Thinking of relocating from Alabama (live, assessment, move to)

[oregonwoodsmoke]

Originally Posted by bamapoet

.......$10-12 working at WalMart? Try $7-9. I worked at Walmart for a bit,........

I am sure you did, but $12 an hour is minimum wage in Oregon (and going up to $16 an hour in Portland), just raised from close to $10 an hour. Cost of living is high enough that $12 an hour is roommate wages, not get-your-own-house income.

[Minervah]

Also your experience with Walmart and hours is universal. I used to work for a union trust office in Portland that processed benefits for all the union supermarkets. Those stores manipulated hours just as the non-union stores including the local Walmarts.

[bamapoet]

I have heard that about WalMart (and Target). My partner has been applying to Costco and Whole Foods, places like that, where we have heard great things from current and former employees, plus all the research I've done shows those places to be great opportunities within that industry.

I honestly don't worry about my ability to find work as much as my partner's. Her work experience is limited to retail locations like Target and Starbucks. She did work for a small, local pharmacy for over a year, but did not leave on good terms. The environment became hostile once they discovered she is gay. They basically made it so uncomfortable for her to work there that she eventually quit.

Ideally, what I would like to do is visit a few times, including setting up some interviews to coincide with a visit out there so that we already have jobs lined up before we move.

This is by no means going to be a quick move. I'm hoping this will happen in the next few years. Of course, the sooner the better, as we both are unhappy living here.

[Metlakatla]

Your partner should apply to Market of Choice rather than Whole Foods.

[bamapoet]

Whole Foods is local to us currently. I take it Market of Choice is local to PNW?

[Metlakatla]

There are Whole Foods here but only out-of-staters go to them.

https://www.marketofchoice.com/careers/careers-with-us

Market of Choice is considered by some to be more expensive than other local options, but I think that depends on what your needs are. It definitely doesn't cater to those raising families on a budget, which is a plus, in my opinion, because I'll gladly pay a bit more at the checkout counter than deal with cartfuls of screaming kids, being bumped into constantly, and otherwise endure a guerrilla shopping experience. I really love the idea of WinCo for instance, but the last time I was there, a guy was pissing in the parking lot in broad daylight, I had to wait more than 30 minutes in line (never go on the day food stamps come out) and it was pretty obvious that grubby little hands had been all over the produce.

[98IndyPacecarguy]

New Seasons Market is another one to consider. My girlfriend worked there for 4-5 years and loved it. I believe she was making about $17 per hour at her peak.

[peaceloveandjulie]

I moved to Oregon from West Texas last year. Yeah, in the South, wages are very low. I obviously don't know about Alabama but the PTB in Texas loved to brag that, yeah, the wages were low which was great for bringing in businesses (read workers bear the brunt and it's a right-to-work state) but it's all good because the COL is low. Well ...

Housing costs ARE lower in the South, if you're comparing the price of homes and rent. Property tax rates, not so much. Where I lived, there was a long list of taxing entities on the bill. There is a homestead exemption which takes $10k off your assessed value. That saves a little but but it's a drop in the bucket. Apples to apples, property tax is less expensive where I currently live in (Southcentral) Oregon. Rent is about the same. Slightly less, if you're lucky.

Electric rates are about the same. Heat is the bigger consideration, not air conditioning, so that can be nicely offset with a pellet or wood stove or propane/natural gas backup. I do NOT miss a hot and hotter climate or the humidity. (My first winter had me a bit bummed for its length and amounts of precip but I took comfort in the fact that the natives weren't thrilled, either. It wasn't "typical.")

Food prices are less for better quality food than what I was paying in Texas. Oddly enough, the city I moved from is 5X bigger, populationwise than the one I shop in now but there are more choices and competition here. I can afford organics and grassfed beef here. And fresh seafood. Yay!

Sales tax in Texas is 8.25%, higher on restaurant dining and a whopping 15% on hotel rooms. Municipalities can add on for econ development. That's a daily bite, substantial on large purchases, like cars. Speaking of which, I was giddy when my car reg was good for 2 years here and didn't require annual inspection, too, which was a racket in TX. They failed my car over a one-inch break in the SIDE of the reflector of my taillight assembly. Light works perfectly, and the break wasn't on the rear of the car, but where the assembly wrapped around to the side. I would've had to replace the entire assembly to pass, which was nuts. I greased palms, instead, sigh. It was way cheaper. Safety isn't compromised.

The big consideration is income tax. Texas doesn't have one, Oregon does. You have to figure out whether higher wages minus income tax works for you, taking into account the other variables I noted.

States and municipalities provide services/infrastructure and require a certain amount of funding. Period. They will get it through various means. I felt nickled-and-dimed to death in the South. Every time you turned around there were fees and the fees would increase regularly. The lower wages in themselves were depressing. When my son got his first professional job after leaving a large TX university, he was making a few dollars less than what I started at in the same industry 26 years prior in the Northeast. I graduated debt-free; he has about $15k to repay. That's really sad!

[Minervah]

There's Trader Joe's. I have heard they are generous to their employees from someone I knew who worked there while going to law school.

[Metlakatla]

Originally Posted by oregonwoodsmoke

I am sure you did, but $12 an hour is minimum wage in Oregon (and going up to $16 an hour in Portland), just raised from close to $10 an hour. Cost of living is high enough that $12 an hour is roommate wages, not get-your-own-house income.

No, it isn't. Minimum wage is currently $9.75 in Oregon and will be going up to $10.25 in July of this year everywhere but Portland where is will be $11.25.

https://www.oregon.gov/boli/WHD/OMW/...e-Summary.aspx