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Thank you WEC and TXdriver for the heads up on Longview. It was mentioned as an option before and I naturally considered it as an option but I was not aware that it was not that great of a choice.
I thought about Astoria (any Goonies fans?) but wasn't sure if it would be a good option job-wise or not.
I definitely want to be close to a metro area for the next 10-15 years just in case I need to commute.
If I can line up a telecommute/remote job either before or after I move (while renting) then I could always go for a nearby town to get better priced home.
I coach youth soccer and in our north county league we have a couple of Longview teams and so go up there for a few games every year. It just feels like a very bedraggled industrial place that is not thriving. Kind of like the Pacific Northwest version of Youngstown Ohio. And when you go out for lunch at any place that isn't right on the freeway it is kind of a downscale white working class sort of crowd with lots of tattoos and such, some of whom look like meth heads right out of the Ozarks or something.
On the other hand, I had a co-worker who lived in a nice part of town and commuted down to Vancouver for work on a daily basis. Mostly because she was born and raised there I think and it was home. She had a gorgeous house in the nice part of town up on the hill and had her kids in school there and her husband worked up there too. So there are lots of ordinary people who live there and make it work. But I know she also drove to Portland or Olympia every time they wanted any kind of culture that didn't exist in Longview.
Astoria is a LOT more remote. And a LOT more rainy. On busy weekends, Highway 30 into Portland can be bumper to bumper and cost you an extra hour. And in the winter it can be a dark and dangerous highway to drive. Astoria is also much too far to commute to anyplace else so you better find local work or remote work. It isn't a bedroom community for anyplace else. But it is very pretty city. Much prettier than Longview. The downtown is more like say Hood River with classic old buildings that are getting fixed up.
I agree but around here (So Cal) and more so, the other States, I reckon there are still bunch of small to medium size companies still using on-prem but as their needs grow and suit cloud computing, I am sure they will be wise to do the switch. I used to like going to the office and mingling with the co-workers, etc. but nowadays, I am definitely OK working remotely from home 100%. That is one of the reasons why I am in the process of acquiring new skills to allow me to find such a job easier. I could do remote administration and support even now but I much rather shift to something different like cloud based support engineer or devops. At the same time, due to my background, I do have Cyber Security experience/skills that I could develop further to do that instead.
I strongly suggest you get some cloud training which will help those smaller mom and pop businesses move to the cloud. Its in their best interest and yours as a consultant. Everything is easier to administer remotely since the cloud was designed from the ground up to be 'virtual friendly' by nature. One of our network guys was recently let go. It was mainly because he didn't learn cloud as we migrated in that direction. It seemed like he thought it was a passing fad or something else. Even though he had decades of on-premise networking experience, they ended up hiring others who were more cloud savvy and eager to learn. Though change is hard as is teaching some old dogs new tricks, that's the nature of business as tech changes fairly rapidly.
Nothing is perfect. I'm still in meetings with our team just as much if not more being remote. I used to travel more pre-Covid out to Monterey - twist my arm. haha With Covid, travel has been halted. So, I do miss some of those in-person human interactions even if occasionally. Most online meetings are about specific business objectives and there's just not much time for normal conversations. We were just talking about flying out to San Diego and having a 'business' meeting once things settle a bit more. This group used to do potlucks, parties and all kinds of fun stuff together. You can't really do that remotely.
But, then come all the advantages which many are willing to make to the trade for like complete independence to live anywhere you want (with decent internet). And many times you can take your California pay somewhere more affordable that has no income tax - hello WA, FL, TX, etc... No need to drive through rush hour nor spend a lot of extra money on 'work clothes.' No micromanaging of time by over zealous middle management who are bored or on power trips. Less politics and drama overall, etc... So, it works for me during this life stage . Though if younger, I may want more of that in-person interaction working side-by-side with more experienced pros. You can really learn a lot that way gleaning from their experience.
