Moving to Vancouver/Portland area? (Seattle, Spokane: sales, apartments, rent)

[bugmaned]

I'm looking to move to the Vancouver/Portland area. Due to cheating wife and backstabbing friend, happily divorced, but financially not so happy. Is it possible to live on about $1100 per month until employment is secured? Disadvantages: age (mid 50's), health: bad back, but not an invalid. Advantages: Retired military so have small monthly income as long as I have a pulse. Love the outdoors and want to live in the Pacific Northwest while I'm (relatively) young enough to enjoy it. Any ideas/tips/hints?

[StealthRabbit]

Live in WA, but close enough to access OR (Who would tax your pension).

Depending on you needs, consider Stevenson, WA for, lower cost, less people, great recreation area (but still rainy... you need to go east to White Salmon to get to decent weather). Skamania County (Stevenson) runs a $1 bus to Vancouver where you can catch a direct bus to downtown Portland. There are some nice subsidized senior apartments in North Bonneville. (no employment there)

If you want closer access to services, then Camas, WA (10 min to PDX), if you want more people and more job availability, then try Vancouver (maybe near Ft Vancouver for a quiet walkable community + a VA center that runs daily buses to Portland VA).
I saw a very nice little home near downtown Camas for ~$150k. 2 blocks to Bus, park, library, Safeway) 10 minutes to wonderful recreation (Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area).

For really dry weather, look to Goldendale, Richland, Walla Walla, Spokane. (all quite different, but livable)

For a destitute veteran, Retsil, WA is a beautiful and well equipped place (WA State Veteran's home). I would spend ALL my $$ while you are healthy and young and target that joint as a solution when you need care (Be sure to go while you are ambulatory, much easier to get a spot). They are a small village and bus comes every hour, so you can catch a ferry to Seattle, or a bus to Silverton Mall if you need some excitement. Veterans Home

Good luck, I may be heading your direction, ...

[bugmaned]

Thanks for the advice. I don't mind the rain so much, we get a fair amount here in the Smoky Mountains. If it's not cold I'll hike in the rain, I don't care. My main concern was the feasability of getting by on my pension until I could find a job to supplement it. I've never been to the PNW before, but have always wanted to see it. I love the outdoors, have lived in Idaho, Montana, Colorado, and Arizona (all courtesy of U.S. Air Force) and loved them all, but I've seen them. From my internet searches, the Portland/Vancouver area seems best. You just can't get a realistic feel for an area without actually being there. I did consider the tax issue, and WA definitely seems best in that regard.

[johndoe98374]

I would recommend Vancouver, WA. instead of Portland, OR. You would have the best of both worlds. You would not have to pay any income taxes in WA and you can shop tax free in Portland which is only a few minutes drive. I have been to both and I love the Vancouver / Portland area. I would consider moving there myself but that is not an option right now due to my obligations. Anyways, good luck.

[lobster5757]

Portland is nice, but the people seem a bit more wired than laid back Vancouver. The unemployment is pretty high. I have been looking for a job for a while. No luck. Just FYI, job hunting is tough here, but it is a nice area. (Portland and Vancouver.)

[bugmaned]

I kinda gathered from reading other blogs and pages that employment was scarce. That's why I'm interested in finding out if it's feasable to live (frugally) on my pension, which is less than $1200 per month, until I could find something to supplement my income. Of course, I would bring a few $K for deposits to get into an apt, get utilities turned on etc. After that is where my concern lies regarding my pension.

[lobster5757]

Vancouver is less expensive than Portland, but the job market is very very slow in Vancouver. I tried for months to find an office job of any kind and finally had to expand my search to Portland. I finally landed a job, but it took about 4 months of non-stop searching.

You can find a 2 bedroom duplex in Vancouver for around $650 per month.
There is no sales tax in Portland, so it is a good place to shop.

There are some ok places in Portland where the rent is about $650 for a one bedroom apartment.

(You can easily live on $1100 a month here if you are careful with money. Just be aware that it might take a while to find a job, but that is the case anywhere. I speak from very recent experience.)

The bridges are pretty challenging for the evening commute, especially when there is any type of weather, so my suggestion is live in whichever state you work. Just might be a little bit easier commute wise.

It is a great place to live. Lots of nature and food.

Good luck.