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Originally Posted by ACS_BKLYN
I think this is a pretty common question/thread, but thought I'd throw it out again to see what people have to say today.
I'm considering a job in the area and so we are considering a move across country. We're a mid-30's (well, begrudgingly, maybe "late"-30s) couple who have a young child (<1 yr). We're both from the northeast (her Phila, me northern New England) and have lived all over (Austin, Dallas, LA, DC, NYC). We really love living in Brooklyn but it is ridiculously expensive here. We just can't envision navigating schooling and affording to stay in the city. When we consider alternatives to just moving to Jersey (yuck), there is a very short list of cities we'll consider, and Portland seems an attractive option for raising a family.
We've been to Portland before and loved it (I was astounded at how nice the people seem). I know that people say to prepare for the weather (it's no picnic back here either, I hate the heat and winters are frigid). I've also heard the job market is rough (though this move isn't happening unless I get this gig).
So, I have a couple of questions, aside from the weather, anything we should prepare for or consider before making the move? Any close-in/urban neighb's we should look at for living (Alphabet, Pearl, others)? What's the nanny market like, easy to find good care? Other general thoughts on relocating from the east coast and settling in?
Also, I know the job market is challenging, but how about for senior-level corporate strategy kind of positions? Anyone know of large healthcare companies in the market (pharma, biotech, payers, etc)? Alternatively, any management consulting firms (large or local) with a presence in PDX?
thanks for your advice and help.
Hey, ACS_BKLYN!
Interesting move if you end up going from New York City to Portland.
A year and a half ago I moved from New York City to Seattle and I enjoyed my move and have no regrets. I like both NYC and Seattle. It was a fun and interesting experience to be able to live in a different place since I was born and raised in NYC and lived there my entire life before the move. It can always be fun and interesting to be able to live in different places.
It seems like Portland is a good option for you and your family.
What other cities made your short list for possibilities of places to move to?
Portland is family friendly. It also seems pretty easy to find good healthcare in Portland. Also the cost of living is so much lower than NYC. But then again the employment possibilities is not as good as NYC but I am sure there are still good employment possibilities you and your spouse can find there.
Also if you any problems with New York City crowds, congestion, fast pace etc. Portland is also much more laid back, less crowded, and slower paced than NYC.
Also, the weather in Portland is much more mild than NYC with much longer mild temperature periods than NYC which is something that you seem to like for your weather preferences. Actually New York City can get plenty of cloudy/rainy days, but Portland does get noticeably more cloudy days than NYC with a bit less annual sunshine. Most years though, Portland's annual sunshine is not that much lower than NYC's annual sunshine.
From my experience with PCNW weather, I prefer New York City weather over Seattle weather but there are still plenty of things I like about the Pacific Northwest to the point where I don't mind PCNW weather most of the time. There are many factors to quality of life for a place, and weather is just one of many of those factors
Overall, I like NYC a bit more than Portland(For reasons I didn't mention yet because I was focusing more on things I like about Portland) but Portland is still cool and Portland would still make my top 10 for places I would live in the USA.
I think this is a pretty common question/thread, but thought I'd throw it out again to see what people have to say today.
I'm considering a job in the area and so we are considering a move across country. We're a mid-30's (well, begrudgingly, maybe "late"-30s) couple who have a young child (<1 yr). We're both from the northeast (her Phila, me northern New England) and have lived all over (Austin, Dallas, LA, DC, NYC). We really love living in Brooklyn but it is ridiculously expensive here. We just can't envision navigating schooling and affording to stay in the city. When we consider alternatives to just moving to Jersey (yuck), there is a very short list of cities we'll consider, and Portland seems an attractive option for raising a family.
We've been to Portland before and loved it (I was astounded at how nice the people seem). I know that people say to prepare for the weather (it's no picnic back here either, I hate the heat and winters are frigid). I've also heard the job market is rough (though this move isn't happening unless I get this gig).
So, I have a couple of questions, aside from the weather, anything we should prepare for or consider before making the move? Any close-in/urban neighb's we should look at for living (Alphabet, Pearl, others)? What's the nanny market like, easy to find good care? Other general thoughts on relocating from the east coast and settling in?
Also, I know the job market is challenging, but how about for senior-level corporate strategy kind of positions? Anyone know of large healthcare companies in the market (pharma, biotech, payers, etc)? Alternatively, any management consulting firms (large or local) with a presence in PDX?
thanks for your advice and help.
Just moved here from NY a few weeks ago. Luckily my income isn't dependent on geography but my impression from those that are successful in Portland is that if you're sharp and work hard, you'll do well.
Compared to NYC, people here are pretty passive. I'm sure someone will take offense to that statement but it's generally true. Like the song New York, New York says, "if you can make it here, you can make it anywhere."
I'm not sure what scene you're looking for, but my wife and I are a tad older than you (39 and 40) , and our kids are older also (7 and 9), and my wife has familial roots here, so we have settled in Sellwood. It's not urban in the way Brooklyn is, it's more like being in a small town inside the larger urban area, but it's great for kids and there are some good shops and amenities. Plus, there are two great parks that bound the area on the east and west(the western one is on the river), and it's pretty close to downtown. As a native NY'er, I'm very very happy that there is a rail line being built which will have a stop right in Sellwood. It's supposed to be finished within a few years. There is an extensive bike trail called the Springwater Corridor which runs right through Sellwood and, conveniently, will go right to the future train station. I'm looking forward to riding my bike to the train, and taking the train right into downtown. No car needed.
