Anyone thinking of leaving Portland????/ (Salem, Bandon: rentals, crimes, hotel)

[watchmanonthewall]

Thanks for the info. That's kind of funny. Let a hillbilly from western Kentucky give it a shot. I want all the Californicators to just stay out of Oregon y'all.

[Minervah]

I am not going to say anything other than what I have personally experienced in Porltand so while anyone can take issue my opinions they cannot take issue with my experiences unless they want to call me a liar and hurt my feelings.

Okay I have known quite a few Californians and New Yorkers too for that matter who have moved to Portland and then found they had to return home. At first they were thrilled with the low cost of living as compared to where they came from but when they could not get jobs to support the lower COL they went back to where jobs were more plentiful and the COL more in line with salaries.

Many Californians who have stayed on have been those lucky enough to get good well-paying jobs or brought lots of money in which to live on. I think those are the ones Oregonians resent. The complaints are and have been since forever that these Californians come in and raise the COL by throwing their money around and causing prices to go so high, the natives can't afford to live in their own houses. But when the Oregonians sell their little $35,000 homes for $250,000 or more to the successful ex-Californians whose fault is that?

For many reasons I am looking to move from Portland. When I go to other city forums on the board, I appreciate all opinions given both good and bad. I don't need someone to dog the naysayers as seems to happen here a lot. I understand when people give their opinions they are simply expressing how they feel and I can judge for myself. If they are stating their comments as fact, I can look up a statement to see if it's generally true. But I will listen to most anyone in making up my mind.

I notice the weather is discussed a lot here. For some it's always overcast for some there is plenty of sunshine. I had a friend who had to move back to Florida because she developed SADD while living here. I for one think we have just enough sunshine. I don't mind overcast or rainy. So if one were to ask me "Is it too gloomy in Porltand?" I would say "No." My friend would say "Yes." It's all in the eye of the beholder. But it isn't really an arguable issue.

The only people who are really not being helpful on this board and that includes this forum are those who give answers with great authority about a specific city but don't live there. I don't believe people who come here with questions are looking for someone else's research; they are looking for the actual experience of living in the town. Often I will ask someone whose opinion I want to know more about how many years they have lived in the city in question and how they came to their opinions.

On the whole I find this board to be a great source of information about various places in which I would consider living but have not yet personally checked out.

Stepping down off soapbox now.

[luv the outdoors]

That was a great post Minerva!

[angelbug]

Originally Posted by Minervah

The complaints are and have been since forever that these Californians come in and raise the COL by throwing their money around and causing prices to go so high, the natives can't afford to live in their own houses. But when the Oregonians sell their little $35,000 homes for $250,000 or more to the successful ex-Californians whose fault is that?

Finally, someone gets it. I can never understand why people in other states complain about how Californians drive up the home prices...I have yet to hear of anyone selling their house BELOW what a buyer offered. "Here, I don't want our house prices to get too high, so instead of the 400K you're willing to pay, why don't you just give me $250K and then more people can afford homes here!" Slow growth policies drive up the cost of housing, too. My town has pretty much a "no growth" policy - none of the surrounding farmland can be annexed for development without a 2/3 majority vote, and it will never happen, at least not in my lifetime. As a result of voting that requirement into law a few years ago, the housing prices jumped an average of 50K almost overnight. Now everyone complains that the teachers and police who work here can't afford to buy houses in the town. Who couldn't see that coming? There is a real social cost in preserving the character of a place by limiting growth below what the market demands. I'm not saying I oppose those policies, just that people need to consider the long-term implications of not providing enough housing to meet the demand.

BTW, native Californians can't afford to buy houses here, either. That's nothing unique to Portland. My son, who's starting college next fall, will never be able to afford a home in most parts of this state unless I help him with a down payment. My brother in Northern Virginia says it's the same way there, and it's certainly not from Californians flocking to the crappy DC area (I grew up there, so I feel I can disparage it ). Both coasts have experienced overly inflated housing prices. A lot of it is because demographic patterns are changing. There are fewer multiple-person households and more people living alone, more than at most other times in history, and that requires more housing. Divorced couples, elderly living alone, never-married singles who delay tying the knot - they all drive up the demand for housing.

[Tesaje]

Originally Posted by angelbug

There are fewer multiple-person households and more people living alone, more than at most other times in history, and that requires more housing. Divorced couples, elderly living alone, never-married singles who delay tying the knot - they all drive up the demand for housing.

Not to mention that there are simply a lot more people in the country, period. This is happening all over the country and more so on both coasts. Even places like the crappy DC area without the slow growth and ever expanding suburbs has even higher price run ups. Periodically, the real estate market goes crazy like in 2005 and prices jump. Then it crashes but prices tend to go down a lot less than they jumped.

Good rational posts

[suncat]

Originally Posted by watchmanonthewall

Thanks for the info. That's kind of funny. Let a hillbilly from western Kentucky give it a shot. I want all the Californicators to just stay out of Oregon y'all.

What? You think California doesn't have hillbillies? That there are no materialistic snobs in Kentucky? Please watch the over-generalizations.

[nancy thereader]

watchmanonthewall
Member

Is that from a song by The Doors???? I sort of had a melody in my mind when I read your name.

[Busch71]

Yes, I'm thinking of leaving. I've been here for 5 years and I'm thinking of moving back to my hometown of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. I love the scenery and the weather out here but I can't stand the ridiculous traffic problems that make what should be a simple drive a nightmare instead. They can't built roads but by God they'll spend money like it's going out of style on a stupid tram and MAX. The Portland city council seems to have their priorities backwards on many things and instead of worrying about important things like they should they like to focus on their little pet projects.

[kpaq]

I won't be able to afford out-of-state tuition at this point, but once I finish at OSU or UO I will definitely be leaving to SoCal or the Northeast.

[seven of nine]

Originally Posted by Busch71

Yes, I'm thinking of leaving. I've been here for 5 years and I'm thinking of moving back to my hometown of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. I love the scenery and the weather out here but I can't stand the ridiculous traffic problems that make what should be a simple drive a nightmare instead. They can't built roads but by God they'll spend money like it's going out of style on a stupid tram and MAX. The Portland city council seems to have their priorities backwards on many things and instead of worrying about important things like they should they like to focus on their little pet projects.

(Standing, clapping, shouting,) totally agree!