Starting to get a little freaked out about Oregon (Portland: rent, jobs)

[PortlandNative]

Originally Posted by pw72

The U of O is great for college football, basketball, and track.

Go Beavers!

[treesap]

Beavers? How 'bout dem ducks??

[moving again and again]

I didn't know ya'll drove pick-ups. I think that the Subaru is the state automobile. Or is is the bicycle?

[Larry Caldwell]

Originally Posted by moving again and again

I didn't know ya'll drove pick-ups. I think that the Subaru is the state automobile. Or is is the bicycle?

Clear back in the mid-'70s, I had a visitor from New York State, who was astonished at the number of pickups on the road. Back then, long before anyone had heard of Starbucks, just about every town had an espresso bar, where you could get your morning jolt in a small cup. When we travelled, one of the things we packed was our own coffee, because the rest of the country thought Folgers was drinkable.

[freedom]

One truck ain't enough here, you need a pretty one and a work one.
Oh, and an Excursion. Of course all 4x4 and diesel.
Oh and a work quad. Polaris preferably. yes with a winch....duh.....

My cat has a subaru.....

[woodriverblue]

May I comment on the Eugene issue, having moved here from Seattle (I'm a Seattle native) in the early 90's? First, I can tell you that Eugene doesn't resemble Seattle at any point since the 50's - I should know, I was there. Secondly, if the husband can find work in game production here, that's great but keep in mind that Oregon State University is graduating literally dozens from its new degree program in game development and the job market will get very tight, very fast. And if both spouses want to work please keep in mind that work here is very difficult to find, and you will not be paid the "going rate." And don't rely on Salary.com to give accurate information. I live here, I work here, and I make LESS THAN HALF of what I made in Seattle in 1992. The cost of living in the Eugene area is very high; please don't rely on Sperling's Best Places for accurate information but instead go to the source (check back issues of Money magazine's features for excellent resources for cost of living data). I do research for a living, trust me - Eugene is very expensive and part of the reason is lack of choice. In particular, there are more gas and property taxes, more local taxes, plus a state income tax which doesn't give as much of a set-off from your federal taxes as many other states (including California) making the effective income tax a higher amount of your earned income. The air here is very bad, as I believe I said before the cars aren't "smogged" here but that isn't the biggest culprit; the true problem is the topography of this valley which encourages inversions (layer of hot air above cooler, thus trapping various pollutants). Plus - for 3-4 months of the year the local farmers engage in field burning - Google "Oregon field burning" for an eye-opener and you might check with LRAPA (Lane Regional Air Pollution Authority) for more eye-opening statistics. This area produces grass seed for the world and the grass pollen is so thick for two months that you can rinse the pollen off your car daily and still have it dirty brownish-yellow by the next morning - try breathing that, not fun. Oregon has a national reputation of being so "green" and "liberal" but keep in mind that two of the EPA superfund river cleanup list rivers are right here in Oregon and you dare NOT eat fish caught in the Willamette River due to mercury contamination; in point of fact the "liberal" reputation comes from Eugene being anarchist-central but in reality it is a very conservative state on issues which affect daily life. An example is - say you do get a job here but have to quit for "cause." The only "cause" that the Oregon Unemployment Department considers valid is being laid off for lack of work. That's it. Any claim for unemployment other than "lack of work" is automatically denied - of course you can fight it, takes six months or more. Government policies are uniformly Republican in source. And only this year did the Oregon Legislature FINALLY fund higher education after nearly three decades of disinvestment in higher ed leaving Oregon 45th in the nation for supporting higher education, which means of course a less educated (less taxpaying) populace.

Trust me - you don't want to live here. And the latest crime analysis documentary on Oregon Public Broadcasting reveals that yes, Oregon is the meth capitol of the US. While California may be dealing with drugs and drugs are seemingly everywhere, Oregon leads in meth manufacture - a true disgrace.

And as far as anarchist central - that is what it is here. You might check with a local publication which learned in an FOIA disclosure (and subsequently published the information a few years ago) that everyone with a Eugene zip code is automatically on "the list" (you know which one I'm talking about...) for being a potential anarchist or "t"-word. A dangerous place? I would say so. Seattleites worry about Mt Rainier and we all just about collectively wet ourselves when St Helens blew up. And it's no fun living at "ground zero" with Bremerton and Whidbey so close and potential targets of adverse military action. I'm not offering solutions - there are times when I am convinced I need to move to Jarbidge, Nevada (look it up - hermit heaven). The best I can say about western Oregon is that at least here the weather isn't a life-threatening event - unless you happen to get caught in one of the Portland winter ice storms. Yikes!!!!!

[Larry Caldwell]

Originally Posted by woodriverblue

The air here is very bad, as I believe I said before the cars aren't "smogged" here but that isn't the biggest culprit; the true problem is the topography of this valley which encourages inversions (layer of hot air above cooler, thus trapping various pollutants). Plus - for 3-4 months of the year the local farmers engage in field burning - Google "Oregon field burning" for an eye-opener and you might check with LRAPA (Lane Regional Air Pollution Authority) for more eye-opening statistics.

Agricultural field burning in the Willamette Valley is limited by law to six weeks at the end of August and the beginning of September. During this period, over 80% of field burning happens in just 10 days. Field burns are scheduled for weather conditions when the wind will carry smoke away from populated areas, and field burns are not allowed during periods of air stagnation. If your air is smoky right now, you should consider that it is over a month before the first field burning will start.

Eugene is full of a bunch of hysterical health nuts who blame farmers every time there is smoke in the air. Back yard barbecues put more particulates into the atmosphere than field burning does.

[Liopleurodon]

I currently live in Eugene and have elementary school aged kids. I LOVE IT HERE!!!

It is a college town and if you live close to the university, you will run into more experimental types as far as lifestyles go... but I have yet to meet an anarchist! (Darn!!!)

The south end of Eugene is more liberal and you will find several neighborhoods that are a bit "hippy." If you want really really hippy, just hit the country fair in August (just west of Eugene in Veneta).

The north end of town is actually comparitively quite conservative. Lots of churches and lots of Republicans. Oh yeah, and lots of Californians. Many people are not even aware of that until they move here...

As far as schools go, stick with the 4J school district. When you are house hunting you will really need to watch for that as the boundry lines are really screwy. Eugene has several alternative public schools including 3 language immersion programs: French, Spanish and Japanese.

Eugene and Portland are both "neighborhood" type towns. The areas are very distinct... so if you don't like one neighborhood, drive a couple miles and you will find something completely different.

Also, you will be hard to find a better town to live in if you like to ride bikes!

Good luck!

[cut - no links to direct competitors]

[ArtMom]

The OP sounds like me. I want to live in Oregon (even though you dont want me) but the schools scare me. We took a preview trip a few weeks ago and found the school to look... umm... lacking. BUT how can you tell by looking? I am a safety freak. The schools we saw had no fences,a nd then we looked on line and the test scores were pretty bad. But then you look at the next school down the road and its great! My head is swirling. You Oregonians are doing this on purpose to scare us off, arent you?

[freedom]

Originally Posted by ArtMom

The OP sounds like me. I want to live in Oregon (even though you dont want me) but the schools scare me. We took a preview trip a few weeks ago and found the school to look... umm... lacking. BUT how can you tell by looking? I am a safety freak. The schools we saw had no fences,a nd then we looked on line and the test scores were pretty bad. But then you look at the next school down the road and its great! My head is swirling. You Oregonians are doing this on purpose to scare us off, arent you?

Fear not, you are welcome here, now go find the place that is for you.
I have always found that a poor school is no match for a good kid.