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........ back when you could rent a 2000 sq ft house in SW Portland for $900/mo with a nice yard in the 1980s and 1990s.......... .
Yes sadly, there is not much you could buy in the 1980's that doesn't cost four times as much now. The price of everything has gone up. There is no reason to expect rent to be locked in at 1980's prices. (computers are cheaper now than they were in 1980, if that makes you happy)
the rent and folks' wages to not match up. we lived in a 3 br/2 ba rental ranch home; it was very small and no air; we needed/wanted to move as we were very crowded; it's just my husband and me, but I had a horrible accident that left me in a wheelchair; the house was so cramped with medical equipment so we decided to move; we wanted the same thing 3 br/2 ba ranch but a little bigger. we paid 1050, but I knew that we'd have to pay more, this was in 12; we looked for a whole year and could not find anything; after the accident, I lost my job and had to go on soc sec disability, so we are on a very fixed income and the average rental that we wanted had gone up to 1500!!!!!!!! we had an opportunity to buy a house in 12 and bit the bullet; I've never been happier; got central AC; and the good news is I will never have to move again, unless it's to a nursing home or the graveyard.
06-28-2015, 12:07 PM
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n/a posts
Quote:
Originally Posted by RotseCherut
Nike has tried to flee the state several times, only to be bribed by the state government to remain and make them exempt from the same draconian tax system so many other working class people are struggling to deal with.
A bit hyperbolic, eh? Every state in the union makes deals with large companies to get them to set up shop or stay in the state. Oregon is no different.
Quote:
Portland is really not a livable place. I foresee Vancouver, WA possibly outgrowing and becoming the new city center of the PDX area in the future and the massive growth and migration of businesses is some proof that my speculations may be correct. Personally, I think any people living in Portland are cheating themselves not getting a nicer house for less money on the Vancouver side. Many Vancouver neighborhoods are as nice or better than Portland neighborhoods. And, if you are lucky to land a job on the WA side, you don't pay the brutal 7-10% state income tax.
Massive growth and migration of businesses? Like what? What I see, at least among tech companies, is a massive influx towards the city center. Heck, Wacom is moving from Vancouver to the Pearl district.
The Vancouver side is cheaper for a reason. Terrible public transit, lack of jobs, and the only route to a decent job is a giant traffic jam every morning and evening.
I see several apartment buildings under construction in the core area. That MIGHT take some pressure off rents.
Wonder where the new Knight cancer research center will be built? They have offices just west of the NIKE campus but I wonder if they can attract more leading researchers if the labs were located near the base of the tram. There is a rule of thumb for a facility such as that - every new job compounds opportunities throughout the community.
I see several apartment buildings under construction in the core area. That MIGHT take some pressure off rents.
Wonder where the new Knight cancer research center will be built? They have offices just west of the NIKE campus but I wonder if they can attract more leading researchers if the labs were located near the base of the tram. There is a rule of thumb for a facility such as that - every new job compounds opportunities throughout the community.
On the OHSU campus that is going in just north of the South Waterfront District.
My home town of Portland is not what it use to be. The city is becoming a hipster hellhole, where 5 or 6 low wage earners will share a house that was once occupied by a family. Basically, the landlords get greedy and jack up the rent, since they are collecting it from multiple people. And, of course, add to that, the large corporate housing tracts being built, which are notorious for their bloated rents. These corporate housing complexes jack the rents across the board throughout the entire city, as more desirable older places or housing becomes less available. Many people are unskilled and do not bring a lot to offer as far as skills and business. The liberal city government has made sure to make it as difficult as possible for small or medium businesses to operate in the city. The lack of skilled laborers and workers in conjunction with the lack of business and job opportunities and high cost of living is a recipe for disaster for this city. At least San Francisco and Seattle, have a business backbone to support their bloated living costs, Portland doesn't! Nike has tried to flee the state several times, only to be bribed by the state government to remain and make them exempt from the same draconian tax system so many other working class people are struggling to deal with.
I left Oregon after living there for over 20 years to live in Idaho and then Washington. Seattle's rents are starting to match Portland's, yet Washington does not have brutal 7-10% state income tax , has higher paying jobs and more reasonable rents compared to income.
Portland is becoming a bad mix of wealthy elitists moving there to retire or underskilled overeducated hipsters and starving artists types who move to Portland and cram themselves into overpriced shared residences.
My city use to be blue collar, working class and was a town where you could make it. The outdated tax system in the state was feasible back when you could rent a 2000 sq ft house in SW Portland for $900/mo with a nice yard in the 1980s and 1990s. I have no clue what the rents would be now, but more likely be it would be like $2500/mo.
Portland is really not a livable place. I foresee Vancouver, WA possibly outgrowing and becoming the new city center of the PDX area in the future and the massive growth and migration of businesses is some proof that my speculations may be correct. Personally, I think any people living in Portland are cheating themselves not getting a nicer house for less money on the Vancouver side. Many Vancouver neighborhoods are as nice or better than Portland neighborhoods. And, if you are lucky to land a job on the WA side, you don't pay the brutal 7-10% state income tax.
