Possible move in the next 1-3 years, some questions :) (Portland: low income, apartment complexes)
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After reading the original post, my question is why the poster wants to move her family to Portland. What is to be gained by this? Also the ages of the children will be 8 and 6 respectively in three more years. There will be issues of separation from friends and schoolmates and adjustment to new surroundings that probably don't exist to the same degree if a move was made immediately. I don't imagine one becomes a Diesel Mechanic overnight. I also imagine a certain amount of aptitude, if not enthsusiam for the work needs to be present for a career shift like that to be practical. If the o.p.'s husband is in the towing industry he must have some familiarity with vehicles... I don't know... but I have to think if he was drawn to a deeper invovment with their inner workings he'd be on it by now.
As I said, it appears that the o.p. is in a stable, financial situation. Those niche careers can work out for quite awhile, if not forever. There are aptitude testing centers that find out what people are good at and who can offer advice in re-careering that I am not qualified to give. My advice is simple: if the two of you are caring and feeding for two cars, sell one, or both of them and maximize the earnings that you presently have. I'm serious. Lose the cars. They are bleeding you to death slowly. You might find after you have a little more disposable income to take better care of your housing, clothing, nutritional, etc. needs, that you don't need to move to a completely new environment only to have to start over at the bottom of seniority rankings and without any kind of social network. FWIW.
I too doubt the wisdom of a move. If her husband is able to find enough work as a union drywaller in their current community they should stay put. While Portland's COL is less than the Bay Area let me assure you her husband's income will drop precipitously, which is why I suggested he learn another trade. Good jobs in the construction industry in Portland, like many other occupations, are found after establishing a reputation... networking.
The idea of rain and the towing industry does not tie in. If the OP is asking are there a lot of towing jobs available because it rains, I doubt that very much. Why would there be? If the implication is that rain causes more accidents, maybe, but there are already plenty of tow trucks at the ready to handle the problem. This doesn't create more jobs.
If the OP's family is planning to live on one income alone, being a nice guy won't get her DH a job. There are already many nice people out of work in Portland. Since the timeline is up to three years, he might want to look into something in which a job might be available in Portland and train for that. Living on one income for a family of five, especially when there is a chronic illness in the family is tough, so the job situation is crucial.
In three years we will know how well the Cover Oregon Plan is working. But for now, no one can guarantee the excellent coverage she has in Cali. But that of course remains to be seen as to what can develop over the next few years. I would definitely never make a move from Cali and its good health care benefits without being assured I could get something equally good anyplace else.
To the best of my knowledge there are few (any?) union jobs in dry walling in the area.
A profession with high demand is diesel mechanic. Honest. He should make at least as much and can work either for trucking companies or at a small shop in any city. The new low emission, high efficiency engines use computers and the industry is in an upgrade mode.
Its funny you say that, he has always wanted to be a diesel mechanic! Just never had the time to slow down and do it. Ill show this to him when he comes home. Thank you for the info!
After reading the original post, my question is why the poster wants to move her family to Portland. What is to be gained by this? Also the ages of the children will be 8 and 6 respectively in three more years. There will be issues of separation from friends and schoolmates and adjustment to new surroundings that probably don't exist to the same degree if a move was made immediately. I don't imagine one becomes a Diesel Mechanic overnight. I also imagine a certain amount of aptitude, if not enthsusiam for the work needs to be present for a career shift like that to be practical. If the o.p.'s husband is in the towing industry he must have some familiarity with vehicles... I don't know... but I have to think if he was drawn to a deeper invovment with their inner workings he'd be on it by now.
As I said, it appears that the o.p. is in a stable, financial situation. Those niche careers can work out for quite awhile, if not forever. There are aptitude testing centers that find out what people are good at and who can offer advice in re-careering that I am not qualified to give. My advice is simple: if the two of you are caring and feeding for two cars, sell one, or both of them and maximize the earnings that you presently have. I'm serious. Lose the cars. They are bleeding you to death slowly. You might find after you have a little more disposable income to take better care of your housing, clothing, nutritional, etc. needs, that you don't need to move to a completely new environment only to have to start over at the bottom of seniority rankings and without any kind of social network. FWIW.
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*sigh* Well, we live in a city that has murders every other week in the city next to it (Antioch, Ca, look up the news articles, ugh.). The culture here is not at all like I've read about in Portland area. (One word: ghetto. As in gang culture, and we are just simple folks on the 'hippie' side, I'm trying to be more minimalist as well. Also, we cant afford to live in the areas we would like to live in the bay area unless we want to pay $800k for a house - not happening) I'd love to move to the Portland area for the clean air, nature, activity, the arts are huge as my 5 year old sings all day long and is interested in theater (her aunt has her in a musical theater class now), the more abundant natural/organic food options there (I have to just go to trader joes here, which is pricey, but in comparison?).
The bay area is so crowded, My husband works 70 miles away and it takes him 3-4 HOURS to get home! Awful! I see people on the Portland threads complaining about a 30-45 minute commute and I'm like LOL! That would be like a dream here! Again, the class sizes here are huge, 32 kids to one teacher, in pre-kindergarden.
Its pretty uncomplicated: I want a better life for us. We do have family here but when we weigh the options and pros/cons, we are still 80/20 on moving. Im more like 98/2! Hubby is almost all the way on board.
The reason for waiting to move is that we have to make some home improvements and pay down some debt and rent or sell our home before we move (anyone with experience with that? Like I said, weve only ever lived here.)
Thank you again to everyones input! It helps us sort our thoughts and look at options and it is great info!
