Help me decide where to move! So Cal to Oregon (Portland: 2013, for rent)

[GreenGaze]

Greetings Everyone!

My family and I are done with living in an extremely hot climate and we want a change. We are currently in Palm Springs, CA. I've always dreamed of living in a beautiful house with a porch on a bit of land with green and trees everywhere. (Doesn't everyone?) I actually just posted in the Seattle forum and am considering somewhere in Oregon as well. I am hoping for an area with a little less rain than Washington, more sunny days if possible? My ideal city would be to live in a house that has a little bit of land for my children to roam and explore, however I'd like to be able to drive into town to shop at Costco or go to a get a good dinner at a nice restaurant. Does this EVEN EXIST or am I dreaming? My husband is a firefighter/paramedic looking for a job and I am a Registered Nurse. I have 4 children ages 11, 9, 4 and 2. So obviously the school district is very important. Recreation activities are a must as we love to be outside especially in the summers. What is my best choice as far as cities go? My husband is willing to commute up to 1-1.5 hours and I would like to work nearby at a hospital. We will be renting to start and if we like the area, we will eventually buy. Budget for rent is up to $3000 a month for a 4 bedroom home. What are your ideas? Thanks in advance for all your kind replies.

RECAP:

House with land
Good schools
Ability to drive into city and shop at newer updated stores/restaurants
Definite sunny days, not drizzly drizzle every day.
Hospitals nearby for me to work at.

[Nell Plotts]

We have hospitals in almost all medium sized cities/towns, you really should focus on where your husband can find a job.

"A little land" can be an issue as we have urban growth boundaries and minimum farming lot size that may not make your housing choice affordable. You could situate yourself close to a large park (such as Forest Park along the hills west of Portland) or close to a National Forest - that way you won't need to own kid roaming space. You could even live in Sun River (~20 M south of Bend, St. Charles Hospital) with its extensive network of bike trails and recreational activities.

I do not know anything about Bend schools but remember that the most important factor in a child's academic achievement is the involvement of parents.

[crisw]

You may want to post this in the Oregon forum itself, as there are probably some other cities that may suit you a bit better if you are looking for "definite sunny days"- maybe around the Bend area?

[skypros]

GreenGaze...... The only place I can suggest is Central Oregon (Bend area)

RECAP:

House with land.... YES WE HAVE THAT
Good schools.... YES WE HAVE THAT
Ability to drive into city and shop at newer updated stores/restaurants.... YES WE HAVE THAT
Definite sunny days, not drizzly drizzle every day..... YES WE HAVE THAT
Hospitals nearby for me to work at..... YES WE HAVE THAT

WELCOME TO BEND, CALIFOREGON

[Discovery1]

Originally Posted by GreenGaze

Greetings Everyone!

My family and I are done with living in an extremely hot climate and we want a change. We are currently in Palm Springs, CA. I've always dreamed of living in a beautiful house with a porch on a bit of land with green and trees everywhere. (Doesn't everyone?) I actually just posted in the Seattle forum and am considering somewhere in Oregon as well. I am hoping for an area with a little less rain than Washington, more sunny days if possible? My ideal city would be to live in a house that has a little bit of land for my children to roam and explore, however I'd like to be able to drive into town to shop at Costco or go to a get a good dinner at a nice restaurant. Does this EVEN EXIST or am I dreaming? My husband is a firefighter/paramedic looking for a job and I am a Registered Nurse. I have 4 children ages 11, 9, 4 and 2. So obviously the school district is very important. Recreation activities are a must as we love to be outside especially in the summers. What is my best choice as far as cities go? My husband is willing to commute up to 1-1.5 hours and I would like to work nearby at a hospital. We will be renting to start and if we like the area, we will eventually buy. Budget for rent is up to $3000 a month for a 4 bedroom home. What are your ideas? Thanks in advance for all your kind replies.

RECAP:

House with land
Good schools
Ability to drive into city and shop at newer updated stores/restaurants
Definite sunny days, not drizzly drizzle every day.
Hospitals nearby for me to work at.

I think Dallas Texas fit everything you described.

[eric351982]

I would maybe suggest Medford. They have sunshine and greenery. You could probably rent a beautiful home for $3000 a month. If you did not need the sunshine part, I would say Hillsboro or Banks (near Portland).

[crisw]

Originally Posted by Discovery1

I think Dallas Texas fit everything you described.

Except that "not hot" part.

And that "good schools" part (Portland may have issues- but Texas may be worse- Texas public education woes - Houston Chronicle, Experts say state funding is creating inequitable educational environments | Dallas Morning News)

And, if they are looking at Portland, the endless sprawl and conservatism of Texas may not be appealing either.

[jj85]

Hi,
First off let me say Possibly Welcome to OR. I'm also trying to decide between moving back to Portland or moving to Seattle due to the horrible economy here which is really taking it's toll on me, but am leaning moreso towards Portland.

OR & WA are 2 different states with different laws, economies, weather, etc. When I moved from CA to here I looked at Eugene, and Eugene gets Twice as much rain as where I grew up at. I figured that's great. But what I wasn't counting on was the gloomy weather. Days that should be sunny would be foggy or cloudy with no rain.

Currently I look out my window & it's Foggy & 34 outside, same as yesterday. I have pictures of the sun all around my room which really helps with the winter gloom.

Try to decide which city you'd be happier living in.

Both Portland and Seattle have a rainy season of 9 months, but you see more sunshine than what we see here in Eugene. Both cities are windier so it blows the clouds in faster, blows them out faster with more sunshine breaks in between.

Seattle unemployment rate is lower than Portland.

Portland: It used to be before 2007 when I moved here I met lots of people who moved from Portland to Eugene to find work because they couldn't find work there. Now it's opposite. I'm sad and glad at the same time, as when I lived in Hillsboro I was able to get 3 job offers in a month and a half (I work in a different field), where here it's 6+ months and you still don't here from anybody. Luckily I'm employed currently so I can transfer to both cities.

Good luck in deciding

[bler144]

Originally Posted by jj85

Hi,


Both Portland and Seattle have a rainy season of 9 months, but you see more sunshine than what we see here in Eugene. Both cities are windier so it blows the clouds in faster, blows them out faster with more sunshine breaks in between.

That's...an interesting theory. Anecdotally I'd say my experience is more gray in Pdx, and the data I've seen tends to bear that out:

Partly Sunny Full Sun Total Sunny Days
Eugene 75 82 157
Portland 68 74 142

Though neither is as cloudy as Astoria. You'll see some slight variation depending on which site you're using, but most seem to concur that Eugene has 10-15 more sunny days than Portland.

[jj85]

Originally Posted by bler144

That's...an interesting theory. Anecdotally I'd say my experience is more gray in Pdx, and the data I've seen tends to bear that out:

Partly Sunny Full Sun Total Sunny Days
Eugene 75 82 157
Portland 68 74 142

Though neither is as cloudy as Astoria. You'll see some slight variation depending on which site you're using, but most seem to concur that Eugene has 10-15 more sunny days than Portland.

Very interesting
When I lived in Hillsboro there was many days that it'd be cloudy/overcast here and I'd be looking at Sunshine. Especially in the spring. Also there were days that it'd be clear here and Partly cloudy/mostly sunny in Hillsboro.

So I took this video today. I drove out of the fog and got to spend a half an hour in the sun, it was so nice

Oregon Sunsine - YouTube