California vs. Oregon in Quality of Living? (Bakersfield, Orange: transplants, condo)

[lrmsd]

Originally Posted by Pedro2000

What I don't get is comparing all of California to all of Oregon. The COL might be cheaper in Oregon, but as others have stated, Oregon is not known as a place with tons of job opportunities and they don't pay as well. So it might be cheaper, but if you make less money, will you just be moving to a place in Oregon that's just like a place in SoCal?

The other thing I don't get from the OP is if you move to some middle of nowhere place in Oregon that's cheaper, what's the difference between that and moving to some middle of nowhere place in northern northern California? I mean there are cheap places up near Eureka and Lake Shasta and so on, but there isn't much going on up there. But again, if you're moving to nowhere Oregon, why not just move to nowhere California?

Nowhere OR is still cheaper than nowhere CA. And other people may not think it's 'nowhere'-that's somewhat subjective. But, there really isn't a 'cheap CA', nowhere [aka 'rural, removed geopgrahically, small population, etc] anymore-even Eureka, Yreka, Lake Shasta area, etc are fairly pricey. Cheaper than metro CA areas, sure, but certainly not 'cheap'. You'd have to really remove yourself to find that. OR is still cheaper overall.

[lrmsd]

Originally Posted by jw2

Dear NWNative, since you dug up an old thread, I am not sure you are aware of it, but you have no more or fewer rights to a state just because you were born there. If people want to move to Oregon, that is their prerogative, you are not the gatekeeper.

LOL. Exactly. Especially since the OP of this thread is a native of Oregon! This whole thread is about whether or not OP should move back to OR and the cost of living on a teacher's salary, compared to OC, where the OC lived at the time of the post.

[LuvSouthOC]

I had this very conversation with a friend at work (a native Valley girl) about where she would like to retire...and sell her Anaheim home. Colorado and Oregon were dismissed; Colorado is too too rural and both are way too far from friends and family. Vegas which is 4.5 hours away from friends and family looks to be winning in her mind, especially since she would save on state income tax (none) and have quick access to the LA area. As for me, I will never leave, even when I can finally retire. They will have to bury me here. I love it here.

As for this...


1) Air Quality: I have very good air quality in Laguna Niguel. Next.
2) Water Quality: I have a water filtration system. Next.
3) The Drivers: I don't commute. Next.
4) Bikes: I ride my bike here with no problem, especially in Dana Point. Next.
5) Lack of Sunshine: I like the sun, it makes me happy. Rain gets really old, no really, it DOES.
6) Backyard Organic Everything: I get plenty of whole foods and have plenty of fruit trees of my own.
7) Wild Trees: Ok, I will give you THAT. I have a real love for trees.
8) Wild Food: I get plenty of whole foods, maybe not as readily as you do, but I am ok.
9) Career Killer. Don't care. I make enough to sustain the lifestyle I want, don't care about more.
10) Not Keeping Up with the Joneses: This is just plain silly. I am way too financially disciplined to care what others do. I drive an inexpensive paid for car and my neighbors all have a Mercedes or BMW. Next.

[GoldCountry80]

