Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Ummm... yeah if you want to bike or walk in the rain and cold constantly! I know this is crazy to the whackos in Portland but normal people don’t do that. It’s weird. People avoid being outdoors when it rains, almost everywhere. And coming from Florida with some of the best weather in the country I doubt he’s going to be biking in miserable weather.
I walk to work every single workday. Not Portland, but Seattle is similar. My 10-minute walk is like heaven compared to most people's commutes. I show up really wet maybe three times a year, because I don't use an umbrella.
A lot of my co-workers bike, and I think more people use transit than drive. It's easy because we're located in the center of town, which is a big part of why we located there. Oddly(?) enough the executive-level people are the most frequent biker category...the Northwest is fully of six-figure-earning bikers even in the winter.
Ummm... yeah if you want to bike or walk in the rain and cold constantly! I know this is crazy to the whackos in Portland but normal people don’t do that. It’s weird. People avoid being outdoors when it rains, almost everywhere. And coming from Florida with some of the best weather in the country I doubt he’s going to be biking in miserable weather.
Somebody needs to move back to FL..
People in Portland are out in the rain all the time. It hardly ever rains hard at all. Merely sprinkles.
FYI Florida's annual precipitation rate per year is double that of OR. I am amused that you think FL has good weather. What about April-September? Holy hell.
To be honest, that is way more expensive CA average. Unless it is a really high end complex or high in demand area, $1900 is way too much around where I live. Just to give you an idea, around Long Beach, you can easily find a 1-bdr in a decent-to-OK area for $1100-$1300. I actually found a 2 bdr/2bath with a single private garage for $1375 but it was one of those built in the early 1900 and the apt was not in great shape. Of course that is a rare thing but 1bdr/bath with a private garage is attainable for $1500 or less.
As far as utilities go, typically tenant pays the electricity and gas. Landlord typically pay water (cold) and even trash/sewer but these two could go both ways. Either way, My electric bill never exceeded $25 and the gas/trash/sewer one from the City of Long Beach was typically around $12-$13 max. The other bills are Internet which can run close to $50 or more for faster speeds or other bundled services. My Internet bill was $32 for a modest speed plan.
Considering all the above, I think Portland is very overpriced. Ironically, when I was looking for a job, the recruiters/headhunters were asking me if I would be flexible with my salary requirements on the account of COL being less in Portland.
I should be asking for more!
You also have to pay for heating in Portland. It takes a lot of energy to heat, but that really depends on what type of dwelling you are living in. Portland is way more expensive than Long Beach but similar in many other ways.
You also have to pay for heating in Portland. It takes a lot of energy to heat, but that really depends on what type of dwelling you are living in. Portland is way more expensive than Long Beach but similar in many other ways.
Yeah, I figured that would be the case. Honestly though, I take heating over AC. AC made me sick in AZ, I would constantly get stiff neck in the morning due to AC when I had to use it from mid June till early October.
I can tolerate heat/cold better than most. My AC wasn't on till 3rd week of June when it actually started staying in high 90s throughout the nite/early morning but I never enjoyed excessive heat. Cold is a different story. I am OK with wearing a sweater if needed and never really needed heating unless it got below 60 inside the house. I sleep better in the cold.
I think for now, I will continue visiting Oregon at different times of the year to get a better view and maybe in the future, assuming prices come down a bit, look in to relocating then.
I was in Lake Oswego for a week each 2 visits back in 2003 for work (back when Washington Mutual was still around). My colleague and I stayed at Courtyard by Marriott in Tigard, OR and visited the office in Lake Oswego. First visit was in late April and second one was mid May.
The weather seemed very similar to So Cal weather for that time of the year. During the total of 10 days there, I remember getting drizzle like rain maybe a day or two. The rest of the time it was overcast and cool. I call it the Sleepy Hollow (1999 movie) weather. Creepy to some but comforting to me. It made the food and the brew that much tastier for us at McMenamins - John Barleycoms and I don't even like drinking beer all that much!
