Economic outlook - 5 years (Portland, Eugene: crime, buy, university)

[docwatson]

OK, I know the economy is bad in many places, not just Oregon. Also know about Oregon continuing to draw people who don't have jobs. I am considering relocating for a job, but thinking of the future and of my wife's career (artist; people with money buy art), I am curious what the economy has in store.

The Eguene Chamber of Commerce notes:
Eugene ranked #21 in Forbes’ 11th annual ranking of the 200 “Best Places for Business and Careers”. The ranking was based on five-year job growth, five-year income growth, the cost of doing business, cost of living, crime rate, education attainment, presence of four-year colleges, cultural and recreational opportunities and net migration. (March 2009)
Eugene made Fortune Small Business magazine’s 2008 list of 100 Best Places to Live and Launch a Small Business in the United States (April 2008).

Yet some of the posts in this forum would lead one to believe the economy is in the toilet, likely to stay there forever, that the local workforce doesn't work, that socialist politics reign, etc. etc.

I know the economy in a college town of 150,000 doesn't compare to Portland and few places compare to the boom in the Colorado Front Range (where I live). But what are the expectations for Eugene? Is tech, green tech, biotech, natural foods, or anything else poised to grow? Is the entreprenuerial spirit leading to new jobs? Or are things expected to be slow even through the recovery?

[treeluvr]

Originally Posted by docwatson

OK, I know the economy is bad in many places, not just Oregon. Also know about Oregon continuing to draw people who don't have jobs. I am considering relocating for a job, but thinking of the future and of my wife's career (artist; people with money buy art), I am curious what the economy has in store.

The Eguene Chamber of Commerce notes:
Eugene ranked #21 in Forbes’ 11th annual ranking of the 200 “Best Places for Business and Careers”. The ranking was based on five-year job growth, five-year income growth, the cost of doing business, cost of living, crime rate, education attainment, presence of four-year colleges, cultural and recreational opportunities and net migration. (March 2009)
Eugene made Fortune Small Business magazine’s 2008 list of 100 Best Places to Live and Launch a Small Business in the United States (April 2008).

Yet some of the posts in this forum would lead one to believe the economy is in the toilet, likely to stay there forever, that the local workforce doesn't work, that socialist politics reign, etc. etc.

I know the economy in a college town of 150,000 doesn't compare to Portland and few places compare to the boom in the Colorado Front Range (where I live). But what are the expectations for Eugene? Is tech, green tech, biotech, natural foods, or anything else poised to grow? Is the entreprenuerial spirit leading to new jobs? Or are things expected to be slow even through the recovery?

Anyone?--I'd like to know, too. Does Eugene have any small industry that could provide for something approaching economic vitality in the future. (That's assuming the whole US economy won't tank.)

[zitsky]

If you folks look at the history of the region, it has gotten worse, and not better. The area lost Hynix, HP, and could some day lose Invitrogen (old Molecular Probes) and Symantec. Right now, I believe the university is the largest employer. Don't misunderstand, Eugene is not about to disappear, but when the mayor and city council spend 5 years and can't agree on how to renovate downtown, they can't agree on an economic revitalization plan either.

[docwatson]

THanks for the reply. Any other thoughts? A lot of Colorado went thru this in the 2001 (?) recession, tech companies downsizing & packing up, but it seems we bounced back and grew a fair bit of 'green' technology companies ...

[Cyril]

Portland, Or.is not a pro business city even though that is what the spin twirls.
State far behind and very anti biz. Many have exited recently.
Read this recently
Want to start a business in Portland, Or.? (http://www.wanttostartabusinessinportlandor.blogspot.com/ - broken link)

[haggardhouseelf]

I'm not a business-minded person so feel free to take what I have to say with a grain of salt... but what it feels like to me - a non-native of this state, I'm a Dallasite - is that Eugene is a great place for small start-ups and those with an entrepreneurial spirit, but not for "big business".

Just in the short amount of time we've lived here we've watched several large companies flirt with Eugene and get the cold shoulder, so they end up passing on by. Or they start to set up shop here and realize they're in for more than they bargained for, or they don't like the politics, so they up and leave. We've also seen older and established places - like Hynix - close up shop. I keep hearing rumours about Symantec, too. It worries me because we have a few friends who work there. If Symantec closes they will have to leave the state to find another good job.

Those with money here tend to get on the "buy local" home-grown sort of band-wagon and so support the small indie businesses, or when they want to spend big they head to PDX. Those without money well, they shop at Walmart. There doesn't seem to be a lot of support for big companies here. In other cities we've lived you could mention a big business and people would be impressed - it's the opposite sort of climate here. You mention big business and people roll their eyes. You mention you're a poor starving fashion designer sewing hemp dresses and supporting small villages in third world countries and people praise you as a saint.

I don't know much about business policies or tax issues, but it also just seems that Eugene doesn't make it easy for bigger companies to feel welcome here. Also, hiring seems to be an issue. The population here is just not readily skilled for the sort of jobs that most large companies need to fill. Almost everyone we know who works for one of the larger companies here relocated here from another state. This is exactly what brought my husband here from out of state. They had searched for three years to fill his position. Finally they put the word out to other states and hired my husband. We'd never heard of Eugene, but we feel lucky that this job brought us here. It's a wonderful place to raise a family - if you have a good job.

It is a college town but I think it's mostly those studying law or education or at OSU agriculture or science-related fields. There's not a lot of tech-savvy people here. The ones here who are more than likely came here from elsewhere.

My guess, too, is that Portland is much like Eugene, just more of the same because it is a larger city. At least they allowed a Whole Foods Market to set up shop though - Eugene ran Whole Foods off!

[Minervah]

My guess, too, is that Portland is much like Eugene, just more of the same because it is a larger city. At least they allowed a Whole Foods Market to set up shop though - Eugene ran Whole Foods off!

Really? Do you know why?

[Mr Eugenified]

Originally Posted by Minervah

Really? Do you know why?

On the surface, Whole Foods is a business that sounds suitable for Eugene. But a little research on the internet will show that the company is run/owned by a person with views that are totally not in accordance with the majority of Eugene residents' views.

http://politifi.com/news/Whole-Foods...er-102420.html

[Olduvai2020]

Originally Posted by haggardhouseelf

My guess, too, is that Portland is much like Eugene, just more of the same because it is a larger city. At least they allowed a Whole Foods Market to set up shop though - Eugene ran Whole Foods off!

Eugene did not run Whole Foods off. Whole Foods wanted millions of dollars in City subsidies (to be provided via urban renewal district tax increment financing) to set up shop on Broadway. The issue was referred to voters, as is customary with any state or local tax increases in Oregon, and the people voted the measure down, probably reasoning that it does not make sense to provide taxpayer-funded subsidies to an out-of-town business that would be competing directly with existing local downtown businesses, such as the Kiva... Whole Foods could certainly build a store here without those subsidies, but they chose not to.

[brzzz]

Yeah, olduvai is right. This reinforces my opinion that most of you people don't check your information.