Thinking of a move from Maryland to Hood River (Portland: home builders, job market)

[doubler27]

Yes its another one of these threads, thanks for reading!

The Mrs and I took a trip out there last year and fell in love with the Columbia River Gorge/ Hood River area. I have wanted to move out of Maryland now for quite some time and have always dreamed of living in the PNW (been to Seattle many times). We loved Portland as well but fear the rain may be too much in that area, plus we currently live near a big city (Baltimore) and prefer to be rural.

My wife is interviewing as a teacher in the Dalles which is about a 30 minute drive from Hood River, so she would be set but is having a little heartburn about a possible move since I would likely have to work in Portland (am a construction project manager).

I already drive an hour to get to my current place of employment, so long commutes I do not mind. But how long of a commute WITH traffic would I hit going from Hood River to Portland?

My other question is, I have heard people that live in Hood River do not like "outsiders", but we seemed to get along with people fine on our visit out there. Is this something that could potentially be a downfall to living there or is it over-blown? We have two boys so I imagine through school we would find friends to hang out with.

My last question is, education out there is lacking compared to Maryland it seems. Are my boys going to have opportunities? Portland seems fine and I know Seattles job market seems to be booming...but I fear their opportunities for whatever in life wont be as good as the Bmore/ DC area we currently are in.

[StealthRabbit]

Hood River has a few issues, but is generally quite nice place to live.
Housing is expensive due to Land Locked with Columbia Gorge National Scenic area and surrounded by National Forest.
Fruit AG production can be a problem (spraying and smudge pots / wind machines for frost) (see recent posts on this forum )//www.city-data.com/forum/40070518-post19.html

Driving to Portland won't be a traffic problem, but you will have about 1 week / yr that is freezing rain, and a few random days as well. Road may be closed, so you will just stay in Portland those days. My friends in Construct Managment usually work in Beaverton / Hillsboro (longer drive yet). If possible, get a job with Hensel Phelps in Vancouver, WA, then you could live in White Salmon and be income tax free. Kids can do FREE college instead of High school in WA state. (and / or Hawaii). Your kids will find their place in life wherever you live. What are their interests? (do you know yet?). Arts will be a little tough in HR, but it is a good / highly educated community. Engineering / entrepreneurship is strong Welcome to the GTA - Gorge Technology Alliance
MCEDD

interesting article about a local CM person:
Constructor Magazine - A publication of the AGC
There is and will continue to be some significant construction jobs in Columbia Gorge area (lately due to wind energy, but also will continue to be infrastructure / environmental construction).

You could consider living closer to Portland and still enjoying the gorge. Corbett, OR or Washougal, WA are good choices. School employment in Oregon is a bit shaky (not well funded).

[doubler27]

Originally Posted by StealthRabbit

Hood River has a few issues, but is generally quite nice place to live.
Housing is expensive due to Land Locked with Columbia Gorge National Scenic area and surrounded by National Forest.
Fruit AG production can be a problem (spraying and smudge pots / wind machines for frost) (see recent posts on this forum )//www.city-data.com/forum/40070518-post19.html

Driving to Portland won't be a traffic problem, but you will have about 1 week / yr that is freezing rain, and a few random days as well. Road may be closed, so you will just stay in Portland those days. My friends in Construct Managment usually work in Beaverton / Hillsboro (longer drive yet). If possible, get a job with Hensel Phelps in Vancouver, WA, then you could live in White Salmon and be income tax free. Kids can do FREE college instead of High school in WA state. (and / or Hawaii). Your kids will find their place in life wherever you live. What are their interests? (do you know yet?). Arts will be a little tough in HR, but it is a good / highly educated community. Engineering / entrepreneurship is strong Welcome to the GTA - Gorge Technology Alliance
MCEDD

interesting article about a local CM person:
Constructor Magazine - A publication of the AGC
There is and will continue to be some significant construction jobs in Columbia Gorge area (lately due to wind energy, but also will continue to be infrastructure / environmental construction).

You could consider living closer to Portland and still enjoying the gorge. Corbett, OR or Washougal, WA are good choices. School employment in Oregon is a bit shaky (not well funded).

Thanks so much for the response and advice. I saw the thread about the air quality...but coming from the land of pollen I think I will be fine.

Good to hear about the construction jobs, again, appreciate all of the info!

The boys are 7 and 5 so their interests are Firetrucks and Minecraft....hopefully that changes as they age, well except the firetruck part. =)

[doorknob60]

You're not going to want to commute all the way to Portland, at least not most parts of Portland. Troutdale or Gresham area would be much more doable, as you won't run into too much traffic there and it's about 45 minutes of fairly easy (and pretty) freeway driving to get from Hood River city limits to Troutdale. But if you're looking to commute closer into downtown or the western suburbs it's going to suck.

[Nell Plotts]

I understand that there are several large projects in the works for The Dalles - Hood River - White Salmon area that involve construction. Andersen, Hoffman and Walsh are large general contractors in Portland, follow up with the one mentioned by the earlier poster. Your problem will be that these are small communities so there won't be many long term opportunities.

[NoMoreSnowForMe]

I lived in a small town north of White Salmon, and that's where my daughter graduated from high school. I haven't been to that area for many years, but I doubt the weather has changed much.

When it's raining in Portland, it will be raining in Hood River. When it's snowing in Hood River, it may not be snowing in Portland. In other words, the weather is not better in Hood River.

The commute to Portland would be horrible on many more days than just one week. The highway from Hood River to Portland during the winter, which can last over 6 months, is often treacherous between rain, sleet, snow and wind.

As far as living in White Salmon, unless things have changed dramatically, the schools there were not considered good and I can tell you the White Salmon high school kids were often in trouble. We used to cringe if our kids were going to hang out with the White Salmon kids.

And if you live in White Salmon and commute to Portland, you'll have to deal with the White Salmon/Hood River bridge, which means a toll, and when the weather is bad, is also scary. Forget commuting on the WA side. It's two lane and much worse.

And commuting to The Dalles from Hood River will encounter the same problems.

Also, Hood River is a tourist town. So, there will be a huge influx of tourists in summer, and some in winter who may want to ski. Then, it's pretty dead. Unless things have changed dramatically, it's also a small town as far as the local population. I don't know about the schools. My daughter didn't hang out with any Hood River kids, so I don't know. I don't recall hearing anything negative or positive - just nothing at all.

Honestly, I think your family should move closer to Portland. Good luck to you.

[doubler27]

Originally Posted by Nell Plotts

I understand that there are several large projects in the works for The Dalles - Hood River - White Salmon area that involve construction. Andersen, Hoffman and Walsh are large general contractors in Portland, follow up with the one mentioned by the earlier poster. Your problem will be that these are small communities so there won't be many long term opportunities.

Thats part of why I may have to look to the Portland area for work...the long term opportunities...

A part of me also wants to look into other opportunites, like home building/ smaller construction type companies. I dunno, have to really think about it.

[StealthRabbit]

lots of very talented 'cottage' home builders in HR / WS.

The independent builders like to live there so they can windsurf / ski at will, and work when the weather is not correct for their sport.