Originally Posted by Sheetrockero

I grew up in Orange County, but was forced to move to Eugene for work (after a 5 year stint on the East Coast). Be warned! The environment here is absolutely hazardous for any native Southern Californian!
1) Air Quality: The air here is completely deficient of Smog. One breath of that pure oxygen and you're bound to get dizzy.
2) Water Quality: Oregonians are always trying to get you to drink the water right our of the tap. I tried it and it wasn't highly chlorinated! How can you possibly trust that!
3) The Drivers: The drivers are always slowing down to let you merge in to traffic and they always fail to cut you off. Worse still, they always stop for pedestrians in the cross walk! How can anyone drive in this sort of environment?
4) Bikes: There are people on bikes everywhere! And bicyclists have this crazy idea that they are somehow equal to people in cars, even though cars are way more expensive than their silly bikes. Their delusion is probably due to all those crazy Oregon drivers actually treating them like equals on the road.
5) Lack of Sunshine: I don't know how I'll survive without my perma-burn and seasonal peeling.
6) Backyard Organic Everything: Almost everybody here has gardens and chickens in their backyard and they refuse to use any pesticides or antibiotics! There is bound to be a plague or chicken flu epidemic.
7) Wild Trees: There are wild trees everywhere and they are huge! Nobody knows who planted them and nobody waters them. They just grow everywhere here. I don't know how much more of this unplanned "nature" I can handle.
8) Wild Food: Living around all this nature makes people think it's OK to go into the woods and eat things like blackberries, mushrooms, fish, and elk that they find there. Obviously they don't realize that the chances of finding food laced with bear poop are astronomically higher in a forest than in a grocery store.
9) Career Killer: I'm sure my resume is suffering since I'm only working one job to support my family. Also, who knows how my wife will get back into the workforce after spending time as a stay-at-home mom? She never would have been tempted to try such a career killing move in Southern California. This whole "affordability" thing is definitely killing our drive to mercilessly work ourselves to death.
10) Not Keeping Up with the Joneses: People here just don't get that they are supposed to be keeping up with the Joneses. In fact, it's so bad here that I bet the Joneses left Oregon because nobody was even trying to keep up with them.

One word that describes you.. douchebag.

[GoldCountry80]

Originally Posted by NWnative17

Dear people from California,
Please STOP moving to Oregon it's extremely annoying how many people/out of staters are moving here. Almost every person I've met has been from California or Arizona or some other state. I'm proud to say I am born and raised in the northwest. Oregon and Washington are known as the "Great Northwest" for a reason, but the more you people move here the more you people continue to ruin it. Just because your state sucks and is over populated doesn't mean you should go and **** up another state. There's probably more people from California that live here now than actual Oregon natives, its ridiculous. I'm not just speaking for myself, I'm speaking for most of the people ACTUALLY from Oregon. DON'T MOVE TO OREGON. Its also the meth capital of the US, it was ranked the most deppressing place in america, I can't remember the last time I saw the sun, there's nothing to do here, oregon has one of the highest unemployment rates, the state taxes are extremley high, the homeless population is very very high, the highshool drop out rate is very high, and the coast (beach) is ALWAYS rainey and cold. So you'd probably be better off just toughing it out where you live now.

I am not speaking for Californians but from how it sounds, you don't have any intent on fixing your so called wonderful home. You talk how theres high meth almost as if you'd rather have it that way than have any newcomers at all come in and maybe add to the community and add jobs. From an East Coaster, Californians are bad but you Oregonians love to drive new people out in your own way too. I have little sympathy if your beloved Portland has to change it up a bit.

[k374]

I feel the same way as you do. I absolutely love California - the weather, the ocean, desert and mountains all close to each other and the strong economy in my field. However, I feel that the place has only become viable for the very rich or the very poor who get handouts. The middle class cannot get ahead here!

[RudyOD]

I'm a California lover myself, through and through. I do plan to move though, but it won't be because I am escaping, but rather because I want to get to know and live in different places.

I have a few friends who moved out for college, and they never came back...mostly due to the COL differences between California and where they live now (Colorado and Oregon).

[marycai]

My son and his family just moved to Oregon (suburb of Portland). They bought a 2-story, 5 bdrm-3 bath new home for $450k in a great neighborhood. They moved from OC. They would have paid over a million dollars for the same home in so cal. It's so green and beautiful there. Drawback is very high property tax.

[dexter14]

Originally Posted by marycai

My son and his family just moved to Oregon (suburb of Portland). They bought a 2-story, 5 bdrm-3 bath new home for $450k in a great neighborhood. They moved from OC. They would have paid over a million dollars for the same home in so cal. It's so green and beautiful there. Drawback is very high property tax.

...and the massive amounts of rain 8-9 months of the year. I lived in Tigard, OR for almost two years. Yes its clean and beautiful and Portland is easily one of the best cities in the country, but getting soaked just walking (running actually) from your car to the grocery store or struggling to hold an umbrella as its pouring down while you try and load your groceries gets old really fast. You can also forget about planning any outdoor activities much of the year because you never know if its going to rain it out.

[StanSwitek]

My income is around $100K a year. I do not live extravagantly. I find it takes every penny of that to live here. I'm over it. Less than 30 days till I depart the OC.