Has anyone move away from Portland due to the Cost of Living index? (leases, big house)

[pdxMIKEpdx]

Originally Posted by Squidlo

Born and raised in Portland. I did leave Portland over what I saw as the costs outstripping my wages. I had a solid job with a global company earning over 50k a year. My costs were rising faster than my wage across the board. Rather that sit and wait to be flat broke or just treading water, I left. I sold my overvalued home and moved. Oddly my property tax is comparable where I live now. The comparison ends with dollars spent. The home I live in now in a mature suburban neighborhood is just over 3000 sq ft. My previous home in St Johns fronted by an unpaved street 1800 sq ft. I knew I made the right choice when I saw from the outside how much harder it is just to get by in PDX.

I do not have children but, consider Portland schools in the "affordable" areas. I am 4 blocks from a top rated Middle and High school. You don't get that in good ol' St Johns.

Order a pizza and call the Portland Police see who gets to you first. In contrast I have the local constable's cell number in my phone. Residents in my neighborhood are the customers of local law enforcement, not potential suspects treated poorly for bothering them.

To put the "less desireable community" thought to rest. From St Johns to where I live now is a huge step up. I am surrounded by professionals and some retired folks. No one is digging in my recycling bins at night. If its worth it to you to pay more to live in PDX great! Don't run others down for seeing the (rising) costs as a downer.


Perception is reality in the eye of the beholder. My opinions may not match yours. We can agree to disagree, keep the debate civil.

This is almost exactly my situation.
I am a retired engineer, I can well afford to live in Portland, but when I finally crunched the numbers I realized that just by moving out of the Woodstock area to rural Clackamas county I could save at least $500 a month on property taxes and utilities.

The expense versus return just wasn't worth it to me anymore.

I'm older, and I don't take advantage of downtown, the city life etc.
I've lived here all my life (family for generations), and know Portland pretty well, so if I do want to do that kind of thing, I kinda know where to go and what to do.

Now I have forty acres with no close neighbors, quiet, privacy, and if I do want to go to town it takes me about 30 minutes to hit downtown, but honestly, I haven't spent much time there in years.

Utilities are cheaper, property taxes are cheaper, my quality of life is better and I have no complaints other than sometimes it's just too quiet and peaceful.

Gone are the days when one could call Portland a reasonable place to live cost wise.
I know it's better than some places, but a lot of that is relative to other factors.
The eighties and nineties when Portland was a considered an inexpensive "hidden gem" for creatives and underacheivers are over, folks.

[jwuk45]

Yes, you could live cheaper in Oklahoma or Kansas, but who the hell wants to live there? Good luck finding a city with comparable things to do/liberal mindset/good public transport, etc for cheaper. Compared to any other decent coastal cities (NY, Boston, San Fran, LA, Miami, etc), Portland is cheap.

[bler144]

Portland is the only one of those coastal cities with no actual coast, so just on that basis you'd expect it to be cheaper (also, only 1 major sports team).

Miami is interesting, since it depends on how you index COL (rent vs. buy, etc.). Sperlings gives Portland an index of 116 vs. 108 for Miami, but other indices suggest Miami is anywhere from 4-10% more expensive. Interestingly, Miami also rates much more highly for both wealth and poverty.

[ccjarider]

Originally Posted by jwuk45

Yes, you could live cheaper in Oklahoma or Kansas, but who the hell wants to live there? Good luck finding a city with comparable things to do/liberal mindset/good public transport, etc for cheaper. Compared to any other decent coastal cities (NY, Boston, San Fran, LA, Miami, etc), Portland is cheap.

It is attitudes like this that sometimes make it sucky to live here too.
Wow oh wow - Isn't our lovely little mediocre establishment great!!

I challenge the "so many things to do" and good public transport comments.
Other places (including Kansas and OK) have these too.

Further, the liberal mindset thing is a detriment to Portland's ability to compete. But then again, I am sure jwuk values a tree or a fish more than economic progress.

