Oregon or Washington? Thoughts? (Portland, Eugene: home, job market, transfer)

[DouxSoleil]

Hello all,

I've been contemplating a move to Raleigh, NC (as I visited the triangle area years ago on my way to Nagshead, NC, and loved it - and have wanted to move there since!!) but recently began to ponder what life would be like in WA or OR, Seattle (or Olympia ?), or Portland (or Eugene or Salem?).

I am currently on a temporary assignment in Sunnyvale, CA (just few minutes south of Palo Alto, CA, in the South Bay area), but prior to CA, spent 10+ years in Minneapolis, MN. Didn't enjoy the frigid weather. :-(

I'm progressive, open-minded, participate in green/eco/environmental causes, am vegetarian, a health & exercise enthusiast (yoga, pilates, tennis, walking/hiking, tennis etc), love the outdoors (and would greatly enjoy weekend excursions to the ocean as well as mountains & forests, etc), and hope to live in a place with cultural opportunities (broadway series plays, live theatre & music, plays), museums and local festivals. I am a technical writer but have an 18-yr-old son who will accompany me so I'm concerned about jobs and work opportunities. I hope to live in a place with affordable housing and at least a moderate cost of living. I love the Pacific Northwest but am concerned about cost of living in WA as well as the lack of sunshine. I do enjoy a good rain, though, which is something I don't experience too often here in Sunnyvale, CA (just few minutes south of Palo Alto, CA, in the South Bay area).

Would love to hear thoughts about WA, OR, and even Raleigh (Triangle park area), if anyone reading is familiar with NC...…

Thanks in advance for your thoughts!

[Brett]

Well I have lived along the I 5 corridor from as far north as Bellingham to as far south as Cottage Grove Oregon... That covers most of the west coast Areas you are talking about. I can give my impressions but realize some of my experience is rather dated... In general the places with jobs are expensive, and the places with modest costs of living have higher unemployment. All things being equal I would ask if your son is going to college? And say you should move somewhere with a school that meets his needs. So starting North, heading south:

Bellingham. Beautiful scenery, nice older town. Not a lot of jobs. WWU is there. Oh but the wind in winter... Blows off the pacific and straight through your jacket!

Seattle expensive ( like not quite SF expensive but you get the picture) lots of jobs. It's. A big sprawling metro that had thirdly world quality public transport which means that despite traffic sucking it's the only way to get anywhere. Only place on the west coast I have lived where I could get a job in a week though.. Which was good because I had to have two to live there. It is a beautiful locale though. Rain is constant drizzle in the winter though... For your son more schools then you can shake a stick at, and if he wants to go adventuring you used to be able to walk the docks for Alaska fisheries jobs... That was in the 90s though..

Tacoma has a rough and tumble history and a bad reputation but certain areas are pretty nice and it's an up and comer city. I never lived there but I know people who did who liked it quite a bit.

Olympia... Home of TESC, my last college. Great town, but jobs are perennially scarce. Can be grayer than Seattle in winter so be warned. Very moderate cost of living especially compared to Seattle.

Portland is a great town and was home to me some 17 years...the longest I have lived anywhere as an adult. I got priced out by having too many kids, but if you have one 18 year old that shouldn't be a problem for you. Professional jobs are tough to fins as it is a destination city for college graduates. Hourly wage jobs can be tough too but if your son wants to work a job, rather than hang out and punch a clock until his band takes off he will have options. My son (19 lives in Portland) spent a lot of time getting a job , but because he works hard he pretty much writes his own schedule now because they don't want him to quit when he goes back to school. There are some good schools there... PSU, UP but Portland is more a town with some colleges than a college town. It rains in Portland too, but the wind from the gorge will blow it out periodically so most days you get some sun. May to October it's some of the best weather on earth.

Eugene. Well it is a college town. Moderate cost of living, tough job market. I wanted to move here before but didn't until I secured a job here. Tough in the hourly wage market too because of all the college students. UO is highly ranked school, although I would be happier if my son transferred to OSU as I feel they are a more academic, less party school. They say it never snows in eugene, but it's snowed more here then it did in Portland since I moved... Maybe it's a freak couple years though. It's never lasted that long though so don't worry about getting snowed in!

