Californians who've relocated to Oregon - weigh in (Portland, Eugene: relocating, property taxes)

[snuggarelli]

Here's a question I've been wondering:
For all you Californians who have relocated to Oregon, do you think you've made a good decision in relocating to Oregon or a bad one?

I ask because I want to make sure I'm not in the "grass is always greener on the other side" mentality. I keep hearing how affordable it is and how cost of living goes further for your income in Oregon (vs. in California where you definitely need to have two incomes or one hellavu paycheck if it's just one income).

Did you feel that by relocating to Oregon that you were better off financially?

[freedom]

Best move we've ever made, greatest place on the west coast (southern OR). Would not have been able to make the living that I have up here... down there. Nor have the quality of life.

The air is clean, the mountains tall, and the people friendly. 14 yrs and going strong.

[snuggarelli]

thanks for your feedback freedom!

oh i thought the salary was lower in oregon?

it seems like from what i've been reading that commutes are not as bad (people don't seem to commute as far) and that cost of living is much better.

[Des_Demona]

Everything is better in Oregon. I moved from So. Cal as well. The air is cleaner, the grass IS greener literally hehe, traffic is non-existant compared to SoCal same with crime and it's definitely cheaper to live here! It's very different than California and takes some adjusting to but you have to give it time like any big move you make... a new place takes a certain period of adjustment but after you've adjusted to it.... you'll love it. Choose your area of Oregon carefully by what your interests and personality are most aligned with. Oregon has a little bit of everything but it really depends on where you live. Do you want to be in a city? A super liberal area? A really small town? A college town? What are your main reasons for leaving California? Make sure you end up in a place where those things driving you from California will be alleviated so you won't just be making a big move to continue the same lifestyle.

For me, I've never lived outside of California before (I'm 25) so this was a really scary move for me and I was a little freaked out by how different it was... much slower pace and the people are different of course so it took a great deal of adjustment but now I am very glad I'm here.

Hope that helps!

[bobmulk]

Certainly the traffic isn't nearly as bad; that's a given since there's more people in the city of Los Angeles than the entire state of Oregon. And the cost of living isn't nearly as horrible either.

When I moved up here in 1990, my car insurance went from $180/month to $180/quarter! You can find a decent home for $200K in most areas (there are exceptions of course--Ashland, Cannon Beach, Lake Oswego, Bend). And $250K will get you a home almost anywhere.

There's no sales tax, property taxes tend to be quite high, but they're tax deductible, right? Salaries aren't as high and the economy is not as diversified outside of the Willamette Valley. Bend and Southern Oregon are becoming more diversified.

The pace of life and the style of life will probably be the biggest change. You won't find the shopping as ubiquitous as it is in California. Again, that's because most places in Oregon don't have the population to support a wide variety. However, if you like independently owned stores, restaurants, pubs, boutiques, etc. then Oregon is for you. Personally, I find it refreshing not to have the same stores and restaurants in EVERY neighborhood and town. Granted, you're going to find Wal-Mart and Applebee's all over the place. But you're also going to find out that Oregonians are rabid about supporting locally owned places.

For instance, Starbucks are everywhere--in the bigger cities anyway. Yet I prefer a local bistro for my coffee because I'm not into corporate coffee and I get tired of the standardization of merchandising. It's great to stumble across a little pub or boutique or coffee bar.

You will find that the service level in Oregon can be quite different, too. Especially in small towns. The sophistication level might not be as great, but it is often made up in terms of friendliness and customer service.

Politics runs the gamut. Everyone says Oregon is a blue state. I'm not sure. My observation is that people aren't so much liberal or conservative as they are libertarian--government stay out of my life, special interest groups--don't tell me what to do. That type of thing. People here are VERY independent.

While the cost of housing is much less than California, it's high for Oregon because we don't have lots of high paying jobs. Granted, if you've got a career that pays well--engineering, IT, health care, law, etc. then you'll be fine. It is possible to find good paying jobs in most areas, especially if you have a college degree and some experience.

