Welcome to Eugene, This is the I'm leaving Eugene Thread (Portland: sale, 2013)

[jj85]

Hi everyone,
I don't know if anyone interested in an I'm leaving Eugene thread but I'm leaving Eugene in the fall

Pros of Eugene:
Eugene is a great city
Eugene is a beautiful city
It's very safe here, with plenty of shopping options.
Also lots of nature here which I really like.
Lots of places to take my dog out for a walk.
Good to decent school systems. Like LCC is a nice college, but I could never afford UofO
Nice diversity between young, mid-aged, retired, foreign, etc.

Why I'm leaving:
Economy: Everything keeps going up and up and up in price while my paychecks are still down from my last job.
Trying to find a job here is like trying to find a needle in a great big huge haystack.
Last week a family member bought a truck and sold his old truck. He ended up selling it to a couple from Portland who came down to buy the truck because there's not a lot of money floating around here.
This makes me very concerned about my future here.

Where I'm moving:
Undecided but probably Portland

[bler144]

Having made the Eugene to Pdx jump, I'd say it's better up here and it isn't. Both Eugene and Portland are places where you get a lot of 20 somethings eagerly moving in, in excess of available jobs. There are more jobs posted, but just as much competition for most of them.

Likewise housing is expensive relative to local incomes, so if you're working a low wage job, it's going to be tight here too. Nashville and KC have problems (picking 2 out of a hat), but you can rent or buy in either much more cheaply. Seattle will cost more for housing, but jobs also tend to pay more.

If you're single and flexible, you can do as well or better in Pdx than Eug if you're willing to rent a room in a house or live with roommates. But getting your own apt./house is going to be as bad or worse. Likewise, unlike Eugene, there are parts of the Portland metro where commuting is really rough (time and money).

But your mileage will vary, in part because it depends on precisely what you do for work. In my speciality, e.g., there are only 3 possible employers for me in Eugene (and 2 of them I don't want to work for), vs. roughly 15-20 in Portland (with only 2-3 I wouldn't work for).

But if I did change jobs in Pdx, there's an increased chance I'd have to move, since some of those jobs are 60-90 minutes away at rush. In that timespan you could commute from Eugene to Corvallis/Albany or Salem. So if you're willing to commute that distance, you might just consider commuting out of Eugene up the valley.

Edit: and I'd add there's quite a bit of money floating around in Eugene, but it's more in the college student and retiree boomer crowd than in the 'buy a used truck' crowd.

[Steve Pickering]

It's pretty well the same wherever you go. Your wages and the job you have depends more on you than the location.

[haggardhouseelf]

We bought our home in Eugene about 6 months ago and there are three different neighbors who have been trying to sell their trucks the entire time with no luck. They are nice trucks, too! Very clean and low miles, two are F-150's and one is a Tacoma.

Anyway - maybe Eugene just isn't a good place to try to sell a used vehicle? Or maybe trucks are harder to sell now due to the cost of fuel...

One thing we have experienced first hand in Eugene, is that it is very hard to find qualified people to fill openings. For example, my husband's company has had two openings for almost 18 months and none of the local applicants have had the experience or training necessary to adequately fill the positions. People from out-of-state apply and a few have met the qualifications, but then they decided that they do not want to live in such a small town, or the weather or homeless/hippies/activists/progressive scene scared their wives away, etc.

The job situation can be really bad here depending on your education and skill set. But still - I wouldn't move to Portland or anywhere else, either, without having a job lined up there first.

[Steve Pickering]

I'll bet that line has been said a thousand times in this forum. "Job First, Move Second".



And maybe we should add "And a Place to Live.".

[jj85]

Originally Posted by bler144

Having made the Eugene to Pdx jump, I'd say it's better up here and it isn't. Both Eugene and Portland are places where you get a lot of 20 somethings eagerly moving in, in excess of available jobs. There are more jobs posted, but just as much competition for most of them.

Likewise housing is expensive relative to local incomes, so if you're working a low wage job, it's going to be tight here too. Nashville and KC have problems (picking 2 out of a hat), but you can rent or buy in either much more cheaply. Seattle will cost more for housing, but jobs also tend to pay more.

