Input in moving from Portland, OR area to Madison area (Milwaukee: to rent, how much)

[SCMX]

Spouse and I are considering a move to Madison as she has a potential job offering coming. Some background first. She's from WI, closer to Milwaukee. I lived there a few years with her before we both moved to Oregon in 2007. We live in a suburb of Portland. We LOVE it here, but with the influx of people every year, jobs are harder to get. She's in a very senior role and is getting overlooked by people with 20+ years of experience for little pay. She has a potential great opportunity there that she might not be able to get in this area for another 3-5 years.

Having said that. I don't really want to move back to this part of the country and need some reasoning on why it might not be as bad as I think.

Reasons we love it here in the PNW:
-Awesome climate (I hate weather below 32F and above 85F and deal with SAD)
-Laid back - you can be who you are.
-Vegan food - essentially the best food outside of LA/NYC with chains and local places, well over 40 establishments.
-Close to nature in all directions - coast, plains, mountains, etc.
-Established network of friends/acquaintances.
-Good job market for me, okay for her.

We currently own our home and have built awesome equity in it. While the housing is a bit cheaper in Madison, the property taxes are 2.5-3x what we pay here, so that's an instant loss of any financial gain.

I am VERY interested in Madison's bike system; we are avid bikers. And the amount of what looks like parks/nature reserves.

Other than that, we keep to ourselves and run a few side businesses from our home, so we keep busy. No interest in nightlife or youth culture; we're in our 30's, no kids, one tiny dog. Have one car and definitely don't want two. Living in suburbs (just outside city) is okay with us as we like it quite and a yard to grow food.

So, anyone here from the PNW and care to share your experience with me to soften my anxieties? Thanks!

[ranger17]

Hi OP, i'll let others list pros or cons between the 2 markets; but your list of reasons you love it there sounds like reasons you wish to stay. Some of those can be found here but not all, if they are important.

Climate obviously will vary out of your range; we just had some days recently with the heat index over 100. Not normal, yet it happens. And winter definitely gets below 32.
Being laid back and being vegan can happen here should you desire.
Nature can of course be found here, with some excellent state parks, lakes, etc but it is not the ocean nor the mountains.

As for housing, the market here is very tough for buyers. Pricing is high, houses can be sold over asking price, and can go quickly. Doesn't matter if its in a desirable location in Madison itself or a 'burb. And trying to get the right home in the right location when you're just moving here can really be a test to one's sanity lol. So i'll let the discussions go with others on coming here or staying there; I'd just suggest consider renting the first year if you do make the move. May find it saves one's sanity a bit on a cross country move, not to mention allows you both to settle in as you get accustomed to the area and see where you truly want to put down roots.

Good luck.

[timberline742]

It sounds like you just don't want to move. So, don't.

[brrabbit]

I don't know who's main money maker in your family and how much it would be for you in terms of a job. Historically, women were following their husband's leads when those were making their career. Would it make sense financially for you guys to follow her dream job risking not getting an equal job for you?


The rest comes and goes Change is good for mental health - new challenge so to speak would make you young again. And Portland will always be a hard to compete market - too much talent coming into it from LA. Midwest is relatively safe, if you get a job you are very unlikely to lose it.

[TWG1572]

Originally Posted by timberline742

It sounds like you just don't want to move. So, don't.

I'm in agreement with this. Most (all?) of the positives you list about the PNW don't exist here in Madison.

[ccjarider]

Originally Posted by SCMX

Spouse and I are considering a move to Madison as she has a potential job offering coming. Some background first. She's from WI, closer to Milwaukee. I lived there a few years with her before we both moved to Oregon in 2007. We live in a suburb of Portland. We LOVE it here, but with the influx of people every year, jobs are harder to get. She's in a very senior role and is getting overlooked by people with 20+ years of experience for little pay. She has a potential great opportunity there that she might not be able to get in this area for another 3-5 years.

Having said that. I don't really want to move back to this part of the country and need some reasoning on why it might not be as bad as I think.

Reasons we love it here in the PNW:
-Awesome climate (I hate weather below 32F and above 85F and deal with SAD)
-Laid back - you can be who you are.
-Vegan food - essentially the best food outside of LA/NYC with chains and local places, well over 40 establishments.
-Close to nature in all directions - coast, plains, mountains, etc.
-Established network of friends/acquaintances.
-Good job market for me, okay for her.

We currently own our home and have built awesome equity in it. While the housing is a bit cheaper in Madison, the property taxes are 2.5-3x what we pay here, so that's an instant loss of any financial gain.

I am VERY interested in Madison's bike system; we are avid bikers. And the amount of what looks like parks/nature reserves.

Other than that, we keep to ourselves and run a few side businesses from our home, so we keep busy. No interest in nightlife or youth culture; we're in our 30's, no kids, one tiny dog. Have one car and definitely don't want two. Living in suburbs (just outside city) is okay with us as we like it quite and a yard to grow food.

So, anyone here from the PNW and care to share your experience with me to soften my anxieties? Thanks!

