Carthage, MS to Portland, OR... Any advice? (affordable apartments, salaries)

[Dial_M_For_Michael]

Looking to move to the downtown area in the near future. I grew up in the South and I'm needing a change. I was wondering if there is anything I should know about the area. Are jobs abundant? Are apartments/living reasonably affordable? Yadda, yadda, yadda... Thanks in advance. I'll reply as much as I can.

[hamellr]

Jobs = Not unless you have specialized in demand skills

Apartments = Depends on your definition, most people skew towards them being over priced right now.

[Minervah]

Can you tell us what your definition of "reasonably affordable apartments" would be? Rents in the Southern cities are much lower than in Portland. Downtown and close in areas are particularly expensive here.

Jobs are very difficult to come by unless like the previous poster says, you have special skills needed by certain types of employers.

Any special reason why you have choosen Portland?

[EnricoV]

For living in the center of a major metropolitan city on the west coast, rents are affordable. For someone from Carthage, Missouri? I'm guessing they'll shock and astound.

[Minervah]

Originally Posted by EnricoV

For living in the center of a major metropolitan city on the west coast, rents are affordable. For someone from Carthage, Missouri? I'm guessing they'll shock and astound.

Ah so very true. People from the South or other areas of the country where rents are a lot lower seem to assume they will be the same here and are often shocked to hear what they are. On the other hand, Easterners like New Yorkers are often happy when they hear what rents are here in comparison to what they pay there.

It's all relative

[Blindtom]

Originally Posted by EnricoV

For living in the center of a major metropolitan city on the west coast, rents are affordable. For someone from Carthage, Missouri? I'm guessing they'll shock and astound.

Mississippi

[hamellr]

Originally Posted by Minervah

It's all relative

But so are salaries. I could be making almost double what I'm making now in SF or NYC. But most of that would be going towards rent.

[jjpop]

Originally Posted by Dial_M_For_Michael

Looking to move to the downtown area in the near future. I grew up in the South and I'm needing a change. I was wondering if there is anything I should know about the area. Are jobs abundant? Are apartments/living reasonably affordable? Yadda, yadda, yadda... Thanks in advance. I'll reply as much as I can.

May I suggest that you spend 30 minutes looking through some of the threads on this board and then come back with some more specific questions?

[EnricoV]

Originally Posted by Blindtom

Mississippi

Ack. You're right. When I first looked at it, I wondered if it was meant to be Missouri ... since that sounded right (I mean, I'm a genealogist so I have all these place-names stuck in my head). But looked it up, and there was one in Mississippi. But must have had the Missouri stuck in my pea-brain.

[Leisesturm]

Even when we disagree Enrico, the last thing that I ever think, is that you have a pea brain...