26 yr old male thinking about moving to OR (Portland, Eugene: sales, real estate) - Oregon - City-Data Forum

uvbears · 11-06-2008, 10:12 AM

Hi , I am very new to this board but I am glad i stumbled upon it. Lots of good info and friendly people! Like i said, I am 26 yr old male living in Chicago. I am looking for a change in scenery and life style. things that i enjoy doing (and hope to be doing more of them ) walking my dog, golfing, hiking/camping/canoeing / snowboarding / beaching / reading / enjoy the company of neighbors.

Ideally i am looking for a place that is near the coast and has a good amount of young people. I don’t know a single soul in OR so hopefully there are some friendly areas with like minded people. Also, I would be renting initially but if things go well I would be looking to buy. I am not all too concerned about job situation because I don’t know what i want to do. I would try most anything. I do have a college education and work experience in sales.

Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated. Oh, feel free to ask me anything if you want to help me out and need more info about what I am looking for etc.

thx so much

uvbears · 11-06-2008, 10:27 AM

that was my first post, as you can see i had some issues..sorry

Silverfall · 11-06-2008, 10:45 AM

UV,
I'm not sure the coast is where you want to be. First of all it's very expensive and there aren't any large towns along the coast. Don't get me wrong, the coast is stunning, but I personally think that you would be better off in a larger city to start off with.

Second, you need to have a job before you move here. Good jobs are very competitive here and since you don't have anyone you can crash with, you will be paying rent and working at Starbucks for a while...

I would strongly suggest Portland or Eugene for you. They have the strongest young people component. Portland is halfway between the coast and Mt. Hood. I'm not sure what "beaching" means to you, but while we have beaches we call it the coast. It is not like CA where people are walking around in bikinis. The coast is typically cool.

I think Portland would be the best because you can hike in the Multmonah falls area as well as great hiking around Mt. Hood (hike to Paradise is pretty). You can snowboard on Mt. Hood. You can canoe down the Sandy River. Then you can head to the coast. Portland is centrally located to all of those. Dogs are allowed on most hiking trails out here and if they aren't they are marked as such so just double check.

So...if you plan to move before you have a job in your field just know that you will most likely need to work somewhere else why you apply for what you want. Lots of people want to live in Oregon.

Silverfall · 11-06-2008, 10:47 AM

Oops. I forgot to mention that there are several outdoor clubs in the Portland area as well. It would be a great way to get plugged into people.

uvbears · 11-06-2008, 10:57 AM

Silver, thx. I guess i would not have to be on the coast, but i def want to be able to get the sea often and without too much of a hassel( ie long drive). how long of a drive is it from portland or eugene to the sea?
Portland sounds nice, but keep in mind that I am trying to get out of the city. What are the suburbs west of portland and eugene like?

i dont really have a problem renting while looking for a job. i have been working in chicago and have been pretty good about saving $ so i could live off of savings untill i find a job. I think that I wouldnt have too big of a problem getting a decent job. I am good at sales, and usually can charm most people (or at least i like to think so!)

by beaching, i meant just having the ocean near by, as a part of a regular everyday(or almost every day) life.

so, in short. What are the suburbs surrounding portland and eugne like? if a goal of mine is to get out of a big city would portland and eugene still be good recomndations?

thx!

Silverfall · 11-06-2008, 01:15 PM

I went to school at Northwestern in Evanston and you need to know that our "big city" of Portland doesn't feel anything like Chicago.

I think you would have a hard time finding a job in sales on the coast. Mind you the biggest city on the coast is around 15,000 people which is Coos Bay. They are SMALL towns out there.

The coast is about 60-120 minutes from Portland depending on traffic and where in Portland you are located.

How small are you willing to go?

uvbears · 11-06-2008, 01:22 PM

ha, yes i noticed that you are from IL in another thread. 15k would probally be as small as i would want to go.
really though I am not too concerned about a job. I feel like i will be able to land soemthing that will work, at least for awhile.

how does portland compare to eugene? also, what about bend oregon? i know bend is a ways from the ocean but from my research seems to be a pretty bustling spot.

where in OR do you live? how long have you been there? in terms of the weather is it really much more rainy and gray then chicago in the winter?

thanks for your help

uvbears · 11-06-2008, 02:57 PM

what about Medford? seems to be a bit farther south, so maybe less rain and a little warmer?

peggykernan · 11-06-2008, 03:18 PM

Hi there,

I am a real estate broker in Oregon. I specialize in acreage/horse properties but I read your post. I think a college town might be great for you. Corvallis (Oregon State Beavers) might be a great location and is only a short distance to visit the coast. The Willamette Valley is the perfect spot. If you like to ski or snowboard, it is a short distance but the coast is only an hour away also. If you are into the outdoors, Oregon is perfect.

Silverfall · 11-06-2008, 05:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by uvbears

ha, yes i noticed that you are from IL in another thread. 15k would probally be as small as i would want to go.
really though I am not too concerned about a job. I feel like i will be able to land soemthing that will work, at least for awhile.

how does portland compare to eugene? also, what about bend oregon? i know bend is a ways from the ocean but from my research seems to be a pretty bustling spot.

where in OR do you live? how long have you been there? in terms of the weather is it really much more rainy and gray then chicago in the winter?

thanks for your help

If you are willing to do 15,000 then Coos Bay would be the only town on the coast. It is a typical fishing/industrial coastal town from my perspective.

Bend is a great town, lots of outdoor things to do. The Deschutes, Metolius, and McKenzie (between Bend and Eugene) rivers have great whitewater rafting on them. It's just far from the coast.

I lived in Portland for 10 years and now Salem for 9. I haven't lived in Eugene so I can't comment on living there.

As for weather we are grayer than Chicago. So today it spit rain this morning, we had sun breaks for a bit, and then it spit rain again at 3:30ish. That is a pretty typical winter day here. Winters tend to be around 40 degrees since we have the cloud cover to trap the heat. In Chicago when it rains, it RAINS. I remember having to pull over to the side of the road to wait for storms to pass.

It's not biting cold here, nor do we get the regular fierce winds. We do get wind storms usually once a year or so though. There is no scraping cars, shoveling driveways for the most part. We're too warm for that.

In Illinois you get those glorious sunny days in the winter where your nose freezes off. We don't get those here. Sun in small doses during winter.

If you really want out of the city, then I would consider Sandy, OR, or maybe Forest Grove. They would keep you close to activities but not keep you in the city. Oregon is VERY DIFFERENT from Chicago.

I love Portland. It does not have as many cultural things going on as Chicago, but when your goal is hiking, then you may not really care.