I still miss those days and even though we went our separate ways, when I do get in touch with my ex colleague, we do talk about how much fun we had during our visit there.
Good grief, a median 1-bdr apt rent is $1500 in Portland? That sounds very high, much higher than I expected!
That figure is very comparable to the average rent in Long Beach, CA which is one of the least expensive beach cities in Los Angeles County (Southern California).
I was seriously considering relocating to OR in the near future due to cost of living in So Cal but if the info shared is accurate, it make no sense to do so.
Are house prices the same way or just rent prices that high?
What are of LB are you in? I mean, if you're near 2nd street, rent isn't what you're getting. Hell, I was near Los Altos paying that back in 1999. Like LB, there are many area's of Portland and even within the suburb cities. For example, Hillsboro is big and parts of it are rural, or there's older areas, and the super expensive nicer areas.
I moved from OC 5 years ago. Did some heavy research on COL. Back then, the only thing that was really lower was gas and rent. Nowadays, with the surge in rent, the rent to income ratio is about what I was seeing in SoCal. My somewhat crappy, but decent place in OC was going up to about $1450 in 2013. Here, in the suburbs, I was paying $1250 in a decent, yet small apt complex, but no amenities (pool, fitness center, etc). I moved out because my rent was going to go up to $1375 (I believe it's back down to about $1200 now).
The COL difference will depend on your income. Rent is high, income is typically lower than SoCal. Food, is the same, gas is lower, most of the times. Cable tv/internet is the same. Most apartments don't have gas so everything is electric and with the winter, WAY more than what I have EVER paid in SoCal WITH the A/C running. Like you, I used to only pay about $50 on electricity with a/c, and about $10-15 for natural gas. My first apt I was paying about $200 in the winter (granted, I was freezing, bad insulation, and it got down to single digits - I was dying). My next apt was better, in the winter, I'd hit about $100, but normal no a/c, no heat, was about $60. And like many apt complexes in SoCal, you pay for all utilities (water, sewer/trash, electricity, gas if there is any) and you pay for parking (like, wtf!).
Personally, my "goal income" was a joke when I moved here. Nothing was paying anything close to it. With the rent increase though, thankfully, they've upped most of our salaries.
If you can get here with a SoCal income, you'll be fine. If you have to take a pay cut, and can't even live in LB on it, the don't bother or ask for more.
House prices aren't as bad as SoCal, depending on where you buy. In the burbs, much lower than SoCal, well, from what I know. Most houses I've seen in SoCal about the same area/size/etc, would be $400k here, $700k+ there. You can also move farther out (like 20 miles from downtown Portland) and prices drop significantly. Want to live in DT Portland, expect to pay DTLA prices (not really, but you get my drift).
If housing was like this when I wanted to move, I doubt I would have been able to move. It's crazy! My income has gone up considerably, but sadly, only to keep up with rent. I gave up and bought a house 20 miles out of DT Portland and am happy paying under $300k for what would have easily cost $500k in the burbs closer in. And honestly, would probably cost about $800k in SoCal in the same type of area.
Lastly, I will say this. The weather up here is nothing like SoCal. What you experienced was luck of the draw. I visited mid-May in 2013 and it was pouring rain for 3 days straight and like 45 degrees. Oh, but Autumn is awesome. In October, it's lovely, cooling off, 60's, nice breezes.....vs SoCal's Santa Ana time and HOT HOT HOT still. LOL. If you want more of a direct comparison, let me know. I was born/raised in the LB area.
What are of LB are you in? I mean, if you're near 2nd street, rent isn't what you're getting. Hell, I was near Los Altos paying that back in 1999. Like LB, there are many area's of Portland and even within the suburb cities. For example, Hillsboro is big and parts of it are rural, or there's older areas, and the super expensive nicer areas.
I moved from OC 5 years ago. Did some heavy research on COL. Back then, the only thing that was really lower was gas and rent. Nowadays, with the surge in rent, the rent to income ratio is about what I was seeing in SoCal. My somewhat crappy, but decent place in OC was going up to about $1450 in 2013. Here, in the suburbs, I was paying $1250 in a decent, yet small apt complex, but no amenities (pool, fitness center, etc). I moved out because my rent was going to go up to $1375 (I believe it's back down to about $1200 now).
