Sharper Focus: Portland, Salem, Eugene, Bend, or...? (Corvallis, Phoenix: to rent, insurance)

[DR1665]

WHY THIS KINDA LONG POST?
My wife and I have formally decided to leave Phoenix in the next 3-5 years. At this stage, we're roughly considering just about anything between the Portland metro, Eugene, and Bend, though mostly through the I-5 corridor. We're soundly in the find-a-job-then-relocate crowd, so I'm looking to share a little info about us in the hopes of getting some general pointers in advance of a fact-finding visit or two.

TIPPING POINTS & LAST CHANCES
My wife and I have finally reached our tipping points. A "Zonie," she doesn't want to wake up one day with that burning desire to try living somewhere other than Arizona, only to realize the roots are too deep for such a change. A retired Army Brat, this is the longest I've ever lived anywhere (12+ years).

Phoenix has changed a lot over the last 10 years. Our biggest complaint? Urban sprawl's impact on heat island effect. 10 years ago, "monsoon season" meant big thunderstorms dumping rain all over the valley at least a couple afternoons a week. Before that, my wife tells me they were almost daily. Today, there's so much concrete/asphalt radiating heat into the sky the monsoon storms roll in, pile up on the edge of town, then veer away. The dirt and humidity make it through, though.

We can't afford to relocate to the edge of town anywhere remotely close to work, and moving into an area outside the loop we could afford would mean about 3 hours of commuting every day. Yeah, no. Not happening. Besides, we'd like our 8 month-old daughter to grow up someplace with a semblance of seasons. (Even 12+ years later, Xmas decorations hung on cacti and palm trees still feels ridiculous, though I guess that's how it's always been in Australia.)

Once our little one starts school, we're probably going to put down those roots. My moving so often means I know more people in Australia or Germany or England than I do within 10 square miles of my home. We'd like our little one to grow up with a solid network of friends - community.

WHAT WE DO
I work in IT - data center operations. My company has a location a block from the river on the SW end of Portland, but a transfer isn't a given. I'm one of those "general IT" types; more hardware than software, more customer service than technical. (Won't be long before the machines can service themselves, anyway.) I've also worked in knowledge management, training, and social media.

I also "side-hustle" with an online magazine I've been publishing for 3+ years. It doesn't come anywhere close to covering the bills yet, but I'm working on that. I'm a gearhead, into turning my own wrenches and spending time with those who do likewise. I daily drive a small, Japanese 4WD (without AC, by the way) and may very well pick up something turbocharged and AWD before moving.

My wife works on the technical side of the insurance industry. She specializes in data conversion projects - when a company moves from one system to another - but she's also done everything from claims processing to project management. On the side, she does wedding photography.

YES, I KNOW I COULD USE THE SEARCH
But I don't want to get side-tracked with matters of crime, homelessness, bi-polar political sycophancy, and such - yet. I'm really looking for people who know these areas to say things like, "It's going to be tough to find meaningful work in your fields in Eugene, it seems like most of the tech work is moving to the area between Portland and Salem," or "You might want to spend most of your time looking here because you're probably not going to be able to find that kind of work there."

Maybe wishful thinking, but it's worth a shot. If we were fully self-employed or telecommuters, we'd probably just fly in, wander around, find something nice within our budget, and set up shop. But we're not quite there yet. Any insights you might be able to provide would be sincerely appreciated.

Thanks!

PS: We're also considering the Denver-Colorado Springs area and possibly someplace more mid-western, like Iowa City. In case it helps.

[Jumauslo]

It seems like the Portland area would definitely have the most IT related jobs for you. We live in Salem, which worked out good for me as a civil engineer, but I don't think there are that many IT jobs outside of working for the State. Eugene might be much the same, but I don't know that for a fact.

That said, you should go where you can find employment. We really like the Willamette Valley, coming from far northern CA, and we would probably be happy in either of the three larger cities. We landed in Salem and now feel at home here.

[PNW-type-gal]

Distinctly different climate between the Willamette Valley cities you mention (Portland, Salem, Eugene) and Bend. The Willamette Valley is a cool, overcast, rainy winter (call it Nov to March) and Bend is high desert, cold long winters with occasional snow (and still relatively overcast, if you are coming from Phoenix). Generally, the larger the city in Oregon, the better your job chances, with the general Portland metro area being your best bet for work and an art-zine hobby. Coming from Phoenix, Portland, and most of Oregon, will have expensive housing.

I have family in Colorado Springs and bi-polar is a good word for the politics - extremely conservative on one side and Boulder-style liberal on the other and neither side tolerates the other well (my impression in the stores, pubs and restaurants). Fort Collins (I have more family there) might be a consideration, if you can take the cold and WINDY winters and the grid-lock traffic on College Ave.

[Jumauslo]

You might also take a look at Corvallis. They have an HP campus there, but I've heard it's hard to get work there. Corvallis seems really nice, but it is Very expensive relative to the surrounding area. And if you have to rent, think smaller city with a great big university, it's not cheap.

[Steve97415]

Ha! We decided that the Valley of the Sun passed its livability threshold in the early 1980's. That was even before the "loops" that were supposed to solve the problem of freeway congestion. There was only the Black Canyon Freeway and I-10 back then. It was before Joe Arpaio and the Red Revolution. I used to put my bike on top of my car and drive west out to a tiny little town called Avondale (it was tiny back then) just to find a safe place to ride.

