People who moved from the Bay area-- do you miss it or is life truly better in PDX? (Portland: job market, college)

[lilmisstata]

Originally Posted by Yankeemama

So true. I go to Seattle for visits because I love the scenery, the "bigger city" vibe and it feels very much like my hometown, SF. I can feel like I am back home in some ways without family issues and I don't need to fly!. A lot of posters here have never even been to Los Angeles before 1980. Watch old tv shows that were filmed in LA area and check out how amazing Santa Monica was without any crowds. Los Angeles used to be very different 30-40 years ago yet the locals there don't seem as bitter as some on this forum. Read the LA City Data Forum and notice the difference of the posters and YES, many are multigenerational Californians who have seen unwanted change from transplants from EVERYWHERE!

AGREED!!!

I'm from LA and I have seen it change and grow too. Just like Portland, or any other city where supply is low and demand high, prices here skyrocketed in the last 20 years. You don't see us whining about it being all of the people moving here. I guess we wouldn't know who to blame, there are so many people who relocate here from basically EVERYWHERE.

But it's a very weird thing how the people of Portland HATE us from California.

I'm not moving to Portland so I can turn it into LA. I'm trying to escape LA. I believe that people all gravitate to where they feel they belong. Portland and the Pacific Northwest feel like home to me. I'm also not responsible for Oregon's lack of Rent Control. I guess that is one thing that people of Oregon could be jealous of....that in LA and I think the Bay area...people we smart enough to get Rent Control laws passed.

What gives Oregon? I mean, your non existant rent control laws don't bother me. I'm buying a home. But I thought Oregon was full of former hippies that liked to protest and have grass roots movements.

Why can't you guys get it together and put rent control on the ballet and stop blaming Californians for your rent hikes.

[cyberous]

What's to miss? Not like its that far, a little over an hour flight. I see the same people "commuting" back and fourth weekly.

I think the more you travel, the more you realize that everyone is pretty much the same.

[pdwpdx]

Hate is a strong word. I doubt many people truly "hate" Californians per se. The frustration and anger comes from the fact that California by and large provides the greatest number of migrants to Portland and the Northwest in general. Often the new arrivals bring a cushion of home equity from the sale of their higher-priced California residences, higher salaries, and experience with paying higher rents/home prices. In a city with a shortage of housing (Portland), this serves to push up the cost of housing for those in the area who don't have the equity, don't get paid as much (making local wages), and are accustomed to more modest rents and home prices. And for many if not most of them, their salaries are not going up anywhere near enough to compete with the well-heeled newcomers. So naturally there would be a lot of frustration. Rent control has potential negative consequences as well, and is not a silver bullet to affordability. Perhaps it seems unfair to be blamed, but people are simply reacting to the undeniable facts of the situation.

[ExNooYawk2]

For the OP:

The Bay Area is so popular because it has a lot to offer. It's a great city, has a reasonable climate and beautiful scenery. It is in danger of becoming loved to death. It is very expensive and crowded because everyone wants to live there and, well, everyone does.

So. Think about what you want in the long run. You'd like to own a home and have a lower cost of living. Lots of people move for those reasons. You'll give up some things and gain others. Remember Oregon has a 9 percent income tax but no sales tax. Any state will get you one way or the other on that score but California seems to be better at it than most. Do you mind paying such high taxes and fees? Fees in CA are serious killers. (Think: Car registration).

Oregonians don't worry too much about their water supply. We are not in a serious drought. Does that appeal to you?

No one swims in the ocean in the PDX area but they don't in the Bay Area either. Visiting the coast at a reasonable price for a few days is a nice aspect of the area. Can you do that in the BA? Is that important to you?

It's a very personal decision which only you can make, of course, and doing your homework is a great start. Take a ride up. Visit for a few days. Check out the shopping options. Have a look at house prices. Enjoy yourselves. If that doesn't do it then at least you know you've explored options. Good luck!

[Yankeemama]

Originally Posted by ExNooYawk2

For the OP:

The Bay Area is so popular because it has a lot to offer. It's a great city, has a reasonable climate and beautiful scenery. It is in danger of becoming loved to death. It is very expensive and crowded because everyone wants to live there and, well, everyone does.

So. Think about what you want in the long run. You'd like to own a home and have a lower cost of living. Lots of people move for those reasons. You'll give up some things and gain others. Remember Oregon has a 9 percent income tax but no sales tax. Any state will get you one way or the other on that score but California seems to be better at it than most. Do you mind paying such high taxes and fees? Fees in CA are serious killers. (Think: Car registration).

