Honest Opinion of Portland (Gresham, Dallas: organic, live, restaurants)

[BMG]

Originally Posted by EnricoV

I would think you'd have no problem. Craigslist shares seem to run in the $300 - $500 range. The Bay area's nice, but I think housing would be more expensive there.

I hope so. I am simply looking for a warehouse job that pays, at least 10/hr, while going to college (also, any colleges you recommend?).

School is the impetus; a good paying job($10-$12/hr), would be close behind it, but in that order.

Thanks for the help.

[2bpurrfect]

Originally Posted by BMG

Hello.
I have a question and need considerable counsel. I currently live in Las Vegas, moved from Orange County, CA. But, I miss rain, BIOMASS, and cooler temperatures.

All I am looking for is to find a $10/hr warehouse job or similar to that, while going to school to major in English. I only need a few credits from a Community College to transfer to a 4 year undergrad college.

I do not plan on renting a house or apartment of my own, but simply to rent a room from someone else (ranging from $400-550/mth). I pack light for this very reason. I can be very mobile and pick up and go almost anytime I want. I'm 25, and have no commitments (girlfriend, kids, etc). I can manage to live off of little income.

So, do I have a shot of making it out there? Which areas of Portland would you recommend? I plan on moving very soon, within a month or so, have saved a few thousand dollars, and want an area where the crime is not out of control.

Lastly, I'm also considering San Jose, and Northern CA, for I am a resident there and will have the luxury of resident college tuition, as opposed to the year's residence I need in Oregon.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

having lived in the portland area various neighborhoods, i do have a little advice. I have attended and visited several of the community colleges, including Clackamas, Mt Hood and Portland cc's. There are apartments around each of these, and your rent amounts you quote would rent a very nice place shared with one other person, you could even share a 3 bedroom unit between 2 people at that rate. (More room). PCC and CCC areas mostly have lower crime rates, but if you live in far southeast Portland/ Gresham, for Mt Hood cc, there is a phenomenon well known about some of those neighborhoods. There's a high percentage of perverts and sex offenders, sex shops, adult video shops, etc. in that general direction. But there are neighborhoods in the vicinity that don't have the problem. If you are a guy though, you might not encounter any problem with it, the harassment on the sidewalk thing ya know.
Good neighborhoods, i think for any purpose, are sw portland/ lake oswego, inner/ mid se, further out ne, due south, and suburbs like milwaukie, oregon city, west linn, beaverton, clackamas. these are all joined by bus if you like that. some of the cc campuses are in those areas.
check out this awesome resource for statistics on various crimes and lots of other features:
http://www.portlandmaps.com it is just incredible the amount of info you can get, using specific addresses or intersections, or just a street name etc.

[toughguy]

Originally Posted by BMG

I hope so. I am simply looking for a warehouse job that pays, at least 10/hr, while going to college (also, any colleges you recommend?).

School is the impetus; a good paying job($10-$12/hr), would be close behind it, but in that order.

Thanks for the help.

I hate to break it to you but $10-$12/hr is not considered a good paying job, pretty much anywhere on the West Coast. You will just be barely scraping by on that income. That's under $25,000 a year. Combine that with Oregon's income tax , and you will really be pinching pennies. That's assuming you aren't receiving other financial support, which you very well may be considering that you are a college student.

[TurcoLoco]

Originally Posted by toughguy

Combine that with Oregon's income tax , and you will really be pinching pennies.

How bad is OR income tax anyhow compared to any other State that collect income tax?

[whynot?]

Originally Posted by TurcoLoco

How bad is OR income tax anyhow compared to any other State that collect income tax?

There is a good state-by-state comparison at The Tax Foundation - State and Local Tax Burdens Compared to Other U.S. States, 1970-2007. Note that it compares the state/local tax "burden" which is sort of an average of the "bite." The goal is to compare and rank the states based on the various ways that they tax, whether via income tax, sales tax, VAT, etc., so you get a true picture of what you can expect to pay.

Oregon, BTW, is ranked 37 (not including federal taxes), and Arizona is ranked 31. When the federal taxes are added back in, Oregon is 31st and Arizona 25th.

[TurcoLoco]

Originally Posted by whynot?

There is a good state-by-state comparison at The Tax Foundation - State and Local Tax Burdens Compared to Other U.S. States, 1970-2007. Note that it compares the state/local tax "burden" which is sort of an average of the "bite." The goal is to compare and rank the states based on the various ways that they tax, whether via income tax, sales tax, VAT, etc., so you get a true picture of what you can expect to pay.

