To Move or Not to Move to Oregon from Illinois (Portland: Home Depot, job market)

[IllinoisSix]

My wife and I have been contemplating a move to Oregon from Illinois. I am a high school administrator and she is a school psychologist. We have four children aged (10, 8, 5, 2).

The move, if it happens will not take place for 2-3 years, but we want to research the move as much as possible before we actually decide to move. The move could take place earlier if jobs are available for us. We chose Oregon in part because of the weather (the Illinois heat and humidity is horrible) and because of the beautiful landscape of the Northwest.

We would like to live in a progressive area with a population of 15,000 or more. We would like to have programs for kids (Little League, soccer, YMCA) and goods parks and bike/running trails.

Of course, education is important to our family and we would like to be in a city with good public schools. I would like the high school district we live in to have no more than 1,500 kids in the school. We have always lived in older home, but we would just like a solid home in an area with other kids.

I am sure we will have more questions as people respond to our post. We have researched areas such as Corvallis, St. Helens, and Bend. Once we receive information from responders, we will plan several trips to areas that look good to us.

I want to thank any person that responds to our post. Your advice is greatly appreciated.

[Silverfall]

Well I grew up in Illinois and the weather here, even with the gray winters, is still tons better in my opinion.

I think the 1500 student limit for high schools would rule out Salem. All of our high schools exceed that. Corvallis High has 1200 students but they have gotten low ratings from the state for the past two years. Otherwise it would meet your criteria.

St. Helens High School is just under 1,000 students and gets average (satisfactory) ratings from the state. I would not call St. Helens progressive.

The Bend area high schools also get satisfactory ratings and they are just at that 1500 student number. Otherwise I think this would be your best bet.

Oregon schools, in general, are average. We have significant budget problems here, and they have always existed. Measure 5 in the early 1990's decimated school funding and the schools here have never recovered.

The state of Oregon does annual report cards for each school so as you investigate areas you can look at the schools along the way. AYP and Report Card Download - Oregon Department of Education





Those cities you have up there are very different.

[IllinoisSix]

Thanks for the quick response and great information. Can you recommend any areas that would meet our needs, regardless of school size? As my husband mentioned, we are researching Oregon because of the weather and beautiful geography. It seems more liberal and less conservative than the southern region of the U.S. We would really like to escape the midwest humidity and bad summers (the winters we don't mind).

Thanks for your help!

[Silverfall]

You need to understand that Oregon is very different than the midwest. Most people think the state is very liberal, but in reality Portland and Eugene are, but it is kind of a mixed bag everywhere else. Oregon has funky politics.

I think Bend, Corvallis, Silverton (only has 9,000 people though), Portland metro area, Eugene, and maybe Salem/Keizer are going to be what you are looking for. Oregon is made up of a lot of smaller cities that surround our larger cities. The state only has 3 million people, 1 million or so are in Portland area.

You may want to consider one of the smaller cities outside a larger city such as Forest Grove, Newberg, maybe Sandy.

[Luckyanjyl]

My husband and I are looking to move to Oregon but we are being told by a lot of people that Oregon is cutting back on jobs like crazy.We are kind of concerned now.I was wondering if any of the locals could give me any information on portland and maybe some surrounding areas as far as work goes..how do you feel about the job market?

Thanks!

[pw72]

True, Oregon is not in the best shape economically. However, if and when we come out of this, Oregon should be poised to do well.

The midwest to Oregon is not that jarring. As a poster mentioned earlier, Portland and Eugene tend to be liberal, but many of the smaller, more rural areas are conservative. At the end of the day, there is a pretty good balance, although there is strength in numbers and that is quite evident in OR. Again, a similarity to Illinois, with Chicago being quite liberal and the rest of the state not so much.

Climate? Both areas are in the northern latitudes, but Oregon enjoys the Pacific Ocean's moderate influences. Illinois does not. On the other hand, there is more sunshine in IL.

Longterm, Oregon should be OK. Right now, a little dicey.

[Silverfall]

Originally Posted by Luckyanjyl

My husband and I are looking to move to Oregon but we are being told by a lot of people that Oregon is cutting back on jobs like crazy.We are kind of concerned now.I was wondering if any of the locals could give me any information on portland and maybe some surrounding areas as far as work goes..how do you feel about the job market?

Thanks!

Oregon is at 12.4% unemployment right now, but it depends on what you job skills are.

[amymcallister]

You might like the towns of Hood River or The Dalles in the beautiful Columbia River Gorge. I am a native Oregonian and have lived in the gorge since 1985, Hood River for 16 years. Hood River is a beautiful small city. It is a popular location for all its recreational activities-windsurfing, kiteboarding, mtn biking, kayaking, snowboarding. The quaint historic downtown has many trendy shops, galleries and restaurants. Hood River is located 59 miles from Portland via I84. The Dalles is 20 miles further east from Hood River. The gorge climate changes from the west end to the east very dramatically. In the west end, especially around Cascade Locks, you are in a virtual rain forest with 80" annual precip. Hood River has about 25" annual precip which is half the annual precipitation of Portland. We do get snow, and sometimes a lot. Further east at The Dalles it is very dry with only about 12" annually, so not as much snow as Hood River. The Dalles is a larger city with about 12,000 population last census. Both Hood River and The Dalles have hospitals. Hood River is still very green with lots of fir and pine trees and also many orchards as Hood River County is the largest producer of pears in the U.S. The Dalles has many cherry orchards. The Dalles has a much drier look with dry grassy hills and some scrub oak and pine trees.
Often we go to The Dalles from Hood River rather than driving to Portland which is quite farther. There is a Home Depot in The Dalles and a larger downtown district.