Regarding public transportation: it's excellent. One of my favorite parts about the city. There is an extensive bus line (though soon some routes will be cut due to budget issues), a light rail system called the MAX that takes you from downtown to the suburbs in the east or west (and even straight to the doors of the PDX airport), and a streetcar that circulates through the downtown area. Ticket prices went up not too long ago, but you can get an all-zone monthly pass for $86 -- which will let you use the bus, light rail, and street car in any area of the city, for the entire month.
The transit system is set up in "zones" so if you don't need to go too far outside the metro area, you can get that monthly pass for $75. (You can also get weekly, half-month, annual, etc. passes -- I always found the monthly one the most convenient though). At any rate, there are a lot of mass transit options, and I always had good experiences with them. So long as you aren't wayyy out on the outskirts of town, you should have no problem commuting to work.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MittenDweller82
As many know job hunting across the country isn't easy, so I would certainly want to have employment lined up before making a monumental move...but would my skills and edu land a decent job in the Portland area at the current time?
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It's impossible to tell, but the answer is probably no. Education and experience don't guarantee a doggone thing in Portland these days. From what I've seen, most of the jobs in the area seem to get filled via networking, people hiring friends of friends, promoting within the company, etc... many, many jobs don't even get listed anywhere before getting filled, and the ones that do get listed are completely flooded with applicants. I'm talking HUNDREDS of applications for even a mediocre job. I don't live in Portland anymore, but when I was there (a month ago) I knew plenty of people with advanced degrees, even PhD's, who had gotten laid off or had been looking for work for months without even landing an interview. People aren't kidding when they say the job market is tough. In Portland/Oregon, unemployment is second highest in the country -- lower only than Michigan. At least those were the last statistics I heard.
So yes, definitely have something lined up before you move. Something solid, and enough money saved up to live off of for a while, just in case things don't go as planned. Cost of living may be generally lower than Chicago, but you'll also lose 10% of your paycheck to income tax (not sure what the numbers are for Chi-town) and wages are generally much, much lower in Portland. In my own case, I came to Portland with about $4,000 in savings, worked the entire time I was there, lived in a tiny studio, bought *nothing* but the essentials for daily life... and left the city with only $200 left in my bank account. And I am one of the most ridiculously frugal people you'll ever meet! A job that would've paid enough for me to make a net gain in most cities was not enough to live on in Portland (I was a K-8 teacher).
It is definitely a lovely city and it sounds like you would adore it -- but the economy really does stink, and until things perk up or until you have a job in your hands, tread carefully!
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