Help Me Move to Eugene (Springfield: houses, teaching jobs, purchasing)

[theurbanfiles]

Hello all. So after living in Florida for the last 7 years (grew up in Ohio until I was 18), I have come to the conclusion that I really, REALLY want to relocate. And after extensive research and thinking about what I wanted, I've concluded that Eugene would be the most ideal place for me. Reason being:
1.) Weather: (my ideal temp range is 45-75), and I don't mind and often prefer overcast/grey. No sunburn.
2.) College Town: my profession is student affairs, perhaps eventually teaching. I've always wanted to live in a college town.
3.) Sports: All UO sports appear competitive/entertaining, plus Minor League Baseball
4.) History/Museums: I understand there won't be a ton, but it looks like there's plenty
5.) Nature: Most important, along with weather. And it looks like there's more than enough
6.) Livability: Not overwhelmingly big, but enough so that somethings always happening
7.) Affordability: Ability to get a house in a decent area for <300K.

I know this probably seems like a really unoriginal post as I'm sure people like me move to or want to move here in droves, but all the same, I just strongly feel this would be a good fit.

Obviously, my challenge is living on the opposite side of the country, why exactly am I going to be considered for a position. My big problem right now has been finding a job period, as higher education is a tough cookie to crack, especially for me as I am ABD, but yet haven't yet had a full time post (I'm only 24). I don't want to limit myself to higher ed, but I would like to find something that fits my career goals.

What should I know about the City of Eugene, UOregon, Lane CC, Gutenberg College, and what would be your advice in terms of increasing my chances of being able to find an opportunity there?

[oregonwoodsmoke]

A decent house under $300,000? Eugene? If you've looked online and can find a nice selection.......

Jobs are hard to come by and you are hoping for something really specialized. I suggest that you get the job lined up before you move.

[Bees46]

Higher education definitely is a tough nut to crack. If I were you, I'd open up your search much, much wider than this one place. Eugene is great, but so are lots of places. Go where you get the job you want.

[theurbanfiles]

I've been looking everywhere and applying in a wide array of places thus far, and will continue to do so, I just wanted to say that I really thought Eugene would be the absolute best spot IMO. So, if anyone knew anything I could do to get a foot in the door in the area (which is never easy, no matter where you are you typically have to know someone). And I definitely wouldn't move without first having a job.

Edit: as far as housing costs, I saw a recently built, 1,800 sq ft A schools for 275K. But, my standards aren't that high, I see places on there from the 100s that look okay, so long as they aren't in a place where I would have to fear for my safety, even the schools look pretty great.

[bler144]

So...working in the same general field, I really don't advocate moving to Oregon to work in higher ed without a job in hand.

Not familiar with Gutenberg (don't suppose you mean Northwest Christian?), but Lane did major layoffs in 2001 or so, and has been operating on a shoestring budget ever since. They didn't really grow staff at all when enrollment was booming 2002-2012, and they've been slowly continuing to shed staff since enrollments turned south.

The UO does a lot of hiring, but things are quite stratified, imo, with very well paying upper-administration jobs, and a whole lot of poorly paying lower level jobs.

However, even getting one of those lower level jobs can be a challenge. Not only do you have in-state graduates of the various policy/education programs to compete against, but you have spouses of grad students, people who just want to hang around Eugene with degrees obtained elsewhere (my spouse, you apparently) until 'the right job' comes up, and the fact that Oregon is a hot destination, so they can draw people from out-of-state already doing the exact job they're hiring for.

TLDR: competition in Oregon in this field, and Eugene specifically, is stiff. There's no guarantee at all of working your way up precisely because the area is attractive to outsiders.

I'm a bit curious how you are pricing houses up to 300k while ABD and with no job in hand. Equity in your current home? Family money? Just be aware many staff jobs at the UO pay under 30k, and a number of lower level admin jobs pay under 35k. If you're single and your housing is paid for, you can make a living on that, but it's going to be hard to really start saving meaningfully towards retirement, much less raise a family on it.

[theurbanfiles]

I'm married, and was anticipating if in a full time role, making upper 30s or 40, my wife is a teacher, so she is making roughly the same, so that would put us together at almost 80, but that's before taxes of course. I'm certainly not pricing houses in the 300 range, by any means, but I want to know before I move to area if I'm
Thinking about it long term, that I could AT LEAST, if I spent a few years saving and hopefully moving up, get something in that range. That's generally my high end for purchasing decent housing, which is why a good number of places in the Northeast, and West Coast, I'm not considering. I would prefer to get a nice house for like 200 or less, but, from what I understand about Eugene, if I had to pay 250 to find something decent, especially considering that's about what I'd pay now to be in Bradenton/Sarasota FL, to me, it'd be worth it.

Thank you for your thoughtful insight. Yeah, it's a challenge, and I could see why people want to be there. Of course, anything easy in life usually isn't worth much, but for my long term happiness, and that of my wife, and our preferences, I can't think of a place much better than that for us IF WE COULD GET IN.

I'm not impulsive, and I understand I need to go wherever I can find work, but I just want to see if there are certain things I can do now, or even over the next few years to make moving to Eugene, or a place like it, a reality. Just like, if I were to take a survey of my preferences, and add them up, nowhere is heaven, but Eugene seems to be as perfect a match for them as I could find.

But it's a shame because so much of hiring nowadays is connections. I want people in Eugene to want to hire me because I'm different, because I'm doing new research or am known for busting my butt, not because I'm someone's fathers brothers nephew.

Just out of curiosity though, is there a place around that you think would match my interests that ISN'T ridiculously tough to make it or get in at? My ideal temp range is between 40-75 (and it can't be much consistently colder than that because my wife doesn't like too much of that. I want somewhere where there is good terrain hiking preferably with some tree cover and a system of lakes too, has good college or pro sports and a nice downtown, but not overwhelming, but at the same time within a few hours drive of some larger cities.

[Harpaint]

Summer in Eugene gets a lot hotter than 75.

[Charlene1234]

You are right about housing costs. You can find a decent place under 300K. A job might be a bit harder to find here though. But as far as housing goes, if you do decide to move here, I can help you relocate and find something. Springfield is also a bit cheaper alternative.

[theurbanfiles]

Thanks Charlene1234, I appreciate that. Yeah, I was looking into Springfield (killing time) and saw a fixie there for like $125. As long as I could feel safe, I could be okay with not living in a perfect area.

And I'm sure at times it does, but the humidity is also less than FL. So 82/83 avg in July is actually perfect. I don't mind a touch of warmth, and it looks like it usually goes down into the 50s at night.

[patches403]

If you're looking to break into higher ed, you need to apply for every job you are even remotely qualified for and move to wherever you find one. Higher ed is very tough to break into and few have the luxury of picking a city and then finding a job, they have to go wherever they are fortunate enough to actually get hired. Once you have at least a few years of experience, then depending on your field you MIGHT have the luxury of being able to get hired on someplace you actually would choose to live.

Even if you decide not to go the higher ed route Eugene is going to have very few jobs available to you. You would be much better off if you're just going to move someplace without a job to move to a large city where at least there should be a decent pool of jobs available to you. At this point in your life you need to concentrate more on building a career and less on finding a perfect place to live.

And just because your wife is a teacher doesn't mean she will automatically be able to get a job in Eugene either. Oregon is a tough market for teaching jobs and usually newcomers have a tough time breaking into a school system in any of the bigger cities. Eugene is one of those places where it's a very bad idea to move to unless you both have jobs already lined up before you move there.