A Reason Not to Move to Oregon (Portland: relocate, budget)

[Bendite]

The local papers are full of news about the projected increases in natural gas starting in November. Some parts of Oregon could see up to a 40% increase; others as little as 10%. In any event, all of Oregon will see some sort of an increase. In part, this is because demand is up, and demand is up in part because of all of the people moving here.

So, if you are in a budget crunch, you might need to consider this expense as you decide where and whether you want to relocate. I imagine this is going to happen almost everywhere in the country (if not natural gas, then some other utility). Here's what is being said about Oregon:

Natural gas prices likely to increase - Portland Business Journal:

[Smiled]

And on your side of the Cascades, folks burn lots of gas in the winter. Just to add injury to insult, the downturn in the lumber market means there's less raw material for stove pellets. Bark dust prices have increased substantially as a result, as well

[tablemtn]

Natural gas is used in something like 1/3rd of Oregon homes for heating purposes. If you are buying a new house, you'd definitely want to keep that in mind.

[PNW-type-gal]

Pretty sure that electric rates are headed up as well, as Bonneville renegotiates with the various electric utilities. Natural gas was considerably cheaper - give it a year or so and see how it shakes out.

[DragonFly757]

We had geothermal heating and cooling when we lived there. When we build, we plan to go that route again.

[PNW-type-gal]

Originally Posted by DragonFly757

We had geothermal heating and cooling when we lived there. When we build, we plan to go that route again.

OIT is taking steps toward being a big player in that area. The only problem is that you have to pick the area you live in carefully so that the geothermal hot water is available - unless you mean a geothermal heat pump, which can be put in anywhere with a large enough piping field available.

The builder we used is pretty much the only EnergyTrust/Energy Star builder in town. PM me if you want a contact.

[DragonFly757]

Excellent! I appreciate it. We lived off Pacific Terrace and had a geothermal unit that was AGES old. That thing was the best furnace and air conditioner we've ever had.

It was the water and sewer bill that killed us each month. OMG!

I was reading about the OIT developments and I am very impressed with what they've done. I am adamant about the geothermal heating and cooling now.

Any tips on finding where we can get the geothermal hot water in the K-Falls area? I'd have to research that more.

[Leisesturm]

Hmmm... is this really a valid reason for rethinking a move to Oregon? Sounds more like a reason to rethink staying in the United States or North America for that matter. Maybe the planet.

[PNW-type-gal]

Originally Posted by DragonFly757

Excellent! I appreciate it. We lived off Pacific Terrace and had a geothermal unit that was AGES old. That thing was the best furnace and air conditioner we've ever had.

It was the water and sewer bill that killed us each month. OMG!

I was reading about the OIT developments and I am very impressed with what they've done. I am adamant about the geothermal heating and cooling now.

Any tips on finding where we can get the geothermal hot water in the K-Falls area? I'd have to research that more.

I'm not all that familiar with the city neighborhoods, but I do know the boundaries for the areas in which you can tap hot water are pretty capricious. Friends of ours are building up at Paradise Hill and their neighbor's well water is 78 degrees, while theirs is the standard 55.

[bobmulk]

The name of this thread is misleading. It has nothing to do with "a reason not to move to Oregon". I can guarantee you energy prices are rising everywhere.

What the name of this post should be is "A reason I've come up with to keep you people out of Oregon because I don't want anyone else moving here. If this isn't enough, I'll find another reason."