AbbeysMama, ultimately you have to parse through what people have said and continue to do your own homework:
1) The cost of living in Portland is rather high, but once you move away from the city it falls off pretty dramatically. Do your homework by looking at websites such as padmapper. Don't forget to include Vancouver, WA in your searches as it is directly across the Columbia River from Portland.
2) Although I don't think a drywall person is going to make $25 an hour here, I can't be sure since I'm not in the construction industry. But certainly a call to the local union office would provide you with that information, right?
3) Look at previous posts on this forum and additional online resources for information about mold, weather, and schools.
4) I think so few people are in the same boat as you with regard to your kid's medical condition that you won't get very much specific information about governmental health benefits. Again, more research for you to do.
I think the other posters are coming from a position of an abundance of caution since your little one has a chronic condition. With the generous benefits you receive currently, I too wonder if it's worth the risk moving somewhere where the benefits and/or the medical care may not be as good. But that's why you posted here, right? To get information.
the more abundant natural/organic food options there (I have to just go to trader joes here, which is pricey, but in comparison?).
Trader Joes is among the cheaper of the "speciality/natural foods" groceries here in Portland. You can make out pretty good at the multiple Farmer's Markets, and supplement that with a garden if you wish.
Location: Winter nightime low 60,summer daytime high 85, sunny 300 days/year, no hablamos ingles aquÃ
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Its pretty uncomplicated: I want a better life for us. We do have family here but when we weigh the options and pros/cons, we are still 80/20 on moving. Im more like 98/2! Hubby is almost all the way on board.
We know well what has happened to California: a collapse from the best place to live in the 50s and 60s, to one of the worst places to live right now. Your desire to leave that Hell Hole is understood.
What some people here (quite correctly) question is the destination you chose. Places like Portland or Seattle look great in the pictures. Reality is more complicated.
Portland economy is not that great. Cost of living, while less than Bay Area, is high. Wages are less. All the "organic this" and "nature that" is a green-washing that will not withstand your first contact with the reality.
There is a saying that the US Mountain States are places with "grand scenery, small salaries". Portland fits well into that description.
Drywall taper is not much of a career (thank open US Southern border)- Starbucks baristas here have often BA degrees.
If you want to move to PNW, you should look at Seattle first. While the cost of living is higher, the economy there is substantially stronger.
As repeated a 100x on this forum don't come here without a job!
However, you really should be posting on different forums.
Take Great Plains cities like Omaha NE or Des Moines IA, for example. Strong economies, low unemployment. Low crime, good schools. Very nice, friendly people. Check numbeo.com for cost of living comparison. The best wages vs. cost of living ratio in the US, if not in the world.
You can eke-out some kind of existence here, or have a comfortable, middle-class lifestyle there. Yes, they don't have mountains or the ocean, and the winter are cold.
Well, if you or your husband had MD-PhD after your name, you could pick almost anyplace you want. Since you don't, your options are limited.
Last edited by skiffrace; 11-25-2013 at 04:13 PM..
AbbeysMama, ultimately you have to parse through what people have said and continue to do your own homework:
1) The cost of living in Portland is rather high, but once you move away from the city it falls off pretty dramatically. Do your homework by looking at websites such as padmapper. Don't forget to include Vancouver, WA in your searches as it is directly across the Columbia River from Portland.
2) Although I don't think a drywall person is going to make $25 an hour here, I can't be sure since I'm not in the construction industry. But certainly a call to the local union office would provide you with that information, right?
3) Look at previous posts on this forum and additional online resources for information about mold, weather, and schools.
4) I think so few people are in the same boat as you with regard to your kid's medical condition that you won't get very much specific information about governmental health benefits. Again, more research for you to do.
I think the other posters are coming from a position of an abundance of caution since your little one has a chronic condition. With the generous benefits you receive currently, I too wonder if it's worth the risk moving somewhere where the benefits and/or the medical care may not be as good. But that's why you posted here, right? To get information.
The very reason I am harping on this because I was in this situation. I have been without employer provided insurance which has meant no insurance. No state insurance coverage as I would have had I been living in California which I needed for the treatment of the chronic respiratory condition I have. Would she want this for her child if her husband were not able to find work here?
The Oregon Health Plan, while better for kids than adults, is still nothing near where California's is. Unless her husband can get a stellar job with great benefits, they cannot expect to match what they have now as their supplementation to his employer's benefits from the state of California.
I repeat, things may change within three years but first and foremost, the OP is going to have to carefully monitor how Oregon is going to handle all health care during that time. And a really good employer health care plan is still going to be needed.
You can't have a better life if you have a child with a chronic illness for whom you can't get the proper treatment. Right now, as of today, even with all the other negatives mentioned by the OP, I would not be taking that child out of California. Nor would I take her out a year from now. Surely California has better places within the state to relocate. Maybe three years from now it will be a different story. During that time, the health care situation will have improved and the OP's spouse will hopefully be able to find the skills needed to support them all in Portland.
Before moving here whenever the target date turns out to be, I hope the OP will look into whatever health insurance benefits she thinks she may be able to be have for by Cover Oregon. That will at least be a start.
We know well what has happened to California: a collapse from the best place to live in the 50s and 60s, to one of the worst places to live right now. Your desire to leave that Hell Hole is understood.
You got that right! I just heard this afternoon on the radio that we have for a THIRD year in a row won the dubious honor of THE most poorly run state! LOL....go CA.
Oh and that they are looking at putting something on the ballot about doubling our vehicle reg fees....again...go CA!
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LOL! That would be like a dream here! Again, the class sizes here are huge, 32 kids to one teacher, in pre-kindergarden. 
Hubby is almost all the way on board. 
