Would I be able to make a living in Portland for myself? (cheap apartments, lease)

[xhayatox]

Greetings.

I am currently 19 years old. I live in New York City, and I have held a few jobs living here, particularly in the retail field. My last paying job was about $10 an hour. I'm looking into getting a place down in Portland on my own, preferably a 1-bedroom. From what I've gathered, there are some apartments available in Portland that offer a 1-bedroom for around $600 a month, so I think that would be enough for me as far as living costs go. Secondly, I'd like to ask. Is it hard to find a job in Portland? And how is the pay rate?

If I lived down there, I would need a job that would pay at least $10-12 an hour. What type of job would be best suitable for me with my current work experience? As I said, I have two years worth of retail field experience. I don't have any college degree's, nor do I plan on attending college. So yeah, basically I need some suggestions on some jobs that pay around $10-12 hourly that would be suitable with my current level of experience. Please help! Thank you.

[pdxMIKEpdx]

Sorry, but don't expect anything encouraging.

Merry Christmas.

[xhayatox]

Originally Posted by pdxMIKEpdx

Sorry, but don't expect anything encouraging.

Merry Christmas.

How come?

[Steve Pickering]

Originally Posted by pdxMIKEpdx

Sorry, but don't expect anything encouraging.

Merry Christmas.

No job, no reason to come here other than a vacation. Do a search of the other 10,000 "I have no job, but I want to move to Portland" questions. If you come, don't expect to find a job, and you will need about $4,000 just to get into a place, pay deposits, eat, get around, and survive the first month.


Dreams are great. Reality not so much so.

[oregonwoodsmoke]

Retail jobs are generally minimum wage. Minimum wage in Oregon is under $10 an hour and a lot of those jobs are part time.

Without any sort of job skills, you aren't going to get paid any more than that. If you are not willing to go to school to learn job skills, your options are somewhat limited.

[xhayatox]

Originally Posted by Steve Pickering

No job, no reason to come here other than a vacation. Do a search of the other 10,000 "I have no job, but I want to move to Portland" questions. If you come, don't expect to find a job, and you will need about $4,000 just to get into a place, pay deposits, eat, get around, and survive the first month.


Dreams are great. Reality not so much so.

But why wouldn't I be able to find a job down there?

[xhayatox]

Originally Posted by oregonwoodsmoke

Retail jobs are generally minimum wage. Minimum wage in Oregon is under $10 an hour and a lot of those jobs are part time.

Without any sort of job skills, you aren't going to get paid any more than that. If you are not willing to go to school to learn job skills, your options are somewhat limited.

Well, minimum wage here in NYC is $7.25, and yet I was fortunate enough to find something that paid $10 hourly, and since minimum wage in Portland is $9 last I checked, I figure my odds aren't too bad. I reckon it will take some extra work in the long run.. But I hear what you're saying.

Ultimately though, I'm going to want to move to Portland, or Vancouver WA. Whichever I have a better chance in. I have family who live in Lynnwood, WA, so if Portland doesn't work out, I can get a place down there in Lynnwood or what not.

[FSF]

Since you will be by yourself, and only have one adult person to take care of, I think your chances are more realistic. I would bring at least a few thousand dollars of savings as a cushion. As for jobs, I think there are plenty of retail, restaurants, and other low level jobs available. You will however be in the mix with dozens of other applicants, and most likely hundreds. However, I think most metro areas in the country are probably similar in that regard, at least the desirable areas. When a job opens up pretty much anywhere, if it is desirable, there will be hundreds of applicants. I think the posters here in Portland sometimes are under the misapprehension that this dilemma exists only in Portland. Certainly not true.

If you are assertive, hard working, and once again have some savings to fall back on, I think your chances are pretty good settling into the Portland. However, initially, I would be looking to get a room in a place already leased because of the difficulty involved in getting a place with your situation as well as the lower expense involved. Of course, if you have $10K+ in savings, that might a different story.

[xhayatox]

Originally Posted by FSF

Since you will be by yourself, and only have one adult person to take care of, I think your chances are more realistic. I would bring at least a few thousand dollars of savings as a cushion. As for jobs, I think there are plenty of retail, restaurants, and other low level jobs available. You will however be in the mix with dozens of other applicants, and most likely hundreds. However, I think most metro areas in the country are probably similar in that regard, at least the desirable areas. When a job opens up pretty much anywhere, if it is desirable, there will be hundreds of applicants. I think the posters here in Portland sometimes are under the misapprehension that this dilemma exists only in Portland. Certainly not true.

If you are assertive, hard working, and once again have some savings to fall back on, I think your chances are pretty good settling into the Portland. However, initially, I would be looking to get a room in a place already leased because of the difficulty involved in getting a place with your situation as well as the lower expense involved. Of course, if you have $10K+ in savings, that might a different story.

Thanks for your post. Yeah, that's basically my plan. If I do move to Portland, I will bring about $5,000 in savings. Once I get a job down there, my Mom will also be putting additional money into my account every month ($200 or so), so I will have extra money just in case. I actually have a good friend who lives in Portland, and he said he might get his own place there next year, and he asked me to move in with him. So if he does end up getting a place next year, I will take him up on his offer and move in with him. But if not, like I said, hopefully I can make it work somehow and get my own place. I am really surprised at how cheap apartments are in the Portland/Vancouver area. 1 Bedroom for only $600? That's very reasonable. Here in New York, 1 bedroom costs about $1200 a month so yeah. I just want to leave this state already. I am very unhappy here and I have been here for 15 years and it's already more than enough.

[FSF]

All I can say is that if you are "very unhappy" in the NYC area, there's no reason, especially at your age, that you shouldn't do this. Just don't come with the expectation that Portland will solve all of your problems. It is radically different than NYC (which I have visited many many times) so there is a good chance that it might be a fit for you. Also, I like the fact that you are thinking of contingency plans and that you have family in the general vicinity as well as a friend in Portland. Lastly, you should not write off the notion of going to school. You seem like a bright young person and an education, if gotten methodically, can be a valuable asset. What I mean by that is don't go spending unnecessary large amounts on an education (especially with crazy student loans) and if possible, study some technical matter that will yield a job (nursing, business, accounting, construction management, etc.). Best of luck!