Job opportunity near Portland...should I take it? (Eugene, Salem: for sale, apartment) - Oregon (OR) - City-Data Forum

BamaFamilyman · 02-09-2011, 09:29 AM

I am a family man with a wife and children currently living in Tusaloosa, Alabama. Things have been extremely slow here for the last few years and it has been difficult to impossible to make ends meet on the most basic of necessities. I am currently in negotiations with a company in the Portland/Vancouver area on a possible job opportunity. I am in a very specialized trade and am deemed overqualified by employers in my area because there is currently low demand for my trade because of the economy and my scope of work is considered more of a luxery than a necessity. Anyway this would be a great opportunity for my family, but I would like some idea of the difference in cost of living, schools, safety, conjestion etc between where I am now and there. I also am trying to decide what sort of salary I should require to live a comfortable middle to upper middle class lifestyle in the area. I've done research and Portland seems like a pleasent place and the pictures I've seen are beautiful. Being from Alabama I prefer more rural living than metropolitian. To give you an idea of what I mean ( if any of you are familiar with the southeast), to me Birmingham, AL is a managable inconvience while Atlanta, Ga is a major headache. I don't like sitting in traffic and needing two hours to run to a store. Any Ideas of a safe, clean, afforable area with decent school zones that I should check into? Like I said I prefer rural over urban but urban wouldn't be out of the question considering how frustraiting and managable it is. I prefer an house over an apartment but likewise an apartment wouldn't be out of the question. I need a minimum of four bedrooms on a middle class budget and imagine I would want to rent until I got familiar with the area. Also If I moved, my parents would probably follow to be close to their grandchildren. My mother is a registered nurse and my dad is a truck driver/heavy equipment operator. How difficult is it to find work in those trades? Thanks for reading and I would appreciate any help!

Nell Plotts · 02-09-2011, 11:24 AM

Not knowing how you define affordable or where the potential employer is located (geographically) it is tough to give specific advise.

Think of Portland's City Hall as the hub of a wheel. The further out you go, generally, the less expensive the housing.

Give us a hint, how about the zip code of your potential place of employment?

RNs can find employment (remember they need to transfer their licence). I have no idea about the availability of work for truck drivers.

bledsoe3 · 02-09-2011, 12:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BamaFamilyman

Things have been extremely slow here for the last few years and it has been difficult to impossible to make ends meet on the most basic of necessities.

If it will allow you to provide for you family, it can't be bad.

Plus you can become a University of Oregon Ducks fan.

Nell Plotts · 02-09-2011, 12:46 PM

I did a quick search of homes for sale west of the city center. There were lots of 4+ bedrooms lower than $250 offered.

philwithbeard · 02-09-2011, 02:00 PM

'Bama Family Man:

Just so you know (you may have already discovered this yourself):
1- Portland City, is intensely Liberal. By that I mean The City of Portland, and Multnomah County in recent years has voted very overwhelmingly for the Democratic Party (80%+ a few times last decade) and the Democratic Party voters in the I-5 corridor (Portland, Salem, Eugene) to a large part dominate the politics of Oregon. It is true that western half of the state is part of the Left Coast Democratic Firewall.

2 - The winters are gray overcast for the most part. Mild temperatures and a lot of cold rain from Halloween until Memorial Day. From What I remember of my 3 years in Ft. Benning, GA the late winter and early spring was sunny and bright. Not so here; the sun don't really come out until after July 5th. Summers (July, August, September) are clear bright sun, with a 30 degree swing of temp from early morning to mid afternoon. Usually summer afternoon humidity is around 35%, and you will never hear Hot, Humid, Hazy in the PNW. If my memory serves me correctly, I remember Columbus GA having 90 degrees and 90% humidity in August, well it just seemed like the whole month to me.

3- Portland has strict urban growth limits which are enforced. Commuting to the City of Portland from a rural area long distance is discouraged by public policy. Car parking in the City can be expensive and in short supply at times.

4- The State of Washington has no state income tax, Oregon has no sales tax. Vancouver WA doesn't have an urban growth boundary as far as I know. However, the commute across the Columbia River into Portland is your basic commuting nightmare. (From what you posted, I suspect living and working in Vancouver would suit you best. Lots of rural places to commute from.)

5- Culturally speaking the City of Portland is more Left Coast Urban (follows City of San Francisco, and cultural parts of LA.)

6- This ain't Bible Belt.

In short, Northwest Oregon is a great place to live, provided you are prepared for the cultural shock discomfort.

In re-reading my post, I apologize if I sound negative and discouraging; that wasn't my intension. I wanted to be forth right in expressing that the Portland area is unique.

Nell Plotts · 02-09-2011, 02:26 PM

If the job is in Vancouver live in Washington. If the job is in Oregon live in Oregon. The commute across the Columbia River is a nightmare and if you are working in Oregon you will still be required to pay Oregon income tax.

EnricoV · 02-09-2011, 03:11 PM

I agree. If the job's in Vancouver - definitely live there. And if it's in Oregon, live there.

Knowing approximately where the job is would help. On the Washington side (not my part of town), the Battle Ground area seems like a nice rural choice. Portland side is tougher. I tend to think that Clackamas County or Columbia County are the closest "rural" areas. Schools might not all be the top-rated, but I think they'd all qualify as "decent."

Nell Plotts · 02-09-2011, 03:15 PM

There is also Scapoose, on the edge of Multnomah County. St. Helens is in Columbia County and would be on my list as well. Both on Hgy 30.

BamaFamilyman · 02-09-2011, 05:28 PM

I'm sorry for not being specific with my job location....My trade is a form of construction so I would be working on ever changing job sites. I don't have the office zip code in front of me , but I know its a Vancouver, WA address. As for knowing what I think is expensive or affordable...I guess I don't know that either..lol. I know what what a middle to upper middle class lifestyle cost here and I know what a middle to upper middle class home should cost me here, but I don't know what would be expensive there because I'm not sure what the salary/cost of living ratio is there. I will continue my research and my negotiations and get a better feel for what type of salary I should expect/accept. I'm basically talking about renting right now....in Alabama I would expect to pay $800 to $1500 a month for a middle class dwelling...Thank you all for your efforts and responding..I appreciate it greatly.

BamaFamilyman · 02-09-2011, 05:41 PM

zip code is 98663. Thanks everyone

I've read in other peoples threads as well as above people warning people about Oregon being very liberal. Is it just because I'm from alabama and so I must be extremely conservative or is it liberal to the point of causing a problem? I have morals but I don't consider myself a liberal or extremely conservative and other peoples views don't bother me whether I agree with them or not..unless of course its forced on me in a way that affects my personal life...we all have views. Could someone elaborate on this for me? Thanks again.