Would my family and I survive? (Portland, Eugene: mortgage, environment, insurance)

[noahdib]

Okay, I'm hooked. I want to move my clan and lay roots down here. I'm in my early 30's & sale insurance for one of the larger chains (auto, home, life, health, etc.). I currently live in San Antonio, TX in a 3BR, 2Ba home w/ about 1,100 sq. ft & worth about 100k right now. I have a wife and a 6 mo. old., and the wife wants just as much as me to leave here.

San Antonio is great, but heat and humidity practically all year wears one down. I don't mind rain---in fact love it. Wife has no ties here, and actually went to college up in Ashland. She's currently a homemaker, but also sold insurance and did photography work.

We're eager to get out of the big city and settle into a slower paced environment with plenty of natural awe and wonder to raise the little one on. I've looked at places like Coos Bay, Newport, Independence, Astoria, etc.

What little towns would we survive in? I don't anticipate a big increase in my salary of 34k a year (probably a drop at first), but I'm willing to do anything that doesn't keep me away from the family at nights.

As an example, I've looked at Coos Bay but the job listings there show employment at 7 to 10 an hour. We could do that if maybe the wife and I both worked it, but I don't see that happening for a few years (maybe another 5 or so).

Is small town life possible? Am I doomed to live in a big city like Portland or Eugene? No knock on those cities, but we just prefer small town life. We'd love a close proximity to the ocean (no more than an hour...5 minutes even better. We want to quit the big city for good (both have lived in small towns before), but are bummed when it comes to finding employment to survive. I don't mind commutes of 45 minutes or less.

And of most importance...we're wanting some land. Nothing big, an acre or two or three would do. Put a manuf. home until one could be built would work just fine. From what I've seen, our home sold (almost paid off) would get us some good land that we'd take our time to build on while living in a mobile home for a few years.

Any ideas? Is it possible with no other experience except for the insurance and retail kind? Or better yet, anyone who did what I'm wanting and is making it? Is this all "pie in the sky" hopes and I need to come down? Sorry for the long read, but I appreciate any and all help. Thanks!

[ajpacino]

Hey there, I'm going through the same thing, We live in Sacramento, and were 25 and 26 two little girls,, 6 and 3.......... My wife took a "girlfriend road trip" to scout the area, she loved Medford and Ashland, larger population than the towns you mentioned. Same as you, I wanted to be as close to the Ocean as possible, We originally wanted to live in coos bay, but after the trip it was Ashland, Medford, Bandon, Or Brookings..... How we ended up with Brookings is a mystery, we just let the ball roll and that's were we are gunna end up... We are super excited to slow down our lives and enjoy what life has to offer. fly a kite or ride a bike. you know, We are also going to be taking care of my Mother and this an Ideal place for her to enjoy her retirement, WE LOVE THE OCEAN,,, I'm going to catch my dinner. There are some very helpful people on this forum and I have appreciated there input and opinions, As far as a JOB I'm self employed, and worse case. I figured I could go down to the docks, and work some labor for a bit till I found something more attractive, I bet you can keep your job and work as an outside agent for someone from your home??? just a thought. there are also some employment agencies there you can put in a resume with them first before you go.

[Waterlily]

One answer that comes to mind is to live in a small town outside of a larger city. Cottage GRove or Junction City would have a smaller city life but be within driving distance of Eugene. The burbs around Portland will still seem kind of like the big city life. There are some smaller towns outside of Salem as well.

I don't suppose any of us could say what kind of job you could find.

[Silverfall]

My thoughts on the Salem Metro area...

Independence is a cute little town. If you asked me about it 6-7 years ago, I wouldn't have said that, but they are really revitalizing the town and it is charming now. I think it is still quite affordable for most people. It's proximity to Salem makes it nice for many people.

Cheaper still would be Jefferson. It is about 15-20 minutes south of Salem so work would still be close for you. The downtown is dumpy (no way to spin that one), but is has gorgeous acreage that surrounds the city. They are also working on fixing the downtown as well.

Scio is in Linn county and is nice as well. It's very rural and their K-8 school has a great reputation.

Stayton is fairly affordable as well. It's an old logging town that went through some difficult times in the 1980's when the logging industry collapsed. It's experienced a nice resurgence in the past few years and the town is improving.

The biggest issue you will have with land in Oregon is our urban growth boundaries. We have strict zoning laws here to prevent urban sprawl and this includes rural areas. There are not a lot of small acreage parcels available here due to that, and they tend to be in higher demand.

