Is Oregon a Good Fit? Location suggestions? (Portland, Eugene: 2015, foreclosures)

[kmarleee]

Hi everyone,

We're a young couple in our late 20's-early 30's planning a move from FL, and doing some research. Wondering if Oregon might be a good fit. We're basically looking for:

--Legal work opportunities
--Cool, dry weather (low-humidity)
--Lots to do outdoors (fishing, biking, hiking)
--High-quality air (low pollution) *Important as I have a health condition

I know job scarcity is a major issue in Oregon, but since my fiance is an attorney and must re-take the bar exam before we move, we're trying to decide on which state ahead of time to prep for the February Bar. We're also looking at Idaho, Washington and Montana. Looked into CO, but it's far too populated for what we are looking for, esp. with the new drug legislation.

Also: I can work from anywhere and we have decent savings, so there is some leeway with him taking time to find work, if necessary.

I appreciate any suggestions (even specific locations in OR that might fit what we're looking for). Thanks!

[oregonwoodsmoke]

Cool dry weather (low humidity) is only available east of the Cascades. There are lots of little tiny towns. I don't know if there are law related jobs there. For bigger towns, and they aren't very big, there are Bend and Pendleton.

Bend is stuffed full of lawyers, so I don't know how easy it would be to get a job as a lawyer. But I don't know where to look for a lawyer job. City and county jobs are listed online.

[Billy_J]

I tried to get an appointment with a lawyer in Linn County Oregon, but all the lawyers were booked up for several months. Sounds like a good area for a lawyer to me! (The major cities in that area are Albany, Lebanon, Sweet Home, and Corvallis across the river.)

Eugene is a MUCH larger city to the south. And Salem is just to the north and the state capitol. (Don't know if they need lawyers or not?)

[boulder2015]

Originally Posted by kmarleee

Hi everyone,

We're a young couple in our late 20's-early 30's planning a move from FL, and doing some research. Wondering if Oregon might be a good fit. We're basically looking for:

--Legal work opportunities
--Cool, dry weather (low-humidity)
--Lots to do outdoors (fishing, biking, hiking)
--High-quality air (low pollution) *Important as I have a health condition

I know job scarcity is a major issue in Oregon, but since my fiance is an attorney and must re-take the bar exam before we move, we're trying to decide on which state ahead of time to prep for the February Bar. We're also looking at Idaho, Washington and Montana. Looked into CO, but it's far too populated for what we are looking for, esp. with the new drug legislation.

Also: I can work from anywhere and we have decent savings, so there is some leeway with him taking time to find work, if necessary.

I appreciate any suggestions (even specific locations in OR that might fit what we're looking for). Thanks!

If you're worried about legal pot, then you should scratch Oregon and Washington off your list. You may not know this, but they legalized as well.

Idaho and Montana both probably need lawyers, and if you're near a big town, you should be fine.

Both will also have more "cool, dry" weather than Washington or Oregon. Basically, in the PNW, the "cool places" are not dry, and the dry places are cool during winter, but pretty darn hot during the summer (it's a desert!).

Idaho and Montana both have ridiculous and endless outdoor opportunities, just as many as the other states, and depending on your sport, more.

Air pollution: very localized. Some valleys in Montana have brutal inversion layers that trap in smoke, not sure about Idaho. Both states, however, have plenty of areas that have little to no air pollution, just got to research areas individually.

hope that helps...

[kmarleee]

Thanks oregonwoodsmoke and Billy_J for the suggestions! Much appreciated. I will look into all those areas. I have heard of Bend, but didn't know it was a popular spot for lawyers. I wonder what kind of law is common out there? Family/divorce? My fellow works with the city government here in Florida on land use/foreclosures/city planning. Haven't heard much of Linn County or Pendleton, but will Google them.

[kmarleee]

Originally Posted by boulder2015

If you're worried about legal pot, then you should scratch Oregon and Washington off your list. You may not know this, but they legalized as well.

Idaho and Montana both probably need lawyers, and if you're near a big town, you should be fine.

Both will also have more "cool, dry" weather than Washington or Oregon. Basically, in the PNW, the "cool places" are not dry, and the dry places are cool during winter, but pretty darn hot during the summer (it's a desert!).

Idaho and Montana both have ridiculous and endless outdoor opportunities, just as many as the other states, and depending on your sport, more.

Air pollution: very localized. Some valleys in Montana have brutal inversion layers that trap in smoke, not sure about Idaho. Both states, however, have plenty of areas that have little to no air pollution, just got to research areas individually.

hope that helps...

Thanks!! This is very helpful. We're not worried about legal pot, we're very live-let-live. But I did read something about the CO population increasing because of the new law, and would prefer to live somewhere not very crowded (which is why we didn't add CO to the list).

I agree about the economy for law.. Seems like Idaho and MT have better opportunities so far than the other two states.

And thanks for the heads up about the air pollution. I just found an air quality map online that shows how localized it really is by county.

[texasdiver]

If you want less humidity but still a large enough city to have a legal profession probably Spokane and Boise should be on your list.

[kmarleee]

Originally Posted by texasdiver

If you want less humidity but still a large enough city to have a legal profession probably Spokane and Boise should be on your list.

Thanks texasdiver! I'll check those two out.

[Nell Plotts]

Land use law practice? Look counties with significant population growth. My gut, for Oregon, would be Multnomah, Washington or Deschutes Counties. The county seat for each is Portland, Hillsboro, and Bend respectively. He should study Oregon land use laws, particularly our urban growth management. There should be a UGB study on the internet (Grey Horse may be able to comment on what she has learned as she lives just south of the Portland UGB). Hood River County is rumored to have significant development in the relatively near future, that would impact the community of White Salmon, WA across the river (Skamania County?).

[StealthRabbit]

Originally Posted by Nell Plotts

Land use law practice? Look counties with significant population growth. My gut, for Oregon, would be Multnomah, Washington or Deschutes Counties. The county seat for each is Portland, Hillsboro, and Bend respectively. He should study Oregon land use laws, particularly our urban growth management. There should be a UGB study on the internet (Grey Horse may be able to comment on what she has learned as she lives just south of the Portland UGB). Hood River County is rumored to have significant development in the relatively near future, that would impact the community of White Salmon, WA across the river (Skamania County?).

White Salmon is Klickitat County, (The ONLY county in WA or OR actively defying CGNSA regs) Wind Energy focus at the moment. Tough economy and regs.

Columbia Gorge (Hood River / The Dalles) is probably a bit small for a new lawyer (highly desirable living, so many work for CHEAP or are 'trust fund babies'... i.e. living off Mom and Dad's wealth. ALL development growth is significantly hampered by federal gov (Land locked / surrounded by CGNSA and USFS) + add OR and WA Dept of Ecology. Land use is a significantly difficult and restrictive legal career.

Really depends on the OP law experience, but Land Use is certainly very viable and regionally important (Especially in CGNSA ... the gorge). It is a REAL tough field if you don't have LOTS of experience, contacts, and knowledge. It would be a fire hose for a FL / SE USA trained / experienced person to wade through PNW land use practices.

Off the cuff... I would consider elder law! (and outside of OR)

BTW: Columbia Gorge (and east Portland) suffer terrible air quality due to concentration of Boardman Coal fired PGE plant. (someday... will be BANNED), at the moment and for last 20 yrs... it etches the paint off our cars and houses and the concrete off our driveways.