I think I want to move here, but need alot of information! (Portland: health insurance, houses)

[Leisesturm]

Originally Posted by MapleSyrupBasketRide

Hope this makes it easier

Not really... I mean.. there are something like 372 metro areas in the country there are literally thousands of smaller aggregations of human beings in the contiguous United States... you live in one of them. You don't care for it... I get that. Why Oregon? I know why I am here and it isn't because the summers are hot in NYC. You really do need a better reason than that. More to the point you need to have a better idea of what you want. There are tons of places that have 'better' summers than Tennessee. Tons. Each of them has a particular 'vibe'. Portland has art and music but those things don't really define it. Were I you I would be looking at Ann Arbor, MI, Boston, MA... New York City even... no maybe not, forget I said NYC. Portland winters will likely not be cold enough and much too wet to be worth the anemic offerings in the arts. Other cities in Oregon are even less culturally inclined. Chicago has culture, NYC has culture, Boston has [cough] culture and the infrastructure to support it. Even Philadelphia and Washington (D.C.) Pittsburgh... we naysayers may not be "right" exactly but I don't think we are "wrong" exactly. You haven't thought this through. That's okay but there are "Places Rated" and other types of "how do I find the best place for me" type of websites that you can put all kinds of 'druther's' into and they come up with a shortlist of places to research. I recommend you spend some time with one. Good luck.

H

[MapleSyrupBasketRide]

Like I said, I'm visiting soon. If I like it and can find a job I'll stay.
Do I really need a reason to live somewhere I want to live?
If someone likes it somewehere and can live comfortably, why must they more reasons of why they moved there?

[Dogmama50]

Maple,
You've got passion, drive and youth on your side. I feel it's better to try and possibly fail than never follow your dreams. If Tennessee isn't for you then find the place that is, it may be Oregon or somewhere else, you'll know when you get there.

[MapleSyrupBasketRide]

Aw thank you so much for the motivation!

[Minervah]

Originally Posted by MapleSyrupBasketRide

Like I said, I'm visiting soon. If I like it and can find a job I'll stay.
Do I really need a reason to live somewhere I want to live?
If someone likes it somewehere and can live comfortably, why must they more reasons of why they moved there?

That will be your challenge. There are many people who have been looking for a job for years in this town.

And I can't think of a reason why you would not need a reason to live someplace. You have reasons why you do not want to live in Tennessee any longer. You would be better off finding something that suits your needs better than where you are. Otherwise you are just drifting.

Come and see for yourself, just be sure to bring good amount of money on which to live if you decide to stay. Your idea of finishing school with a business major and then striking out on your own in your own business may be your best bet.

You are a determined person. I think you will find your ideal place. Just keep an open mind about what you are looking at. Orgeon may or may not be for you.

[MapleSyrupBasketRide]

Ok, thank you for your advice

[Nell Plotts]

Hey, one of my ancestors left Tennessee and headed west - but they had an occupation. They had a plan to support themselves.

You need to do the same. The recommendation to work at Starbucks is fantastic (I would add Costco). Get a job there while you are going to school and build a great employment record there - work at least a year. There are Starbucks & Costcos all over the country, when there is a city you want to move to it will be easy for a Starbucks/Costco manager to hire you. There is one exception, perhaps, avoid communities where a university dominates. Those stores will be swamped with student applications and even with an employment record with the company elsewhere the competition could be really tough.

My concern about your readiness for a move is your lack of research about the communities you are considering. Hit the library, for example. On the web see what the local newspapers & TV stations are discussing.

The worst thing in the world is to leave your friends & family, who are doubtless telling you to stay close to them, and then not be content. You need to have savings that will meet your needs for at least 4 months and employment prospects.

Schools all over the country are laying off teachers. Right now I see the best employment prospects, generally, in health care related occupations. If you intend to go to college in your new community I suggest you research how to enroll as an in-state student. Oh yes, avoid the for-profit educational institutions. Stick with community colleges and academic degree institutions.

[aroseinrain]

The reason you'd have an edge over the competition if you work at Starbucks (specifically) and then transfer is that the training process is very comprehensive and costly at the store level so any Starbucks manager will hire someone who is already trained over someone who needs to be trained without question (assuming this person has no disciplinary actions on their record).

Also, the other thing that makes Starbucks a great job (especially if you want to transfer around the country) is:

*You can always change your mind about the city you've moved to and move to a different city and still have a job.
*the wages are low (probably minimum) but don't forget you'll be getting tips too, so even if you are hired making $8.50 per hour you will also be getting somewhere between $1-$2 dollars cash-in-hand per hour on top of that. (aside: I worked at a store that got about $3/hr in tips, but that's rare. I heard that in Vegas they can get upwards of $5 per hour in tips)
*they offer paid vacations to all employees and really cheap health plan if you work more that 20 hours per week.
*if you want to visit out of state but can't afford it you can often pick up shifts wherever you are (as long as you plan it in advance) and still have the money coming in while you are out of town. I even worked with people who worked in one city during school and a different city during the summer.


(fwiw: I was a Starbucks manager and worked for Starbucks for 11 years)

[Minervah]

I have to agree about Starbucks. I have a co-worker who was a manager there. She praises it to the sky as a workplace. she had to leave when she had a baby because she wanted regular hours and no overtime so she got a job with the company where I work which is a large corporate home office.

She would rather be back at Starbucks even with the OT and odd hours.

[Nell Plotts]

A former CFO of Starbucks lived in my old neighborhood. He was a great guy and spoke well of the current President. (Predecessor, not so highly.) Not a thing wrong with working for Starbucks.