Looking to relocate to OR! (Portland: real estate, student loans, home)

[Minervah]

Originally Posted by hamellr

When I was unemployed last year, I sent out over 400 resumes in 9 months. I contacted every single person I knew via Linkedin and Facebook, and talked to recruiters from six different agencies.

I got six interviews for permanent positions, three of which were not even within my area of expertise and I shouldn't have been contacted in the first place. Of the other three, one was minimum wage for what should have been a senior position and I got bad feelings about the company in general so that I turned it down. In the next one the HR person and I didn't click, the interview went bad in general, luckily though as that company went out of business four months later. The last one would have had me with only a month home every six months.

I finally found a job through word of mouth, but it was pretty dismal getting there. As some one who in the past has gotten every job I've ever interviewed for and exceeded the employer's expectations, it was quite disheartening.

Unfortunately, I know of a lot of people in the same boat. A very good friend of mine laid off from the same company is still unemployed and only making ends meet these days with short term (a few weeks,) contracts.

I was in that boat right with you about seven years ago. I don't think things have improved much. The job I for which I applied where the HR person and I did not click was one I eventually got after a friend who worked in the company recommended me to her supervisor and HR was bypassed.

Networking is an important tool in getting a job.

[JanND]

Originally Posted by krystea

My boyfriend and I have been considering moving away from the East Coast. Cannot stand it here any longer (we are native southern New Jersey folk, but have traveled all over the East over the past 10+ years). We would love to set up shop somewhere on the Oregon Coast around late 2012. We are planning to take a trip out for a couple weeks this coming spring, but do not know where exactly to go or what to even look for - this will be our first trip to the West Coast!

We do not have children and aren't planning on it, so school systems aren't much of a concern to us right now. He wants to be close to the ocean (he is a fish... I mean, a surfer). Lots of locally owned small businesses and farmers markets would be a plus - we're trying to get away from the hustle and bustle of big cities and major consumerism.

Eventually we would like to build a very tiny house, but for now, a cheap rental apartment or house anywhere would do . Assuming we would be making the same amount of money in Oregon that we are here in NJ, we would be looking for housing up to $1000/mo. He has been doing labor jobs (landscaping, construction, etc.) most of his life but has recently graduated college with a degree in Literature and is hoping to be able to do something with that. I have been a graphic designer for the past four years. I don't know if this is important at all to help us out, but I figured I would include it.

We are young homebodies that like to make things to occupy our time, so the night life is not important to us. We also enjoy camping and hiking quite a lot! Basically a small, liberal, green town within a half hour from beaches would be perfect. But we are willing to work with what we're given if that is too much to ask for.

Sorry this ended up being so long! Thanks in advance for any and all opinions!

Why not Bellingham Wash?? Although, when I think of west coast I think southern Calif. what I would do if you have a couple weeks, just drive the coast of southern Calif, and go up thru northern Calif, Oregon and Wash. You'll find that Oregon and Washington have more of the laid back areas w/ folks like you, crafty etc., and also the hiking areas. Southern Cali is very spendy, not a lot of hiking near beach. There are areas further north where there are lil shops, tourist areas, Pismo beach is one. Anyway, check out the areas you can afford that have the hiking, fishing you want.

[Kandy]

I always enjoyed Seaside and Lincoln City. Check them out. They are not what they once were when I frequented them in the late 80's, maybe when the economy picks up, they will be fun and hopping again.

[Cinnamon_Girl]

Originally Posted by Jennifer67044

Outsiders call it Ore-E-Gone.

Never been to Oregon, yet I've never heard it pronounced this way in California, Hawaii, Ohio, or North Carolina. Must be a regional thing. Wait... no, that can't be it.

Originally Posted by Jennifer67044

Also, it should be mentioned that the two greatest economies of Oregon collapsed years ago. Logging and Lumber declined over a period of nearly 40 years. All Federal subsistances stopped, EPA made commercial logging very difficult and restrictions on lumber and paper mills became too costly. Then Fishing collapsed in just a year or two. Feds restricted fishing for Americans, while foreign trawlers still have at it on the entire West Coast. There are loads of fishing boats abandoned by owners. Even the banks won't touch them as they have become worthless and anyone buying one owes dock and other fees.

You forgot agriculture and tourism/recreation as examples of a large part of Oregon's growing economy. According to the State of Oregon (http://www.oregon.gov/OBDD/KIDS/kidrpt_ind.shtml - broken link), manufacturing, which includes forestry, accounts for only 18% of the total economy, while service industries account for 82%. And:

Industries that are growing quickly in Oregon include plastics, biotechnology, software and film and video production.

According to bluebook:

The aging population will factor in to the future of Oregon’s economy. The eldest members of the Baby Boom generation are becoming eligible for Social Security benefits, and many are considering retirement. About one out of five workers in Oregon is already over 55 years old. As the generation ages, employers will need to find new workers with the skills to replace their retiring workforce. At the same time, the growing number of retirees will demand more leisure and health care services.

