What I'm hoping to find in Portland or somewhere in Oregon

[JayZ750]

Originally Posted by Minervah

Because you do not live here or are trying to make a living here I think you are missing pdxMIKEpdx's point. It is very important and I cannot stress that enough that if you do not come here with a job to bring enough money to live on while you are doing your job hunting.

That's probably true whenever someone relocates to a new place but especially so in Portland because unless the transplantee has a very high specialized skill or very good luck he or she will need something with which to pay the rent and buy food etc.

This is very important advice.

Great advice. Also has absolutely nothing to do with pdxMike's post, which said nothing like this. Reread what he said, not what you think he was trying to say. Not understanding how you extrapolated your valid point out of his post.

[Dom1964]

Originally Posted by NewHomeOregon

Thanks, puerco, Rob, aroseinrain and Jay,

I appreciate the confirmation that Portland has what I'm looking for. I don't expect a Utopia. I'm more realistic than that.
As for the weather, I'm taking a trip there in a couple months, and then I'll get a better idea of whether or not I can deal with it. The weather will be a big change if I move there, but I have a feeling I'd be okay with it. I actually have Raynaud's disease However, I think I can keep it at bay with hand warmers
I've been looking at condos in the Northwest and Southwest districts of Portland, and some of them are within my means. I have the property values stay the way they are for awhile until I'm ready to buy!!
I'm living in Orange County, California. If you've ever been here you know it's very status/image oriented. It can be a very unhealthy environment, psychologically speaking. I look forward to living somewhere where people are not so self-obsessed. Anyways, enough of that.
I appreciate your responses. I'll probably have many more questions!!

Oh by the way, I'm female.

Portland is nothing like OC... if you hate OC, you will like probably like it here if you can handle the grey skies and the colder temps... I wouldnt be in a hurry to buy any property here, I suspect values arent quite done dropping, regardless of what the realtors will tell you.... I moved here almost a year ago from CA.

[Dom1964]

Originally Posted by NewHomeOregon

where people... make eye contact.

funny you should mention this... one thing that I have noticed here is that many, many people here go out of there way to avoid eye contact in public places... I find that a bit annoying.... maybe its just me.

[Minervah]

Originally Posted by JayZ750

Great advice. Also has absolutely nothing to do with pdxMike's post, which said nothing like this. Reread what he said, not what you think he was trying to say. Not understanding how you extrapolated your valid point out of his post.

Sorry if I misinterpreted his post. I am coming off a migraine and I probably read it incorrectly. My apologies to Mike if I did this.

[NewHomeOregon]

Yeah, I've read a lot about the depressed job market in Portland. Thanks for the advice.

[iliketrains]

It depends what you want. I hear a lot of company's are hiring low wage, admin people to do the work the 60K a year people that got laid off used to do. I'm not sure about other company's, I'm not in management, but my father owns a construction company that has 60 employees (he did a 20% paycut, actually not a paycut, everyone just works 4 days a week and keeps their benefits). He has people making good money but is finally realizing (he's only been in business 5 years) he doesn't need to pay 60K a year when someone just as good will work for 30k or less.


When he expanded 2 years ago, he hired 10 or so new college grads and paid them pretty well. They are getting offers elsewhere and leaving. He said the resumes aren't flooding in like they were last year. This may be irrelevant, but some good news I guess.

[pdxMIKEpdx]

Originally Posted by NewHomeOregon

This is what I'm looking for and hoping to find if I move to Portland. I would like to live in a mostly liberal community, where people care about one another, make eye contact, and feel comfortable being themselves. I'd like to see a reasonable amount of tolerance and acceptance of diversity and compassion for the vulnerable. I do NOT want to live in an area where people are image conscious and materialistic. I want a friendly, down-to-earth environment.
I have dreamed for a long time of going carless. In downtown Portland, it sounds like it's an option. Another poster told me about zip cars which will help for big shopping trips. I like the idea of great public transportation. I'm environmentally conscious. So this is very appealing to me.
I want natural beauty and lush greenery. I guess it's a given that I'll find that.
I want healthful, ethical food choices with plenty of farmers markets, health food stores and vegan/vegetarian/raw restaurants. Hopefully these will have reasonable prices.
I'm coming from Southern California, and I don't want a repeat of Southern California.

OK here is what I meant.
The original poster has quite a bit of "wants", and sounds like he or she is caught up in some mythical stereotype of Oregon/Portland.
Not saying that the stuff wanted doesn't exist here, but everything that he or she has indicated is primarily going to be found in the more trendy, younger, urban neighborhoods.
That's gonna cost money.
Farmer's markets, health food stores, vegan/veg/raw restaurants, zip cars, downtown Portland are going to cost MUCH MORE than living in a 400/month studio apartment in the 120th and Powell area and shopping at Grocery Outlet or Winco for example.

The stylized lifestyle wanted needs funding to make it happen. It probably won't happen exactly the way it's desired with a 20K a year job, or a 10 buck an hour part time job somewhere.
To surround him or herself with that lifestyle is going to take a concerted effort to find the right neighborhood, the right stores and restaurants, the right friends etc.
It's not just going to fall in place. It will have to be created.
There is no one spot or neighborhood in Portland with all that is desired.

Hopefully the OP realizes this and does not expect all of Portland to be some inexpensive, eco-green, nirvanah-like greenie commune where everybody has the same outlook and goals and wants the same lifestyle he or she wants to live.

Portland is a big city with all sorts of different types of people, different neighborhoods, different political views etc.
And as far as being image conscious and materialistic, you will find that here except that here the image wanted is the "psuedo eco outdoorsy hip" image instead of glitz and glam and money and power, and people are materialistic but in different ways than SoCal.

So if you do decide to move here, come with a job, and some CASH in the bank to set yourself up with all you want......

[Minervah]

Originally Posted by pdxMIKEpdx

OK here is what I meant.
The original poster has quite a bit of "wants".
Everything that he or she has indicated are going to be found in the more trendy, younger, urban neighborhoods.
That's gonna cost money.

Farmer's markets, health food stores, vegan/veg/raw restaurants, zip cars, downtown Portland are going to cost MUCH MORE than living in a 500/month studio apartment in the 120th and Powell area and shopping at Grocery Outlet or Winco for example.

The stylized lifestyle wanted needs funding to make it happen.
To surround him or herself with that lifestyle is going to take a concerted effort to find the right neighborhood, the right stores and restaurants, the right friends etc.
It's not just going to fall in place. It will have to be created.
There is no "one" spot in Portland with all that is desired.

Hopefully the OP realizes this and does not expect all of Portland to be some inexpensive, eco-green, nirvanah-like greenie commune where everybody has the same outlook and goals and wants the same lifestyle he or she wants to live.

Portland is a big city with all sorts of different types of people, different neighborhoods, different political views etc....

Well put.

You won't always find everthing you want in one place but you can find most things.

The OP can surely find what she is looking here for but it takes effort, compromise and time. I lived in Portland for nearly ten years moving to different areas before I found the one that I truly liked and felt really at home. The previous ones were fine but the one I finally chose to live in for over 20 years is the hands down the best for me.


The advice given on this forum is very valuable but in the end, the person has to try it out for themselves.