Moving to Portland in September with $8,000, no car, no job. What should I do? (Gresham: foreclosures, renting)
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I totally agree with your assertion that school is overated. And if I could find a job as a technical writer in the Portland area I do not think I would continue to pursue higher education outside of my bachelors degree in political science.
Just because I was in the exact same place at one point, I would highly encourage you to finish up the degree. Even if it's not in the field you're working in, it's still going to give you a leg up. At a minimum keep you even with other candidates for jobs.
Dropping out of college is about the only thing in my life that I really regret doing. And trust me, I've done a lot of stupid things
8,000 seems like a lot of money to me, especially if you're only supporting yourself. Find either a roommate or a studio apartment get your first month's rent and deposit and whatnot out of the way and use the rest for living expenses until you get on your feet. Why are you freaking out? Unless you're a big spender or something... Just don't spend a dollar more than you have to until you get a good job. 8,000 will probably get you a bit farther in Portland than it will in Chi. Just be smart! As far as the car thing goes, from the research I've done so far, living in Portland without a car is not that difficult. Do some research about where you're going to live and find which buslines are near and what public transport can get you to school/work. You can figure it out.
That's very encoraging. If you could do it with $300 I should be able to do it with $8,000, atleast until I can find a job. The plan is to take the $8,000 and pay 6 months rent and then bust my Moderator cut: inappropriate language like crazy to find a job while attending graduate school. If I succeed, then I will be a better person for it, if I fail, I will admit my mistakes and go back to Chicago with my head held high.
Good luck. I think with some flexibility you could succeed. I even did something really stupid and bought a 57 Chevy that turned out to need MUCH love. But even in Portland, I managed to find a menial job. One thing playing in my FAVOR (which may have vanished in the ensuring decades) is that you could rent furnished sleeping rooms with rent payable weekly. I found what I still consider a beautiful room in a private house, so the roof over my head was insured almost immediately. And it was a really short walk to the Sandy Blvd bus that went to downtown and to Hollywood district. Once I had a job, I moved to a furnished studio apartment just a few blocks away on Holiday, again putting me a half block from the Sandy bus. For being so young, I either had very good judgment or incredible luck. I wonder how well I'd do today with a $8k stash. As I've said to friends, being poor is the ony thing I've done well in my life. And its a good thing to do well if you're not adept at other things.
Reminds me of moving there in 1968 with $300, no car, no job. Somehow managed to stay off the street.
Yeah, but in 1968 you could rent an apartment with all utilities furnished, including garbage pickup, for $50/month, and you could buy a cup of coffee or a paper for a dime. Plus, a million men had been plucked out of the job market by the draft to go fight in Viet Nam. Remember Tet?
I'd avoid Beaverton, Tigard, way out east, or anywhere else where a car is de rigueur. You don't want the many headaches and expenses that come with that...at least not at this point. Get yourself a monthly Tri-met pass (super cheap for PSU students BTW...) and learn to appreciate that most areas of Portland are very walkable. You learn the city quicker that way anyway.
As for areas to live, I'd suggest inner SE, Lloyd Center, north Portland along Interstate Ave, or NW Portland/Alphabet District. There's a lot of areas that would work well and would provide fun lifestyle. You could live in PSU district as well, but you may or may not care to live that close to school. It's kind of a boring/quiet part of town after hours and I wouldn't care to see some classroom building outside my window anyway. You should be able to find something for $500/mo or less. Typical is 1st month's rent + 1 month security deposit for a month to month arrangement so count on having to part with a quick $1000 to get a place to live.
I'd avoid Beaverton, Tigard, way out east, or anywhere else where a car is de rigueur. You don't want the many headaches and expenses that come with that...at least not at this point. Get yourself a monthly Tri-met pass (super cheap for PSU students BTW...) and learn to appreciate that most areas of Portland are very walkable. You learn the city quicker that way anyway.