The COL difference will depend on your income. Rent is high, income is typically lower than SoCal. Food, is the same, gas is lower, most of the times. Cable tv/internet is the same. Most apartments don't have gas so everything is electric and with the winter, WAY more than what I have EVER paid in SoCal WITH the A/C running. Like you, I used to only pay about $50 on electricity with a/c, and about $10-15 for natural gas. My first apt I was paying about $200 in the winter (granted, I was freezing, bad insulation, and it got down to single digits - I was dying). My next apt was better, in the winter, I'd hit about $100, but normal no a/c, no heat, was about $60. And like many apt complexes in SoCal, you pay for all utilities (water, sewer/trash, electricity, gas if there is any) and you pay for parking (like, wtf!).
Personally, my "goal income" was a joke when I moved here. Nothing was paying anything close to it. With the rent increase though, thankfully, they've upped most of our salaries.
If you can get here with a SoCal income, you'll be fine. If you have to take a pay cut, and can't even live in LB on it, the don't bother or ask for more.
House prices aren't as bad as SoCal, depending on where you buy. In the burbs, much lower than SoCal, well, from what I know. Most houses I've seen in SoCal about the same area/size/etc, would be $400k here, $700k+ there. You can also move farther out (like 20 miles from downtown Portland) and prices drop significantly. Want to live in DT Portland, expect to pay DTLA prices (not really, but you get my drift).
If housing was like this when I wanted to move, I doubt I would have been able to move. It's crazy! My income has gone up considerably, but sadly, only to keep up with rent. I gave up and bought a house 20 miles out of DT Portland and am happy paying under $300k for what would have easily cost $500k in the burbs closer in. And honestly, would probably cost about $800k in SoCal in the same type of area.
Lastly, I will say this. The weather up here is nothing like SoCal. What you experienced was luck of the draw. I visited mid-May in 2013 and it was pouring rain for 3 days straight and like 45 degrees. Oh, but Autumn is awesome. In October, it's lovely, cooling off, 60's, nice breezes.....vs SoCal's Santa Ana time and HOT HOT HOT still. LOL. If you want more of a direct comparison, let me know. I was born/raised in the LB area.
Thank you for the reply. You seem pretty chill so I can see why you got out of So Cal.
Just to clarify, any given day, there is at least a $300 difference between a 1-bdr apartment rent in Long Beach Area and Orange County, OC being the more expensive one. Similarly, $300K difference in house prices as well. OC is nuts in that sense. I don't mind LB's slightly older architecture and more rundown look (in parts at least). I find LB way more to my taste (as a single guy) with its urban and vivid lifestyle than OC's more family oriented and snobbier look.
Knowing the bad, good and OK parts of LB, you can easily check the current apartment prices on CL vs DT Portland area. As a matter of fact, I do silly comparisons between my target area and current area using more practical approach. See attached image which shows the 5-mile radius from 90804 zip which is fairly a center point for LBC and I used 97204 for PDX with the same radius, although it is fair to say, Portland is much bigger city. Increasing the radius to 10 miles bumped the hits to 62 for LBC and to 205 for PDX.
For giggles (though I didn't giggle at all), I dropped the max rent amount to $1200 and LBC had 3 hits, one being a clear spam/con ad, so it really only had 2 (neither one was in a good area and one wasn't even in LB!). On the other hand, Portland had 17 but of course, I can't tell how many of those were in the "decent" areas. It is also hard to make a more accurate comparison due to not knowing where my job would be. I do agree though, COL in Portland, especially DT area is very comparable for a renter to LB so taking a pay-cut based on COL being lower is silly and unfair.
