Moving from So. Cal, looking at La Grande, OR (Portland: section 8, apartment)

[wannamove]

Hello all you wonderful Oregonians! Please don't hate me because I live in Orange County, California and am looking to move to your state. I was raised in So. Cal and have hated every second of it. Who wants perfect weather when it's all polluted air? Who wants to live in a place that's crowded, the traffic is pure hell, the people are snobby, rude, shallow, and self-centered -- unless you're poor like me and you get to live in areas where the people are like the cast from Mel Gibson's "Apocalypto".

Yes, I'm poor, and I live in a Section 8 subsidized apartment in this hispanic ghetto hellhole. I tried a few years back to move far away to Iowa to escape this nightmare of a place, but the career I started there didn't work out, and I was forced to come back.

Okay, enough about my life. I am just curious if anyone out there knows anything about La Grande, in Oregon's northeast corner. It seems nice enough from the research I have done -- they have a University and a WalMart. It's a small town, which I like, but still has enough amenities that I wouldn't go into total culture shock. I'm just looking for the people to be friendly and respectful (and can actually speak English!), some nice nature so I can be outdoorsy, and not too extreme of weather because I don't do well with extreme heat or extreme cold. I LOVE overcast and gray, but tons of rain can be problematic. I just remember from my experience in Iowa that I was okay with some snow, but did not enjoy dealing with the tornados, freezing rain, monster winds, and driving on streets where the rainwater got up half as high as my car! You could say I'm boring because as a Christian I don't need a night life, so a small town with some real peace and quiet is what I really want. I visited Hood River, Oregon a long time ago and the small town friendliness was something I really enjoyed and wanted in my life.

So I welcome any and all comments you might have about this town. I've saved up enough money that I'd be able to travel up there and check out the area, but I would need to find a one bedroom apartment that accepts Section 8 Housing Vouchers in order to make the move. And since I am not looking to move from one crummy place to another, my hope is that it would be a nice apartment (not something out of the 1970's) with nice amenities like covered parking and such. I guess I want it all, or one might say this is "champagne tastes on a beer budget", but all I can do is pray that God will have something like this for me there. I know there are nice apartment communities that accept Section 8 Vouchers, but can this happen in a town as small as La Grande? Thank you in advance for any input!

[MoMark]

I lived as a young kid in La Grande, OR. It is still, 35 years later, the place my mother most misses. I remember it vividly though I haven't been there since the mid-1970's. It has remained a small town, but I remember it as being very quintessentially American. Summers are long, hot, and some colossal thunderstorms. Fall is colorful and winter can be downright cold. It snows in La Grande and sometimes it snows a lot, though if I remember correctly the snowfalls usually were in the few inches categories. Just be prepared for cold in the winter and know that it's a fairly arid climate. I had considered La Grande again a couple of years ago when I wanted to move out of Las Vegas, but I chose southwest Missouri instead because of its job opportunities combined with four season climate and inexpensive housing. Good luck!

[PDXsailor]

La Grande is in Eastern Oregon (dry part of the state) and is cold and snowy during the winter and hot and dry during the summer. It is a rural town along I-84, so I have only stopped there for gas or food on my way elsewhere. Probably not much nightlife there.

On the other hand, Hood River is a cool town with lots to do. It is also only an hour to Portland, so small town feel with some decent stores, and easy enough access to the big stores in Portland. It is a popular town, so the prices will be kind of spendy there as it is wind surfing and summer and winter recreation gateway.

BTW, Walmart is an evil corporate monster that needs to be tamed. We fight them left and right here in the Portland area. Die Walmart, DIE!!!!

[PDXsailor]

Your post about wanting to move to Oregon so you live in section 8 housing has bothered me since reading it. Do you have a family or are you disabled or elderly? If the answer is no, then why would you want to move to a different state if it is not getting you out of a welfare environment? Why not move here or elsewhere to start new without the subsidized housing. Are you also going to ask for foodstamps and other taxpayer money to help support your dream of getting out of California?

Oregon is a great state, but we don't want to be a refugee state for Californians, and we especially don't want people coming here taking away money and assistance that could be going to help a current oregon resident.

