Wanted to move to Portland but ended up in Omaha (sales, new home)

[Mark836]

Dear Northwest:

Thanks for all of the advice and opinions. Unfortunately, I won't be joining you as citizen of Portland. I took an offer in Omaha (Bellevue) and will be doing the "number crunching" in the Midwest.

There are several challenges living in Portland such as traffic, housing, weather, and far left ideology (I challenged this once by saying we should VOLUNTEER to help the homeless rather than taking/stealing money from others. The response was very nasty and somewhat comical.) But the biggest factor for not moving to the area was cost of living.

For everyone who is considering the Northwest, I suggest to search for some sites such as "Cost of living Comparison" that will give you statistical information on just how expensive living in Portland can be.

Sincerely, best wishes to everyone, even to my 'socialist' friends. Be safe and hug a Douglas-fir for me.

Mark

[noexcuseforignorance]

The cost of housing is low in Nebraska for a reason. People with options don't want to live there. The cost of living in the Northwest is high because its a nice place to live.

I'm conservative, live in Seattle and don't get in arguments. Of course, I have actual social skills. The people who find this a problem generally don't.

Nice to see you've adopted the NW passive-aggressiveness though. I've done business with people in Nebraska and they lied straight to my face. Best of luck with them.

[Nell Plotts]

I think people should live where they are happiest.

[classicanne]

I agree with Nell. There are challenges with living anywhere; since we have to pay to take up space on this planet, it might as well be where we most enjoy living. Best wishes to those who feel they have found their "spot."

[Minervah]

Good for the OP for doing his homework and researching what would work best for him. It's a good lesson for anyone wanting to move anywhere to look into the more nitty-gritty aspects of a potential place to relocate rather than basing a decision on something that just looks good.

[EnricoV]

There are challenges to living anywhere. Nowhere is perfect. It's deciding which challenges you're more willing or able to put up with that is the real point. Kind of like it is with marriage.

[IndigoIris]

Enjoy your new home! Spring in Omaha is beautiful. If you get a hankering for a salmon dinner with a good Oregon wine, check out the Twisted Cork Bistro.

[hamellr]

Originally Posted by noexcuseforignorance

The cost of housing is low in Nebraska for a reason. People with options don't want to live there. The cost of living in the Northwest is high because its a nice place to live.

Seriously. I spent two weeks in Omaha while waiting for the paper work to clear to get a job with my father in laws company. (he was a VP in a Fortune 500 headquartered there.)

At the end of two weeks I turned down the job, and told his daughter that I was moving back to Oregon. She could come or stay. Flew out alone three hours later and never looked back.

[UrbanAdventurer]

Hey pal, only billionaires and corporations get to skip out on taxes in this country kay? and you can thank your "I fell to the hard right and hit my head on a supply-side economics book" Reagan worshiping buddies for that utter bit of nonsense.

Last I checked you have to pay Federal income taxes no matter what state you live in, and most states have a state income tax and sales taxes and property taxes as well, so the government is "stealing" your tax money and being "socialist" more or less wherever you live. Thanks for the laugh though, and be sure to vote GOP next year--I'm hear they've got some big ideas that will surely fix everything.

[SyraBrian]

According to the tax foundation, in local and state taxes, both Oregon and Nebraska collect 9.8% of state residents per-capita income. Also, the mayor of Omaha just survived a recall election after raising property taxes.

Mark836 will probably spend all his tax savings on one order of Omaha Steaks.

And while Omaha doesn't have a homeless problem, its African-American community is one of the poorest in the nation.

Omaha metro is growing at a rate that's roughly 30% above the national average. If that trend continues. the cost of living will probably inch up closer to that of Portland.