sometimes if we're lucky we get a few breaks in here and there... but it won't be until about... what... April? May when we reacquaint ourselves with Mr. Sun again? Every spring when he comes back from his long holiday my eyes go through about a week trying to readjust to the light... it's a bit of a shock to the system - but a pleasant one!