Trying to be smart about moving to PDX (Portland, Sheridan: apartment, job market)

[SJ Brooks]

I know the last thing many of you need is more people coming in to your region and competing for work. I'm sorry. I hope it helps that the wife and I are coming from Louisville, KY and not Anywhere, CA.

We would like to move to Portland at the start of August and we want to be smart about it. I have a BS in English with 4 years work experience in magazine editing, corporate training, and web content management, as well as a strong base in the concurrent business software. My wife is a BSN RN (Bachelors of Science Nursing, Registered Nurse) with a year in Medical Surgical care and 2 years in Mother Baby nursing.

Our plan is to move once we have a job offer on the table for her. Neither of us are under any illusions that I will be able to get good job offers long distance. We will have 6 months living expenses saved by the time we are ready to move.

I've heard a lot of talk about how bad the job market is in Portland. I'm willing to do whatever it takes, and the wife work most any RN position. My question is: Are we fooling ourselves to think that this is possible? Your city is a perfect match for us, and Louisville KY (where we live) is most certainly not.

Is the city flat-out full, or is there enough room left for a young couple to carve out some space?

Thanks for your well-thought replies.

John Brooks

[davefr]

Originally Posted by SJ Brooks

I know the last thing many of you need is more people coming in to your region and competing for work. I'm sorry. I hope it helps that the wife and I are coming from Louisville, KY and not Anywhere, CA.

We would like to move to Portland at the start of August and we want to be smart about it. I have a BS in English with 4 years work experience in magazine editing, corporate training, and web content management, as well as a strong base in the concurrent business software. My wife is a BSN RN (Bachelors of Science Nursing, Registered Nurse) with a year in Medical Surgical care and 2 years in Mother Baby nursing.

Our plan is to move once we have a job offer on the table for her. Neither of us are under any illusions that I will be able to get good job offers long distance. We will have 6 months living expenses saved by the time we are ready to move.

I've heard a lot of talk about how bad the job market is in Portland. I'm willing to do whatever it takes, and the wife work most any RN position. My question is: Are we fooling ourselves to think that this is possible? Your city is a perfect match for us, and Louisville KY (where we live) is most certainly not.

Is the city flat-out full, or is there enough room left for a young couple to carve out some space?

Thanks for your well-thought replies.

John Brooks

Your wife might be OK. Be prepared to live on her salary for quite a while.

[SJ Brooks]

Originally Posted by davefr

Your wife might be OK. Be prepared to live on her salary for quite a while.

We are. It's actually not quite so bad for us - Louisville is notorious for underpaying nurses. She makes 20 dollars an hour right now in one of the most in-demand professions in the US. Everything I've seen says that will be at least 30 and probably closer to 35 once we make the move out there.

I think the other thing that I (may hopefully) have going for MY employment prospects is that I have a strong background in lumber and construction supply, as well as an interest in green construction technology, so hopefully some of the larger building products manufacturer's out there will start hiring again once this housing bubble/recession stops choking the life out of everyone.

Barring that, I'm perfectly happy to drive a forklift for a while and work on my jobs skills.

[subsound]

Sounds like you are doing the right thing and being smart about it. Sorry if I come off a bit weird, but seeing over 1,000 jobs cut in one institution...then more and more each day is worrying. Worse when people get mad when they post they want to bring a car and a couple pairs of clothes and make it as a high power (and paid) artist...like the 10,000 other people this year >.<

I would say your wife has good opportunities to get in at one of the medical facilities, there are a good number. Go for Providence/Good Samaritan, anything Kaiser, and OHSU. Be wary of the VA, they take at least 3 months to move...and going there is like medicine in the 1950's...but at least it's an in there. You are going to be looking for a good while, but with your experience you have a better opportunity then most. There are a good number of writers/pseudo writers in the city, but not as many with corp experience....that is a huge bonus for you. There is a good amount of people looking for the jobs to get by till something better opens up, so don't count 100% on it...if you do be prepared so it doesn't impact your job search.

