Trying to move from Michigan to Oregon! Help needed! (Portland: sales, cheap apartment)

[marie8190]

Hello All,

Me and my fiance are trying to move from Michigan to Oregon, mainly to start over. We have never had a house or anything and have both been in Michigan our entire lives, we currently live with his parents.

I am 21 and Korean, Black, and Indian, and he is 24 and white. I say this because in the past we have had issues with others regarding my race in certain neighborhoods, so I would prefer not to live in an area where individuals have a problem with me because of my race.

We are looking mainly for a house, or a rent to own, preferably, somewhere out in a rural or wooded area without many neighbors but within driving distance of businesses.

I would like to know anything any of you can offer regarding; Jobs, housing, weather, and community. We have not picked an area yet, we are mainly looking for an area based on the jobs and housing. Currently he works in a fabrication factory, I am not sure what his job title is. I am currently unemployed and enrolled in school online working on my Bachelors in Business management, I am looking for a job within the business field or something related to clerical or office work, so information regarding that field would help a lot.

I am not sure what other information to give, but thanks for the responses.

~Marie

[Silverfall]

You'll want to stick around the larger cities for work. Oregon has 9.4% unemployment overall. Salem is at 9.6%, not sure about Eugene or Portland. You are talking about basic no skill jobs, for which there is a lot of competition.

Renting a house out in the middle of nowhere will be hard to find from Michigan. I would suggest that one of you secure a job, move into a cheap apartment, and then explore where you'd want to live from there.

Maybe check out Albany/Corvallis. There are some companies like Wah Chang and Weyerhauser (I think they're still there anyway) that have plants in Albany. There are also a couple of places in Corvallis (Evanite comes to mind).

Competition is going to be stiff for both kinds of jobs, though. Whatever you decide, just rent an apartment for a while. It's not difficult to find a place that does month to month, plus it's a lot more affordable for people on limited budgets.

[bluebird39]

We moved here from Michigan, so while I can confirm that there are few jobs here, I know for a fact that Michigan is worse.

In Oregon, there are more forestry jobs than manufacturing. It's a totally different job scene.

One thing Oregon shares with Michigan, or any place for that matter, it's who you know, not what you know, and an "outsider" moving to a small town may have a hard time finding work, just because most of the jobs will go to friends and families in a small town. Sorry... just sayin'. If you want to be in school, I'd find a good place with a college or at least a community college near by. It depends on where you look, but here in northeastern Oregon, rentals can be hard to find. As mentioned, it could just be that we're more rural. Bigger cities will have more for rent.

On the plus side, no sales taxes, MUCH lower DMV and auto insurance rates (unless you work for the auto industry in MI... was always shocked at the good deals they could get), lots of public land, beautiful scenery, better climate and (IMO) friendlier people. On the negative side, if you want to visit family by air, you'd better be close to Portland, since it's incredibly expensive to fly back from a smaller airport, and SUCH a long drive. Much higher income taxes than Michigan, fewer doctors, so healthcare is much more expensive here than there, same true with mental health, dentists, eye care... Schools not nearly as good. You'll miss the lakes and fall colors, but the food's better LOL. HTH Good luck!

[bluebird39]

I have no idea if this pertains to your fiance, but there is an RV manufacturer in town (Pendleton, OR), and they hire a lot. Looks like there's a current job posting:

Employment Department Job Listings

HTH

[dusky_beauty]

You want the larger cities in the North. Albany, corvallis, Salem, Eugene, Portland (and it's outlaying) Roseburg (maybe). Start with job postings and toss in some apps and see if anyone calls you back and go from there. There's a bit of manufacturing and warehouse jobs in larger areas. Distribution centers are also a good bet. If you're tight and need to find a decent paying job in a hurry you can look for night shift stock jobs in grocery stores. Some tribal casinos are good places to work too.

Specifically, Spirit Mountain in Grand Ronde was a great place with decent pay and the best benefits I'd ever seen. Its located about halfway between Salem and Lincoln City on the coast. Fits your bill of quite rural, and there are a lot of rentals and complexes nearby to serve the employees in nearby small towns. http://spiritmountain.com/oregon-coast-casino-careers/ If I were you, I'd start there.

[Smiled]

Specifically, Spirit Mountain in Grand Ronde was a great place with decent pay and the best benefits I'd ever seen. Its located about halfway between Salem and Lincoln City on the coast. Fits your bill of quite rural, and there are a lot of rentals and complexes nearby to serve the employees in nearby small towns. Spirit Mountain Casino Careers, Grand Ronde, Native American Casinos | Spirit Mountain Casino If I were you, I'd start there.

I would add that housing in that area is inexpensive as well.

For the best selection of work, though, I'd start in Portland and get the lay of the land from there.

[dusky_beauty]

I forgot to mention to the OP, if her claim to tribal blood is high enough, she may find that she would have some preference over the general public to tribal casino's jobs.

From what I know from living on a couple different reservations some Tribal boards set up these Casino's hiring practices to be open first to the tribe the resort belongs to, then other tribal peoples, then the general public. The goal was to get work to the tribe and improve their quality of life as a whole (and get them off the public assistance if necessary.)
Now they won't hire a bad applicant simply because he's tribal (unless the manager doesn't care about a business running well)-- but they will only open the job opportunities to one pool of applicants at a time until they find a decent applicant.

[Silverfall]

Originally Posted by dusky_beauty

I forgot to mention to the OP, if her claim to tribal blood is high enough, she may find that she would have some preference over the general public to tribal casino's jobs.

From what I know from living on a couple different reservations some Tribal boards set up these Casino's hiring practices to be open first to the tribe the resort belongs to, then other tribal peoples, then the general public. The goal was to get work to the tribe and improve their quality of life as a whole (and get them off the public assistance if necessary.)
Now they won't hire a bad applicant simply because he's tribal (unless the manager doesn't care about a business running well)-- but they will only open the job opportunities to one pool of applicants at a time until they find a decent applicant.

I assumed she meant Indian from India, not Native American.

[dusky_beauty]

You never can tell!