Oregonians don't worry too much about their water supply. We are not in a serious drought. Does that appeal to you?

No one swims in the ocean in the PDX area but they don't in the Bay Area either. Visiting the coast at a reasonable price for a few days is a nice aspect of the area. Can you do that in the BA? Is that important to you?

It's a very personal decision which only you can make, of course, and doing your homework is a great start. Take a ride up. Visit for a few days. Check out the shopping options. Have a look at house prices. Enjoy yourselves. If that doesn't do it then at least you know you've explored options. Good luck!

SF is a coastal city with beach and access to Stintson Beach and Miss Beach, Montara, Half Moon Bay and Pacifica all within a 45 minute drive away. All good- great surfing. Santa Cruz is an hour and half away, you can swim in the water in the summer, Monterey and Big Sur are easy day trips.

[Yankeemama]

Originally Posted by pdwpdx

Hate is a strong word. I doubt many people truly "hate" Californians per se. The frustration and anger comes from the fact that California by and large provides the greatest number of migrants to Portland and the Northwest in general. Often the new arrivals bring a cushion of home equity from the sale of their higher-priced California residences, higher salaries, and experience with paying higher rents/home prices. In a city with a shortage of housing (Portland), this serves to push up the cost of housing for those in the area who don't have the equity, don't get paid as much (making local wages), and are accustomed to more modest rents and home prices. And for many if not most of them, their salaries are not going up anywhere near enough to compete with the well-heeled newcomers. So naturally there would be a lot of frustration. Rent control has potential negative consequences as well, and is not a silver bullet to affordability. Perhaps it seems unfair to be blamed, but people are simply reacting to the undeniable facts of the situation.

This happened to US, California bred locals, and transplants came from everywhere! Californians are some of the most reasonable people you will meet and not in your face like the average East Coaster. I kept hoping earthquakes would send the yuppies back home but it didn't happen. I understand how Portlanders feel as I watched transplants come to my hometown, even after I had moved away, and I wonder what was happening to my mom's neighborhood. One of my brothers says the transplants these last five years are the most annoying.

[JakeDog]

I have to laugh at the "locals" getting angry at "Californians". I was born/raised in Oregon, and most of the people I went to school with moved to the Bay Area and still live there.

[Dentontxboy]

Rent control

What in the world? I had to do a quick Google search to see if I was right. Why not let the market decide instead of govt?

[Yankeemama]

Originally Posted by JakeDog

I have to laugh at the "locals" getting angry at "Californians". I was born/raised in Oregon, and most of the people I went to school with moved to the Bay Area and still live there.

Yup I was so nice to the few PacNWestern transplants I met in SF and Berkeley. Little did I know how much my kind is so disliked up here. We, generally, don't hate people from other states just because they are transplants, in CA. If so many transplants stayed where they are from CA would not be so populated.

[FSF]

Originally Posted by Yankeemama

Yup I was so nice to the few PacNWestern transplants I met in SF and Berkeley. Little did I know how much my kind is so disliked up here. We, generally, don't hate people from other states just because they are transplants, in CA. If so many transplants stayed where they are from CA would not be so populated.

In all fairness to the locals who are frustrated by transplants from CA (myself being one), I don't think your perspective is really apples to apples. Sad but all too true, most everything revolves around the almighty dollar. When one is a resident in CA, the transplants coming in don't cause any major economic shift for the already existing residents. There might be some imperceptible extra competition for jobs at the margin but CA does not usually have problems with unemployment during times when people are migrating there. Hence, it is the new transplants to CA who are struggling to adjust THEIR life to fit the CA standard of living.

For those in the PDX area, when people migrate from CA, or NY or Seattle, it is the actual LOCAL residents who have to adjust their economic reality as the new migrants don't really have much of a problem paying above market rate for Portland properties, which are still cheap relative to those areas, though overpriced most everywhere IMO including PDX. Hence, the already existing residents are the ones having to adjust to the way the "transplants" are living to a large extent.

Also, from a cultural perspective, because CA metro areas are so large, tens of thousands can migrate there from the PNW and they wouldn't make any perceptible dent in the culture even if they wanted to. And quite frankly, they seem less likely to even want to try based on their overall personalities from what I see. Californians are more outgoing and oftentimes more brash and sometimes outwardly exerting their way of how things should be, which I could see rubbing some people the wrong way, though they are good people with usually the best of intentions.

Of course, a lot of this is generalizing but from my experiences, this seems to be the reason why what you stated is true.