Beaverton or similar (Gresham, Tigard, Forest Grove: renting, house, transfer)

[soulpatch]

Yes, much to think about.... I am not afraid of a little work to keep my family ahead of the game. I am of the mindset that whatever my earning capability is it doesn't have to be anywhere near my current level of income since I am bringing a little something to the table already.

[sunscribble]

Originally Posted by soulpatch

We have been looking at Olympia WA but the rain seems pretty daunting there.....not that anywhere in the PNW is remotely dry, which we are tired of anyway.

soulpatch, before you brush off the importance of overcast skies, take a look at this thread: Portland Weather Facts. The videos there will give you a good idea of what Portland "mist" looks like. The fact that you think the Portland climate is all that different from Olympia shows that you probably just don't understand what jjpop is trying to say.

Really, if you are going to move from California, I recommend taking a moment to consider the weather. Some people love it, some people hate it. A lot of people move here unprepared for it. Just be prepared. That's all we're saying.

Originally Posted by soulpatch

Not knowing firsthand the area I wonder if the salaries posted here are accurate and livable.

If I were you, I wouldn't go by the mean salaries posted on city-data. I would make a budget based on YOUR estimated expenses vs. your guaranteed income. Many Oregonians are extremely frugal. Pertinent questions: What will your monthly mortgage/rent payment be, including property taxes? What will you be spending on food? What about transportation, phone, utilities, and taxes? How will you pay for healthcare? Etc., etc., etc. I know several people who have lived here on less, but most of them don't have families; many of them forgo health insurance, and many of them live in shared housing situations. If your house is bought and paid for, that will obviously help out a great deal.

Others on this forum will recommend that you be prepared to not find extra work for the first year, and after a friend of mine told me that 500+ people applied for a maintenance position he was going for, I agree that the competition is tough. Look on the job sites and see what is available, but more importantly, apply to a few postings and see if you get any bites. That will give you a better idea of what you can expect to bring in for extra income.

[soulpatch]

This is all very good info and something we are researching significantly.
Weather is a real consideration....and money.
I will be bringing enough pocket money with me to cover 6 months rent easily without touching my salary.
And there is no doubt that having visited an area years ago in the winter and actually living in it are two different things altogether.This economy sucks....and the fact that as a public servant I will only continue to experience further cuts to my pay and benefits pushes my point of breakover concerning my retirement date closer and closer because at least with PERS I will get COLA's annually.
I have a LOT of family that grew up in SoCal that have migrated successfully to the PNW and they are thriving.
Time will tell.

Originally Posted by sunscribble

soulpatch, before you brush off the importance of overcast skies, take a look at this thread: Portland Weather Facts. The videos there will give you a good idea of what Portland "mist" looks like. The fact that you think the Portland climate is all that different from Olympia shows that you probably just don't understand what jjpop is trying to say.

Really, if you are going to move from California, I recommend taking a moment to consider the weather. Some people love it, some people hate it. A lot of people move here unprepared for it. Just be prepared. That's all we're saying.




If I were you, I wouldn't go by the mean salaries posted on city-data. I would make a budget based on YOUR estimated expenses vs. your guaranteed income. Many Oregonians are extremely frugal. Pertinent questions: What will your monthly mortgage/rent payment be, including property taxes? What will you be spending on food? What about transportation, phone, utilities, and taxes? How will you pay for healthcare? Etc., etc., etc. I know several people who have lived here on less, but most of them don't have families; many of them forgo health insurance, and many of them live in shared housing situations. If your house is bought and paid for, that will obviously help out a great deal.

Others on this forum will recommend that you be prepared to not find extra work for the first year, and after a friend of mine told me that 500+ people applied for a maintenance position he was going for, I agree that the competition is tough. Look on the job sites and see what is available, but more importantly, apply to a few postings and see if you get any bites. That will give you a better idea of what you can expect to bring in for extra income.

[hamellr]

Originally Posted by jjpop

I haven't looked it up, but my guess is that Beaverton has about as many cloudy/overcast days as Olympia, even though it receives less precip.

I think it's hard to say whether you could make it on $60k. For some it's a slam-dunk. For others it would feel like poverty. It depends on how frugal you are, whether you want to send your kids to private school, etc.

Based on my observations of living in Beaverton and driving to Portland, I'd say it's actually less. The hills around the Tualatin Valley shield Beaverton from a portion of the gloom in Portland. I can't tell you how often I've worn shorts in the past three months because it's clear and sunny in Beaverton, then gone into work in Portland to find that it's overcast.

[figmalt]

Originally Posted by hamellr

Based on my observations of living in Beaverton and driving to Portland, I'd say it's actually less. The hills around the Tualatin Valley shield Beaverton from a portion of the gloom in Portland. I can't tell you how often I've worn shorts in the past three months because it's clear and sunny in Beaverton, then gone into work in Portland to find that it's overcast.