As for areas to live, I'd suggest inner SE, Lloyd Center, north Portland along Interstate Ave, or NW Portland/Alphabet District. There's a lot of areas that would work well and would provide fun lifestyle. You could live in PSU district as well, but you may or may not care to live that close to school. It's kind of a boring/quiet part of town after hours and I wouldn't care to see some classroom building outside my window anyway. You should be able to find something for $500/mo or less. Typical is 1st month's rent + 1 month security deposit for a month to month arrangement so count on having to part with a quick $1000 to get a place to live.
That's how I'd approach it.
What do you think about the Gresham area? Do you think I could live there without a car and travel to PSU from there? How are the neighborhoods in NW Portland, SE and Lloyd Center? From what I'm hearing from posters those areas are mostly minority and segregated with a fair share of crime. I mean, I'm a minority myself but I'm not trying to move to Portland to live in a crime ridden neighborhood. I could just stay in Chicago for that. I think 500 a month would be ideal but I'm willing to go as high as 650 for rent. I always thought PSU was located in an area downtown where everything was happening, clubs, bars, restaraunts etc. Am I wrong?
You sound like you have a good head on your shoulders and you'll do fine in Portland. I asked for similar advice in forums (including this one), and I too got the same wacky post-apocalyptic Revelations fire-and-brimstone scenario, which was of course a bunch of bull. I like the fact that you're willing to take risks, because that's what life's all about. If any of these posters say they never took a similar risk like *gasp* moving to another city to start a new life, they're lying. If you're smart and frugal $8K is more than enough to live in Portland for a few months. I was going to do the same on $10K, but after doing the math I can get by on a lot less.
I think this is the passive-aggressive attitude that everyone talks about Portlanders having. The nails only come out when they hide behind a handle on an anonymous forum. The hilarious thing? My own brother moved up to Portland with his gf. When I asked about couch surfing at their apartment for a month or two to get myself situated up there (no shower, just a body on the couch) their knee-jerk response was:
NO. You can't stay with us. It's too crowded (it wasn't ), there's no room (it was roomy) we don't want another roommate (they eventually got one after I asked), and you won't find a job very easily (I did, 3 offers to interview in 2 months).
Besides, there are lots of homeless people and because there are no jobs you'll be one of them, people aren't that friendly here, there's no housing, rent's expensive, and a "transplant" newb like you would have a tough time finding a job here anyways. Did we mention there are no jobs?
To which I responded: You just described the SF Bay Area to the T. What a coincidence! And I already live there! I think I'll do just fine in Portland, Thank You Very Much.
What do you think about the Gresham area? Do you think I could live there without a car and travel to PSU from there? How are the neighborhoods in NW Portland, SE and Lloyd Center? From what I'm hearing from posters those areas are mostly minority and segregated with a fair share of crime. I mean, I'm a minority myself but I'm not trying to move to Portland to live in a crime ridden neighborhood. I could just stay in Chicago for that. I think 500 a month would be ideal but I'm willing to go as high as 650 for rent. I always thought PSU was located in an area downtown where everything was happening, clubs, bars, restaraunts etc. Am I wrong?
Nowhere in Portland comes anywhere close to Chicago as far as violent crime goes. It's a borderline nonexistent issue in comparison. There's a few small pockets of blocks that are shady after dark in N. and NE. Portland but they're easily avoidable areas. formerly sketchy/undesirable areas have been gentrifying like mad, ie, Interstate Ave. along the yellow train line. Gresham is way too far out IMO. Yeah the train goes there but I can't imagine why anybody would move across the country to live in Gresham. That would be like moving to NYC area an living in some Moderator cut: language suburb on Long Island or in New Jersey instead of Brooklyn or Manhattan. kind of misses the point.
You can walk or take the train from PSU to all that stuff. it's part of downtown but just in a quieter corner of it. A lot of the nightlife is in Old Town/Chinatown, Pearl District and along NW 21st Ave. Also in inner SE Industrial district there's quiet a bit of new nightlife popping up.
Last edited by Kimballette; 07-05-2012 at 08:53 AM..
Reason: inappropriate language
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