I feel a bit like you do as a native Portlander and have been worried about all the same things. However after doing a bunch research on our problems and comparing city to city Ive found that Portland is not alone. Im not preaching the doom and gloom that I did awhile back. Portland has the 3rd or 4th highest job growth and GDP increase for all major cities in the US over the last 5 years. I know that that may not affect the common worker but its a start--a hell of a good start. You mentioned business backbone -do you mean the types that gave us massive layoffs in the 70s and 80s?. No cities in the US other than Detroit and Pittsburgh have had to reinvent themselves as much as Portland over even the last 20 years. We have problems and we better get working on them but.....Portland is far from doom and gloom and Clark county has had some of the highest unemployment in the nation for years. Only New York city has more employer units per capita than Portland which is one reason for the growth and increased housing costs. If you look at our economic output we are not far from Denver or San Diego as far as dollar value and both places have larger metro areas--if we continue to grow like we are we will overtake both in just a few years with several hundred thousand less people---doom and gloom? I dont think so. Hopefully we will solve the housing shortage which should help with the high cost of housing.As far as jobs for the lesser skilled workers the Portland Metro is/has one of the largest inventories of commercial flex space on the west coast and Im sure they wouldnt be building them if their weren't companies and jobs to go with them.
Portland is getting Seattle's overflow. A LOT of people these days want to move to the Great Pacific Northwest. When they find they can't afford to live within an hour's commute of downtown Seattle, one of the first suggestions usually is, "look at Portland".
A bit hyperbolic, eh? Every state in the union makes deals with large companies to get them to set up shop or stay in the state. Oregon is no different.
Oregon is different in the fact that its largest employer has been trying for a long time to leave and that there is no other corporation of even half that magnitude to replace it, unlike many other states.
Quote:
Originally Posted by JasonF
Massive growth and migration of businesses? Like what? What I see, at least among tech companies, is a massive influx towards the city center. Heck, Wacom is moving from Vancouver to the Pearl district.
Lot of tech industries have been building campuses in Vancouver. Why? Cheaper land, no state income tax and it is still in close proximity to Portland that has no sales tax, meaning it is very desirable place for people to live and work.
Quote:
Originally Posted by JasonF
The Vancouver side is cheaper for a reason. Terrible public transit, lack of jobs, and the only route to a decent job is a giant traffic jam every morning and evening.
Vancouver, has much better freeway system and all the miserable traffic is on the Portland side. Also, Portland becomes very sprawled going East and taking a bus past 82nd Ave is quite a chore.. I know, I did it back in the day! Oh yeah, speaking of the great public transit, it is in Portland and Gresham where you have all the muggings and killings. Taking the Max late at night to East Portland is quite a risky venture. I've heard many stories of muggings and some murders of people on the Max going far east at night. Vancouver, may not have as tight knit of a downtown or inner city area with public transit, but it is overall safer city than Portland.
I use to live in Felony Flats area of SE 82nd and Flavel.. Just utter ghetto.. Yes, it seems to have cleaned up a bit now, but I never remember seeing slums like that on the Vancouver side..
I feel a bit like you do as a native Portlander and have been worried about all the same things. However after doing a bunch research on our problems and comparing city to city Ive found that Portland is not alone. Im not preaching the doom and gloom that I did awhile back. Portland has the 3rd or 4th highest job growth and GDP increase for all major cities in the US over the last 5 years. I know that that may not affect the common worker but its a start--a hell of a good start. You mentioned business backbone -do you mean the types that gave us massive layoffs in the 70s and 80s?. No cities in the US other than Detroit and Pittsburgh have had to reinvent themselves as much as Portland over even the last 20 years. We have problems and we better get working on them but.....Portland is far from doom and gloom and Clark county has had some of the highest unemployment in the nation for years. Only New York city has more employer units per capita than Portland which is one reason for the growth and increased housing costs. If you look at our economic output we are not far from Denver or San Diego as far as dollar value and both places have larger metro areas--if we continue to grow like we are we will overtake both in just a few years with several hundred thousand less people---doom and gloom? I dont think so. Hopefully we will solve the housing shortage which should help with the high cost of housing.As far as jobs for the lesser skilled workers the Portland Metro is/has one of the largest inventories of commercial flex space on the west coast and Im sure they wouldnt be building them if their weren't companies and jobs to go with them.
Glad to know Portland's job industry is improving. I know being a small business I had to flee, because I Couldn't pay the astronomical state income tax and then pay for rents that almost match the price of Seattle rents. I have heard for years that Portland has one of the highest rates of unemployment and out of work college graduates, etc. But, it's nice to hear that more industries are moving in. I know Portland for years had a strong industrial base and lumbar industry, but have heard it started dying down in the 90s, like most of the other industries around the country. I use to work in a factory in North Portland a long time ago and got to experience warehouse life for a short time. They laid me off, but I was an unskilled worker back then.
Oregon is different in the fact that its largest employer has been trying for a long time to leave and that there is no other corporation of even half that magnitude to replace it, unlike many other states.
Lot of tech industries have been building campuses in Vancouver. Why? Cheaper land, no state income tax and it is still in close proximity to Portland that has no sales tax, meaning it is very desirable place for people to live and work.
Vancouver, has much better freeway system and all the miserable traffic is on the Portland side. Also, Portland becomes very sprawled going East and taking a bus past 82nd Ave is quite a chore.. I know, I did it back in the day! Oh yeah, speaking of the great public transit, it is in Portland and Gresham where you have all the muggings and killings. Taking the Max late at night to East Portland is quite a risky venture. I've heard many stories of muggings and some murders of people on the Max going far east at night. Vancouver, may not have as tight knit of a downtown or inner city area with public transit, but it is overall safer city than Portland.
I use to live in Felony Flats area of SE 82nd and Flavel.. Just utter ghetto.. Yes, it seems to have cleaned up a bit now, but I never remember seeing slums like that on the Vancouver side..
If you think Nike has actually trying to leave, or was trying you're grossly misinformed and have zero us how businesses work. You think because someone intentionally leaks an article about Nike looking at Vancouver or Austin that they have any intention of leaving you're crazy! Would those be viable areas should that HAVE to happen? Sure! It's all about pressuring the local city and state into tax breaks.
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