You will have to decide, too, what type of weather you want. Do you want dry with sun? Central and Eastern Oregon are for you. Do you want the ocean? Then move to the Coast, but the weather there is drizzly much of the year. Do you want a bit of everything? Then the I-5 corridor is for you. It gets hotter as you go south. Of course, with each of these geographical areas you have to weigh the cost of living with the job situation.

I hope I've been of some help. Moved to Salem from Huntington Beach and I will NEVER GO BACK. As far as I'm concerned, Southern California is hell.

[Des_Demona]

I agree Southern California is hell. I agree with everything you've said. As far as service in restaurants and such... very very friendly (SO much more friendly than California) but also very slow service. It's a trade-off but I have a way better time going out to eat in Oregon than I did in California. Plus you're totally right... here in Oregon we can buy locally and know exactly where our food and products are made and bought from. I love buying local now and always try to support local artists, buy local produce etc. It gives you a sense of community pride as well.

Here in Eugene we have a TON of independent weird little shops with every different craft and product you could imagine being made. It's really fun to explore and see what people are making and it's really cool to see how you can be an artist and actually make it in this city! It's nice to see so many people doing what they love and actually being able to own a nice home from it.

Oregon is one of those places where you can make minimum wage or a little higher and still have a decent life. Could you have that in California? Hell no.

[snuggarelli]

Originally Posted by Des_Demona

For me, I've never lived outside of California before (I'm 25) so this was a really scary move for me and I was a little freaked out by how different it was... much slower pace and the people are different of course so it took a great deal of adjustment but now I am very glad I'm here.

Yep - this is why I want to investigate as much as possible. I've lived in Connecticut (liked the 4 seasons there) and Virginia (did not like the humidity there) as well. When I came back to Cali I swore I would never leave again. But, financially it's tough here (we own a house in the Bay Area and it is really crippling). Plus, I missed the fall foliage/seasons. My husband is from VA and he misses the trees (he feels like CA is the desert). So, we're thinking that Oregon might be the happy medium. However, I am kind of freaking out myself because I keep wondering if it'll be a good move or not - so I totally get that.

[snuggarelli]

Originally Posted by bobmulk

Certainly the traffic isn't nearly as bad; that's a given since there's more people in the city of Los Angeles than the entire state of Oregon. And the cost of living isn't nearly as horrible either.

Thanks Bob - yeah I commute just 20 miles and it takes 30-45 minutes (this is going against traffic too!). My husband luckily can take BART into SF, but it does take some time (at least 1 hour door-to-door).

Originally Posted by bobmulk

When I moved up here in 1990, my car insurance went from $180/month to $180/quarter! You can find a decent home for $200K in most areas (there are exceptions of course--Ashland, Cannon Beach, Lake Oswego, Bend). And $250K will get you a home almost anywhere.

Yeah, our goal is to get it so that I can stay home and take care of our daughter. After she finishes 5th grade, she no longer will have access to the before/after school daycare. The city has a after school program, and my husband would have to get permission to come in later (around 9:30-10). So, it's going to really split up the family more where she'll see one parent at a time and no more family dinners.

Originally Posted by bobmulk

The pace of life and the style of life will probably be the biggest change. You won't find the shopping as ubiquitous as it is in California.

My husband loves smaller towns and slower pace. I like a medium sized town since I grew up in San Jose. I'm fine with shopping/eating locally since like you said it builds community spirit. I also like the convenience of big stores, but can usually order online for stuff that might be hard to find (i.e. like computer parts). Oh - one thing is that I'm hoping that I'll be able to have a nice garden like I had in VA - with roses, clematis, azaleas, etc. My favorite rose provider is Jackson Perkins.

Originally Posted by bobmulk

For instance, Starbucks are everywhere--in the bigger cities anyway.

