A few questions from a young married couple looking to move! Responses GREATLY appreciated! (congested, affordable)

[Gman2007]

Originally Posted by mrspink

I've heard Oregon can be kind of gloomy in the winter...similar to Washington (Seattle), or is that referring to the Portland area? I get kind of confused by some posts!

The Pacific Northwest is gloomy if you don't like rain. The farther you get inland from the water in those states you won't deal with the rain. If you like everything lush, green, and wet then the pacific northwest is the place for you!

[bigtrees]

Originally Posted by Gman2007

The Pacific Northwest is gloomy if you don't like rain. The farther you get inland from the water in those states you won't deal with the rain. If you like everything lush, green, and wet then the pacific northwest is the place for you!

This is sort of right but needs clarification.

The WESTERN SLOPES of the Cascades or Rocky Mountains get more moisture (hence more gray weather) because the moist air cools as it rises over the mountains and drops a bunch of moisture. The EASTERN SLOPES of the Cascades and Rockies are both drier because the air has lost most of the water content.

So Seattle and Portland are lush environments. However, Eastern Washington and Eastern Oregon are both very arid climates - much drier than many parts of Montana. So you can't call Oregon "arid" or "wet" because it's both.

But remember that Western Montana is a WESTERN SLOPE environment and is gloomy and gray in the winter. It's not much better than Seattle! (I grew up in Whitefish, MT and now live outside of Seattle). You get rain instead of snow in the winter but you'll still have many overcast days without sun.

[mrspink]

Ok, I think I understand. So, in Oregon and Washington, if you are farther east it is not near as rainy, but things are not quite as green? I personally would rather have snow in the winter than rain...well, I'm not a huge fan of rain so the eastern coasts of OR and WA probably aren't right for us.

[bigtrees]

Originally Posted by mrspink

Ok, I think I understand. So, in Oregon and Washington, if you are farther east it is not near as rainy, but things are not quite as green? I personally would rather have snow in the winter than rain...well, I'm not a huge fan of rain so the eastern coasts of OR and WA probably aren't right for us.

Correct. Eastern Oregon and Eastern Washington are both very, very dry (as is Eastern Montana). Western Washington and Western Oregon are both very wet (as is Western Montana, but of course the pacific coast is more wet than the western Rocky Mountains).

If this is new information for you, I'd really encourage you to come out and visit. It sounds like you may not have ever been to the Western United States, and visiting is a great way to start.

The comment about snow vs. rain in the winter is an interesting one. At Christmas snow beats rain hands down. In April, many of my family back in Montana would prefer 50 degrees and rainy over snow any day.

But rather than trying to guess or speculate, try visiting Montana (and other states you are interested in) in February and see what you like. You may like the snow and cold or you may enjoy a more mild climate.

[bigtrees]

Originally Posted by mrspink

Ok, I think I understand. So, in Oregon and Washington, if you are farther east it is not near as rainy, but things are not quite as green?

"not quite as green" is a misnomer. It is brown (think sagebrush and tumbleweed) in the eastern parts of Washington with wide open spaces and no trees. The Western part of Washington is a rain forest, with ferns, tall trees, and a very thick forest.

[Mt-7]

Go over to the Oregon forum, Portland and ask about the districts of Washington county, Clackamas county, Marion county, that should get you started, good luck. Hey love poms, always alot of attitude in a little package

[mrspink]

Originally Posted by seven of nine

Go over to the Oregon forum, Portland and ask about the districts of Washington county, Clackamas county, Marion county, that should get you started, good luck. Hey love poms, always alot of attitude in a little package

Well, I did some researching on different locations in Oregon and found a place that seemed nice and posted about it a few days ago and still know response. I know people get tired of moving questions but I thought that is what a lot of these forums were for...maybe I'm wrong. Obviously it's not the entire purpose as I have posted on several different topics, but I really just need some advice!

Oh and poms do have a ton of attitude...I love it! Ours has what is commonly called "little dog syndrome". He is a less than 10 lb dog who thinks he's a Great Dane or something lol. He has no clue as to how small he is. The other day I was walking him and there were two dogs lose...a boxer mix and an Akita...they started crossing the road coming towards us and my little guy stood right between me and the other dogs and started growling...before I picked him up so he didn't turn into dinner or something!

[boybrady]

The problem with teaching in MT is twofold. One pay. It is terrible. How about 18500 to start? Two, anywhere you want to live (Bozeman, Billings, Missoula, Kalispell, etc.) is where everyone wants to live, so you will have to compete against 100 people for one job, and most of those people will have a family member in district that can schmooze for them, plus 5-10 years experience at a smaller MT school, and some claim to being "local"....Oh and higher degrees are actually looked down on because it costs the district so much more. They would rather not pay someone with a masters.

