Is Oregon becoming “Oldegon”? (Portland, Eugene: transplants, homes, school district)

[Suesbal]

If this Axios article is true.
https://www.axios.com/local/portland...s-women-babies

[Arktikos]

It's a problem facing the entire country. Is there any state immune from this trend?

[texasdiver]

I come from an old Oregon family. My great grandfather pioneered a farm in the Willamette valley before WW1 and my grandparents expanded it and raised 14 kids from the 1920s to the 1960s. All but one of whom eventually married and had kids. So I have a bazillion extended family members in or from Oregon (cousins, aunts, uncles, etc.)

In the past 30 years since my generation came of age (I'm in my 50s) what I have observed is that nearly all of my cousins who have pursued college and professional careers have left the state. Lots of them have drifted north to Seattle and greater Puget Sound region for more opportunity. Others have moved on to Arizona, Colorado, Washington DC and Boston areas, and so forth. And a few to more eclectic locations like Nashville, Minneapolis, Reno. That is the majority of my extended family.

The fewer number who basically stayed home to pursue more blue collar careers mostly stayed in Oregon. As did most of the older generation who are now mostly in retirement homes around the Willamette Valley.

So based on my own very unscientific family sample, I'd say that Oregon is keeping its elderly and blue collar types but seems to be bleeding educated professionals. I think this is especially the case for everyplace outside the Portland metro area which is mostly what I'm talking about. My family isn't from Portland but more rural parts of Oregon where my more educated and ambitious relatives mostly moved on and didn't stop at Portland but just kept on going. Partly I think that is due to the fact that Portland lacks a major university (no PSU doesn't count) where people will go to grad school and then stay. Unlike say Seattle.

Myself I grew up in the Eugene area (semi rural area north of Eugene) but attended Eugene schools. I was quite surprised to read that the big Eugene school district 4J reached peak enrollment in 1970 the year that I started first grade. And has been slowly bleeding enrollment numbers ever since. This is DESPITE the Eugene metro area doubling in population during that same time period. So population growth isn't really about people having kids, or moving in with kids. It is about single people moving in I think.

The University of Oregon's percentage of in-state students has also declined markedly during this same time period. It was more like 70% in-state students in the 1960s and has dropped to below 50% in recent years. I think nearly as many kids from CA who didn't get into UCLA or Berkeley come up to UO as local Oregonian students. That is probably an exaggeration but feels like it. That is another sign that the state is aging and isn't really replacing its young. Contrast that with say Texas which has been steadily building new universities and expanding existing ones for its fast growing student population.

[ccjarider]

Is this surprising?

The last decade in Oregon has not been good for Oregon's national PR nor the psyche of residents living in the state.

Why would younger people move here to grow a life and have children? Better options are available.

[slowlanes]

yea, sad fact of life, people get old before they die.
And if you're lucky enough to live a long life, it will happen to you as well.

[StealthRabbit]

You can check out the current civic issues in China and Japan to see how this (falling birthrate) will play out.

Happening in US as well.

It's easier for people to have pets, they die are get abandoned, and you're set free (again).

Kids are expensive and a bother. (and a legal responsibility).

pets are easier, Very prominient fad in Oregon. My Portland flights have far more ESA's than any other destinations.

[Silverfall]

As someone who deals with helping people move in and out of the state here is what I see.

I agree with TD that younger professionals are moving away who grew up here. I think that is because we really don't have the same job opportunities that Seattle or Denver have for that group of people. I know this is true for both of my kids coming out of college even though they would both like to live in Oregon.

Many of the clients I have had in the younger age group don't want kids so they are here for lifestyle. I have a lot of these clients, but they aren't blue-collar. They are professionals, some of which have remote work options. So we are gaining some and losing some.

I also see a group coming back here as empty nesters. We are getting a lot of empty nesters moving here for lifestyle and for climate reasons. Some grew up in Oregon and want to come home and others are transplants from other parts of the country.

Millenials and Gen Z in general are getting married less and a higher percentage plan on being childless. We are below the norm, but this is a trend everywhere.

[ChessieMom]

Originally Posted by StealthRabbit

You can check out the current civic issues in China and Japan to see how this (falling birthrate) will play out.

Happening in US as well.

It's easier for people to have pets, they die are get abandoned, and you're set free (again).

Kids are expensive and a bother. (and a legal responsibility).

pets are easier, Very prominient fad in Oregon. My Portland flights have far more ESA's than any other destinations.

I'd take a kid over a pet any day of the week. Pets are a massive "bother" in my opinion.

[green_mariner]

Originally Posted by Arktikos

It's a problem facing the entire country. Is there any state immune from this trend?

Oregon has particularly low birth rates, especially when looking at other parts of the USA, such as the South and Great Plains.

[green_mariner]

Originally Posted by ChessieMom

I'd take a kid over a pet any day of the week. Pets are a massive "bother" in my opinion.

I'm single and childless. I don't have any pets either.