Just to give you an idea...I sold some property on just under two acres in Jefferson with a mid-1990's manufactured home on it for $266,000.

$100,000 in the Salem area isn't going to get you too far in the land department.

I have no doubt you could find the type of small town life you are looking for here in Oregon, it just might have to be without the large land.

[noahdib]

Thank you all for some great info. The 80 to 100k would be used as a down payment. We'd expect to spend a little more taking on another mortgage to replace the first, so hopefully we wouldn't be priced out of the market. Not excited about taking on another brand new mortgage when we're so close to mortgage freedom, but to finally say we can lay roots down in a smaller community makes up for it.

I had considered some of the areas around salem or Eugene. Everything I've been reading seems to say that areas around portland still mean city life, though obviously it'd be best for a JOB.

......still, the ocean side life is a pretty persuasive siren. How nice would it be to go five to 15 minutes to the beach and let my children explore tide pools and such. The only true scare I'd have (as silly as it may sound) is waking up to a tsunami or quick rising flood w/ no hope. I suppose more research would be needed there.

I should add that living near the ocean could almost make up for lack of land, should the trade-off need to be made.

What's the tourism industry like in some small towns? Plenty or sketch at best? Thanks again for all your comments. This truly is a great forum for those considering life in Oregon!

[MtnSurfer]

Yes, I would love to live along the coast somewhere like Brookings. And if I was younger and had lower financial obligations like you I would consider it. But as a senior software engineer I need to live near a larger city for work.

Portland and Salem are still really nice though because you have the places like the Columbia River Gorge, Silver Falls SP and the Mtns to the east and the coast to the west. And all are within ~1.5 hours or less. And believe it or not there are smaller towns outside even Portland like Forest Grove, Vernonia, etc... to the west. Once you go west of Hillsboro it is very rural.

Laslty some of the coastal areas like Newport have a larger economies which may mean more jobs for you. And you could easily live on the outskirts of one of these larger beach towns. Coos Bay is pretty large as well.

7-10/hr seems like pretty low pay to support a family on anywhere in the US. But if you could afford to start out at a lower wage in an industry like forestry or fishing with the potential of earning more as you gain more experience it could be worth it in the long run. Obviously you don't want to be stuck in a job with no growth potential.

- Derek

[tiffela74]

we managed to make it for over a year here in Coos Bay when my husband was laid off right after moving here, and I was working about just under 20hrs a week at 15.00hr. We have 3 kids, and where we sure as heck werent eating out, or doing anything extra that cost $$, we made it. That was almost 5yrs ago....and yes, we were renting. sigh. It wasnt easy, not at all, but we really enjoy living here and decided to make the go of it, rather than move back to our previous home/jobs. Took awhile, but now my husband is in a job he loves making more $$ than he did up in even Portland.
A lot depends on the lifestyle you feel comfortable in. My kids never went with out or felt they got less than their little friends for Christmas/birthdays, my oldest is almost 14 now and when asked about that time, said she never ever had any idea things were tight at all. That means we as parents, did our job. But if youre used to a lot more, going out frequently, steak dinners weekly, those little extras in life, it might be too much....we thought it a good trade to raise our kids along the beach and in a place we all enjoy.
Best of luck to you and your family!!!
Tiffany

[Silverfall]

Since that would be your downpayment, I would consider Silverton, OR as well. It is a wonderful small community.

Look at Banks, OR as well. It is a good small community.

[badmoonryzn]

I have lived in Oregon for 30 years and I started in California in Fullerton, Huntington Beach and San Jose. All of these were great towns, but I was always looking to go somewhere I could find woods or forests, rain or snow and a lot less people. I loved Yosemite Park and Oregon around Cottage Grove. My father took the family up to Oregon and Washington every summer as a child. I really liked the people around Cottage Grove and the pace. I have lived in Cottage Grove, Creswell, Lowell, Portland, Sherwood, Springfield and Eugene. I prefer the southern Willamette Valley around Cottage Grove. I now live outside of Cottage Grove in the house my father built in the seventies. I love this area. I live on a river with a couple of acres out of town about five miles near a lake. The fishing is great, the weather has all four seasons and the people are great. I have traveled all over the USA and while there are many nice places, there is no place like home. Good luck in finding a place in Oregon. One of the other things about Oregon, it has some of the most beautiful beaches, forests, mountains and deserts in the world. From where I live I can reach anywhere in the state in under an seven hour drive and have some of the best places to visit, camp and explore. Good Luck!