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Would those jobs be available in Vancouver or Portland Metro much better? I was actually considering a smaller city like Eugene or even Salem instead of Portland. WA politics was a concern tbh and South or Central OR seemed more ideal but everyone kept saying Portland is the place, especially for IT jobs so I eventually changed my focus. Again, the new job will definitely have a role in where I will end up eventually. What I can't tell is how permanent that initial location would be. Either South WA or anywhere in OR would work for me climate wise.
I don't know all the details about Vancouver or Portland's job scene since I work out of CA. But I have friends that do who work in IT here. And they all seem pretty happy with their jobs at places like HP, Intel, Nike and OHSU. One friend is a project manager at OHSU and said they decided during Covid that all IT staff going forward would work remotely on a permanent basis. Some team members meet in homes to collaborate a bit more.
I do get contacted by local recruiters more now that I'm living here and they see my profile on LinkedIn. So, being local does help vs. trying to get a job from out of the area. Though, I've also noticed recruiters from out the area contacting me more about 'remote' positions from the east coast and other states like CA. That trend will continue for those with in-demand experience.
Derek
Last edited by MtnSurfer; 06-16-2021 at 09:16 PM..
Interesting, I never knew that nor would I ever guessed it!
I was only aware of the 2 80s flicks that were shot there are The Goonies and Short Circuit.
I love 80s flicks despite the extra cheese!
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Originally Posted by texasdiver
I coach youth soccer and in our north county league we have a couple of Longview teams and so go up there for a few games every year. It just feels like a very bedraggled industrial place that is not thriving. Kind of like the Pacific Northwest version of Youngstown Ohio...
....Astoria is a LOT more remote. And a LOT more rainy. On busy weekends, Highway 30 into Portland can be bumper to bumper and cost you an extra hour. And in the winter it can be a dark and dangerous highway to drive. Astoria is also much too far to commute to anyplace else so you better find local work or remote work. It isn't a bedroom community for anyplace else. But it is very pretty city. Much prettier than Longview. The downtown is more like say Hood River with classic old buildings that are getting fixed up.
I would only consider any of those remote towns if I was going to work 100% remotely otherwise, no.
Astoria looked interesting but yeah, from the photos and movies, I could tell it got much more cloudy and rainy than other parts of OR.
Thanks for the detailed info!
Quote:
Originally Posted by MtnSurfer
and e
I strongly suggest you get some cloud training which will help those smaller mom and pop businesses move to the cloud. Its in their best interest and yours as a consultant. Everything is easier to administer remotely since the cloud was designed from the ground up to be 'virtual friendly' by nature. One of our network guys was recently let go. It was mainly because he didn't learn cloud as we migrated in that direction. It seemed like he thought it was a passing fad or something else. Even though he had decades of on-premise networking experience, they ended up hiring others who were more cloud savvy and eager to learn. Though change is hard as is teaching some old dogs new tricks, that's the nature of business as tech changes fairly rapidly.
This dog knows how to "play dead" like no other!
Yeah, I know, things are always changing in the IT field and it has to be that way otherwise there owuldn't be any progress, right?
You know you are getting old when that "change" seems to be getting faster! Back in the day, my brain seemed like a top of the line Intel CPU. The last 5+ years though, it seems like a 20 yo Celeron.
I am still trying to be active and keep learning new skills. I did actually started on Azure a few years back but got outsourced 7 months after I got hired (ouch!).
I may actually take up a mid level position with an MSP initially to have a job and also focus on developing more "cloud" skills but as I mentioned, I do have years of remote support and administration experience and I feel very comfortable learning new platforms and technologies. I feel I have strong computer/server hardware skills but software is what I am good at so I believe I will find a suitable, decent job when I relocate.
What I also like about remote working and cloud type skills is age becomes less of a factor.
Quote:
But, then come all the advantages which many are willing to make to the trade for like complete independence to live anywhere you want (with decent internet). And many times you can take your California pay somewhere more affordable that has no income tax - hello WA, FL, TX, etc... No need to drive through rush hour nor spend a lot of extra money on 'work clothes.' No micromanaging of time by over zealous middle management who are bored or on power trips. Less politics and drama overall, etc... So, it works for me during this life stage . Though if younger, I may want more of that in-person interaction working side-by-side with more experienced pros. You can really learn a lot that way gleaning from their experience.
