Californians who've relocated to Oregon - weigh in (Portland, Eugene: high crime, mortgage)

[Imperial1904]

I agree with most of the posters that the air is much cleaner, traffic is minimal and crime is very low and is more inexpensive to live in Oregon than in Southern California.

On the other hand, it seems Oregonians are trying to keep up with Californians; driving, lifestyle, attitude. Yes, the majority of Oregonians are friendly, but the Californians I've met up here are much nicer than the locals in my opinion.

As far as financial situation goes, word of advice, make sure you have a job here before you move. If you have a decent paying job, you can probably afford some of the new homes. If you end up with a tight budget, you might end up living in a home that is pretty run down. I don't think Oregon has any building codes like California, if they do they must not enforce them.

Much slower pace in Oregon. It was a culture shock when I first moved here.

[freedom]

Oregon has strict building codes, they just didn't really kick in until the late seventies and early eighties. So you may want to avoid the older homes.
We have new codes every six months to keep up with seismic zones, wildland fire, and erosion control (due to the hillsides being developed).

[snuggarelli]

Originally Posted by Imperial1904

As far as financial situation goes, word of advice, make sure you have a job here before you move. If you have a decent paying job, you can probably afford some of the new homes. If you end up with a tight budget, you might end up living in a home that is pretty run down. I don't think Oregon has any building codes like California, if they do they must not enforce them.

Thanks for the input. My husband was definitely going to look for a job prior to moving up there. We figure we have little over a year since we are hoping to move summer 08.

[snuggarelli]

Originally Posted by freedom

Oregon has strict building codes, they just didn't really kick in until the late seventies and early eighties. So you may want to avoid the older homes.
We have new codes every six months to keep up with seismic zones, wildland fire, and erosion control (due to the hillsides being developed).

Wow - never knew about that. We actually were looking at a historic home, but if they aren't built as well, then we might just go new then. I called one of the home builders to inquire about if they are going to still be building that particular subdivision in 08. Looks like most of these builders have just 20 homes per subdivision, so most likely not.

[snuggarelli]

Originally Posted by PNW-type-gal

For computer parts, there are the big chains (Fry's, Best Buy) but there are specialty "build your own" shops all over, too, especially out in the Beaverton area, home of the "Silicon Forest" and the bulk of the tech industry. As long as you're not talking about building supercomputers, there's not really anything computer-related you can't find here - you just might have to drive across town for it.

Didn't know that Beaverton was called that. Yep my husband loves Fry's, but we actually haven't gone there in like 5-6 years. So, although it'd be nice to have around, it's not a must-have (esp. with online).

So, it sounds like you are a Californian who regretted moving to Oregon?

[gidgedvm]

We moved from L.A. 7 months ago. Until now, I can't say that I've made the right move. I miss my family, for one. I took a big pay cut(almost 30,000) and yes, it's somewhat cheaper here, but I haven't figured out if it evens out when you compare everything. My husband is also earning a lot less. We are managing with what we're earning but I miss being able to buy something without worrying so much whether I'd have enough left in my account, not that I'm a shopaholic or anything like that.

I haven't recovered from the expenses we incurred when we moved, so I'm still hurting, in that aspect. I don't know how much, if I could afford it, a house I could buy. I keep thinking that when I was in L.A. since I was earning more, I'd be able to afford a nicer home. I want to look into buying a house but at this time, I'm not even sure if I'd want to stay here permanently or not.

The people here are nice but so far, we haven't really made any friends. I do enjoy the scenery when I drive, and definitely, the commute is so much more relaxed than the one in L.A.! I was kinda dreading winter, but it wasn't really that bad after all. I'm not an outdoor person anyway, so that was fine. Sometimes when it rains I miss the sun, but coming from Asia where we get typhoons, I'm able to live with it (we're in Southern Oregon, so it's not as bad as Northern Oregon). It's so much greener here, and definitely more relaxed and peaceful.

My husband is into fishing, hiking, and camping, so this is heaven for him. Unfortunately, the reality is, we have a family to raise- a 2 year old and one on the way, and if we can't do it here, then we might have to go somewhere else. At this point, we're kinda stuck in this situation, so right now, it's a wait and see. I am willing to give this a chance to see if it will work out for us. It's definitely a better place to raise children than L.A.-- it's one of the main reasons why we moved.

As what the others have mentioned earlier, it depends on what your reasons for moving are. There are certainly things that you may have to give up in order to get some of the things you want. It's a matter of coming to terms with that and making it work, wherever you will end up.

I hope others don't think this is whining. I do want this to work out. I was just expressing how I felt and was just putting my two cents in.0

[PNW-type-gal]

Originally Posted by snuggarelli

Didn't know that Beaverton was called that. Yep my husband loves Fry's, but we actually haven't gone there in like 5-6 years. So, although it'd be nice to have around, it's not a must-have (esp. with online).

So, it sounds like you are a Californian who regretted moving to Oregon?

Not at all - we've been here 23 years, settled in, raised a family. I love Portland, I'm just tired of winter. If I could pick Portland up and move it somewhere sunnier, I'd be extremely happy. So we're staying in Oregon, just moving over to the "dry" side of the Cascade divide.

[PNW-type-gal]

Originally Posted by snuggarelli

Wow - never knew about that. We actually were looking at a historic home, but if they aren't built as well, then we might just go new then. I called one of the home builders to inquire about if they are going to still be building that particular subdivision in 08. Looks like most of these builders have just 20 homes per subdivision, so most likely not.

Depending on the age of the house, it might still be well-built, even without building codes. It's houses built in the 60s and 70s that can get really dodgy - you find things like ceiling heat (let's see, heat rises, so let's put the heating coils... in the ceiling! This was just because electricity was cheap then), little-to-no insulation, very leaky windows. Older houses (1910s, 20s and 30s) will share some of those problems, but at least they'll also have some charm that makes them perhaps worth updating, whereas a 70s ranch style house has very little going for it.

[mrduke]

After living in SoCal for 10 years, I was ready for a change. Oregon was the perfect choice for me. Yes, it's getting expensive here and hard to find a good job that pays well, but the cost is still lower than living "Down South"
I no longer struggle to make ends meet, commute 45 minutes to work, worry about crime all the time.

[snuggarelli]

Originally Posted by gidgedvm

I haven't recovered from the expenses we incurred when we moved, so I'm still hurting, in that aspect. I

I understand the whole moving causing finances to tweak out a bit. For 6 years we moved 6 times (due to military and what not), so I understand the toll moving has. Hang in there!