Portland or Salem? (Gresham, Wilsonville: transplants, rental, insurance)

[Newties23]

My wife and I are moving to Oregon next year. I will be at ITT Tech, either in Portland or Salem, it depends on what we figure out will be the best area to live in, for us. Here is what we are looking for:
A place between the 2 cities because my wife will be working with the Federal Government, in one city or the other. We need some acreage as we have chickens, a potbellied pig, dogs and cats. We also have one confused duck who thinks he is a chicken. We are looking to have horses once we get there. The other possible issue it that we are lesbians and although many areas have no issues with this, we understand that there are going to be some people with issues. (We live in Texas, believe me, we understand!) So in knowing all of this, what are some recommendations? Live between the two citeis, somewhere along I-5? Also, from what I can tell, ITT is in East Portland and SouthWest Salem. I am leaning towards the outskirts of Portland, on the East side but would like some advice.
Thanks for your response,

Becky

[Nell Plotts]

ITT Tech is south of PDX not far off I-205. For rural property look east of I-205 and Hgwy 99E. You might find something out by Mulino but frankly finding a place to rent with a barn won't be easy.

[hamellr]

Word of advice, look into something different then ITT. They're a degree mill and nothing more. Their teaching is usually out of date, and usually taught by bad teachers. Most HR people won't accept ITT degrees as meeting the minimum requirements for hiring, and every person I've hired myself or had working for/with me with an ITT degree has ended up getting laid off pretty quickly because their learning curve to actually do the job was too high.

I'd suggest going to a Community College first and then depending on what degree you're looking at, go to a proper four year school.

Ducks and pigs will not be allowed in city limits in most places. Chickens are becoming more common, but you'll need to check each individual cities rules. East Side of Portland will not be for you for this reason, you'll end up commuting at least an hour to ITT because Gresham (at least when I looked about a year ago,) does not allow chickens either.

Either way Oregon will be a heck of a lot more accepting of you then Texas will. The bigots will be in the definite minority. There will be a sector of people who don't agree with your lifestyle, but won't ever say anything to you about it.

[Nell Plotts]

I agree with hamellr. Forget ITT Tech, attend Oregon Technical Institute. https://www.oit.edu/wilsonville

Wilsonville is south of Portland off I-5. Frankly technical employment is a lot easier to find in Portland metro than Salem.

A rental with a barn that can accommodate all your animals will be very hard to find.

[Newties23]

Thank you, I will definitely check those places out. Even if we have to drive for an hour or so, that is not a big deal. In Texas, that is a short trip ;-)

[Newties23]

Thank you for the information. I am not sure I understand the negativity towards ITT, there. Here it is one of the best technical schools in Texas. There are 10 of them, total, I think. Are they not good there or is there someplace better?

[Minervah]

Oh, in your previous post when you mentioned ITT Tech I thought you were referring to jobs rather than the school. I have to tell you that here in Portland I also find that school does not have a very good reputation. I have worked for various insurance companies that had quite a few IT departments. Honestly, since I no longer work for any of them I can tell you than on the rare occasion when there was an opening for any IT job, anyone with a resume that stated the applicant with a degree from ITT Tech not only was not considered for the job but his or her resume was placed in the "circular" file without even being read all the way through.

The reason was because with all the IT talent out here both via transplants and home grown, they looked at this type of schooling as less than adaquate. I am sorry to say this but it's something you may want to think about. When you have the type of competition you have in Portland for these types of jobs, the highest eduated will be the ones who will succeed in getting hired.

[Newties23]

that makes sense, so the other school that Nell Plotts wrote about would have a higher degree field?

[Minervah]

Originally Posted by Newties23

that makes sense, so the other school that Nell Plotts wrote about would have a higher degree field?

I don't know about that school but I would think it would especially if Nell recommended it. She does know alot about these things.

[PNW-type-gal]

It depends entirely on what kind of program you are going to - what area are you interested in? What level of degree (Associate, Bachelor's a Certification of some sort)?

In the Portland area, Portland State University and Oregon Institute of Technology both have full engineering programs.