Moving from Austin to Portland this summer (apartments, co-ops) - Oregon (OR) - Page 4 - City-Data Forum

ffffffaaaaa1 · 04-20-2011, 11:12 AM

Hi,
True to self here---I'd trade pdx to austin anytime. Lived in Austin! Austin is a treasure, don't hurry to come here.

Daisy32673 · 04-20-2011, 11:17 AM

I still agree with the others...your giddiness to move here will only last so long, especially with moving to such a different city. I am dying to hear what you'll say in a year

Minervah · 04-20-2011, 11:24 AM

Heather what concerns me is your comment a while back that you are not relocating for a job but for a better way of life. It would be much better if you were relocating for a job. You stated you are going to take your kids to Portland and leave your husband in Austin while you search for a job. This can put a terrible strain on a marriage especially because your field is in the paralegal area and the competition (see my previous post regarding the subject) is fierce. Are you perpared to be separated for six months? A year? Longer? Will you be able to support your kids on a paralegal's salary alone providing you get a job while your husband is looking for work?

You seem like a great person to have as a neighbor. I would welcome you. But please weigh all the issues carefully in deciding where to go and how to get there. Timing is everything.

Daisy32673 · 04-20-2011, 11:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Minervah

Heather what concerns me is your comment a while back that you are not relocating for a job but for a better way of life. It would be much better if you were relocating for a job. You stated you are going to take your kids to Portland and leave your husband in Austin while you search for a job. This can put a terrible strain on a marriage especially because your field is in the paralegal area and the competition (see my previous post regarding the subject) is fierce. Are you perpared to be separated for six months? A year? Longer? Will you be able to support your kids on a paralegal's salary alone providing you get a job while your husband is looking for work?

You seem like a great person to have as a neighbor. I would welcome you. But please weigh all the issues carefully in deciding where to go and how to get there. Timing is everything.

Totally agree. In her rental thread she is now asking if she should consider downsizing to a one BR apartment (with 5 people). I think at this point she'll do anything to make it work

heatherinaustin · 04-20-2011, 01:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Daisy32673

Totally agree. In her rental thread she is now asking if she should consider downsizing to a one BR apartment (with 5 people). I think at this point she'll do anything to make it work

I didn't post about downsizing to a 1BR apt! Unless someone is masquerading as me, you are confused with another poster. On another blog I'm on I stated that an apt wouldn't work for my family.

Daisy32673 · 04-20-2011, 01:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by heatherinaustin

I didn't post about downsizing to a 1BR apt! Unless someone is masquerading as me, you are confused with another poster. On another blog I'm on I stated that an apt wouldn't work for my family.

I know, I got confused with another poster!

heatherinaustin · 04-20-2011, 02:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Daisy32673

I know, I got confused with another poster!

Thanks for the correction. I don't want to come off as some desparate woman who would sacrifice her family to move to Portland! I have actually made arrangements with a lovely family to rent their home for 2 months this summer while they are overseas so we can see if Portland is the right fit for our family.

Again, I'd like to thank everyone for their advice on cost of living, kid clothes, weather and all other questions I've posted.

jjpop · 04-20-2011, 02:14 PM

Heather, don't be discouraged, but do be realistic. A lot of people seem to ascribe some sort of utopian vision to Portland, then they come here and find out it's not what they thought it would be (Hello ffffffaaaaaa1). Portland has some definite negatives--the weather being the big one that can't be ignored.

So my advice would be to brush the stars out of your eyes and view things through a lens of realism with a commitment to make it work. You'll find things you don't like and things you love, and hopefully the latter will outweigh the former.

heatherinaustin · 04-20-2011, 02:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Xanathos

Heh, you sound like my girlfriend when we relocated from Austin. Right down to the "well, it seems a lot like Austin, only greener in color"

12 months. That's the over/under spread for how long it will take you to realize that visiting Portland and living in Portland are two wholly different animals, and how long it will be taking before you are so desperate to get out of that city you'd be willing to do almost anything. You have no idea what you're signing up for. Unless you're a counterculture hippie, the odds are strongly in favor of you coming to regret this relocation.

School rankings are fine and all, right up until you realize that the quality of the school your kids attended in Texas was wholly dependent on what ISD you were in, as some of them were spectacular. The schools in Portland leave a lot to be desired unless you're in one of the more affluent neighborhoods, which it doesn't sound as though you will be. And you're going to be paying considerably more for things like utilities. Take whatever you're paying in Austin right now, and add about 30% to that total. There's your figure.

As to the job market? I hope you've got a lot of savings, especially in your oversaturated field.

I know this sounds incredibly harsh, but it's probably the only splash of reality you're likely to get. On the upside, moving to any number of the other large west coast cities has typically resulted in a large upswing in happiness factor from other Austin transplants I know of (aside from my S/O and I, there have been 9 of our couple friends who have made this trek. 3 moved back to Austin, 3 moved to Seattle, 2 moved to California and one is still there and complaining on her Facebook wall about how she'll never say another negative thing about Buda if only she can get back there just about daily).

Edit: And $4 for a gallon of milk? I don't know where you've been shopping, but it sure as hell wasn't H-E-B. I was just down in Austin not 3 weeks ago to tend to some property I own down there, and I distinctly remember paying 2.49 for a gallon.

FYI HEB Plus in Leander $3.89/gal for 2% milk.

Thanks for your candor. I'm sorry that Portland was not the city for you. I'm hoping that it is a good fit for my family.

I'm not disillusioned about the schools. My kids go to Leander ISD, which is one of the top in the state says my huge LISD tax bill, and I can't get the help I need for my son. I have to pay out of pocket for an Occupational Therapist that the school district is required by law to provide. Portland schools may be worse, I don't know. I'm researching that now. Again, appreciate your opinion.

heatherinaustin · 04-20-2011, 02:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jjpop

Heather, don't be discouraged, but do be realistic. A lot of people seem to ascribe some sort of utopian vision to Portland, then they come here and find out it's not what they thought it would be (Hello ffffffaaaaaa1). Portland has some definite negatives--the weather being the big one that can't be ignored.

So my advice would be to brush the stars out of your eyes and view things through a lens of realism with a commitment to make it work. You'll find things you don't like and things you love, and hopefully the latter will outweigh the former.

Thank you, and I am doing my best to be realistic. The funny thing is, everyone keeps telling me that I will hate the weather. 70% of our decision to move to Portland was FOR the weather! We like the rain. We like cooler temps. I'm sure it will take some getting used to but the weather is a positive for us!