Quote:
Originally Posted by whtviper1
That wasn't my personal experience "It's really darn nice here". In the summer of 2010, a friend of mine got funding for a startup and wanted my help. The money was off the chart - and combined with lower cost of living, my wife and I figured, we can give it 3-5 years. I visited a few times in the summer, secured an apartment at the Indigo in the Pearl District with sweeping view of Mt. Hood and Mt. St Helens and walking distance to everything. And yep, the weather was nice - with late sunsets, sitting outside with drinks, etc.
Moved in September - and still very nice. I remember telling coworkers - wow, it is so nice here. They all said in unison, just wait. And sure enough, I was wrong. The switch flipped in October and the rain never seemed to stopped (and we got a decent snowfall right before Thanksgiving). Sunrise was late - Sunset was early - quite frankly, the lack of sun got depressing. When asked how people dealt with it - many said they went to tanning beds. I walked to/from work and more often than not got drenched even with an umbrella. While I appreciated the cheap eats, no sales tax, gambling, skiing - after 5 months of not seeing the sun we decided to bail and move back to Hawaii. One last excursion we need to the Pacific Coast in the Spring - only to get hailed on. From November to May, I think we got a decent view of the mountains less than 5 times from the all glass windows of the building.
Just wasn't for us. (and people talk of the homeless in Hawaii - it seemed over the top out of control round the pioneer square area with drugs way out of control and laying on the cardboard boxes right at the entrances of stores)
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Having lived in Oregon my entire life, it is lost its luster. I spend a month here and there at my house in Pahoa and sadly return to Oregon. Outside of the crazy snow storm we had last winter, this winter has been unusually mild. I think the issue most people have, is not what seems to be constant rain, but rather the constant grey skies (as I refer to them "dreary day grey"). There is a reason why the northwest has some of the highest numbers in mental illness. It is simply hard to live with.. what seems like 9 months out of the year in depressing grey skies, and the weather is always moderately chilly, exception of late June - Early/Mid September. Oregonians for the most part absolutely LIVE for summer in Oregon. Summers are simply amazing. But are they better than other places? Probably not, it is just that we had so little sun and chilly temps with grey skies for so long, that its like an oasis to us.
The homeless thing, big issue in Salem as well. Much of this comes from crowding in jails, or mentally unstable people not being kept in their proper housing. A lot of this is due to funding, and then put that on top of a staggering job market for anyone who does not have a degree (preferred Masters or above) or a trade skill.
However, all that being said, at least living in the valley you are an hour to and hour and half away from any type of outdoor recreation you desire. Most of it is incredible! In the event you can tolerate rain, grey skies and really only 3 months out of the year where its actually nice out. Oregon is great!
But, I am not an Oregon girl. The culture and lifestyle does not fit me, so I can often sound bitter about it. I am bitter about cold and rain. I like the outdoors and I don't like being cold and wet when I do those activities. The hustle and bustle of the city, traffic, people... none of it appeals to me like Hawaii does. I guess, I found where my heart is happiest. But for now I must remain most of the time in Oregon. Only a few more years tho.. thank god!
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bah-humbug Oregon
) and are 5' x 20'. I use a drip system and only water about once per week. Yields have been great and so far about the only thing that hasn't worked was corn. Corn did well, but the last bad wind-storm knocked it all down. As long as the beds are well constructed, I don't see any downside to farming on lava. I have almost zero pests, no pigs to deal with, very little if any weeding to do and the only reason I have fencing around my beds is to keep my chickens out. The only real negative is procuring your growing medium.