OP -Similar background - Wife and I lived in WI for decades (Wausau, West Bend, Milwaukee area, Jefferson County.) We moved to IL for several years and have now lived in Oregon for last 8. We live in Milwaukie. (ironic name eh?)

We would move back to WI after retiring. We have no interest in spending winters there. (been there - done that) We are a bit older than you so, perhaps we may not care as much about same things but here are my thoughts on WI vs OR. When We were younger winter was not as big of a deal.

1. OR has better weather hands down - already discussed winter. I was in WI for work last week - Yikes!! the summer heat/humidity were brutal. I forgot about that. On the other hand, I was able to swing by my brothers place on his lake and the water was perfect temp for swimming. I find PNW waters to always be cold. We have a house in Rockaway Beach and while ocean is beautiful to look at, one can't really go in it. The rip tides are dangerous and the water is friggin cold.

2. Agree on environment. WI cannot top OR for variety and beauty but having said that, one doesn't look at it all the time. For example, I have to drive from Portland to The Dalles sometimes. The drive through the Gorge is stunning and people come from all over the world to see it. But once you've done it a 100 times, it's not exciting. For me now, it is about the same as driving I-94 between Madison and Milwaukee. In other words, PNW is very nice to look at and explore but that would not be enough for me to forgo other life options.

3. Jobs - WI is better. While there are opportunities here, based on what I see and have experienced, WI has more options and opportunities. Portland does not have the wide variety of different companies that WI has. For example: OR has 3 Fortune 500 company headquarters and WI has 8. We are fortunate in that both wife and I have positions that allow us to finish our careers nicely here. If we were younger though, I would be looking at moving on. I think 10 yrs max in Portland is about all one should do unless you hit the job lottery and/or are VERY good at what you do.

4. You mention laid back. I think PNW is cold and clannish. WI people are more open and willing to engage for either fun or for argument. I miss that. I find working here to be more challenging. It takes more energy to get to the honest conversation and acknowledgement of the "healthy workplace friction" that leads to better decisions for company and customer. I think people can be who they are just as easily in WI as here.

In many ways, especially in Portland, it is just assumed one is a whacked out liberal who voted for Hillary and hates Trump. When they find out otherwise they are at a loss as to what to do with you. Funny at times.

You mention friends. They are important but you would make new ones. We keep in touch with friends we have made all over the world. Living close by is not automatically needed.

You guys are YOUNG (30's) Follow the best career path. The other stuff will naturally work itself out. All places have vegan food, bikes and people you can connect with. To stay here JUST for those and not let her explore a promising option doesn't seem right. You can always move back if it doesn't work out. That's what we said to ourselves when we decided to give OR a chance.

PS WI does not have near the ridiculous income tax rate OR does. That softens the Property tax hit. OR has an abusive tax rate (almost 10%)

Good luck in whatever you decide.

[SCMX]

Originally Posted by ranger17

Hi OP, i'll let others list pros or cons between the 2 markets; but your list of reasons you love it there sounds like reasons you wish to stay. Some of those can be found here but not all, if they are important.

Climate obviously will vary out of your range; we just had some days recently with the heat index over 100. Not normal, yet it happens. And winter definitely gets below 32.
Being laid back and being vegan can happen here should you desire.
Nature can of course be found here, with some excellent state parks, lakes, etc but it is not the ocean nor the mountains.

As for housing, the market here is very tough for buyers. Pricing is high, houses can be sold over asking price, and can go quickly. Doesn't matter if its in a desirable location in Madison itself or a 'burb. And trying to get the right home in the right location when you're just moving here can really be a test to one's sanity lol. So i'll let the discussions go with others on coming here or staying there; I'd just suggest consider renting the first year if you do make the move. May find it saves one's sanity a bit on a cross country move, not to mention allows you both to settle in as you get accustomed to the area and see where you truly want to put down roots.

Good luck.

Thanks for this. We get some hot summer days here too, in the 90's and 100's, but they pass quick and the nights area always cold in the 50's and rarely 60's. I can handle occasional spats like that. It's the winter I worry about. Last year we had a record 7 inches. Whole city closed for almost a week (no equipment to handle this here). I work from home, so it was a non issue, but ugh, I worry about getting feet of it at a time, unless of course it melts quick and warms back up to 30's for highs; I can handle 20's for lows.



I see the housing market is a bit high there too. Luckily, it's not too bad consdiering what the west coast deals with. But I would agree, we'd probably have to rent for 6 months and spend time checking it all out and seeing what we liked first. I just REALLY hate renting and hearing other people. Could probably rent a house or end-unit town home.


I'm pretty envious of the bike trails you have there. We have to drive out of the city to get to our nice biking. I'm pretty excited about just biking from a home onto one of those paths that then connects and they seem to go on for miles. The parks in the south/south-east seem really nice too. Hiking/biking is essential for us.


Thanks again. If things work out, we'd probably come for a handful of days and at least get a general vibe of everything.