That is crap wages for her, I wish I could say it was a better time...average I have seen is $34 for her experience and education. I wish you both the best of luck, and happy job search to get out of that annoying mess.

[SJ Brooks]

Originally Posted by subsound

Sounds like you are doing the right thing and being smart about it. Sorry if I come off a bit weird, but seeing over 1,000 jobs cut in one institution...then more and more each day is worrying. Worse when people get mad when they post they want to bring a car and a couple pairs of clothes and make it as a high power (and paid) artist...like the 10,000 other people this year >.<

I would say your wife has good opportunities to get in at one of the medical facilities, there are a good number. Go for Providence/Good Samaritan, anything Kaiser, and OHSU. Be wary of the VA, they take at least 3 months to move...and going there is like medicine in the 1950's...but at least it's an in there. You are going to be looking for a good while, but with your experience you have a better opportunity then most. There are a good number of writers/pseudo writers in the city, but not as many with corp experience....that is a huge bonus for you. There is a good amount of people looking for the jobs to get by till something better opens up, so don't count 100% on it...if you do be prepared so it doesn't impact your job search.

That is crap wages for her, I wish I could say it was a better time...average I have seen is $34 for her experience and education. I wish you both the best of luck, and happy job search to get out of that annoying mess.

First off, thanks for the reply. I've noticed you responding with well-thought posts to several people and I was actually hoping you'd stop in here.

Frankly, I'm concerned by the realities of a move as it is, even with all of our preparations, and the fact that we can get by on just her income. The economy is terrible no matter where you are, and that is usually not the time to be going someplace. Unfortunately, we live in Louisville. And we just can't stand it anymore. Reading is an oddity, liberalism is a disease, and NASCAR is king. That's all well and good, but it's not for my wife and I. We're getting ready to start a family and we just can't stick it out here any more.

Our other alternative was Chicago, but when we took our visit up there (with a friend from Portland) we were struck by just how massive and industrial the city is. Great culture, but not for us.

We expect that I'll be looking for work for a long time - fortunate, we don't have expensive tastes or a massive debt load. We're planning on getting an apartment for the first year to confirm that our hopes for Portland are correct (that it's a good fit for us). I have to say, though, I really do believe it's the right choice or I wouldn't burden your city with another educated writer hoping to find respectable work.

Here's hoping the economy improves for us all. Thanks for your well wishes.

John

[subsound]

Heh, never good to wait on me...I work in health care but I am the poster with brain worms :-p They do the thinking for me....

Look to Denver too, I used to live there and they were posting some good bonuses for nurses to come out (Rose Medical Center, Porter, and Skyridge). Plus the Rocky Mountain News/Denver post were looking for editors becasue many left in the mergers (but that was back in May). Lower unemployment, good medical centers, though not as liberal (not as bad as people like to post though). Good to have more then one area to check out, living in both it's more sprawling but I like it a lot.

Honestly, I think you are losing more in your current living area then trying in a new place...even with such terrible circumstance as the general economy. I don't think it's easy to live there with a good education, I know people from the area and they are going bananas with NASCAR. I think you should get out of there, you are losing a bit staying in the area....and you are going at it well.

[StealthRabbit]

I second the idea of looking in Colorado on your way out west.

for Colorado, I recommend Ft Collins / Loveland, as they have a very good livability, balanced economy and several good healthcare facilities. And a nice location for recreation and access to Denver and WY.

Consider WY too, it is a great place to live and raise kids (Try Sheridan, as they have a BIG VA center, and Sheridan is a superb WY location)
no state income taxes in WY and WA (9% raise !!)

Cover all you bases. Apply in Vancouver, WA medical units, (10 minutes north of Portland) (They have a VA rehab center + 2 hospitals and Kaiser too + the Dr groups (Vancouver Clinic, Family Physicians... .)