When my wife and I got married, we decided to immediately move, knowing how married life causes one to put down roots. Seeing what the cancer of urban sprawl was doing to the Southwest, we put livability and sane land-use policies first and foremost. That's how we ended up in Oregon. We also considered Colorado Springs and Chico, CA, before settling on Corvallis. We enjoyed a very good 12 years there and then moved on to the southern coast where we spent another decade living the beachside life. A couple of years ago we moved to the Rogue Valley. It's the one area of the western part of the state that has some features somewhat reminiscent of the Southwest. Summers here are dry and warm with balmy evenings (something we'd always missed living in the Willamette Valley and the coast). Winters are a little bit shorter and not as dreary as they are farther north. Rainfall is half of what it is in the Willamette Valley. As former Zonies, we've found it to be a good balance for people who need more than 3 months of sunshine a year.

Job procurement in a fair wages state is quite different from a so-called "right-to-work" state. Since right-to-work policies promote a culture of underpaid workers, jobs are much easier to get there (especially since many workers are just "passing through" and will be gone in a year or two). So the advice of moving to a place that you can find a job is good. People here are nowhere near as transient with their careers as in AZ. Professional people tend to stay in the same job for decades, so there isn't as much turnover.

The quality of public schools varies quite a bit with the clientele the school district draws from. The best schools are those in areas where there are a lot of white-collar professionals who value education highly. Portland, Eugene and Corvallis have such districts and I'd bet that Bend does, too.

I knew a lot of people who worked in IT in Corvallis. Some were at HP, yes, but other IT employers include the hospital and clinic, OSU, Da Vinci Technologies Group, Rogue Wave, Peak Internet and others.

Realize that the Cascades form a formidable geological barrier between western and central Oregon (much more so than the Mogollon Rim in AZ separates northern and southern AZ). It's almost like another state, so Bend is almost a separate consideration altogether. It's more or less the Flagstaff of Oregon -- minus the university.

[DR1665]

Excellent advice, everyone. Thank you.

If I play my cards right, 3-5 years from now I'll take my job with me, but as the saying goes, "Expect the best. Plan for the worst."

Bend is clearly an outlier, but it's worth considering. I appreciate continued commentary on the region.

[Foreverking]

Originally Posted by DR1665

Excellent advice, everyone. Thank you.

If I play my cards right, 3-5 years from now I'll take my job with me, but as the saying goes, "Expect the best. Plan for the worst."

Bend is clearly an outlier, but it's worth considering. I appreciate continued commentary on the region.

Take me with you...Im desperate to get out of Phoenix (Gilbert) and live in the PacNW. Lived in Portland. Im thinking you will too. Don't wait though, those prices are rising faster than those in Phoenix. You may price yourself out.

[DR1665]

Originally Posted by Foreverking

Take me with you...Im desperate to get out of Phoenix (Gilbert) and live in the PacNW. Lived in Portland. Im thinking you will too. Don't wait though, those prices are rising faster than those in Phoenix. You may price yourself out.

Ha.

Step 1: Decide to formally begin planning a move.
Step 2: Browse recent threads in City-Data forum.
Step 3: See other people from where you are now about to move where you want to go.
Step 4: Aw, man.
Step 5: Channel that energy into proper prior planning.

Two of the first five threads I checked out in the Portland sub-forum last weekend were people here in Phoenix either leaving for Portland in August or September (or maybe October). Totally jealous.

Never give up. Visualize exactly where you want to be and exactly where you are right now. Work your way backwards from where you want to be. Step by step. Never give up.

We actually got some rain in the NW valley last night. My wife and I spent a good 45 minutes chasing it in the car. We did about 30 miles. It was glorious.

[delta07]

As far as IT goes, Bend has a few places (MicroTel comes to mind), but not many. I don't know anything about the insurance industry, but my guess is the same. Salaries in Bend are low, as it's a very desirable place to live. With that said, it might be a better transition for you coming from AZ, although winter will feel very cloudy to you. I can't even imagine moving to the valley from AZ, but I need sunshine in the winter, so that's my personal deal.

I was going to suggest that you also consider Colorado, but see you are. I grew up in Denver and have lived all over the state. I think it's a great place for what you desire and the job market is much better than OR, especially for what you are looking for.

[Foreverking]

Originally Posted by DR1665

Ha.

Step 1: Decide to formally begin planning a move.
Step 2: Browse recent threads in City-Data forum.
Step 3: See other people from where you are now about to move where you want to go.
Step 4: Aw, man.
Step 5: Channel that energy into proper prior planning.

Two of the first five threads I checked out in the Portland sub-forum last weekend were people here in Phoenix either leaving for Portland in August or September (or maybe October). Totally jealous.

Never give up. Visualize exactly where you want to be and exactly where you are right now. Work your way backwards from where you want to be. Step by step. Never give up.

We actually got some rain in the NW valley last night. My wife and I spent a good 45 minutes chasing it in the car. We did about 30 miles. It was glorious.

Im excited for you. I myself have been contacting employers in the Seattle Area, my wife is getting transfer paperwork from her employer. We were going to sell to an investor until we researched the market and found we stood to make about 30k more on the market (hope that holds true).