Moving from Austin to Portland this summer (Gresham, Hillsboro: rental, how much)

[heatherinaustin]

I need someone (or two or three) who is willing to answer some questions for me

I am moving my family (3 kids) from Austin to Portland this summer. We visited in March and fell in love with the city, which is alot like Austin but 1000x better. We are just up and relocating. No job, no house, hardly a plan. I'm trying to organize this move in the next two months.

First - I will need to rent a house. I like SE Portland. I am realistic that my favorite neighborhood, Laurelhurst, is probably out of my realm. We did like the Mt. Tabor area. How hard is it to find decent affordable housing in this area? Should I go with a property management company to find a place?

How are the schools, really?? I have read some horror stories but Texas education is ranked 44th in the nation so anything is almost better than it is here.

What are utility costs like there? Electric, gas, water, etc? I'm trying to come up with a realistic budget so I know how much $$$ I need to make when looking for a job.

Jobs - are employment agencies worth looking into? I'm a paralegal/admin asst by trade.

I'd appreciate any advice anyone can give AND/OR if anyone will be my buddy and let me shoot questions to you when I think of them.

Thanks!!!

[Nell Plotts]

Without a job most landlords will want to see significant financial resources. Stay in Austin until the employment situation improves. Right now it is not a question of how much a job pays as whether or not you can land ANY job with your skill set.

[Minervah]

The paralegal field is oversaturated. Newly graduated attorneys often take paralegal positions because there is a glut of attorneys on the market as well. The neighborhoods you mention are expensive. A house rental, if you can find one, will cost a great deal. All of Portland is expensive. You will need a substantial amount of money to live on while you are unemployed. Plan for six months to a year. The Cost of Living is high and it will be difficult to find a landlord who will rent to you without a job or proof of ability to pay your rent.

Falling in love with a place is not enough. You need to have a good plan in place. Sorry to sound so negative but there are so many who move here without means and they get stuck in a bad place. Please do not give up your present job. Make a plan. Save your money. Move when you are able to support yourself while looking for work after you move. Better if you can secure a job before you move but that is very difficult.

Take a look at the numerous other threads about relocation to Portland. That will give you a feel for what you are up against.

[Yankeemama]

You can rent a house in a neighborhood near Laurelhurst and send your kids to Laurelhurst, which is a good school. The Beverly Cleary School is also very good. Are any of your kids needing pre-k, which can get pricey? I don't want to assume anything about your financial status but it will be important to have savings if you won't be moving with a job. I don't know if you have checked out Tacoma, WA but it's only half an hour away from Seattle and the job market in Seattle area is much better than in Portland. The cost of living is less in Tacoma and it has a significant artist community. You can check out the schools on line like Great Schools.com. I don't want to sound negative but PDX is highly competitive for jobs. The pay is less than other West Coast cities and networking is very important. P.M. me if you like. I wish you luck in this moving process.

[Daisy32673]

Originally Posted by heatherinaustin

I need someone (or two or three) who is willing to answer some questions for me

I am moving my family (3 kids) from Austin to Portland this summer. We visited in March and fell in love with the city, which is alot like Austin but 1000x better. We are just up and relocating. No job, no house, hardly a plan. I'm trying to organize this move in the next two months.

First - I will need to rent a house. I like SE Portland. I am realistic that my favorite neighborhood, Laurelhurst, is probably out of my realm. We did like the Mt. Tabor area. How hard is it to find decent affordable housing in this area? Should I go with a property management company to find a place?

How are the schools, really?? I have read some horror stories but Texas education is ranked 44th in the nation so anything is almost better than it is here.

What are utility costs like there? Electric, gas, water, etc? I'm trying to come up with a realistic budget so I know how much $$$ I need to make when looking for a job.

Jobs - are employment agencies worth looking into? I'm a paralegal/admin asst by trade.

I'd appreciate any advice anyone can give AND/OR if anyone will be my buddy and let me shoot questions to you when I think of them.

Thanks!!!

Now is not the time to "fall in love" woth a place and just move there. Especially with 3 kids and no job set up. How much do you have saved for your family to live on while you search for a job? The job market in Portland is pretty bad right now and oversaturated with lots of unemployed people competing for the same jobs. What is your rental budget? Will you be on one income? These are the things you need to consider before you even think about what utilities will be because they are the least of your worries.

[heatherinaustin]

Thanks for all the responses. I guess I should have worded my initial post better. I have no intention of uprooting my family and moving without a job and house lined up. What I meant to say was I fell in love with the city and decided to relocate for a better life, not because I had to relocate for a job etc.

I have started my job search. What I was needing to answers to was questions re: cost of living so I can prepare my budget, figure out what neighborhood I could afford to live in, where the good schools are, etc.