Portland area would be a good choice too, but economy is tough for jobs, and I find peple not quite so freindly as WY and CO (where I feel your neighbors would feed you if you were hungry).

Portland has lots of opportunities, and is not the mass of population of bigger cities. Economy is fairly diverse and I suspect it will be spared some of the more ugly issues of the downturn (unlike Detroit...). My friends in nursing that work at Portland Adventist Medical Center really like working there.

There are lots of things to do, and summers are great. If you land in Colorado or WY, fly out to PDX for Sept / Oct for nice weather and beach sunsets.

You have lots of options, Have a great time, and plan, but be flexible. (We moved from Colorado to PNW 26 yrs ago at 8+ months into the 1st pregnancy, a REAL experience with many good memories, tho I wish we could have moved back to Colo for a spell)

[Macrina]

Originally Posted by SJ Brooks

I know the last thing many of you need is more people coming in to your region and competing for work. I'm sorry. I hope it helps that the wife and I are coming from Louisville, KY and not Anywhere, CA.

We would like to move to Portland at the start of August and we want to be smart about it. I have a BS in English with 4 years work experience in magazine editing, corporate training, and web content management, as well as a strong base in the concurrent business software. My wife is a BSN RN (Bachelors of Science Nursing, Registered Nurse) with a year in Medical Surgical care and 2 years in Mother Baby nursing.

Our plan is to move once we have a job offer on the table for her. Neither of us are under any illusions that I will be able to get good job offers long distance. We will have 6 months living expenses saved by the time we are ready to move.

I've heard a lot of talk about how bad the job market is in Portland. I'm willing to do whatever it takes, and the wife work most any RN position. My question is: Are we fooling ourselves to think that this is possible? Your city is a perfect match for us, and Louisville KY (where we live) is most certainly not.

Is the city flat-out full, or is there enough room left for a young couple to carve out some space?

Thanks for your well-thought replies.

John Brooks

Heh....I came here from Northern California and it was all good as soon as I obtained my WA license plates. Sorry, don't mean to take this off-topic.

Kaiser Permanente is big here in Vancouver and also in Portland, I believe. Big, meaning Kaiser clinic centers in many parts of both cities. I'm understanding there's one large Kaiser hospital in Portland.

[Todd.LA]

A couple could get by just fine on 60K / year in Portland. You guys might want to check out Seattle as well. Like Portland, it's a literate, liberal city, but it's also a larger city that generally has more job opportunities, though I'm not totally sure this holds true in this crazy economy.

Don't worry about not being from Portland. When I lived there, I was one of a few in my circle of friends (mostly 20 something professionals) who actually grew up there...

[SJ Brooks]

Originally Posted by subsound

Heh, never good to wait on me...I work in health care but I am the poster with brain worms :-p They do the thinking for me....

Look to Denver too, I used to live there and they were posting some good bonuses for nurses to come out (Rose Medical Center, Porter, and Skyridge). Plus the Rocky Mountain News/Denver post were looking for editors becasue many left in the mergers (but that was back in May). Lower unemployment, good medical centers, though not as liberal (not as bad as people like to post though). Good to have more then one area to check out, living in both it's more sprawling but I like it a lot.

Honestly, I think you are losing more in your current living area then trying in a new place...even with such terrible circumstance as the general economy. I don't think it's easy to live there with a good education, I know people from the area and they are going bananas with NASCAR. I think you should get out of there, you are losing a bit staying in the area....and you are going at it well.

Denver was actually third on our list. Part of our interest in Portland is finding a place that myfamily can agree on. My brother and parents all live in Louisville right now as well, and none of us want to be here. Portland is literally the only city that every single one of us could see living in for the rest of our lives (we've moved around a lot over the course of my life and we'd all like to settle in and lay down roots.)

Thanks for the reassurance! The future is so murky right now with this economy that it has just been a massive pit of anxiety trying to plan this move.