I'm certainly no expert, but if you're looking for a scene closer to Brooklyn you may want to check out North and Northwest Portland.
Anyway, I really like it here, good luck with everything!
I'm an ex-NYer who made the move out here not quite a year ago. (I lived most of my adult life in NYC -- Manhattan and Bklyn -- and the six years before we moved to PDX in the Hudson Valley.)
I can't tell you how many folks warned us about the weather, how it rains all the time. It does rain. Quite a lot. But no where near what people have told you. NY actually gets more inches per year -- but in deluge form with all those big thunderstorms. What was most difficult to adjust to was the darkness, in November, especially. You wake up and it's dark. You drive the kid to school and it's dark. You pick the kid up and it's dark. In between, there's some rain. But then it lessens and there's rain and sun and showers and more sun. After NY winters, NW winters are honestly a piece of cake. There were six flakes of snow and my daughter's school was cancelled. And the news coverage of "winter storms" is hysterical.
As far as kid-friendly neighborhoods: We've found Portland, in general, to be shockingly kid-friendly. I'd suggest driving around and checking out houses and neighborhood parks and cafes to see which "fits" best. We shortlisted several neighborhoods on the east side (there seems to be an east-side/west-side almost "rivalry." Which is silly since the east side is far superior to the west.)
We ended up falling in love with how kid-friendly Sellwood/Westmoreland is. We visited the neighborhood on a shockingly hot day last year and hit the swimming pool. There were so many kids in the pool and the park that we could really picture our daughter in the neighborhood, biking with friends, going out for gelato with buddies, walking the dog. It was such a good fit for us. There's a library that has great kids' programs, kid-friendly restaurants, a linear park by the water for bicycling. We know all our neighbors and there's a genuine neighborhood feel -- everyone says "hello" to each other as they walk their dogs or kids. (And, yes, people are really as friendly as you noticed on your trips out here. So friendly, in fact, that my husband wants to start a "Rude Store" for homesick NYers.
And as far as ex-NYers go, there seem to be quite a lot of us here. It's not NYC -- nothing is, as HonuMan pointed out. And that's okay. I love that Portland isn't trying to be NY -- it's very much itself: a terrific small city that seems to have attracted more than its share of interesting folks.
Welcome!
I just read this after I posted my own reply. Great minds think alike. We also just moved from the Hudson valley after living in Manhattan and Brooklyn and live in Sellwood. Weird
Compared to NYC, people here are pretty passive. I'm sure someone will take offense to that statement but it's generally true. Like the song New York, New York says, "if you can make it here, you can make it anywhere."
I'm offended and I'm not even a native. Ever think maybe the rest of the country has it right and New York style aggressiveness and rudeness is a positive trait only in NYC, if even there. I mean... do you actually like it when NY'ers stonewall you or blow you off or flat out refuse to cooperate with you? I thought not. There are PDX'ers that could buy you and sell you 10x and they manage it while being charming and disarmingly friendly and decent, helpful even. You'll learn.
I just read this after I posted my own reply. Great minds think alike. We also just moved from the Hudson valley after living in Manhattan and Brooklyn and live in Sellwood. Weird
Holy moly! Where in the Hudson Valley did you live? Where in Bklyn?
We lived in New Paltz and, before that, in the South Slope, on 12th St. near 5th Ave., (which real estate brokers now call "Park Slope." Heck, they call half of Sunset Park "Park Slope" these days!)
I lived in Irvington, in Westchester county, and moved there from Brooklyn Heights. I didn't want to move but my wife had an issue with raising kids where the playgrounds had black rubber mats instead of grass. She won, and my commute went from 10 minutes to an hour.
I'm offended and I'm not even a native. Ever think maybe the rest of the country has it right and New York style aggressiveness and rudeness is a positive trait only in NYC, if even there. I mean... do you actually like it when NY'ers stonewall you or blow you off or flat out refuse to cooperate with you? I thought not. There are PDX'ers that could buy you and sell you 10x and they manage it while being charming and disarmingly friendly and decent, helpful even. You'll learn.
H
You're normally offended by my posts, I'm used to it.
BTW, I'm not making any reference to rudeness or lack of it, that's not at all what I'm talking about.
the kid/school thing is one of the reasons I'm looking at job opps outside NYC. The option of moving to the 'burbs here and commuting on NJT or Metro North gives me hives. I'd much rather move to a smaller city that we can afford and raise our daughter there.
thanks everyone for the comments. Interview next week to move forward with the process. very hopeful. This 100 degrees and humid heat in NYC is killing me this week.
the kid/school thing is one of the reasons I'm looking at job opps outside NYC. The option of moving to the 'burbs here and commuting on NJT or Metro North gives me hives. I'd much rather move to a smaller city that we can afford and raise our daughter there.
If you've transitioned into family-raising mode, I'm sure you'll find Portland a far more congenial place to live than almost anywhere in Brooklyn. (Unless you've got big bucks to join the Park Slope yuppie club). There a time and place for everything.
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