Suggestions For Moving (Portland, Eugene, Salem: schools, university, places to live)

[agen_kolar]

Hey everyone, I'm looking at possibly moving to Oregon next Summer. I've actually never been, but plan on visiting soon. Does anyone have any suggestions as to affordable places to live and areas with good jobs? I'm open to any and all suggestions. I have a bachelor's Degree in Social Sciences, work for a University as a Assistant Instructional Designer for Online Classes, and I'm also a photographer, mostly of nature/wildlife/landscapes. I'd be very comfortable doing a job similar with what I'm doing now, and also as a photographer. I like warm to cool weather, and some snow is great. I also would prefer a good mix of sunny and dreary days. But hey, I'll take what I can get. I would like an area that has easy access to parks where I can take wildlife and nature photos. I'm not sure if Oregon has any peaks high enough for tundra, but if so, that will be a plus as well!

Thanks for the help, everyone.

[John Shaft]

If you want to stay in a university setting, the major schools of Oregon and Oregon State are in Eugene and Corvallis. However, the biggest university enrollment-wise is actually Portland State in Portland, although it is more of a "commuter school" in structure. Oregon appears to have a higher than average number of jobs/employees in state government which would likely be an area your job search ought to explore.

As far as wet/dry mix, it's really (overall) an either-or: west of the Cascades it's pretty wet (except it does get very dry in the summer), and east of the Cascades it's extremely dry. Oregon is far enough north that the snow line is pretty low but I don't think there's really any true tundra on the mountains.

No matter where you live, you should be able to take many, many nature photos. Oregon has tremendous geographic diversity and within reasonable travel times, not to mention what would be close at hand wherever you end up.

Nevertheless, I'd strongly suggest visiting before you make up your mind to move - that applies to anywhere you might want to move, not just Oregon.

[Silverfall]

Define affordable?

Compared to CA everywhere is, coming from Texas we are expensive.

[agen_kolar]

Originally Posted by Silverfall

Define affordable?

Compared to CA everywhere is, coming from Texas we are expensive.

Well I'm from Florida, where it's fairly expensive. So anything equal to or less than what I'm dealing with now.

[Silverfall]

Eugene has the University of Oregon
Salem has Willamette University and Corban College as well as Chemeketa Community College.
Monmouth has Western Oregon University
Corvallis has Oregon State
Portland has Portland State, Lewis and Clark, University of Portland, and Mt. Hood Community College.

I know areas of Florida vary in affordability. We are more expensive than some FL areas. All of the cities have good jobs, but you need to know that there is a lot of competition for them. I would not move out here until you have a position secured.

Salem is the capital of the state so we have many state jobs located here, but again a lot of competition.

You will have plenty of access to nature from any Oregon city. What else is important to you, and that might help. Do you like nightlife, culture, hobbies, etc?