Yet another relocation/neighborhood question (rentals, homes, job transfer) - Portland - Oregon (OR) - Page 2 - City-Data Forum

Steve Pickering · 05-30-2013, 02:51 PM

This is almost funny. Seattle is Seattle and Portland is Portland. A web search as to the above claim will show either the internet is wrong (Could Be) or the facts as stated are incorrect.

arizonatransplant1978 · 05-30-2013, 05:42 PM

Wow. Alrighty. Well thanks so much for all those little gems of insight. Very few families have the luxury of just jetting off to a potential living situation 3-5 times during the course of a year to determine if they like it or not. I know nobody who ever considered moving to Arizona who came and visited so many times, especially during the summer, and still actually moved here. I know nobody who actually 'previsits' places more than once or twice. Many move because of jobs, family, etc.

So by your little account of wisdom, someone should stay where they are unless they have that luxury to to continually travel to somewhere. In other words, I should jet off to N. Carolina several times during the year to see if I can take the humidity or the Southern Hospitality.

I've seen lots of helpful info on other threads for people who are in the same situation as we are. So I'm not sure what about me has sparked this response. I have no more or less knowledge than anyone else. Also, I didn't mean to imply one way or another about Seattle/Portland, except that it's implied that the rain would turn us off. Most everyone I know who has lived in Seattle and Portland says that it is a bit more rainy in Seattle.

Anyhow, thanks so much for the help to those who actually responded with helpful information.

christiner81 · 05-30-2013, 05:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steve Pickering

Do not even consider moving here until you have visited in November, March, and August.

I love Arizona, and I love Oregon, but many can not adjust to the climate in either one.

I have found that people who are not happy where they are, often are no more happy when they move.

i think visiting is a good idea, however, not everyone has the ability to wait for a pre-move visit during the cold & rainy months. even people who do may be OK with the weather temporarily but not ok with it long term. conversely, many people can adapt to something outside their typical comfort zone. I'm a skinny girl and always cold. I *love* the heat and grew up in a warm climate, but I'm never moving back to Arizona. It's almost June and i'm wearing long sleeves and a fleece on top.

the only way to know for sure if it's for you is to do it.

Steve Pickering · 05-30-2013, 05:56 PM

And there is the reason we have so many who make bad choices and hate the moves they make.

christiner81 · 05-30-2013, 06:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steve Pickering

And there is the reason we have so many who make bad choices and hate the moves they make.

Just because it doesn't work out in the end doesn't mean it was a bad choice or poor planning that led you there. Give the sweeping generalizations a rest.

Steve Pickering · 05-30-2013, 06:09 PM

So what do you attribute to why it didn't work out? That wasn't a generalization.

arizonatransplant1978 · 05-30-2013, 06:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by christiner81

i think visiting is a good idea, however, not everyone has the ability to wait for a pre-move visit during the cold & rainy months. even people who do may be OK with the weather temporarily but not ok with it long term. conversely, many people can adapt to something outside their typical comfort zone. I'm a skinny girl and always cold. I *love* the heat and grew up in a warm climate, but I'm never moving back to Arizona. It's almost June and i'm wearing long sleeves and a fleece on top.

the only way to know for sure if it's for you is to do it.

This is where we are at. We have time to devote this summer, but with kids it's not possible during the school year. And we're both very aware that it's possible that we'll end up wanting to move after a year. But as depressed as I get here in the summer time, I'm willing to give it a shot.

I have the "cold" issue too. Often I have to carry a jacket around to the grocery stores and shops here that keep it at 68 to cool people off from the 100+ degree weather in the summer.

the bottom line is, Steve, that this is a big country. People try new places all the time, and sometimes they turn out to be mistakes. I moved to Wyoming with my folks during college and it was one of the worst mistakes. We lived on the West side of Phoenix once, and that was a huge mistake. But staying in one spot because you're afraid you might not like something better? That's a mistake too. IMHO

Steve Pickering · 05-30-2013, 06:16 PM

I have never stayed in one spot so I wouldn't know.

I liked the West Side when I lived at 35th Ave and Thomas. Wouldn't care much for it today. I also used to have that 20 acre parcel at 200 South Mountain Avenue. I loved it, but most forumites would never live there either.

I am well aware of how big this country is. And although I have always had a job and never moved with one first, I have seen the broken dreams of others too many times. With me it's more of a "Don't do as I do" because the odds are you will not make it.

Many people who make a lot of mistakes don't deal with it as well as some of us.

christiner81 · 05-30-2013, 06:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steve Pickering

So what do you attribute to why it didn't work out? That wasn't a generalization.

Like you, I've moved around a lot. We've talked about that before. Places change, priorities change. We lived in Michigan when we got married. It wasn't the place for us. Was moving there a mistake? Some might say so. I didn't want to move there in the first place and I was glad to leave when his job took us to Arizona. But in a down economy, you go where there are jobs. There was a job there for my husband. Were we miserable the whole time we were there? No. There are good and bad parts to every place. The only place I'd ever consider a mistake or a bad choice was one college semester I spent in TEXAS. haha

We didn't leave Arizona because it didn't work out. We did some research and made a choice to apply for jobs and relocate our family here. Similar to the OP. They have money and employment, which are the 2 main things this forum hounds transplants to have. Some caution is good, but I think y'all are going overboard.

lookinforhorseparadise · 05-30-2013, 11:38 PM

Sometimes life takes unexpected turns and thru no fault of our own we face obstacles to being able to successfully/happily live in our current city......at that point it becomes " the evil you know vs. the *possible* evil you don't know"....IMO, one is known to be a bad fit, while the new place just might work out. Of course research helps, but at some point you need to just make a choice. Worst case scenario, you don't like it and you move again. Not a disaster for this poster because her husband can live anywhere and do his current job, so all they have to lose is moving money and hassles of relocation.