As to the triangle area I don't know... My cousin moved there in 1982 and he loves it. I find that kind of heat oppressive though.

[Billy_J]

Both!

Rent and then you will be free to move around. Then you can live in different areas for a few years, then go exploring elsewhere. There are lots of wonderful things to see in both states, but easier to see everything if you live near each different area as you move around.

[Nell Plotts]

I have a DD who lives two towns west of you so I know your current environment. Sunnyvale we are not.

My first question is what kind of technical writer? I read today that Boeing is planning to move 1000 jobs from Seattle to the mid-west, just don't know what divisions are in play or when that will happen. They have a lot of contractors around Seattle, I doubt that they will move. If the gyrations of the aircraft industry aren't a concern to you then Seattle metro would likely be your best bet because Seattle has more tech depth than Portland.

Your son will have plenty of school choices in the Puget Sound.

The NW has a lot of micro climates. For example I lived on the south end of Bainbridge Island where we were in a 'rain shadow' from Mt. Olympus well to the west - more sun and less rain. Folks who lived on the north end of the island got a lot more rain. The bible on NW climate was written by Cliff Mass: http://www.amazon.com/Weather-Pacifi.../dp/0295988479 Cliff Mass Weather Blog

[PDXNative2Houston]

I've lived in both Seattle (Everett & Renton) as well as the Portland area (Tigard, Lake O). There are a lot of similarities.

Traffic is bad in PDX, but in Seattle you are looking at some of the worst traffic in the world (really).

Jobs are fairly plentiful in Seattle, as is obvious due to it being a large market. Portland lacks in this area a bit, but the main concern for PDX'ers is finding employment that pays enough to live an upscale lifestyle.

PDX folks are in general more friendly than up in Seattle, again this is obvious due to Seattle being many times larger.

Housing costs in PDX are high for a city it's size, but in Seattle it's outrageous.

There's a much stronger military prescence in the Seattle area.

Overall I'd prefer to live in PDX over Seattle **if** I found the right job ($$$). I do not like the crowdedness and big city problems of Seattle...however this is only personal preference and you may enjoy the big city life better.

[DouxSoleil]

Thanks all for the input and assistance. I greatly appreciate the opportunity to read your thoughts and ideas about these areas. I had no idea that Seattle has such a terrible traffic situation (I lived in LA for awhile, years ago, so I do know about bad traffic! Whew, it's bad there!).

I'd be interested to learn if there are pockets in either of these two states (OR or WA) where there is a little more sunshine, a decent job market, a less crowded living situation, and a little less rain, on average and in general.

[509]

Originally Posted by DouxSoleil

.....................I'm progressive, open-minded, participate in green/eco/environmental causes, am vegetarian, a health & exercise enthusiast (yoga, pilates, tennis, walking/hiking, tennis etc), love the outdoors (and would greatly enjoy weekend excursions to the ocean as well as mountains & forests, etc)........................................,

I hate being judgemental, but it looks like you would have a difficult time in a diverse community like those found east of the Cascades. That is where the sunshine and easy going lifestyle will be found.

My recommendation is Eugene. It is one of the few "liberal" towns that actually has a pretty good community. Good schools. You will find plenty of folks with your orientation in Eugene.

The weather is much better than Bellingham or Seattle. Somewhat better than Portland.

We had some friends from similar circumstances and they settled and have loved Eugene. And after a few years they actually started enjoying the rain.

[Nell Plotts]

Notice that 509 didn't mention jobs?

Half the graduates of the U of O want to stay in Eugene, need I say more?

[bler144]

Originally Posted by Nell Plotts

Notice that 509 didn't mention jobs?

Half the graduates of the U of O want to stay in Eugene, need I say more?

That wouldn't be a problem if it had the labor market of Seattle. Lots of UW alums stay in the Seattle metro; Eugene just has a harder time absorbing all those bodies/degrees into its much smaller economy.

[Nell Plotts]

Indeed.