new Portland resident question (Gresham, Troutdale: apartments, rentals, job transfer)

[unstoppablemobile]

I'm a route driver moving to Portland in early 2017 from Mobile, Alabama. Right now I make $17.75 hr and was wondering what route drivers make on average in Portland. Also, what is the average rent for non-govt assistance apartments running? Just me and my 12 yr old mix dog and my job transfer will be in Troutdale. And info/links on good reputable apartments or room/small house/cottage rentals would be most appreciated. Thanks!

[Leisesturm]

Did you say "job transfer"? I have to assume then that you know whether you will be making your present $17.75/hr or something different when you start working in Portland. What does it matter what other systems pay? I'm not trying to be snarky. Truly it doesn't matter. Your mission is to figure out how to live well on the income you have contracted for. Troutdale is nice enough. Craigslist is my go to apt. finding tool. Others recommend Padmapper which to me seems to be a Craigslist front end. Craigslist has its own mapping feature now so I can't see the distinction.

[oregonwoodsmoke]

I asked my truck driver son for you and he said "what the *bleep* is a route driver? That could be anything from a bicycle messenger to a semi driver."

So, a lot is going to depend upon what sort of "route" you are driving and for whom.

[boulder2015]

Originally Posted by Leisesturm

Did you say "job transfer"? I have to assume then that you know whether you will be making your present $17.75/hr or something different when you start working in Portland. What does it matter what other systems pay? I'm not trying to be snarky. Truly it doesn't matter. Your mission is to figure out how to live well on the income you have contracted for. Troutdale is nice enough. Craigslist is my go to apt. finding tool. Others recommend Padmapper which to me seems to be a Craigslist front end. Craigslist has its own mapping feature now so I can't see the distinction.

Yes i am also baffled by the cd forum love for padmapper....

[bler144]

Originally Posted by Leisesturm

Craigslist is my go to apt. finding tool. Others recommend Padmapper which to me seems to be a Craigslist front end. Craigslist has its own mapping feature now so I can't see the distinction.

It has a number of other services it pulls from (rent.com, etc.) though as the Portland market has gotten tighter and tighter over the past few years some of that utility has gone away because there's just not that much in the metro period.

That said, I don't particularly love the new interface, and I do think craigslist and others have cut into some of the early edge padmapper had over the competition when it first went live a decade or so ago when it was mind-blowing.

Originally Posted by oregonwoodsmoke

I asked my truck driver son for you and he said "what the *bleep* is a route driver? That could be anything from a bicycle messenger to a semi driver."

So, a lot is going to depend upon what sort of "route" you are driving and for whom.

lol

@OP - the bigger problem is that Troutdale is, geographically speaking, the end of the line moving east of the metro, and the price hikes have already settled in out there (Gresham/Fairview/Troutdale) as well. People assume it's the "cheap" part of the metro, but...it ain't so much anymore.

$17.75 in Mobile, as I understand it, is at least decent money.

$17.75 in the Portland metro is doable for a single person, but unless you have the world's best pension plan you won't be saving anything. You're not likely to find a 1BR under $750, on a take-home of maybe $2400 (and that assumes no medical premium, nothing into retirement, coming out pre-/post-tax etc.), and it's quite possible you'll pay "pet rent" on top of your rent.

So you'd need a significant pay hike (even the east part of the Portland metro is 15-20% higher COL than the national average, whereas Mobile is about 20% lower than the average.) And, at least as a general rule, Portland's higher COL is because it is viewed as a desirable place to live, not because salaries are particularly high.

I appreciate wanting references from locals on good complexes, but even if we linked our favorite places, the odds it would happen to have an opening when you wanted to start a lease is slim.

[AndyAMG]

Route driver? you mean like FEDEX? I have a friend who is a route driver for fedex. He makes around $21/hr