[ccjarider]

Originally Posted by SCMX

Spouse and I are considering a move to Madison as she has a potential job offering coming. Some background first. She's from WI, closer to Milwaukee. I lived there a few years with her before we both moved to Oregon in 2007. We live in a suburb of Portland. We LOVE it here, but with the influx of people every year, jobs are harder to get. She's in a very senior role and is getting overlooked by people with 20+ years of experience for little pay. She has a potential great opportunity there that she might not be able to get in this area for another 3-5 years.

Having said that. I don't really want to move back to this part of the country and need some reasoning on why it might not be as bad as I think.

Reasons we love it here in the PNW:
-Awesome climate (I hate weather below 32F and above 85F and deal with SAD)
-Laid back - you can be who you are.
-Vegan food - essentially the best food outside of LA/NYC with chains and local places, well over 40 establishments.
-Close to nature in all directions - coast, plains, mountains, etc.
-Established network of friends/acquaintances.
-Good job market for me, okay for her.

We currently own our home and have built awesome equity in it. While the housing is a bit cheaper in Madison, the property taxes are 2.5-3x what we pay here, so that's an instant loss of any financial gain.

I am VERY interested in Madison's bike system; we are avid bikers. And the amount of what looks like parks/nature reserves.

Other than that, we keep to ourselves and run a few side businesses from our home, so we keep busy. No interest in nightlife or youth culture; we're in our 30's, no kids, one tiny dog. Have one car and definitely don't want two. Living in suburbs (just outside city) is okay with us as we like it quite and a yard to grow food.

So, anyone here from the PNW and care to share your experience with me to soften my anxieties? Thanks!

OP -Similar background - Wife and I lived in WI for decades (Wausau, West Bend, Milwaukee area, Jefferson County.) We moved to IL for several years and have now lived in Oregon for last 8. We live in Milwaukie. (ironic name eh?)

We would move back to WI but only after retiring. We have no interest in spending winters there. (been there - done that) We are a bit older than you so, perhaps we may not care as much about same things but here are my thoughts on WI vs OR.

1. OR has better weather hands down - already discussed winter. I was in WI for work last week - Yikes!! the summer heat/humidity were brutal. I forgot about that. On the other hand, I was able to swing by my brothers place on his lake and the water was perfect temp for swimming. I find PNW waters to always be cold. We have a house in Rockaway Beach and while ocean is beautiful to look at, one can't really go in it. The rips tides are dangerous and the water is friggin cold.

2. Agree on environment. WI cannot top OR for variety and beauty but having said that, one doesn't look at it all the time. For example, I have to drive from Portland out to The Dalles sometimes. The drive through the Gorge is stunning and people come from all over the world to see it. But once you've done it a 100 times, it's not that exciting. For me, it is about the same as driving I-94 between Madison and Milwaukee now. In other words, PNW is very nice to look at and explore but that would not be enough for me to forgo a career improvement opportunity.

3. Jobs - WI is better. While there are opportunities here, based on what I see and have experienced, WI has more options and opportunities. Portland does not have the wide variety of different companies that WI has. For example: OR has 3 Fortune 500 company headquarters and WI has 8. We are fortunate in that both wife and I have positions that allow us to finish our careers nicely here. If we were younger though, I would be looking at moving on. I think 10 yrs max in Portland is about all one should do unless you hit the job lottery and/or are VERY good at what you do.

4. You mention laid back. I think PNW is cold and clannish. WI people are more open and willing to engage for either fun or for argument. I miss that. I find working here to be more challenging. It takes more energy to get to the honest conversation and acknowledgement of the "healthy workplace friction" that leads to better decisions for company and customer. I think people can be who they are just as easily in WI as here.

In many ways, especially in Portland, it is just assumed one is a whacked out liberal who voted for Hillary and hates Trump. When they find out otherwise they are at a loss as to what to do with you. Funny at times.

You mention friends. They are important but you would make new ones. We keep in touch with friends we have made all over the world. Living close by is not automatically needed.

You guys are YOUNG (30's) Follow the best career path. The other stuff will naturally work itself out. All places have vegan food, bikes and people you can connect with. To stay here JUST for those and not let her explore a promising option doesn't make sense. You can always move back if it doesn't work out. That's ultimately what we said when we decided to give OR a chance.

PS WI does not have near the ridiculous income tax rate OR does. That softens the Property tax hit. OR has an abusive tax rate (almost 10%)

Good luck in whatever you decide.

[the_potion_darling]

"In many ways, especially in Portland, it is just assumed one is a whacked out liberal who voted for Hillary and hates Trump. When they find out otherwise they are at a loss as to what to do with you. Funny at times."



So spot on! Have said similar many times on this site, but this hits the nail on the head @ccjarider!

[JoeInMadisonWI]

The biking in Madison and the state is incredible. The trail/path system around Madison is amazing. We live on the Monona Lake Loop and that eventually connects to what has to be hundreds of miles very well marked bike path/trails/lanes.