ZenkiKid

Lets face it. California taxes up the ass and at this point with the rise of cost of living you pretty much need to clear 6 figures to live comfortably here.


Without disclosing anything too personal; I have a bachelors degree and I work a white collar job for the local government and I cant even afford to move out of my parents house. (Thats how high rent has gotten) How sad is that? I cant do this because of how much income tax bites me in the ass every paycheck. I mean i could pull it off but I would be literally scraping by each month. Im not about to pick up a second job just to stay afloat.


Gotta work to live not live to work.


I just came back from a 4 day trip up there and I LOVE the area and the friendliness of the people.


The thing I loved the most is that its pro-small business and very blue collar.


Any advice on those who live in Portland can share? What areas to look into? Hows the job market?

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Wykydtron

I'm not from the area but if you end up near Portland... PARC is effing amazing... and if you want to do some drag or road racing PIR is an awesome track...

angel mkiv

Ever consider Seattle instead?
http://zilvia.net/f/showthread.php?t=569533
Some good reasons in this thread why..

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ZenkiKid

I think I would prefer Portland because I hear that Seattle is pretty fast paced.

Is the "seattle freeze" true? I also heard that it applies to everywhere in the PNW.

I mean whenever I travel I do my best to not stick out like a sore thumb. I also am very polite and respectful.

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Wykydtron

Seattle and Portlands climates are similar, however Portland is warmer during the winters. It doesn't snow in the Seattle Metropolitan area that often because the cloud coverage usually brings warmer temperatures. Seattle is more known for the drizzle, on and off rain. In other areas of Western Washington we can go from snow, rain, lightning, to sunny blue skies in a matter of hours.

Personally I don't know Portland to well, the geology is a little different and it's further south.

angel mkiv

I'm not sure what you mean by "Seattle freeze". Can you explain??

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w0nderbr3ad

You too man? I've seriously considered moving somewhere in the NWP just because the cost of living is more affordable. I can't do that until I've established some experience in my field. As soon as that time comes, I'm out of here. The downsides are always the cost of shipping for getting 240sx parts instead of picking them up.

ZenkiKid

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e1_griego

Lots of government jobs in Salem which is 45min south of PDX (if you're looking to stay in gov't). Car culture is pretty fail in the NW. Lots of the cars from the "doing it wrong" thread are from the NW and it's a pretty accurate representation. The NW car community generally is broke as hell.

Salem is cheap to live and close to everything (1hr from: PDX, mountains, coast) but it's a mostly quiet town with only 150k residents.

Job market in Ore. isn't great. Weather isn't as bad as everyone says though I think Seattle gets more grey/rain than Oregon, I'd have to look it up to confirm.

Wykydtron

Interesting, I've never heard the term before. I asked a colleague about this (he actually lives in North Seattle in the Fremont Area) and he would agree with the article. People are polite but dry, on the go, not as open as some cities. But in his (and Seattles defense) he did point out that if you're "into Seattle sports, it brings the people together." I would definitely agree, Sounders, Seahawks, and Mariner fans can get riled up.

angel mkiv

I agree to this in the term of most s-chassis cars around are pretty shitty..only a select few nice 240's in the area.but hey maybe it's because it rains drift lube a lot and all are ruined??

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ZenkiKid

Sounds like I could be a pioneer (hah) around those parts if I bring my s13 up there with me. just kidding. Hah.

Man, the fact that I could get a redone single story home with a 2 car garage for around < $1k a month mortgage sounds very very tempting.

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pancakes

That seattle freeze is a bunch of crap. Super outdated and that article discusses nordic immigrants lol and ive been in the area for 24 years and have never heard of it if that tells you anything. Portland will be a degree or two warmer than seattle, but nothing significant. Both portland and seattle have good sized suburbs, so that shouldnt be a factor. Honestly I think it comes down to what type of work youre in. But to put it into perspective, a person I know moved from Olympia to San Diego and only made it a month before they realized theyd never make it. btw olympia is just about the middle of portland and seattle but is a little smaller yet still has gov jobs. just avoid tacoma

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ZenkiKid

Yup. San Diego is expensive. Good thing your pal realized fairly quickly that they werent going to make it instead of totally fucking themselves over by staying on the sinking ship.

But yeah the job I have I would be living pretty comfortably up there while down here I would struggle to pay rent hah. The sunshine tax as what its nicknamed isnt all its cracked up to be to be honest.

A friend of mine (who works the same type and level job as I do) lived in Seattle for a few years and had a corporate job with Starbucks. He said he moved into a pretty nice condo and was paying less than $800 with utilities. The only reason why he moved back to San Diego is because he was sick of the weather and he was getting homesick and wanted to move back down here. He did tell me that if he did stay up there he wouldve been a homeowner by now guaranteed.