I found this too going back and forth between Portland and Hillsboro. Driving east, once you get to Cedar Hills on HWY and up the Sylvan Hill area, there was often much more cloud cover than what I left in Hillsboro.

[Oh-Happy-Day]

Okay so I have a bit of info to share with you. I moved to Hillsboro OR 4 years ago from Orange County CA... I also lived in San Diego as I went to UCSD in La Jolla. To begin with, my hubby and I moved here after we started to have children. We were both working in So Cal and I wanted to be able to stay at home with my children. Portland was our choice of place to live for many reasons. It is definitly cheaper to live here than Cal... that is for sure. My husband makes a bit less than you are talking about and we bought a house in 2007 and I have not worked outside the home since we moved here. We are a family of 6 (soon to be 7) and I homeschool my children as well. It is doable on your salary. But you have to be very frugal to make it doable. We choose to live the simple life and we are very content not having to keep up with the Jones'. But that is subjective. It really depends on what you are comfortable with. But I am just wondering why you are choosing Oregon? There are a lot of other places to live that your money will stretch further. Oh and also, I too came here with the notion that it rains all the time. Winter time is cold and rainy... but not as bad as you think. I actually enjoy the cooler climate and love the outdoors too and Portland seems to fit the bill. Yes it does get grey... but most of the time that is all it is.... not drenching rain. The one thing I thing is a negative about Oregon is the very high income tax.... but I am not sure how that will apply to you if you are already retired??? But if that is a concern just be aware that Oregon has one of the highest income tax in the country.

[Nell Plotts]

Originally Posted by figmalt

I found this too going back and forth between Portland and Hillsboro. Driving east, once you get to Cedar Hills on HWY and up the Sylvan Hill area, there was often much more cloud cover than what I left in Hillsboro.

The reason for that is that the the wind almost always blows west to east. When it is pushed up by mountains (be they the Coast Range or the Cascade Range) clouds form and rain falls. If you live on the eastern slope of the hills/mountains you experience a 'rain shadow' and have less precip and fewer clouds.

[hose111]

Originally Posted by soulpatch

Cloud cover and almost 15" of rain are two different things...
We know plenty of folks who have moved there from the Ventura area who love it.
Yeah, the income issue...even if I worked part time the addition to my salary would be all lifestyle. We like to grow a lot of our food, eat mostly organic, love to cook at home and even have our own chickens...we ain't gonna relocate them, though!
As far as private schools? Not an issue for us and we do a combination of independent learning and homeschooling.
My wife is a CA certificated teacher with her Masters in cross-cultural education and Spanish and she has been schooling our 7 year old twins since the day they have been born.
I have to explore opportunities for homeschoolers there but in CA, specifically San Diego, they are numerous through the public school system, museums, etc.
Heck, all I gotta say is it will beat being a firefighter after over 2 decades....a psyche can only handle so much before it's cracked a bit....I got the bit part down....just gotta keep it in one piece rather than two.

wow, really...I always had ideas of wanting to go down to that area, but nice to see the folks come up to portland. Would like to hear from them more.

[lauragizzi]

My husband got transferred to Beaverton. I am not sure what area to look for a house in. I would like it to be around a 30 minute commute. Would like an area that is kinda out of the city, and with a more woodsy feel.

Looked at Gresham...and Sandy...is there anything wrong with that area? Property seems to be pretty reasonable. We are also considering Vancouver because its cheaper income tax there. I love grey weather and rain. So that is not an issue. I would just like a more country feel and an area where neighbors are not right on top of you.

[hamellr]

Originally Posted by lauragizzi

My husband got transferred to Beaverton. I am not sure what area to look for a house in. I would like it to be around a 30 minute commute. Would like an area that is kinda out of the city, and with a more woodsy feel.

Looked at Gresham...and Sandy...is there anything wrong with that area? Property seems to be pretty reasonable. We are also considering Vancouver because its cheaper income tax there. I love grey weather and rain. So that is not an issue. I would just like a more country feel and an area where neighbors are not right on top of you.

Vancouver, Gresham and Sandy are going to be extremely long commutes to Beaverton. At least an hour, easily 90 minutes or two hours on a bad day.

I'm not sure what you really mean by "woodsy feel" though. If you want to live in the "woods", and be 30 minutes from Beaverton, it's possible but expect to be buying either a large chunk of land, or an extremely large house. You're going to want to look in unincorporated Washington County areas such as Aloha, Bethany, along Cornelius Pass, maybe in the area between Tigard/Beaverton/Sherwood.

It's possible to find areas with thicker trees in established neighborhoods and near parks/wetlands. Again expect to pay a premium for such areas, an extra $20k to $50k is not unheard of most of these neighborhoods have long term residences who don't necessarily need to move.

From a tax standpoint, living in Vancouver is (usually) going to be a wash as you still have to pay some taxes to the State of Oregon when working here.

Some will say Gresham is gang and crime infested. This is not true compared to any other major city in the US and even then limited to certain core areas close to mass transit.