Yep - starbucks is everywhere. I don't care where I get my coffee at as long as it's good and they can also make fraps for the summer. In fact, way before Starbucks I discovered fraps at a locally owned coffee house in Fremont. I swore it was the best thing ever and then a few years later it came out at Starbucks. Also, I have to admit that I invented the option of "roomage" at starbucks. They kept filling my coffee too high and I'd spill it on my long walk to our office in SF. So, I started to ask them to provide some room, about 1-2 inches from the rim. At first, they looked at me like I was nuts (what - she wants less coffee!?). After awhile, they started calling it roomage, and walla - the term was born.

Originally Posted by bobmulk

Politics runs the gamut. Everyone says Oregon is a blue state. I'm not sure. My observation is that people aren't so much liberal or conservative as they are libertarian--government stay out of my life, special interest groups--don't tell me what to do. That type of thing. People here are VERY independent.

Cool - sounds like vermont - freedom or die.

Originally Posted by bobmulk

While the cost of housing is much less than California, it's high for Oregon because we don't have lots of high paying jobs. Granted, if you've got a career that pays well--engineering, IT, health care, law, etc. then you'll be fine. It is possible to find good paying jobs in most areas, especially if you have a college degree and some experience.

Yes, my husband is in IT and will have finished his degree by the time we shoot for our move (summer 08). So, that's good news as well.

Originally Posted by bobmulk

You will have to decide, too, what type of weather you want.

Yeah, we'll be taking at least 3 trips to OR, probably one in the summer, one in the fall, and one again in the winter. Plus, we plan on checking out the coast as well as the williamette.

Originally Posted by bobmulk

I hope I've been of some help. Moved to Salem from Huntington Beach and I will NEVER GO BACK. As far as I'm concerned, Southern California is hell.

Yep - salem is one of the places we are looking at. We lived in HB as well (which is why my husband is leaning toward coastal while I'm leaning towards williamette).

[snuggarelli]

Originally Posted by Des_Demona

I agree Southern California is hell. I agree with everything you've said. As far as service in restaurants and such... very very friendly (SO much more friendly than California) but also very slow service. It's a trade-off but I have a way better time going out to eat in Oregon than I did in California.

yep - my family is totally into chain restaurants and super-quick service. They are the types who like to eat and run. My husband and I though like a little slower meal since to us, the dinner is very important and the focal event. Sure, we had a favorite Japanese-owned Japanese restaurant here that maybe was a little too slow (they were perfectionists, so it took 2-3 hours). However, we felt the wait was worth it since the food just melted in your mouth. I don't want to be rushed either (like when we went to sonoma and they told us they could seat us if we could do it in 1 hr which I thought was a little rude). So, I'm thinking 1 1/2 hour- 2 hours is about how long it takes us to eat.

[PNW-type-gal]

Originally Posted by snuggarelli

My husband loves smaller towns and slower pace. I like a medium sized town since I grew up in San Jose. I'm fine with shopping/eating locally since like you said it builds community spirit. I also like the convenience of big stores, but can usually order online for stuff that might be hard to find (i.e. like computer parts).

Portland is not THAT small of a town. Every large store that you can think if in LA or San Jose is probably represented here somewhere, just fewer OF them. For computer parts, there are the big chains (Fry's, Best Buy) but there are specialty "build your own" shops all over, too, especially out in the Beaverton area, home of the "Silicon Forest" and the bulk of the tech industry. As long as you're not talking about building supercomputers, there's not really anything computer-related you can't find here - you just might have to drive across town for it.

Go to Pearl District or NW on a weekend evening, and you'll find the 1+ hour waits for a table in the hipster part of town, where you can find cuisines from all over the world, and "big city" prices to match. (Ouch.)

Traffic can be a problem here, too, and there are fewer ways of getting around it - there are only so many bridges across rivers, and there's really only one major highway that runs east-west. If you lived 20 miles from downtown and were going the direction of traffic, it'd take you 45 minutes to an hour to get to work, and longer to get home. Odds are that you wouldn't LIVE that far from work, though. The morning rush hour starts picking up around 7 am and dies out by 9:30 - the afternoon starts around 3:00 and cools down around 6:00.