What is the downside to living in Oregon? (Portland: purchases, organic)

[dperry9]

The I-5 corridor in general is where most of Oregon lives. Portland is by far the biggest population center, so naturally it gets most of the attention. Logging isn't what it used to be and Oregon isn't the kind of big farming or ranching state that some others are so it's inevitable that the state is run from the bigger population centers and the two state university towns.

[dperry9]

Originally Posted by Pretzelogik

And....you can't pump your own gas...cause the state gument thinks you are to dumb.

That's too with two o's.
The gummint told me to tell you.

[sorupaa]

The downside of oregon is there's a lot of cool areas but you can only live in one. Unless you're like my ant and has a place in the portland area and houses on the other side of the cascades

[Steve Pickering]

I just reread this thread, and I still can not think of a Downside to living in Oregon.

[Hawk J]

Originally Posted by drum bro

The downside of oregon is there's a lot of cool areas but you can only live in one. Unless you're like my ant and has a place in the portland area and houses on the other side of the cascades

ants can live pretty much anywhere they wanna.....

[dperry9]

Originally Posted by Steve Pickering

I just reread this thread, and I still can not think of a Downside to living in Oregon.

Ha ha, a true Oregonian.

Seriously, the state tourism board could probably use people like you in some ads.

[OrionXavier]

Originally Posted by pdxMIKEpdx

I agree with a lot of what you say, but........in todays world, you got to get along to get along.
That's just the way it is.

Hopefully you can find your happiness.
There are no rules that say you can't work for yourself.
Of course the flip side to earning one of those "evil" degrees is that you get an education that will help you work for yourself, and maybe actually help you make some money so you aren't relying on others being a "slave" for your wages.

Honestly, venting on an obscure forum on the vast internet isn't going to accomplish much, but it's a start, I guess.
At least you're not going to be executed for voicing your personal opinion.
Just remember, no matter how rough you think you got it, somebody else has got it a lot rougher.

Misery is definitely subjective. Therefore how much worse someone else has it, doesn't necessarily make it relevant.

I already found my happiness, but life is a struggle regardless.

Most of my ranting was from the fact that wealthy Californians are building new homes and driving real estate value up so that only the rich can afford to live in those areas. And this is progressing to the point where it's driving out low income and the poor, and likewise industries and employment that depend on those workers.

So either you have to have "old money", or get a degree towards a very good paying job to live in parts of Oregon. Because most if not all high paying jobs are through corporate America. And as I originally stated, the question becomes "which degree". Your life is slowly being dictated by these corporations, and all people can seem to manage to think is, "That's just the way it is."

[OrionXavier]

Originally Posted by ccjarider

You seem to be a big time whiner. Hope your life turns out better but without a serious attitude change, I doubt it.

"Attitude change" is debatable. I have strong qualities that contrast with surviving in this world, such as being a strong introvert and social phobic. It's certainly possible to change, but I would be miserable. Which obviously makes it the wrong choice. If I'm going to be miserable, it's going to be for the right reasons-- that which agrees with my nature.

[DetailSymbolizes]

I don't know, but I hear the dream of the nineties is alive in Portland....

[redguard57]

It depends on what you like and dislike. I moved to Oregon from Austin, Texas. The issues with rents and housing prices were happening there too. Actually, they were happening all over Texas, particularly in the cities. The jobs situation in Texas isn't as great as Rick Perry and Ted Cruz would have you believe. I applied for dozens of jobs in Texas which included hundreds across the country and got very few calls locally. I got offers from Florida, Montana, California, Oregon. Not Texas.

The income taxes in Oregon are high, but other taxes are low. In Texas, they nickel and dime you for all kinds of things, yearly b.s. inspections of your car, extra charges on your cell-phone bill, etc... property taxes that are sky-high.

Downsides for me:
It's small. Portland isn't that big of a city, but that's the best Oregon's got. Everywhere else in the state is small and rural and you see it even driving just 10-15 miles from downtown Portland.

The gas pumps & not being able to pump your own gas. That is friggin obnoxious. On the plus side of it, the windshield squeegies are always maintained. In Texas they often don't change the soap & water on those things for weeks or months.

Speed limits of 55. Few highway bypasses, meaning you have to slow down to 25 through a lot of towns. There are upsides to that, though.

Meth heads.

The biggest downside is that Oregon, for whatever reason, pays less for the same jobs while at the same time has living costs that are fairly high. It's not as expensive as California or Washington, but not competitive compared to the CoL.

Oregon's university system is alright for the size of state it is. It's similar in population size to Iowa - they also only have 2 universities that are any good.