I suggest if you want to move up here and want to get out of your situation, that you enroll in college and get some formal training for a better job. There are grants available that will completely cover the cost of school, books, and supplies, and you can even get subsidized student loans to help with rent and bills. Just fill out a financial aid application (FAFSA) at college or tech school and they will let you know what grants and loans you are available for. Thats what I did and I worked minimum wage jobs the whole time without the help of welfare programs and now have a great job. The minimum wage is higher here and the rent is cheaper, so it is doable.

BTW, I am very liberal and feel that people need help at times when they need it, but they should work hard to get out of their current situation, not just float along.

Good luck!!!

[wannamove]

with all due respect, you do not know my situation. i am permanently disabled, and it is impossible for me to work. believe me, i would love to get off disability and work my way out of poverty. i am one smart cookie, if only i could apply it! i have seen others who use and abuse the government "handout" system and it makes me sick. i have never taken welfare, ssi, food stamps, or anything else but federal disability. when i tell people how much i get a month from disability, they exclaim, "but no one can live on just that!". at the previous apartment i was living in on Section 8 they suddenly hiked the rent..... i found myself selling belongings just to pay rent, and sometimes at the end of the month i wouldn't have enough money for food, so i would just go hungry for a few days. i starved myself before accepting any more charity. and i didn't have a car, and had too much anxiety about taking the bus, so i had to walk everywhere to do any shopping. the nearest grocery store was about a mile away, so i would have to walk there and then hike back uphill with hands full of grocery bags (i couldn't even afford a backpack). i did this for like a year. when i moved here my bed was a sleeping bag for 9 months, until someone from Church was nice enough to give me a spare used twin mattress.

i'm sorry if it offends you that i would be using your state money to help subsidize my rent, but my reasons are legit, and the money i get ain't much. i have absolutely no luxuries like eating out or recreational activities. poverty and subsistence is my life, and i'm not a sponge. all i'm asking for is a living environment that's tolerable for me.

and about your comment about walmart, yes, it sucks that they don't give their employees high enough wages, respect, or benefits. but it's freakin walmart -- no one is forced to work there, they know what they're getting into when they sign the dotted employment line. without a walmart in town, where are poor people like me supposed to shop and save on prices enough to get by? at least walmart allows the salvation army outside their stores, unlike target. you're probably right, they're an evil gigantic corporation that undervalues it's workers and drives out local merchants -- welcome to america! until there's a company out there that can provide the value and selection of walmart, i'm going to the place where i can buy something for half the price of anywhere else. nuff said.

[Clear2land]

WOW, I'm not disabled and I don't know if I could walk a mile to the grocery store and walk back with several sacks of groceries. I'm looking forward to the front door after a one mile walk in the morning, which includes two good sized hills. What kind of disability would allow you to do that, may I ask?

I sincerely hope you find a slice of happiness in Oregon.

Dan

[Clear2land]

By the way, none of us knew, including PDX Sailor, that you were disabled. I just hate it when someone starts out, "With all due respect." I think Steve hit me between the eyes with that one. You might as well say, "With all due disrespect." My heart goes out to you but I don’t think PDX meant any disrespect in his post.

Dan

[PDXsailor]

In my reply, I ask if you are disabled, as this would be a reasonable use of subsidized housing. I only have a problem with people moving here who would possibly abuse the system.

Hope your dream of escaping California and finding a happier life comes true.

[Des_Demona]

Yes I'm curious as well at what permanent disability could stop you from attending school or working if you can hike for groceries uphill and type such a clearly well-thought out paragraph? You are physically able to walk and move about and you can type/spell/read/think clearly so I'm not sure what would prevent you from getting a good job. What about something in an office where you could transcribe things? I'm sorry if it sounds like an intrusive or rude question because it's not intended that way, I'm just really curious is all.

[Aly Kat]

I left OC 6 years ago and moved to Grants Pass. I am now moving from GP to LaPine, Or. Small town but close to Bend where they have my favorite 3stores, WalMart, Lowes and Home Depot. All big box stores but I love the prices and being able to get what I want on one visit. I too have to watch my pennies. I am retired, born in Iowa and want to go back to the small town. I think, Wannamove, you should get involved in some local organizations such as a church and make friends that I am sure would love to take you shopping when they go and then you can get by and not have to walk. I know that there are lots of generous and kind hearted people that think that it is the God's will that we help each other. LaPine, by the way is cold in the winter (snow) but beautiful the year around. Lots of recreation and peaceful places to just hang out. I am sure you would love it. God luck with your relocation.