Moving from Southern California to Oregon (Portland, Eugene: relocating, real estate, insurance)

[GypsyHeart]

Well, as I said, I am not from San Diego/Cali, I have only been out here a relatively short time. There are many, many reasons I can't stand this place, and can not wait to get out. Housing costs the least of them. In fact, if I thought it were worth it, I would consider, and have, buying here. Unfortunately, San Diego is not my cup of tea. Don't get me wrong....there's a lot to enjoy and do here, but it's like being in"vacationland" all of the time!
I am also, so not into the shallow, 'plastic' (as in cosmetic surgery, botox, etc), 'everything has to be a brand name' culture here. Bummer.
Like I said, lots of reasons to not live here, tons of reasons to visit here.
My visit here is almost over!
Oh, and I most definitely will not be living on the Oregon coast. I am looking at Portland, Eugene and Medford. Have a great day!

Originally Posted by Imperial1904

Spend a few years in Oregon, you'll wish you were back in San Diego. Atleast that's the way I feel. I miss San Diego alot. I understand the housing costs is just really high and that's one of the reason why I moved to Oregon, but as much as some places cost to live in, like the Oregon coast, you might as well stay in San Diego.

[bobmulk]

Thank you, Clear2land. I am so sick of Oregonians whining and moaning about Californians as though Californians are the cause of every problem in the state. I'm a native Oregonian and I moved to California in 1982 because Oregonians allowed their state to become devastated by a depression. Their anti-growth, "I've got mine, now stay out" mentality practically wrecked this state. Many of my friends and colleagues left, too.

Well, now we're back and we're better off for having tasted the waters of another state, in this case, California. I have a more sophisticated view of the world and how things work than the attitudes of some of these ignoramus posters. When I returned to Oregon, I grandly made it known that I had moved here from California (without mentioning that I was an Oregon native) and then waited for the comments. Once they came, I pounced and told people that this was a free nation and that we are allowed to live wherever we wanted. I would then ask them where they were from, or where their parents were from.

I also told them in no uncertain terms to thank God for Californians because it is the money of Californians that has kept this state going for so long. Californians come up here and vacation, buy homes, move, etc. Do they jack up prices? Not necessarily. Having been in the moving industry for so long, I see people coming here from everywhere and they're all jockeying for a house which jacks up the price. It's economics 101 to all you brainless twits who want to conveniently blame Californians.

And if you want to complain about housing costs, look at the draconian land use laws that lock up land. Again, it's economics 101--limit the availability of something in demand and the price goes up.

By the way, for those of you from California coming to Oregon...WELCOME!!

[LarryMorris]

Altamont is an old mail stop in Klamath Falls. It is now just part of Klamath. It's been an inside joke for years. For what ever reason the map companies won't change it.

[pe395]

For what it's worth, the exact conversations about Oregon being invaded by Californians are being had in parts of Southern California. The northern beach communities of San Diego were once small town low-key communities. Over the last ten years they've been overrun with development, and "invaded" by people from other locales with apparently - judging by home prices - ungodly sums of money. With no attraction or connection to the original vibe of the area, they seem to just be "climate shopping", coming for the weather then proceeding to change the community to mimic wherever they came from. The native beach family with a normal income and way of life is a thing of the past, as it seems is the native Oregonian. It's happening everywhere people.

[ThanksABunch]

Originally Posted by outdoor girl

After reading about all the gloom in Northern Oregon, I'm not sure if Portland will be a good place to live. Our Transfering choices are Portland, Bend, Eugene, Medford, Roseburg and Salem. Now, just because we come from Los Angeles, doesn't mean we are sun worshipers. The Summers here have reached 106 and Winters get as cold as 34. We really could do without the heat, but at the same time don't want freezing temps in the Winters everyday.

We have vacationed quite a bit in Oregon. We have been to Gold Beach- alone the Rogue River, Oregon Dunes, Diamond and Crater Lake and Klamath Falls. All which we love and helped to make our decision to move to Oregon. We are an Outdoor loving family. We need lots of trees and streams to go fishing. Rain doesn't bother us. I'd rather have rain than snow since my husband drives class A trucks. It's just all the "depression" stories that is making us think twice about Portland. We are looking to feel safe and enjoy a good quality of life. All opinions/comments are appreciated.

Welcome. I'm one of the ones here complaining of Portland gloom. I do have a friend, however, who lives in Medford/Ashland area and they seem to get a bit more sun than Portland. There have been days we have spoken on the phone and I'll be complaining about the rain and she'll say they just have clouds...and when we have clouds, they'll have partly cloudy skies. They always seem to be one notch up from us, so to speak! But they still get more rain/clouds than Cal towns, certainly.

For raising a family, culture, activities, etc, you cannot go wrong with Portland or Medford. If you choose a town too small, you'll have all the outdoor stuff, but possibly not enough to do on those gloomy days. So...it really depends on what kind of life you want. Although Bend gets more dry days, I know a lot of people moving away from there because they say it is gettting too commercialized and doesn't have the warmth and character of other NW towns.

Hope that helps! Best regards!

[Stevedawg]

I feel like I can relate because when you're from a place that has a great deal of natural beauty and then people from other areas want to build their McMansions on it you feel invaded. Though in a way 98% of people in America are somewhat of invaders.

[freedom]

Why are large houses on hills bad?

[jvmedia]

xray chick. Multiply everything you said (except for the part about minimum wages being high) by 5 or 10% and then you'd be living in Southern CA! haha.

Seriously though, talk about a damaged state. The politicians really did a number on CA as well.

My husband and I are in the process of relocating to Roseburg. My parents have had property there for almost 20 years and we spent a lot of vacations throughout OR during my childhood. We're lucky enough that we own our own business (and if all goes well, we might even be able to employee a couple people) and that we can afford our 1st home in that area (there's no way we'd be able to buy in So Cal). We both can't stand the pace of life here any more ... the traffic ... the pollution ... the illegal alien problem ... the taxes (we paid over $7k in taxes this April) ... etc. etc.

I don't think a "perfect town" exists anymore, but I do believe that people can make a difference in their community and that there are many towns that exist that are BETTER than other places.

[LarryMorris]

Clear2Land has some good points, but I'm in the business and have seen many investors from CA and NV buy properties sight unseen because they were a bargain compared to their local markets. They have paid more then asking price which then sets the market price for teh next sale in the neighborhood. But I agree that we are also to blame for our own greed...

[PortlandGirl]

I moved to Portland from Southern California some time back. I was tired of the sun and the congestion in LA. Not that the I-5 is not busy here, or that I have totally escaped the sun. Sadly there is plenty of sun from April to Sept-Oct, here, but I am not constantly dazzled by endless brilliance. Unlike most people, I began to find all that Cali sun depressing. 11 years was enough.
The Porland weather in terms of temperature is not bad at all. The winters are not that cold. It's less crowded since not everyone enjoys the rain. I love that Portland is less crowded. No city is perfect, but I do like it here alot. I can breathe, there are trees, the air is washed clean by the rains, but it's large enough so that you can shop and find a decent health food store. It all depends upon whether you can tolerate rain, if you ask me. If you are leaving Cali because LA/OC/SD was not your cup of tea, this could be an option.