Now, it's true that the housing bust decimated the construction industry that had been growing at a clip in Oregon prior to 2007. But the economy is rebounding and with it, construction spending will rise again. It may not happen overnight, though. But I don't see why Oregon should be that much worse than New Jersey. In fact, it isn't:
New Jersey Average Hourly Earnings of All Employees: Construction (Unadjusted) Chart and Data - YCharts
Oregon Average Hourly Earnings of All Employees: Construction (Unadjusted) Chart and Data - YCharts

People seem to keep forgetting that we've just had a national recession. Your immediate surroundings may look pretty dismal, but it's not like everything's hunky dory outside your community. It's bad all over...and worse in some places. Some people may actually benefit from heading to a state that is rebounding better than the one they're currently in.

Originally Posted by Jennifer67044

And while I cannot find employment. I do make a living from my writing.

Making a living from freelance technical writing? You've got an interesting definition of 'unemployed' there.

Originally Posted by Jennifer67044

Oh, BTW. With your Jersey plates on your car, you will find yourselves frequently pulled over by police. And if you go to the beach and leave your car, don't lock the doors. Because thieves will just smash the windows to get in. Out of state vehicles are selective targets. You should be fine parking in town though.

Can you back this up with a cite, or is this just more fear-mongering on your part?

[alexxiz]

I don't see any rebound coming, on the national level or otherwise... This is not a stand-alone recession, this is depression that haven't entered it's worst yet.

As to unemployment, perhaps, he meant that he didn't have a stable, steady income/assignements and would not be eligible for unemployment benefits if he had no more contracts coming.

Great to know Oregon economy is booming... let me pack up and head out to Portland, I'm sure they need more people.

[alexxiz]

Originally Posted by Cinnamon_Girl

service industries account for 82%.

A recipe for disaster (unless you have no less oil than Saudi Arabia)

[Cinnamon_Girl]

Originally Posted by alexxiz

A recipe for disaster (unless you have no less oil than Saudi Arabia)

Hmm...a cogent argument to be sure.

Service-producing industries include jobs in transportation, wholesale and retail trade, services, finance, public service (government), and more. Within the service-producing industry, service industry jobs are found in legal services, hotels, health services, educational services, and social services, among others. However, all jobs within the service industry are not necessarily service occupations. For example, while hotels are part of the services industry within the service-producing sector, they not only employ workers who are in service occupations, but also secretaries, managers, and accountants whose occupations are not considered service occupations.

The largest category of service-providing jobs is found in the group of trade, transportation, and utilities occupations (23.1% in 2005). Federal, state, and local government jobs (21.8 million) accounted for 19.5% of the total service-providing jobs in 2005. (See Table 2.2.)


Because average wages are higher in manufacturing than in services, some observers view the shift in employment from goods-producing to service-providing as a change from "good" to "bad" jobs. Meisenheimer, however, found that many service industries equal or exceed manufacturing and other industries on measures of job quality, while some service industries could be viewed as less desirable by these measures.


Meisenheimer stressed the importance of examining more than just average pay when assessing the quality of jobs in each industry. Within each industry, there are jobs at a variety of different quality levels. The quality of service-industry jobs is especially diverse, encompassing many of the "best" jobs in the economy along with a substantial share of the "worst." Thus, employment shifts away from manufacturing and toward services that can, but do not necessarily, signal deterioration in overall domestic job quality.

[LEFT]
Read more: The American Workplace - The Shift To A Service Economy - Jobs, Million, Industry, and Workers - StateUniversity.com The American Workplace - The Shift To A Service Economy - Jobs, Million, Industry, and Workers - StateUniversity.com
[/LEFT]

Domestic oil production factors into this how?

[alexxiz]

Originally Posted by Cinnamon_Girl

Never been to Oregon

I suggest a visit

[alexxiz]

Originally Posted by Cinnamon_Girl

Domestic oil production factors into this how?

When China has to devalue dollar to buy the oil which US is buying now and US can't buy it anymore, this will become more obvious. The US system is an air bubble one step short of default now, as manufacturing had moved out and debt is out of control. Too bad there're no mineral resources to patch it up.

[Cinnamon_Girl]

Originally Posted by alexxiz

I don't see any rebound coming, on the national level or otherwise... This is not a stand-alone recession, this is depression that haven't entered it's worst yet.

Debatable, but the point is Oregon doesn't stand alone in its economic woes and to reiterate, is not necessarily worse off every other state in the union. Perhaps, instead of depicting Oregon as an economic wasteland devoid of job opportunities for anyone who deigns have less than 15 college degrees, it would be more helpful to suggest the prospective residents compare the actual economic indicators of their current state of residence to Oregon. This would give them a much more accurate picture of what to expect than Jennifer67044's Chicken Little pitch.

As to unemployment, perhaps, he meant that he didn't have a stable, steady income/assignements and would not be eligible for unemployment benefits if he had no more contracts coming.

I don't know how you interpret "making a living" but I'd expect it doesn't, in this case, include relying on a food pantry and/or government assistance to make ends meet. Freelance work that results in an income is employment. I won't argue, though, that with 15 degrees she may very well be underemployed. Whether that's by choice or by circumstance isn't clear.

Great to know Oregon economy is booming... let me pack up and head out to Portland, I'm sure they need more people.

Booming? Where did you read that? I don't see how I overstated Oregon's current or future economic climate. I've been doing a lot of reading since I'm planning a relocation in the coming year. I don't think anyone should undertake an enormous change such as moving across the country without doing their due diligence. I would strongly encourage krystea to look beyond the surfing potential of Oregon and more at the economic potential. She may very well find they need to reassess their options or learn to live with less.