If you're single and flexible, you can do as well or better in Pdx than Eug if you're willing to rent a room in a house or live with roommates. But getting your own apt./house is going to be as bad or worse. Likewise, unlike Eugene, there are parts of the Portland metro where commuting is really rough (time and money).

But your mileage will vary, in part because it depends on precisely what you do for work. In my speciality, e.g., there are only 3 possible employers for me in Eugene (and 2 of them I don't want to work for), vs. roughly 15-20 in Portland (with only 2-3 I wouldn't work for).

But if I did change jobs in Pdx, there's an increased chance I'd have to move, since some of those jobs are 60-90 minutes away at rush. In that timespan you could commute from Eugene to Corvallis/Albany or Salem. So if you're willing to commute that distance, you might just consider commuting out of Eugene up the valley.

Edit: and I'd add there's quite a bit of money floating around in Eugene, but it's more in the college student and retiree boomer crowd than in the 'buy a used truck' crowd.

Hi,
I feel you about the commute.
If I move to Portland the office isn't in a bad neighborhood, just not my 1st choice I think. It looks/feels too big.
I used to live and work in Hillsboro and got paid good too, much better than I do down here. Also made for a great tax refund. We had people from as far as Gresham make the commute daily. Getting their reference is why I have the job I have today.
I am single, and in my field there's a lot more companies to work for in Portland than in Eugene. I've considered changing jobs for better pay, but it's hard to find another company to work for when you search and search and search and can't find postings to apply for where as I can do 1 search in Portland and find many places to apply for.
As for job status I can transfer as we're an extension sort of out of Portland.

[bler144]

Originally Posted by jj85

Hi,
I feel you about the commute.
If I move to Portland the office isn't in a bad neighborhood, just not my 1st choice I think. It looks/feels too big.
I used to live and work in Hillsboro and got paid good too, much better than I do down here. Also made for a great tax refund. We had people from as far as Gresham make the commute daily. Getting their reference is why I have the job I have today.
I am single, and in my field there's a lot more companies to work for in Portland than in Eugene. I've considered changing jobs for better pay, but it's hard to find another company to work for when you search and search and search and can't find postings to apply for where as I can do 1 search in Portland and find many places to apply for.
As for job status I can transfer as we're an extension sort of out of Portland.

If you already have the job, then sure, I'd be willing to make the jump.

I suspect you'll find prices in parts of Hillsboro have jumped, depending on how long ago you were there. Looking at complexes in Tanasbourne we saw rents rising about 10% per year the past few years, though I confess I wasn't really watching other parts of the area (Aloha/Orenco/downtown Hboro/etc.).

[Steve Pickering]

It seems prices are going up, but it still costs more in Portland and any given job pays about the same.

Some price increases are good. At least for the seller .......... Home prices jump higher | Local News | The Register-Guard | Eugene, Oregon

[jj85]

Hi everyone,
Before I had moved we had done our monthly grocery shopping. I moved to Hillsboro and needed stuff like groceries, gas, etc. I was surprised that just about all my normal brands/stuff was cheaper up there than here. I'd come back down here to visit family and grab a few things before heading back to the house. Stuff that was on sale wasn't down here, stuff that was not on sale was more expensive. I suspect that it's a closer to the Ports thing where here it gets shipped in just a bit further to raise up some of the prices. The only thing I was paying more for was housing, which has jumped up about $200-$400/mnth. That's why I'm still undecided about Portland.
I was thinking about a loophole of getting a truck and travel trailer with my savings and tax refund. That way if the job doesn't work out up there I can leave Portland and move to a different city. But since I'm getting paid less here than I was in Portland my refund will be less than it was last year.
If I transfer to a different city outside of OR & leave the West Coast my pay will be less, but I'll have a lot more work and my net pay will be more.

[Steve Pickering]

I have an F350 Turbo Diesel and a 400 Square Foot 5th Wheel. Your idea makes good sense. We lived in it for three years full time, and the year before my Wife retired it was nice being able to hook up and move from Coos Bay to Dallas without a lot of packing. We lived in it an additional three months until the house was remodeled. Give it some thought. A lot of people live in big 5th wheels. There is a difference though between a travel trailer or 5th wheel camper and a full timer like ours. You will need a powerful truck.