[Montana Griz]

Originally Posted by GEORGIAINMT

Personally speaking, I'm one of those teachers who moved from Montana across the border to Wyoming. Last year my take home pay (after fed & state income tax, Medicare, union dues, insurance just for myself, FLEX) was just over $1500/month. That is with 5 years experience and 15 hours over my Bachelor's. I got my first Wyoming paycheck today. After federal taxes (there is no state income tax here), Medicare, insurance on BOTH my husband and me, and FLEX (we don't have a union either) my take home pay was just over $3000! That's with just one more year of experience. If you look at my gross, my contract in MT would have been $33,000 this year and in WY it is a hair under $50,000. Not only does the money issue affect us, it affects the kids we teach. There is SO MUCH MORE money in the school budgets here than in Montana. This allows for more resources, more paraprofessionals, smaller class size, more specialists, etc., etc. It's a win/win situation. As for cost of living....where we are rent is higher and it's harder to find a rental than where we were, but to buy a house is very comparable. Gas is about 40 cents/gal. cheaper here. Groceries are cheaper. As for the landscape, weather, etc.....that's a hard one to call, because those things differ depending on where you are in both states. You would have to check out the areas you might be interested in regarding those things as well as amenities, etc. We are much happier now, not only because our finanicial situation is better, but because we love the town, the people, size of town & all that. I'm not trying to "dis" Montana. It's a great state with great people. The money just isn't there. I know that money doesn't buy happiness, but unfortunately we have to be able to make a living. You have to decide for yourselves where the best place for you is, I'm just giving you the facts in our personal situation and hope it sheds some light on why there is so much news about Montana teachers leaving for Wyoming. Best wishes to both of you. You've chosen respectful, awesome careers!!!!

MRSPINK>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

The above quote "says it all".

My daughter has 24 years of teaching here in the Bitterroot Valley. This school year the Board of ED laid off some of the teachers in this area (about 8 schools). The "Money just wasn't there to keep them". Many school bond initatives in the last few years have failed and been voted down....one reason being...a high percentage of the residents here are retired and on fixed incomes, and simply can't afford any more taxes.....asmuch as they would like to see more money get directed into the schiool district.

Sad but true facts.............I'd go to Wyoming.

[LostinPDX]

FYI, I am moving from Portland to western Montana soon. We don't like all the rain (we'd rather have snow, at least so we think!), and the cost of living is high with salary being lower (in our fields, not sure about teachers); plus the state is about to raise our taxes more. Unemployment is very high, around 12%. Also it is too congested here for our taste- we want quick access to outdoors and wilderness areas, and it takes a long time to get to the coast (hour and a half) or Mt. Hood (almost 2 hours) due to traffic through the city. There are some very nice hiking trails within the city itself that are very pretty- Forest Park is a 5,000 acre park, but it doesn't qualify as wilderness.

Regarding teaching opportunites, I don't know what the job market is like right now, but I do know that because the state is having so many financial difficulties that they are making cuts in the schools- not sure how that affects teachers. We have two little pre-school age kids so, sorry I don't have more details than that.

The upsides to living in the PNW: while it does rain a lot, the weather is fairly mild- doesn't get extremely cold in winter (40s, sometimes 30s or 20s with occasional snow), and gets very hot only for a week or two (up to just over 100 this summer). Spring is long with many beautiful flowers from Feb. through May. Access to the beach and Columbia River Gorge is nice, but with two tiny kids we don't make those drives very often. There is access within driving distance of a few hours to some very beautiful areas- central Oregon and the south coast are gorgeous; the Olympic peninsula is spectacular but is more of a drive. Finally, what might be a plus or minus depending on your background- Portland is extremely liberal, and dominates the politics for the rest of the state, because the rest of the state is not very populated, comparatively. Personally I think the state does not spend its money well- for example, they want Oregon to be the solar capital of the US (when we get almost no sunlight for 6 months) and so are investing tons of money in solar power, but they are cutting money for schools.
I think Montana will fit us better for all those reasons, but everyone is different- I agree with other posters, you should visit the places you're interested in. Also I recommend really looking at the cost of living/wages and taxes differentials for the spots you're looking at to be sure you're going to be happy with your finances- the Portland area is quite expensive compared to other places in the US- I doubt you would be able to own enough land here to have horses on two teachers' salaries. Other areas of Oregon though you probably could and have better outdoors access too. Good luck with your search!