Weather wise, it is up to the individual I suppose. I do love and ride motorcycles so drizzling won't deter me but rain or showers for long duration would. I do love how green OR is though and enjoy bicycling and hiking and I'd certainly do more of both if I lived there. I honestly would buy a house there if I won the lottery and had enough money for a second home. That way I could visit there whenever I could. Rent the other rooms to people and keep one for myself for the occasional PDX visits.
I am kinda talking out of my rear end at this point since everything is just a plan in my head, an idea even but who knows, I may end up there at some point in the future!
What are of LB are you in? I mean, if you're near 2nd street, rent isn't what you're getting. Hell, I was near Los Altos paying that back in 1999. Like LB, there are many area's of Portland and even within the suburb cities. For example, Hillsboro is big and parts of it are rural, or there's older areas, and the super expensive nicer areas.
I moved from OC 5 years ago. Did some heavy research on COL. Back then, the only thing that was really lower was gas and rent. Nowadays, with the surge in rent, the rent to income ratio is about what I was seeing in SoCal. My somewhat crappy, but decent place in OC was going up to about $1450 in 2013. Here, in the suburbs, I was paying $1250 in a decent, yet small apt complex, but no amenities (pool, fitness center, etc). I moved out because my rent was going to go up to $1375 (I believe it's back down to about $1200 now).
Sorry, I forgot to provide specific answers to your questions:
- I was actually in the South end of Signal Hill, Junipero-PCH being the closest major intersections. A decent area, especially considering the areas within farting distance. Most everyone who lived in Long Beach will tell you (I even made actual map drawings years ago I shared on C-D). You want to avoid living West of Cherry Ave. There are some newer, nicer condo units around DT but immediate area is too "busy" and noisy for my taste. Plus DTLB has a ton of bums and its share of tent city formation along the 710 freeway.
The most expensive parts of LB are Naples, Bixby Knolls/Bixby North, Belmont Shore and Belmont Heights areas. You can tell from the look of the houses but 2nd Street area is similar to DTLB, too crowded and noisy despite being nice and active and close to beach. I typically go where the action is when I feel like it but I like my living zone to be quiet and less crowded. Due to apartments, LB parking, especially as you get close to ocean, is a pain to say the least.
I heard of this site and used it to compare COL between LA/LB salary of $60K as mentioned in the original post, and not surprisingly, comparable salary for Portland/Hillsboro came up as over $55K.
As I mentioned, I am staying put for now. I want to see if the housing market drops in the next 2-3 years as expected.
I cannot imagine being 22 and enjoying living in Lake Oswego. Rich, yuppy, not much to do, no night life if that is his thing. If I worked in LO, I might look for a place in Southwest Portland or downtown. A one bedroom most anywhere in they city is 1300-1600.
I don't know where some of these cracked out prices come from on this thread. Because I work in apartment management, and I have nicer buildings in great locations where the one bedrooms rent for $1200. Some of them even sit at that price! Burbs/not as central location, and I have two bedrooms at that price.
Sure, if your only definition of "apartment" is brand new overpriced apartment in one of the new "boxes" then sure, you will pay $1600 for a studio, but newsflash: there is still plenty of "other" housing and its quite a bit less than that. Move here, and don't live in one of them. Live in an older building. Many of them are even nice and have been upgraded, but they don't have a giant new construction loan they need to justify. If you really want to live in something newer and generic, do one of the sprawling complexes in the burbs.
As a 22 year old - don't live in LO. Look into John's Landing maybe, or Sellwood (just have to cross the bridge, its not too bad). SW Portland near Multnomah Village also is pretty nice. If he really wants burbs, Tigard is probably the most convenient to LO.
Seriously, do a quick zillow search. And bear in mind that the people who pay for zillow advertising often have overpriced apartments, and they are listed because nobody is willing to pay their prices. Vacancy rates are back up and you should be able to rent quite easily. If he is willing to live downtown, most buildings there are giving away the farm to get leases right now.
oh don't forget the HOA and the property taxes! lots of cities like Portland have high taxes on your home. so many people are paying 400-500+ a month on modest homes, just in taxes alone- and if there's a Home Owners Assoc, that can be like a couple hundred a month, depending.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