[Discovery1]

Originally Posted by pdxMIKEpdx

This is almost exactly my situation.
I am a retired engineer, I can well afford to live in Portland, but when I finally crunched the numbers I realized that just by moving out of the Woodstock area to rural Clackamas county I could save at least $500 a month on property taxes and utilities.

The expense versus return just wasn't worth it to me anymore.

I'm older, and I don't take advantage of downtown, the city life etc.
I've lived here all my life (family for generations), and know Portland pretty well, so if I do want to do that kind of thing, I kinda know where to go and what to do.

Now I have forty acres with no close neighbors, quiet, privacy, and if I do want to go to town it takes me about 30 minutes to hit downtown, but honestly, I haven't spent much time there in years.

Utilities are cheaper, property taxes are cheaper, my quality of life is better and I have no complaints other than sometimes it's just too quiet and peaceful.

Gone are the days when one could call Portland a reasonable place to live cost wise.
I know it's better than some places, but a lot of that is relative to other factors.
The eighties and nineties when Portland was a considered an inexpensive "hidden gem" for creatives and underacheivers are over, folks.

Yeah, i hear ya...It is all because of Kaliformica. I am not try to blame the peope form California here but it's all started there.

[Discovery1]

Originally Posted by jwuk45

Yes, you could live cheaper in Oklahoma or Kansas, but who the hell wants to live there? Good luck finding a city with comparable things to do/liberal mindset/good public transport, etc for cheaper. Compared to any other decent coastal cities (NY, Boston, San Fran, LA, Miami, etc), Portland is cheap.

You sound like you didn't go that far huh

[Yankeemama]

Originally Posted by Discovery1

Yeah, i hear ya...It is all because of Kaliformica. I am not try to blame the peope form California here but it's all started there.

Oh, ok. Pulleeze! Enough already. The blame game is overplayed on this board. Yes, I am a born and raised San Franciscan and guess how many transplants live there? I don't blame all of them constantly. That would be a waste of time and energy.

[bler144]

Originally Posted by ccjarider

It is attitudes like this that sometimes make it sucky to live here too.
Wow oh wow - Isn't our lovely little mediocre establishment great!!

I challenge the "so many things to do" and good public transport comments.
Other places (including Kansas and OK) have these too.

Further, the liberal mindset thing is a detriment to Portland's ability to compete. But then again, I am sure jwuk values a tree or a fish more than economic progress.

Portland has real structural issues that impact the economy, it's not the liberal bogey-man. Boston is relatively liberal, and much stronger economically than many conservative cities. SF was regarded as a liberal area when Silicon Valley launched.

Just a few:
Like Baltimore, Portland is a port city that's not on the ocean. It's a long voyage upriver requiring expensive use of pilot boats for some stretches. Along the way the only other significant ports are VancWa and Longview. Seattle isn't exactly convenient for shipping either, but the same route can hit Seattle/Victoria/Vancouver, and the passage is generally easier.

Unlike say, Houston, Portland has limited natural resources. Even if the politics were 100% conservative, it wouldn't make practical sense to make Pdx a refinery city. Even when this was a major lumber state, most of that lumber money wasn't in Pdx, was it?

And unlike Portland, we don't even have proximity to the nation's centers of power - D.C., NYC, Chicago, LA - and access to power means a great deal. In terms of competitive economic advantage Pdx doesn't have a lot to offer that you can't get better or cheaper somewhere else in the country.

Killing off the Urban Growth Boundary or cuttings the arts tax almost certainly isn't going to turn the city into an economic juggernaut.

[Squidlo]

Originally Posted by jwuk45

Yes, you could live cheaper in Oklahoma or Kansas, but who the hell wants to live there? Good luck finding a city with comparable things to do/liberal mindset/good public transport, etc for cheaper. Compared to any other decent coastal cities (NY, Boston, San Fran, LA, Miami, etc), Portland is cheap.

Yes, it is cheaper. It isn't in the same league either. You are ignoring the 3rd coast. Houston is closer to the ocean than Portland. Google Earth Visit sometime it aint that bad.

[EnricoV]

Yeah, but he said decent coastal city.