jersey to oregon (Portland, Astoria, Seaside: condos, employment, housing)

[cvanripe10]

Hi i am thinking about moving to oregon later this year from jersey. I am a 23 year old residential house painter in the area here.

I've been looking at astoria and want to move there. It seems that in a lot of pictures i see of astoria, the homes look like they haven't been painted in a long time. Does anyone know anything about house painting in astoria?? is there a paint shop in town???

I'm also very interested in boats/sailing/fishing. It seems astoria is big on this. It would be great if anyone could give me information on employment in the deep sea fishing industry here.

I realize oregon has some gloomy winters. But i am already used to bad winters. The northeast has brutal winters(bitter cold, lots of snow, cloudy). So i would expect oregon to be just gloomy without the freezing temperatures and the snow.

[kander63]

I live in Portland and have visited Astoria several times, but don't know that much about its economy. There are a lot of old houses there, and it is starting to develop some cachet so people are starting to move in and buy things and renovate them. I would think it would be a good place for a painter, but don't take my word for that because I'm not that knowledgeable about life on the ground there.

I can advise you on weather. First, having grown up in Chicago and gone to school outside of Philly, winters in NJ and PA are not brutal by my standards. I think Oregon winters are harder to deal with in some ways than the east coast, because there is a lot less sun, and you don't know how that will affect you until you experience it. Plus, Astoria gets a lot more rain than Portland and Portland is bad enough.

That said, I think Oregon is a great place to live, and Astoria has its charms. My advice would be, if you can afford to do so, go there in the middle of winter and spend a week or two - see what its like and talk to some of the locals. Moving from Jersey to Astoria would be a big change. Lot's of people have fantasies about moving out here and when they get here, realize it wasn't what they hoped it would be and go right back where they came from.

Good luck!

[cvanripe10]

thanks for the advice.

Maybe i should check out places further inland on the columbian river. Astoria seems to have a lot of charm. Do you know any other cities/towns with victorian homes and lots of hills?

also about winters- the thing about the northeast is temperatures will drop well below freezing. West oregon seems to be in the high 30s-mid 40s in the winter.

I love the new york city are from may through october, but the winters are ice cold and i dont want to be here for the next. I can live with 40 degrees.

Also you talked about 'if i could afford'. Is the portland area and astoria very expensive? I mean around NYC i cant find studio appartments for no less than $1200 and thats without utilites. I was hoping oregon would be half of what this area costs. It's just ridiculous over here. Everyone my age has to move out of state or have rich parents if they want to live in their own house. My friend in NYC pays around $1600 a month for small studio appartment that fits a bed and a desk.

that all being said, i would like to live in an area where housing is realistically affordable and my neighbor doesn't drive a $100,000 mercedes benz. Where i'm not getting pummeled with snow and turning blue in the winters. I love hills and mountains, coasts, and moderate temperature. It really narrows down to oregon. I know it sucks with the clouds but i might as well try it for a year or 2 rather than stay here.

I actually like days with lots of clouds.. it's the days with a blanket of grey which i dont like.

[frenzied]

The Astorian homes and the town itself is a bit run down. There are some newer, developments and a few highlights, but in general the place could use a good face lift.

I don't know, maybe people can't afford to paint their homes there, or just don't care. The sea air and wind wears things down fast. Southern Oregon coast is really nice. Astoria is pretty close to Seaside that used to be a small town but in the past several years has really grown and is a hot tourist town. Lots of timeshare condos.