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Old 03-20-2012, 10:09 PM
 
Location: Nutmeg State
1,176 posts, read 2,552,925 times
Reputation: 639

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Other posters are correct, in my experience Portland's wages/salaries are usually pretty depressed compared to the rest of the country (esp. the West coast).

I don't think the job market is quite as doom and gloom out here as sometimes it is made out to be (esp. on this site). Jobs are tight, but if you have some personal skills and reliability you should already have a leg up on many in this city. My wife was able to land two job offers within 3 weeks of moving here (granted they were pretty low paying, but jobs none the less). It helped that she wasn't too choosy.
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Old 03-21-2012, 04:06 PM
 
Location: Des Moines, IA
219 posts, read 622,243 times
Reputation: 80
Squidlo, you're right of course. I agree with you 100%. But I also have to look at it realistically... I don't have/make much money. If I move it'll be a struggle for at least 6 months to a year. I want to make sure I can get on my feet for that time being and that I'll be all right... I don't want to move somewhere and not be able to get a decent job. :-( I don't want to have to go crawling back to Iowa! lol. But if I want it bad enough, I'll find a way to make it work.

Dare I ask if Seattle would be a good place to move? Rent & economy wise for someone like me? I realize that's getting off topic so it's okay if no one feels like answering that one...

Minervah-- thank you, I appreciate it. That does give me a little hope. :-)
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Old 03-21-2012, 04:15 PM
 
Location: Rockaway Beach, Oregon
381 posts, read 1,012,868 times
Reputation: 202
Seattle is evil when it comes to cost-of-living. Portland and Des Moines are about even with each other for cost of most things (except real estate - PDX is hellishly pricier!) I'm only going off of family chatter and such when it comes to Iowa, though.
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Old 03-21-2012, 04:33 PM
 
Location: Des Moines, IA
219 posts, read 622,243 times
Reputation: 80
Portland seems to be pricier than Des Moines but not by a whole lot. Except for housing where yes Portland is much more expensive... unfortunately for me. But hey you get what you pay for. I just wonder why Portland pays such low wages... does it break even somewhere?
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Old 03-21-2012, 09:53 PM
 
Location: Rockaway Beach, Oregon
381 posts, read 1,012,868 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TygrrEyzz View Post
Portland seems to be pricier than Des Moines but not by a whole lot. Except for housing where yes Portland is much more expensive... unfortunately for me. But hey you get what you pay for. I just wonder why Portland pays such low wages... does it break even somewhere?
It does, but you usually have to be in an industry that's in demand.

One thing to consider... if you're doing the CNA/LPN/RN route, you can't go wrong working at the VA Hospital... the wages are usually above average (especially at the CNA/LPN levels), and it's still somewhat in demand.

Now working CNA for a civilian hospital will be a bit less, but not by too much. Working in a retirement home OTOH is bound to be extremely low-wage.

My ex-wife was (well, likely still is) a nurse... I noticed that working at the non-licensed end of it paid very little, but once you got the exam passed and made RN, you got paid rather decently. If you score a BSN, the pay starts going way up. I think you get the idea from there...
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Old 03-22-2012, 05:30 AM
 
Location: Houston
1,257 posts, read 2,642,383 times
Reputation: 1236
Quote:
Originally Posted by TygrrEyzz View Post
Squidlo, you're right of course. I agree with you 100%. But I also have to look at it realistically... I don't have/make much money. If I move it'll be a struggle for at least 6 months to a year. I want to make sure I can get on my feet for that time being and that I'll be all right... I don't want to move somewhere and not be able to get a decent job. :-( I don't want to have to go crawling back to Iowa! lol. But if I want it bad enough, I'll find a way to make it work.

Dare I ask if Seattle would be a good place to move? Rent & economy wise for someone like me? I realize that's getting off topic so it's okay if no one feels like answering that one...

Minervah-- thank you, I appreciate it. That does give me a little hope. :-)
The gist of what I was saying is that you can make it in Portland. You may struggle for awhile (years possibly). I was never hungry (I did eat a lot of ramen) and never out of work when I was younger and living there. Through the worst of times I had a place to sleep and a job (room mates). If you want something bad enough you can make it work. I had the good fortune to be born in Portland that made me familiar with the landscape.

I am out of state currently "exploring options" in my career path. For me it was the need for more opportunity that moved me out of Oregon, more than anything else.
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Old 03-22-2012, 11:33 AM
 
Location: Syracuse, New York
3,121 posts, read 3,080,263 times
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Even as the recession hit Portland hard, the area still ranked as one of the top metros that 25-34 year olds moved to. If that's going to happen, there's little incentive for employers to jack up wages.
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Old 03-22-2012, 01:35 PM
 
Location: Rockaway Beach, Oregon
381 posts, read 1,012,868 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SyraBrian View Post
Even as the recession hit Portland hard, the area still ranked as one of the top metros that 25-34 year olds moved to. If that's going to happen, there's little incentive for employers to jack up wages.
Depends on the skill being sought.

For instance, in my career (IT Systems Administration/Engineering), I still get headhunters bothering me, nine months after I switched jobs and pulled all my bits off from Monster. Last year, I spent 3 hours on the site constructing their format of my resume and replying to a few open positions they had. For three weeks after that, I was flooded with requests to interview, and chose my current position out of three different offers. Then again, I have 17 years of experience in the field and a solid resume.

Each field is different, and each region will have differing levels of need for any given field. The trick is to do some research, see if PDX (or any other spot in Oregon) needs what you have, then take it from there.
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Old 03-23-2012, 12:03 AM
 
Location: Portland, Oregon
543 posts, read 1,143,057 times
Reputation: 461
You ask why there are few jobs here and yet you say how when you came here you felt right at home... well, so do most people who visit here.

They all moved here.. or are trying to. Portland is one of the top places that people want to move TO. This forum is full of people who have either visited Portland or have heard about it and sincerely wish to live in this place. Job competition is fierce. It is true that there are many well-educated people who take entry level, fast food, or whatever they can get to be able to live here. Some work two jobs, or they find roommates; whatever it takes.

The sacrifice is being willing to take lower salary, fewer opportunities, maybe a smaller place to live, BUT the upside is that you would be here and have great opportunities to explore the area. I wish you well!
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Old 03-23-2012, 09:21 PM
 
Location: Lakewood OH
21,695 posts, read 28,334,589 times
Reputation: 35862
Quote:
Originally Posted by gypsydoc View Post
You ask why there are few jobs here and yet you say how when you came here you felt right at home... well, so do most people who visit here.

They all moved here.. or are trying to. Portland is one of the top places that people want to move TO. This forum is full of people who have either visited Portland or have heard about it and sincerely wish to live in this place. Job competition is fierce. It is true that there are many well-educated people who take entry level, fast food, or whatever they can get to be able to live here. Some work two jobs, or they find roommates; whatever it takes.

The sacrifice is being willing to take lower salary, fewer opportunities, maybe a smaller place to live, BUT the upside is that you would be here and have great opportunities to explore the area. I wish you well!
I would add to that is be flexible as to where you are going to be living. If all you can afford is the suburbs, then live in the 'burbs for awhile until you have earning power enough to live in a city neighborhood of your choice.

You can sometimes find apartments in the range you mentioned in another post of $700-$800 but they will not be in the more trendy neighborhoods. These areas can be safe and just fine.

Another alternative which I seem to see young people who have recently moved here without a whole lot of means, is to find yourself some roommates. That will enable you to broaden your choices of where to live.
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