*Please help this couple find a place to call home*

[hotzcatz]

Let's see, in Hawaii he won't be able to be a firefighter for at least several years since they don't hire mainland folks for firefighting jobs and there is a whole long list of local folks waiting to get any firefighting jobs that do open up.

You can do art but you won't be able to make a living at it since the stuff isn't selling because the economy is so bad here. If you can produce food, that would be better. And by produce food, I mean produce the stuff, not just cook or alter existing food. Pretty soon food will be about all folks will be willing to pay for but that's probably several months away yet. Many folks are still getting unemployment, when that runs out things will get really tight. Folks are taking any jobs they can get even if they are technically overqualified for them. A friend just found a job as a secretary and she had been looking for employment for about a year. She's a licensed lawyer but a secretary job was the best she could find. Which now means there is a secretary out there who may be looking for work as a server or hotel cleaner or other less skilled job. Unless you have a skill set which folks are willing to hire and pay above minimum wage for, you will be only be able to afford half of an apartment except they don't take dogs so I haven't a clue what you'd do.

The only island with people and excitement like you are looking for is Oahu which is REALLY expensive so you won't ever be able to buy a house, nor are they particularly dog friendly. There are a few dog parks and you can walk your dog on a leash, but there are a lot of places you can't take your dog to. Also, with a Chow and a husky, your dogs would have to be clipped or they would die of heat stroke.

You will be able to see all the available bookstores, art stores, hip places (are there any of those? there are many tourist places), museums, ball or football games within a month or two on Oahu and then that's it, the next nearest are a plane ride away. I don't think Oahu has a football team or baseball team but there are loads of high school teams that folks cheer for. The rest of the other islands don't have anywhere near the amount of "stuff" that Oahu does so your next nearest cultural mecca would be about 2,500 miles or a five hour plane flight away.

There are a few local markets although many of them are mom-n-pop general store sorts of places some of which specialize in stuff such as Filipino or Chinese foods. Chinatown has a lot of little shops which sell interesting things, although I can't think of a true farmer's market on Oahu but there might be one.

There are a few independent coffee shops but they may not be what you mean when you say "coffee shops". Many things in Hawaii are done entirely different than the mainland so it is hard sometimes to know if we are talking about the same things.

There is a lot of activity but mostly it is of the ocean and hiking variety. It is not affordable especially if you need to find jobs to support yourself. Most of the jobs are service type jobs which don't pay well enough to live the way you'd like to live.

Come visit Hawaii and see for yourself. Read the online versions of the local newspapers and Craig's List to see if there are any jobs available that you'd be able to be hired for. Check out the rental listings to see how far the salary, if you had one of those jobs would go.

[MadRussian]

Originally Posted by nikgrr12

So where in South New Jersey?

Somewhere between Philly and Atlantic City, but not too close to any of this cities. It's very rural, quiet, but close to NJ shore for beaches. Close to Philly, DC and NYC for restaurants, clubs, museums...

[nikgrr12]

Yeah, I see your point. My dogs have thick fur. They might not like Hawaii. So back to the states. Jersey. I got an e-mail from some one about Portland, Oregon. Whatcha think?

[lost_traveler1]

Originally Posted by nikgrr12

So what do you guys recommend? Think you can solve our brainteaser?

Brainteaser? Nah, this is easy! Portland, Oregon definitely.

[newUHprof]

Originally Posted by nikgrr12

Yeah, I see your point. My dogs have thick fur. They might not like Hawaii. So back to the states. Jersey. I got an e-mail from some one about Portland, Oregon. Whatcha think?

My sister lives in Portland and loves it. I visit her there often. Arts scene and independent cafes? Check. (Also, if you like beer, more local breweries per capita than anywhere else in the country.) Technically there are beaches because it's the Northwest coast. But are you planning to go for a swim? I lived in the SF Bay Area, and there were about 5 days a year when I could stand to go in the water... just too cold.

Dog friendly? Super much. Dogs are welcome in all parks and there are lots of off-leash dog parks, at least last I heard. Of course, it rains all the time there. I mean all the time. So for my dog (who hates the rain almost as much as I do), it would suck. She wouldn't want to go outside for a month at a time.

Active? Yep, most definitely.

Affordable? Less so every day. It's been the "hip" place to move for a while now, and prices have been increasing because of that. I think it's still a lot more affordable than Hawaii, SF Bay Area, Southern California, NYC, Boston, etc. But I wouldn't classify it as affordable, no.

[LucasS6]

St. Augustine, FL

[Brav989]

I live in Vancouver, WA which is just literally across the Columbia River from Portland. I don't really see it as unaffordable. The avg. housing price here is around $240,000 (before the whole foreclosure/economy debacle). Portland prices prior to it were around $320,000 on average. Portland really just sprawls about 10 miles in each direction. You would think you're in the same town driving all around, but it's really about 10 different cities. But unaffordable, I'd hardly consider it that.

Weather wise it does rain a lot, not measurement wise but in how long the sky is overcast. I'd compare fall/winter to London. Every winter we receive some snow, every summer there will be 100+ days. Four very distinct seasons. Traffic is terrible here depending which direction you're headed, but it's manageable; so far. She was right on about the cafes, bookstores, artsy stuff, dog parks (are quite a few off leash parks). A lot of people even bring them to the office with them (cats too).

We live in a valley so it's pretty moderate here. To the west of us is a mountain range, just over that the pacific ocean. To our east is a mountain range and a lot of skiing/snowboard type stuff. Further east past that is a bunch of desert. All can be seen within a 1.5-2 hour drive from the Portland/Vancouver area.

If interested to know more, should check out the following links:

Portland, Oregon - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Portland metropolitan area - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[hotzcatz]

We visited Portland on vacation several summers ago and it was a lovely city. Lots of public transportation, loads of interesting people, art all over the place and dogs and cats scattered through the population. They have a lovely rose garden, there, too!

It seemed an area I'd consider moving to, if we had to move to the mainland for any reason.