18/f wanting to move to Portland from NOVA (lease, credit) - Oregon (OR) - City-Data Forum

BlubberPuff · 05-31-2014, 12:55 PM

Hello there everyone. I've read over some of the other posts but I have some more questions that would be more specific to my situation. I'm 18 and I'm graduating in about a month. After that I want to get my cute butt out of the Northern VA area as fast as possible. I was lucky enough to travel across the country with my dad twice when I was younger, and when we went to Oregon I fell in love. After seeing every state except for Vermont and Alaska, Oregon is my favorite. It's a beautiful state and driving through Portland was a really cool experience.

I plan on saving up money for at least a year (I'm in the process of getting myself a job at the moment) since I know there is no way in hell I could just go. To start this process though, I need to know a few things.

First off, how easy is it to get a job in Portland? How far out before I decide to move should I start looking and calling places? Do you think I could do phone interviews and get a job? Or would I need to go out there, and if so, for how long?

Cost of living? I'm still living at home with my dad who pays 80% of my bills. He gives me a set amount of cash a month (as a way of teaching me how to budget and it's taught me a whole lot!). I usually pay for my own gas, food, take care of my dog and pay my cell phone with that money. How much would I need to be making to live there? I'm young, and I want to be able enjoy my youth. How much would I need to make to be able to afford to go out shopping and have fun? How hard is it to find a good roomate?

I have a little runt of a Rottie. She's the sweetest dog on the planet and thinks everyone needs to give her belly rubs. Would it be too hard to find a place where I could have her? She's my baby and I'm not going to leave her, and I'll pay extra to have her with me. I've heard that Portland is dog friendly, but I know some places have breed/size restrictions, so that's why I ask.

How are the people there? Are the usually nice? Is it hard to make friends?

How does Portland feel about wild hair colors (think Ariel red) and tattoos? My hair is brown currently but I just find it so incredibly boring and if I could have that bright red hair and have it not effect me getting a job then that will be a thing. I only have one tattoo on my wrist and I can easily cover it with a thick bracelet, and I only want two more, one on the other wrist and one on my shoulder. I just want to know if I could easily get a job and not have to cover them up. I'm completely okay if I can't have my bright red hair and show off the tattoos but it would be pretty cool if I could (:

How much would moving cost? I'd probably only move myself and clothes. None of my furniture matches and I can probably get new things eventually, plus I love me some thrift/discount shopping. How much would it total out to with first month's rent, deposit and staying on the cheep with furniture? I would not take a car as I don't think mine could make it out there, so I would either fly or take a train or hell my dad might even want to drive me. I also know that moving a pet can be expensive and scary. Like I said, I love my dog like she's my child and I'd want the safest way to transport her.

Is there anything else I should know? What neighborhoods would I want to stay away from, if any?

Also, I don't have any family out there, the closest relatives I have would be in Las Vegas, which is the other place I'm considering moving to.

Thank you all in advance. I know this was really rambley and maybe even naive sounding, but moving to either Portland or Las Vegas is something I've had my heart set on for about 2 1/2 years now, and now that I'm getting to the point where it may actually be possible, I'm getting really excited. (:

Steve Pickering · 05-31-2014, 01:03 PM

Wow, does this post smell like a compilation of various fish.

BlubberPuff · 05-31-2014, 02:08 PM

I might try and edit this to make it more to the point but all of this is stuff I'm curious about. I mainly just want to know I'm supposed to go about starting to live on my own for the first time in my life. Its scary. O.o

Steve Pickering · 05-31-2014, 02:22 PM

If you do a search you will find the very same questions asked several times and the answer is often .... Stay where you are, you are not ready to move, your dog will be a hindrance, and you can't afford it anyway.

eric351982 · 05-31-2014, 02:58 PM

I read through your whole post. If you were my younger brother or sister, this is what I would tell you: Stay where you are and live at home while you go to college. When I first moved out (I'm 32 now) the cost of living was a shock to me! So much more expensive than I expected. Once you have a degree, a job, and a car then move. You could have all that done at the young age of 23-24! Then move wherever you like.

eric351982 · 05-31-2014, 03:01 PM

We moved back to Portland a year ago with our beloved dog and I was very surprised at how undogfriendly the landlords were. We were looking to rent a small house. I would say that probably 85% of the houses had a "no dog" policy while the other 15% preferred small dogs but would consider larger dogs. The deposit was $1000 when we finally found a place. They also made us sign a six month lease, not sure why!

I, like you, would never leave my dog. That's why I would suggest staying where you are until you have some serious income to support the dog in a happy life here.

urbanlife78 · 05-31-2014, 03:36 PM

It sounds like you are young, I would start out small. Look at DC or Baltimore, that way you are on your own, but family isn't too far away.

BlubberPuff · 05-31-2014, 03:45 PM

I wanna get out of NOVA so bad. Plus I can go to college out there so thats not a big deal. I mean I'm so young, my life is ahead of me and nows the time for me to do crazy stuff that may or may not be a good idea. While I see you alls points, I'm still pretty set on doing this. Plus I'd need to save up the actual funds to do it which would take about a year like I said. O.o

Steve Pickering · 05-31-2014, 05:38 PM

There is "Crazy" and there is "Foolish". Your idea is one of them. Think about it.

Nell Plotts · 05-31-2014, 05:57 PM

A lot of Portland 18 yo go to schools on the east coast, such as Georgetown. IMHO an 18 yo should live in university housing through their sophomore year, long enough to learn the community and have enough college credits to have a reasonable chance at earning a diploma.

Portland State does have student housing, but not much. Concordia, University of Portland, Reed (but I don't recommend that school for many students), Lewis & Clark all have campus housing. Not knowing the academic skills of the OP she may want to look at Concordia (a Lutheran school) and University of Portland (a Congregation of the Holly Cross RC school). Both of those institutions have a strong student community which would make the transition much easier.

Leave the pets behind under the care of other family members until you can provide a home for them.

DO NOT GET ANY MORE TATS! Employers with well paying jobs will pass you by.