Moving to Portland suburbs (Beaverton, Medford: sales, real estate, mortgage)

[Shellysocal]

Ive been looking to relocate from CA for a while. Its too expensive for me to own a home here and sick of always live paycheck to paycheck, and I dont like the endless summer. I love CA beaches and palm trees but I think I can give them up if the trade off is being able to get a home and build a savings account.

I moved to WA and I didnt see the sun for most of winter. I dont mind overcast days, but this was black sky. I got depressed and moved back, despite the affordable nice townhouse I had on the lovely tree lined quiet street. I then moved to TX but it was humid and I was attacked by the biggest meanest red fire ants that left welts on my body. Im currently back in CA and Interested in Tigard (portland suburbs). Im not a city girl. I dont like traffic, smog, crime, large homeless population, unkept streets.... I like the mix of rural with suburban. I just have to be in driving distance to jobs. Hopefully 30 minute commute to 45 min max.

I have visited Tigard and Lake Oswego before. I loved it! The mall was great, lake was great, tree lined streets, area felt safe, not too hot, laid back vibes. Only thing I didnt like was downtown portland. Didnt feel safe there. Love the suburbs! Lake Oswego was pricey and no point in moving to another place out of my budget, dispite how lovely it was. But Tigard seems possible. You can get a home for $400K there that would cost $700K in CA. I would miss my beaches but as long as there is other outdoor recreation I think I can adjust. I dont like the whole cant pump your own gas thing. That was weird. I love the no sales tax. And the minimum wage is good dispite the high unemployment rate (5% compared to 3% at comparible places). I only visited for a short time and would love to know more. How hard is it to get work? What do people do for fun during all the rainy days? What are the beaches like?

Im currently in the Mortgage industry but have a resume that includes 15 years of customer service management, retail and office jobs, some data entry. Im in my 30s, divorced, no kids, love to travel, read, shop, try new resturants. Im vegetarian, christian church attender, I like hiking or walking around the lake, I love animals and volunteer at the rescuesl, I love fresh air and trees... minus the bugs. I hate bugs!! I love camping. I enjoy my quiet time. Love to get my nails done and hair done and enjoy nice wine. I have tattoos. In CA jobs are accepting of that and thats important. I love football and basketball games. Easy to get along with, love making new friends with other down to earth people, but not big on the "singles" scene.

[gray horse]

You sound like a good fit for the PDX suburbs. The first thing would be to start looking for a job...it's tough to get a good paying job in PDX. Also you should consider the Wilsonville / Sherwood area as you get a little more rural feel on the outer edges of the towns. To me they seem safer than Tigard.


What do people do for fun on rainy days? Sit inside by the fire and watch movies, cook, surf the internet, etc....
Beaches...a huge difference from Socal, the "coast" is almost always very cold...definitely not a spot to go sunbathing.


Perhaps try to get a job in Lake O @ a mortgage company.


Good luck!

[Shellysocal]

Thanks for the tip I will check out those cities. While sitting around the fire watching movies sounds great I don't think I'll meet any new friends that way. Since I'll be new I'm hoping to meet some people and make some friends. And I know it rains quite a lot so I'm hoping everyone doesn't stay cooped up inside. When I was living in Washington and I only met one person at the gym in the six months I was there. Not ideal. I do like sunshine at the beach but I don't like to be hot. Anything above 75° and I'm sweating and want to go sit in the air-conditioning! It was 80° here yesterday at the beach and I left to go sit in my car with the air on because it was just uncomfortable to me. I actually like going to the beach at night and doing bonfires and roasting marshmallows. Our summer nights are lovely because it's like 70° and you have that cold ocean breeze but it's also not raining so you can cook out/bonfire. Are the beaches there vacant due to the weather or do people still go ?

[gray horse]

Sherwood has a YMCA that is quite nice and you would meet people there...there are plenty of clubs to join with those that have similar interests. What do you like to do?


People do go to the beaches, just don't expect to be in shorts unless it's a heat wave. Plenty of folks do bonfires, and it's really great to go to storm watch...things van get pretty exciting on the coast in the winter.

[Yankeemama]

You can buy in Tigard for under 300k if you are fine with a townhome. Check out Progress Ridge area which borders Tigard and Beaverton and is close to the freeway. I moved out to the burbs from Portland and have been very happy though I have kids and stay here for the schools. I meet many younger singles out here who enjoy the close proximity to downtown Portland, about ten miles away, and Uber and Lyft are popular choices for getting home from the Max train. Our train stations are very nice out this way. We are about an hour and 15 minutes from the coast and it's a nice drive. Summer is gorgeous at Cannon Beach but the water is too cold to swim without a wetsuit. Check out Washington Park which is less than ten miles away and has the zoo, Rose Garden, Portland Japanese Garden and other attractions. I have found that Tigard/ Beaverton has a large Christian, Mormon, Catholic and Muslim populations and everyone co- exists just fine. Washington Mall is my go to for pretty much everything I need but Bridgeport Village is in Tigard too. They have live music in the summer and I really like the movie theater there. It's an outdoor walkable mall.
I am originally from SF and have lived on east coast many years before settling back on west here in Portland Metro. We lived in Portland first and now Beaverton. Hope this helps you.

[harrishawke]

Originally Posted by gray horse

You sound like a good fit for the PDX suburbs. The first thing would be to start looking for a job...it's tough to get a good paying job in PDX. Also you should consider the Wilsonville / Sherwood area as you get a little more rural feel on the outer edges of the towns. To me they seem safer than Tigard.

If she didn't like Washington State, than why would she be a good fit for Northern Oregon? According to city-data statistics, the amount of sunny days per year is almost negligible.

[Masterful_Man]

Originally Posted by Shellysocal

I moved to WA and I didnt see the sun for most of winter. I dont mind overcast days, but this was black sky. I got depressed and moved back

Northwest Oregon isn't much different.
Most of winter will be overcast and dreary.

[Minervah]

Originally Posted by harrishawke

If she didn't like Washington State, than why would she be a good fit for Northern Oregon? According to city-data statistics, the amount of sunny days per year is almost negligible.

Originally Posted by Masterful_Man

Northwest Oregon isn't much different.
Most of winter will be overcast and dreary.

I was thinking that as well. I lived in Tigard at one time, I didn't find it to be any more sunny than the rest of Portland or the overcast parts of Washington State. If depression from SAD is a concern, that's definitely something to consider.

[oregonwoodsmoke]

I read your post, OP, and my reaction is most certainly not that you would be happy in oregon.

Have you looked at some of the less expensive places in California? Many places in California have cheaper real estate than the cities in oregon and t hey have much more sunshine.

Or maybe by one of the big reservoirs in Arizona or Nevada where there would be lakeside beaches and much more sunny weather.

[harrishawke]

I think the OP may be happier in Southern Oregon (ie Medford) and/or the Cascadia part of Northern California near the Oregon border. I still consider places like Shasta, Eureka and Humbolt County the Pacific Northwest. It's really much more Mediterranean in climate with significantly less overcast and rainy days, but with much of the same natural beauty.