Job Situation (Portland: rent, insurance, student loans)

[SickofCali]

I know this question has been asked in many forms but the questions tend to be pretty general, catered to specific markets, or the thread contains old information.


I know the job market is hard everywhere and I know that it is especially hard in Portland and always has been. My question is how bad is it really? I know certain jobs are really hard to come by and some are easier to come by then others depending on experience. I've been crunching numbers and in order for me to survive there I would need to make $10-$12 hour full time or $1300 a month of so after taxes. Is this realistic out there or is it that bad?

A little about me:

My life has had me pretty much working since I was 18 and unfortunately do not have a college degree. However, I do have a bit of typical work experience involving retail work, grocery store, some management, etc.

For the last 8 years or so I have been doing various office jobs ranging from inbound customer service, tech support, etc. Currently, I have been working for the same insurance administrator for over 5 years in which I started in customer service, worked my way up to Business Development, and now work on a Product Development/Implementation team so I have some experience in the workings of insurance.

Are these skills of any value to Portland businesses?

I currently live in Southern California which is where I was born but I really don't like it and the more I think about it the more I don't like it at all. I haven't always lived here. For awhile I lived in New England and my experience living there way way better then I could ever get in Southern California. My only real beef with New England is the cold and the snow. Circumstances led me back here and I feel like I have been here way too long this time around and I'm wasting my time. The only thing that has really keeps me here is my job and fear of not being able to support myself elsewhere.

As far as Portland goes I do know people out there so I don't feel like I would be going into a completely unknown situation.

It would be pretty awesome to live in a city that has some real sense of community, real weather, good public transport, good arts/music scene, great outdoor activities, REAL people, etc. I daydream of ditching my car and riding a bike/public transport to work

[meltinjohn]

SoCal kinda seems like South FL in lots of ways. I also lived in MA and moving back there and I can totally agree. MA is great but the snow can be a problem. I also considered Portland but thats now on hold since Oregons unemployment is one of the worst.
Believe me tho, I felt Portland was that very city that people had real sense of community in.
More people need to use the internet for practical things to the area and not so much for speaking to people across the ocean. I like the idea of community style living again but they've made it so hard unless your in some city where people live closer to one another.

[SickofCali]

Yeah, I lived in MA too and loved it.

I've pretty much lived here all my life but never really feel like I belong. I don't like how everything is spread out and separated and I don't like having to drive everywhere. Sure, we got some overpriced public transportation but it's not very good and if you don't have a car out here your options are greatly reduced. It's pretty much plastic and palm trees out here.

I really just want to live a simple life I can enjoy, make enough money to live decently, and be around people and places that I enjoy. I want to get in some type of field that pays okay but gives me some options for mobility like software development or something. I need to do something. I'm not getting any younger and life is too short to live it where your not enjoying it.

I'll be visiting Portland sometime in May to check it out and see if I would even like it. From what I have read and what people have told me that live there it sounds like it would be just fine for me.

[subsound]

If you're looking for software engineering I don't think you are going to find much with the layoffs at OHSU (a vast majority of the 1,000 people were from IT), but adding insurance experience you might take a good look at The Standard, Providence and Kaiser. They have been laying off too, but there is always turn over in positions.

In Portland itslef $1,300 a month after taxes is low, very low. With a two bedroom in Lloyd (~$1,000), car payment ($350), insurance, student loan ($250), and bills I would say my expenses eat up about $1,840 a month. It's doeible outside in the burbs, but would leave little for savings. Of course without those you can subtract off a bit depending on your expenses.

I have to say it usually doesn't snow here, but it can get damn cold and the moisture really gets to the bone like New England. As for real people, don't expect people to be any more real here then anywhere else. Public transit is okay, I liked it for about a year till I wish I could stay away from some of the public nutjobs...and though it's bike friendly I know a good handful that have been hit by cars.

[davefr]

I keep repeating this advice:

As long as you're employed, stay where you are until the economy improves.

OR

Make the move now but bring enough money to weather it out for at least 2 years.

[SickofCali]

Originally Posted by subsound

If you're looking for software engineering I don't think you are going to find much with the layoffs at OHSU (a vast majority of the 1,000 people were from IT), but adding insurance experience you might take a good look at The Standard, Providence and Kaiser. They have been laying off too, but there is always turn over in positions.

In Portland itslef $1,300 a month after taxes is low, very low. With a two bedroom in Lloyd (~$1,000), car payment ($350), insurance, student loan ($250), and bills I would say my expenses eat up about $1,840 a month. It's doeible outside in the burbs, but would leave little for savings. Of course without those you can subtract off a bit depending on your expenses.

I have to say it usually doesn't snow here, but it can get damn cold and the moisture really gets to the bone like New England. As for real people, don't expect people to be any more real here then anywhere else. Public transit is okay, I liked it for about a year till I wish I could stay away from some of the public nutjobs...and though it's bike friendly I know a good handful that have been hit by cars.