We have a two income family. My husband plans to stay in Austin at his job until I secure a job up there and then he will look for employment as well. He is in the manufacturing field - medical parts.

I understand it's expensive to live in Portland. We live in Austin. The Cost of Living is ridiculous here so seeing rents of $1500 is not a sticker shock to me. Our electric bills are like $300 a month in the "winter" (we have no winter here). Our fuel is $4/gal. We pay $4 for a gallon of milk.

What I really need advice about is things like should I contact a property mgmt company to help me find housing? Are recruiters/placement agencies worth my time? Is the education as bad as I read about?

[Nell Plotts]

That paints a different picture entirely. You have no idea how many people inquire about moving here expecting to live by magic.

There are many neighborhoods that would meet your needs, lets first look at potential employment locations. Jobs for your skill set could be in a variety of locations so set that aside for the moment. I recommend you look around for potential employers of your husband. In the back of my pea sized brain I recall a couple firms associated with Oregon Health Sciences University, likely located to the west of the Willamette River. Research that then look for housing reasonably convenient to those locations. For example, a bargain in housing in Gresham (east of Portland) will be expensive if you commute to a job in Hillsboro (west of Portland). Housing in the sort-of center could be more expensive but cheaper overall.

The schools are not bad. There are a couple, as there are in any urban area, that have challenges but you can find test score results on the web. There should be a 'sticky' post that links to that. Personally I would start there to focus on neighborhoods you want to live in.

Like anywhere you can spend as much as you like to live here. Very popular neighborhoods have more expensive rents and if you have pets a landlord will charge more. If you insist your kids wear sweaters in the house on cool days instead of dialing up the thermostat to 72 you can save a lot of money on heat. Air conditioning isn't necessary although it is nice to have for the maybe 10 days a year we have hot weather - portable fans are adequate, or go to the beach. If you pick your home carefully you can mitigate utility costs. Look for a house with deciduous trees to the south and west (shade in the summer but not in the winter), look for water wise landscaping (water bills can really add up), don't rent a home with baseboard heating, find a house that has been weatherized.

If you are job hunting and have three children you need to think about child care.. that can get expensive! If you have a 15 yo who can referee the tribe (don't laugh, that was my role as a kid) in your absence your costs will be lower, but if they are under 6 ... ouch!

I can't really give you a budget, there are tools on the web where you can compare areas. Craigslist and property management websites post rents but frankly the jewels are found with a 'For Rent' sign on the lawn. I know that doesn't help when you live in Texas but its the reality.

[Daisy32673]

Schools for the most part are good. The job search will be your only challenge. I wuld start looking at temp agencies if you just need to start making $$ but even they are overwhelmed with applicants right now.
What sort of home are you looking to rent? A decent house in a nicer neighborhood for a family of five could easily run you $1500-$2000. If you're willing to sacrifice size and neighborhood you may get something cheaper.
For utilities, our family of 3 paid about $200 (give or take $50 depending on season for heat/AC) Gas is anywhere from $3.25 - $3.50 depending on the area.
As was said before, get a job lined up. My husband looked for over a year before he found a job so its not a joke when we say the market is bad

[heatherinaustin]

Nell,

Thank you! When I made my initial post I had stars in my eyes and wasn't thinking but trust me, I'm a practical person. It was 95 degrees here yesterday so my excitement in moving to Portland took over and I got a little overzealous in my posting.

Thanks for the advice. I really loved SE Portland and will be focusing our search there. My daughter is graduating this year and will be attending PCC so I do have a "herder" for the 8 and 5 year old! Like I said, Texas education is, pardon my language...crap, so education is important. I know this is silly but I got absolutely giddy to see that schools in Portland look like schools should - not like concrete prison designs that we have here. Seriously, the same people who design the jails design our schools.

I'm looking forward to the beautiful green and cooler temps in PDX. Everyone was so friendly when we visited and I'm happy it extends to the boards/blogs

[heatherinaustin]

Daisy,

Thanks for the advice. We are looking for at least a 3 bedroom home, 4 if we find it but not a deal breaker. 2 baths would be helpful since 3 or the 5 members of our family are boys/men! I prefer one story, small yard, generally small house. We are pretty much selling everything we have here in Texas because we WANT to downsize.

We really liked SE Portland. My pipe dream is Laurelhurst but I am realistic. I loved Mt Tabor, Sunnyside, Woodstock, Reed College area, etc. I tried to learn the neighborhoods the best I could so I may be leaving some out. We ventured around SE 39th/Cesar Chavez (funny, we have a Cesar Chavez here too) and Holgate area. We liked it alot. Basically, I want something safe and family friendly. We are down to earth everyday people just looking for better quality of life. My daughter will be attending PCC. My youngest son will start Kindergarten and my middle son will be in 3rd grade. I want a nice place for them to bike, go to the park, play with other kids, etc.