Amen to that (bold part)!
I do agree 100% and feel we think alike on this.
Quote:
I don't know all the details about Vancouver or Portland's job scene since I work out of CA. But I have friends that do who work in IT here. And they all seem pretty happy with their jobs at places like HP, Intel, Nike and OHSU. One friend is a project manager at OHSU and said they decided during Covid that all IT staff going forward would work remotely on a permanent basis. Some team members meet in homes to collaborate a bit more.
I do get contacted by local recruiters more now that I'm living here and they see my profile on LinkedIn. So, being local does help vs. trying to get a job from out of the area. Though, I've also noticed recruiters from out the area contacting me more about 'remote' positions from the east coast and other states like CA. That trend will continue for those with in-demand experience.
Derek
I'll definitely try to have a job lined up but I actually had only a single job interview lined up for the next day of my relocation to Phoenix. I nailed the interview and got the job. It wasn't a great job but it wasn't too bad either.
I can be flexible depending on the situation. It is ALWAYS a lot easier to find a job when you have a job already. I think, sadly, the same goes for finding a gf but that is a discussion for some other thread!
This dog knows how to "play dead" like no other!
Yeah, I know, things are always changing in the IT field and it has to be that way otherwise there wouldn't be any progress, right?
You know you are getting old when that "change" seems to be getting faster! Back in the day, my brain seemed like a top of the line Intel CPU. The last 5+ years though, it seems like a 20 yo Celeron.
I am still trying to be active and keep learning new skills. I did actually started on Azure a few years back but got outsourced 7 months after I got hired (ouch!).
Yeah, as I get more 'advanced' in age and in my career, I can definitely see this as something that catches up you more quickly. Or at least it seems to with life happening. Lots more gray hair and kids growing up and out, a bit harder to jump start the old bod, etc... I'm old enough now to begin thinking about my path toward retirement and what that could look like. Remaining relevant before that time is really hard and a job in itself. I've watched so many IT staff age out over the years as they approach their retirement. Some do better than others making it to the finish line. And there are some I've been looked up to and attempt to emulate as they go out strong, at least technically. But its not easy. Then, when they're done, its hard to imagine them not in the game anymore. Maybe not so much for them if enjoying their retirement...
Quote:
I may actually take up a mid level position with an MSP initially to have a job and also focus on developing more "cloud" skills but as I mentioned, I do have years of remote support and administration experience and I feel very comfortable learning new platforms and technologies. I feel I have strong computer/server hardware skills but software is what I am good at so I believe I will find a suitable, decent job when I relocate.
What I also like about remote working and cloud type skills is age becomes less of a factor.
As long as the work gets done with competence, that's all that really matters. It's more important than 'looking the part' or some fashion show of the young and restless dressing to impress, etc... How about the old and wrinkled? Haha We get the job too and with more experience! lol
BTW, you know your old when your son tells you about some new software framework that you've never even heard of. My oldest is a CS student at UW and brings up the most off-the-wall topics sometimes.
Links weren't working for me. Maybe they were already taken down/sold?
Derek
I just checked out of curiousity and both links worked for me.
What annoyed me was what I saw in the first link, the luxury car with CA license plate on it......argh!
Well, in case you were wondering, my relocation plans are still alive but as somewhat expected, delayed.
Hope you guys are doing better than I have been....
Thank you all again for all your input!
Happy Holidays!
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With Covid, travel has been halted. So, I do miss some of those in-person human interactions even if occasionally. Most online meetings are about specific business objectives and there's just not much time for normal conversations. We were just talking about flying out to San Diego and having a 'business' meeting once things settle a bit more. This group used to do potlucks, parties and all kinds of fun stuff together. You can't really do that remotely.