Oregon, BTW, is ranked 37 (not including federal taxes), and Arizona is ranked 31. When the federal taxes are added back in, Oregon is 31st and Arizona 25th.

Cool, thanks for the info and the link. So, the higher the rank the more the resident bend over, right?
With the exception of the housing market, Arizona was not any cheaper than So Cal as far as I am concerned. Groceries more expensive but gas is like $.30-$.40 cheaper per gallon. I guess each States has its pros and cons.

[Stoney Mcgee]

Originally Posted by bclark3434

Not that I feel that Portland is racist like most places(Idaho), I am white male and feel that Portland is GREAT for whites. It seems that all(90% plus)the Public officials(police,firemen,state senate,mayors,congress)CEOs are white. If you are AA or hispanic and you want high advancement here....I dont think Portland is the place, or I have not seen it in 20yrs.

Believe me, racism is alive and well in Portland. I'm 36, Asian, and have been the object of racism many, many times. I've been pulled over just to see if I had a record. Teenage security guards and have followed me from department to department at Nordstroms (while troublemaking white teenagers roamed freely, disrupting others). The store manager at the Disney Store would not stop following me and looking me over with suspicion. I had a cop make a u-turn after passing me on the road, and he followed me all the way home (another mile or so). When he realized I live in the neighborhood, he circled the cul-de-sac that I live on and just sped on by - missing me by a mere foot with his car. I tried to stop and confront the guy, but the jerk knew he was wrong and wanted outa there. The cops in this town are notorious for shooting and killing minorities. My Black and Mexican friends all have similar stories. Funny how none of my White friends do. One of my White friends told me that one time he was speeding with an 8 ball of cocaine and got pulled over. The White cop didnt suspect a thing and let him go without so much as a ticket (I'll admit, my friend does have an "innocent" look to him). As bad as I have it sometimes (most of the time I'm not bothered, but through the years, I have many stories), Asians don't have it half as bad as Blacks or Mexicans. You're right, Portland is a great place for Whites.

PS. I have a degree in Political Science from the U of O, and am working on an accounting degree from PSU. I dress conservatively and there's no way I look like a gangster/troublemaker.

[babycoleslaw]

Originally Posted by bclark3434

You guys have to understand, Houston is a HUGE city!! The more Populated a city is, the more Violent. Chicago,Houston,New York,Baltimore,Miami,Washington DC, New Orleans, L.A, Washinton DC and Detroit are all highly populated and the worst places for violent acts.

Yeah, but isn't it just sad overall that there are shootings, anywhere, whether it's a large city or not??
My parents (still in Houston) insist the crime got worse after the Katrina residents were moved there but it has always been a fairly high(er) crime city imo!

[TechmanOR]

uh.. downtown is seriously infested with dirty transients. It seems worse here to me than Seattle.

[heathenkitties]

Originally Posted by HeadWest

My wife and I are planning to relocate to the NW. Right now we're in the process of job hunting both in Portland and Seattle. We're looking for social science oriented jobs so research, etc. Anyway we had a chance to visit seattle and form an opinion, but portland seems a little harder to access.

Please keep in mind that we are coming from Kansas City (we lived in Providence, RI before that), which is as many may know one of the highest crime cities in the country. This is what is confusing us. We felt 100% safe in Seattle and the crime there is significantly lower than in K.C. But when I read some comments people act as though Portland is a scene out of 'Escape from New York' or something but when I've run the crime numbers they are lower in many ways than Seattle and certainly lower than where we've lived in the past.

I guess we're just trying to get the best view of the city from people who live there.

Are people nice? or combative?

What's the organics situation?

Can my wife commute to work and back on bus without being concerned about being raped or robbed? (frankly she can't in the city we currently live in)

How is the food?

Are there social activities?

basically all that. Just trying to understand, sorry if any of the questions are too blunt.

I have lived in Portland for 13 years and love it! Yes, there are some spots that have crime, but there are plenty that are wonderful. I've raised my daughter here and never regretted the move. I came from central California and, for me, Portland is perfect: big-city "stuff" (restaurants, museums, activities, etc.) without the hugeness of Seattle, which I find too big for my taste. Many people here live an "organic" lifestyle, and green is promoted here, such as recycling, transportation alternatives, etc. As for public transportation: it's the best: Tri-Met has buses, trains, streetcars. I work downtown and commute by bus and train (30-minutes, total). In fact, I don't even OWN a car. I spend my $76 for an all-zone pass which is good for all of Tri-Met's services. Also, if you're into the outdoors, PLENTY to do, and I mean PLENTY. An hour away from the mountains and beaches, but plenty of play spots right in town and the surrounding region.