I don't have any software engineering experience so that would not be an option. It is something I would like to do but I'm not doing it currently. As far as expenses I would be likely be living with roomates so rent should be pretty miminal, I don't have student loans, and I get a car that doesn't have payments attached. I've crunched the numbers and that is pretty much the minimum I can't deal with. Of course, if I can find a way to make what I'm making out here which isn't that much more I would be more then content. I know it gets cold and I can deal with it, I could deal with the snow but given a choice I would have rather not. I would totally consider living in MA again, if it weren't for the fact that all the people I knew have pretty much all moved away from there. As far an people go, I know many poeple who have moved there from other places. It's these people that I would spend my time around.

Davefr -

I'm with you. With things being what they are right now I'm not planning on leaving my job anytime soon. I'm just asking questions to get a feel of what it's like. Right now "official" unemployment our here is creeping up to the "official" Oregon numbers.

Now if I were to lose this job and was screwed either way, that's a different story...

[khunguni]

I say go for it! If you are not happy, then make a change. You only live once. Every risk I have taken has been, in the long run, a positive. People only say on their death bed, "I wish I had . . ." Not, I wish I hadn't.

[DreamWeavin]

I could have written your post; except I don't herald from Ca.; however I have pretty much the same work experience. I've been in Oregon since November; must have sent in a few hundred resumes................got one interview.
I love the area but in so far as jobs go---I'm about to give up.

Originally Posted by SickofCali

I know this question has been asked in many forms but the questions tend to be pretty general, catered to specific markets, or the thread contains old information.


I know the job market is hard everywhere and I know that it is especially hard in Portland and always has been. My question is how bad is it really? I know certain jobs are really hard to come by and some are easier to come by then others depending on experience. I've been crunching numbers and in order for me to survive there I would need to make $10-$12 hour full time or $1300 a month of so after taxes. Is this realistic out there or is it that bad?

A little about me:

My life has had me pretty much working since I was 18 and unfortunately do not have a college degree. However, I do have a bit of typical work experience involving retail work, grocery store, some management, etc.

For the last 8 years or so I have been doing various office jobs ranging from inbound customer service, tech support, etc. Currently, I have been working for the same insurance administrator for over 5 years in which I started in customer service, worked my way up to Business Development, and now work on a Product Development/Implementation team so I have some experience in the workings of insurance.

Are these skills of any value to Portland businesses?

I currently live in Southern California which is where I was born but I really don't like it and the more I think about it the more I don't like it at all. I haven't always lived here. For awhile I lived in New England and my experience living there way way better then I could ever get in Southern California. My only real beef with New England is the cold and the snow. Circumstances led me back here and I feel like I have been here way too long this time around and I'm wasting my time. The only thing that has really keeps me here is my job and fear of not being able to support myself elsewhere.

As far as Portland goes I do know people out there so I don't feel like I would be going into a completely unknown situation.

It would be pretty awesome to live in a city that has some real sense of community, real weather, good public transport, good arts/music scene, great outdoor activities, REAL people, etc. I daydream of ditching my car and riding a bike/public transport to work

[SickofCali]

After doing some research, thinking, and some soul searching I've made a commitment to myself to start saving up enough money so that if something goes wrong in the near future I can get by more comfortably. Once I have met that goal I am going to start aggressively attacking my debt so I can be debt free (with the exception of my car payment) in less then 2 years while simultaneously looking into my career options, getting a degree, and making myself my more marketable and adaptable so I can feel confident and free to pretty much go where I want. Since I really don't know where to start I may be looking into finding some kind of professional career counseling that can help me with getting on the right path and finding resources. One of my fears is that I'll likely be in my mid to late thirties when I finish all this and the knowledge of age discrimination in certain job markets but I don't think that should be much of a problem so long as whatever I get into is something that genuinely interests me and challenges me to constantly keep learning and staying on top of stuff.

I'll also be taking davefr's advice in regards to sticking where you are and saving money. The less stressful I can make my current situation the longer I will be able to reap the benefits and as long as I have the opportunities I have open to me right now I should take advantage of them and not just live from day to day. I ran some numbers and saw how much money I would have left over each month if I didn't have so many bills to pay and it was very eye opening. Once I get used to the adjustments and get things taken care of it should be really easy and fast to start saving money. Seeing that money is one of my number one causes of stress this would be very beneficial to me.

I will probably still be visiting Portland in a few months to see what it's like. If I like what I see, rather then jump the gun I can use it for motivation to keep me moving.

It will be a slow process that will take many years but you got to start somewhere.

[kander63]

Good luck, and be sure to spend time here in the winter before deciding to move. I don't want to overstate the weather thing, but many people do have a very hard time with it. I've gotten used to it, but in some ways have found winters here harder than in colder places I've lived (ie Chicago & Madison, WI) because of the long stretches of rainy, dark gray days. Plus, I'd rather have 20 degrees and sunny than 35 degrees and rain.