Looking to move to Oregon - Need advice!

[jjpop]

Originally Posted by bler144

Could probably summarize at as

Expensive places in Oregon:

Pdx metro
Corvallis
Eugene
Bend
Ashland

Inexpensive Places:

Everywhere else.

Except the coast!

[bler144]

Originally Posted by jjpop

Except the coast!

Good point.

Given the lack of actual cities on the coast (is there any town on the coast bigger than 10k? Lincoln City, Astoria, Florence are all under) I overlooked it as a place someone from out of state might land a job.

[rainierman]

Portland cheap is not Utah cheap. Avg $135,000 UT home is prob'ly $200-250,000 in Portland for a decent fixer on both east/westside suburbs near Portland, or the felony flats of NE Portland. For something new-ish, you'll be in a townhouse/rowhome on the westside. Be aware, most Oregon cities have been inundated with petty theft since recession..

[Countrydreaming]

Kanbrein91,

First let me say I was born and raised in Oregon, spent 20 years there. However, not being really an "adult" while living there, I can't really speak on the job outlook there, but I'm sure that is available elsewhere online. The school I attended was meh, probably sub-par as others here stated. I grew up in Hood River, a small town located about an hour east of Portland.

I can say the people were very friendly, and although it is somewhat a tourist town, being right on the Columbia river in the Columbia gorge, you did get a feeling of community living there. Growing up we knew all our neighbors and would have no problem borrowing milk here or sugar there. I think the real estate might have been on the high end, but probably lower compared to some PDX suburbs.

Did I mention it is breathtaking? All one needs to do is google "Hood River" and it's like a post card vacation. Hiking, biking, major windsurfing hub, swimming, snowboarding/skiing on Mt. Hood, all outdoor activities are right there. The one down side is that there is no mall, no big shopping areas, not even a super Walmart! Which the town has fought hard against. There are plenty of small businesses however, and we never had trouble finding what we needed. All the cherry orchards are also amazing in the spring.

If you want to know more, you can personal message me. Hope this helped

[gypsydoc]

One good thing about Oregon has to do with the Urban Growth Boundary. This means basically that no matter what town/city you are in, you can be out in natural surroundings within minutes. Although people who have lived here for a long time may see a lot of sprawl, if you are familiar with cities with no boundary, such as Atlanta, or Indianapolis, Kansas City, etc., the access to nature is more limited since you have to drive such a distance to get to parks, trees, etc.

I have to agree that finding work here would be the top priority before actually moving. How to do that? Sometimes the place of employment requires a local address, so your husband might consider getting a small apartment or renting a room just to have some base and an address from which to operate. This might not be in stone, but it is something to consider.

Here is a link to recent school rankings as compared nationally, not just here:

Oregon names standout schools, those with abysmal results: 2013 Oregon school ratings | OregonLive.com

Hope that helps.

I have known people who had a huge drive to be here and were willing to take work in any field, just to get here... Then, after a time, were able to find more suitable work. Best wishes!

[Steve Pickering]

Originally Posted by gypsydoc

... ...
I have known people who had a huge drive to be here and were willing to take work in any field, just to get here... Then, after a time, were able to find more suitable work. Best wishes!

It's a lack of work in the "any fields" that is the issue. Well trained and experienced can find work, and applying from out of state is not a problem in most cases. But .... some fields are over staffed and jobs like teaching and techniical fields are on the wane.