Interested in Oregon (Portland, Eugene, Salem: apartment, unemployment rate, minimum wage)

[QuickDrawDesign]

My wife and I are looking to move out west and have been looking in the Oregon area. We are from upstate NY and like the change of seasons, the mountains, lakes, and overall area. However, between the crazy politics and outrageous taxes, we have had about all we can stand. I had looked into Cal. as my son and grandchildren live there but have determined it's taxes and politics are too much like NY's. I own my own business and my wife is a legal secretary with a local law office. We would like some info on the local economy and business climate, along with cost of living in the Roseburg and surounding ares. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks, Jay Griffen.

[Steve97415]

Oregon's economy is currently among the worst in the nation. It's unemployment rate is the second highest. You won't find much relief from crazy politics (especially in southern Oregon). Taxes are considerably lower and you'll see it immediately in the quality of infrastructure and the accessibility of public services. There's no free lunch.

[backdrifter]

^^^ Southern Oregon = Roseburg.

I hate to be negative, but I have to be a little realistic and second what Steve has to say here. It's grim.

[Silverfall]

If you own your own business that doesn't rely on the Oregon economy then you could move, but it really depends on what your business is.

The Oregon economist stated he expects our unemployment rate to stay at this level for the next year.

Otherwise I agree with Steve.

[Nell Plotts]

Ditto above.

[h8n]

Everyone above is correct. Those in Portland & Salem (most of the population) tend to want to tax those who work to provide for those who do not. This is why there are so many pot smokers & homeless in Portland..... they can live for free without problems. Portland is great for anyone who works minimum wage or collects from the govt. It is not a good place for those who want to work hard for a living. You will be punished for working hard.

On the other hand, Oregon is beautiful. This cannot be stressed enough. There is nothing in this country which compares. The layed back attitude is great.

My point: Don't move here to succeed in business..... you won't. Move here if you want to be layed back. Move here if you don't want to work hard. Move here if you want work to be secondary & life outside work primary.

[Minervah]

I can tell you one thing about the legal secretary occupation. There is fierce competition for jobs mostly because those jobs are being taken by paralegals who can't fine jobs as paralegals. Also the employers know they can take advantage of the large numbers of paralegals looking for jobs in that field and so can hire them to be both paralegals and legal secretaries getting two for the price of one.

[h8n]

Correction from above.... Those in Portland, Eugene, & Salem

[helpwantout]

I was looking into the Ashland or Talent, OR areas and would like your input. This site seems to have a lot of info. I currently live in SE Florida and hate it and am ready for a move. I've lived in NJ, SC, NC & OK, so I really miss the change of seasons. I'm definitely layed back, but will have to work FT (15 years secretarial exp. although I hate it) to support myself. I'm 46 with no kids, but after reading these posts, I'm starting to wonder whether or not a move to OR is a good idea. I don't have lots of spare $ to travel around to a bunch of places, so I need to narrow down to just a couple. I can only afford about $500-$600 max/month for an apartment; which is also a challenge. I'd like a town/small city - no more than 25,000 if that's possible.

[mdvaden]

Originally Posted by Steve97415

Oregon's economy is currently among the worst in the nation. It's unemployment rate is the second highest. You won't find much relief from crazy politics (especially in southern Oregon). Taxes are considerably lower and you'll see it immediately in the quality of infrastructure and the accessibility of public services. There's no free lunch.

I think that a responsible person with ingenuity can do fine out here.

We just moved back to Beaverton after being near Medford for 3 years. Re-starting our business here in the west Portland suburban area (without even hounding my previous customer list) we have just finished our BEST winter and spring for business since 1988 (in 20 years worth). So I can't put much stock in worrying about maybe 5 extra people per 100 being on the unemployment rolls. Odds are those 5 would not even be my customers. Even the 10 or 11 per 100 who are unemployed are unlikely to be my customers. Whatever is going on locally, one thing is certain, there are a lot of people left with money that has not vaporized.

To QuickDrawDesign ...

Is your business internet based? Because if so - you can take it anywhere in this state.

Roseburg might work for you. You ever seen it? Has some of the prettiest hills in the state of Oregon. Pretty clean town. One benefit is has, say compared to Medford or Grants Pass, it's closer to Portland if you want to drive up for something.