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Wykydtron

I know it's a long shot but if you're anywhere in the northwest I'd say try snowboarding or skiing as a Winter pass time... You don't have to go for broke or become some hardcore snow bum... It can be relaxing to sit up high and enjoy the blue skies while down below there's drizzle and rain. I lived in Bellingham WA for 8 years, I figured out real quick that a good way to get out during the winter is just to head to the mountain and enjoy the snow. You'll also notice there is a ton of Subaru nuts up here (I see this as a positive, the smart Subie guys are fun to get along with. I actually bought a WRX as a daily alternative to my s13. Jetta TDI for long commutes or long range parts getter!)

It's a complete opposite perspective from California sun and it might not be your cup of tea but you'll never know until you try it. It certainly helped me stay in shape and kept me physically active during the Winters. I actually got more into going to the gym during the weeks because I wanted to stay in shape and work my core. My train of thought was like "oh it's raining all week, MORE SNOW on the slopes!"

As spring rolls around, the blue bird days are amazing... Relaxing in the sun drinking beer or harder cider to numb the body at the end of the day... Or just getting into hiking early spring, it will last through summer! I know a lot of Navy guys that get stationed in Everett... They're from the midwest or east coast... They don't know what to do until they start looking for the positive Winter activities.

BlueKpS13

If you can deal with rain, retarded bicyclists, and income tax, then you should be good. Portland is awesome. Tons to do, fairly inexpensive, and its still close to Seattle. I agree with Greigo though...car scene is trash up here.

e1_griego

Living in Seattle proper for any sort of reasonable price seems far-fetched. My buddies who live there pay more for rent than I pay for my mortgage (with property tax, etc. all rolled into the payment).

Even pdx is sort of spendy, but that's because my frame of reference is a lot different since I live in a cheap place.

ZenkiKid

Dude when I was up there last week in PDX I saw legacy/outback wagons EVERYWHERE.


Income tax in OR is still cheaper than what I pay here in San Diego.

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ZenkiKid

Is it true that DEQ is all sniffer?

Ive heard that SRs sniff much cleaner than KAs

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wussmonster

Deq for my hatch is all Sniffer. Just throw a cat on and if you're shit is running clean you'll pass. I've had my SR tested the last two times with zero issues like this

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ZenkiKid

Sweet.

Definitely learning towards Portland if I do make the move up o the NW.

I also love how people of the PNW LOVE their sports teams, From College all the way up to the pros.

I saw Damian Lillards face everywhere I went when I was up there last week.

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ZenkiKid

Im going to be heading back up to Portland later on this year with hopes of deciding whether or not I should move up there or not.

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Cloud_Strife

lol, I'm surprised nobody who lives in Portland chimed in.

Portland is alright. Basically you either live "west" or "east" of the river. The west side is where Portland state is and where all the upperechelon white-colar people live and or work.

Intel is also based on the west area, so many of the surrounding towns have wealthy people living in them and subsequently it has a very "clean" feel to it. I live in Beaverton, which is where the majority of people live. It's clean, has a ton of cops, and the public transportation is pretty great. Up here they value nature like the Japanese, so lots of green everywhere--trees, bushes whatever you can fit.

However, it is very expensive out here. Because so many people are moving to the PNW due to increases in hot weather and cost of living (especially cali), the prices have shot up 200% for real estate. In the 80's or 90's things were affordable, but right now in my area you cannot find a "starter" home for less than 200k (150-160 if it's in need of a lot of handiwork). Also, because so many people cannot afford homes, the requirements for apply for a loan are strict I've heard, and good credit is highly important.

Portland suffers from high cost of living, especially real estate because unlike other cities UGL (urban growth limits) are very strict. What this means is that when populations increase in the city, land runs out. Usually, the city will buy rural land or have land set aside for building when that happens. Portland does not follow this so blatantly. I believe it's a tactic for real estate to keep prices high, by stating it's for environmental reasons.

If you have a degree, it won't really mean much. So many people come out here with the mindset of "I'll find a job" (including myself), and get thrown into the pool of an already insane number of unemployment. Portland (and Seattle as well) is having a very hard time keeping up with employment in respect to new residents. Many people with degrees find themselves working just barely over minimum wage.

Now there are ways around this: If you have worked in government before, or are interested in asian studeis/business or engineer studies/background (specifically technology), you should be fine.

I'm not saying if you move here you can't find a job and you'll be begging on the street, just that a lot of people seem to have misguided information about job placement here.

Oh, and on the "east" side-- the further east you go, the more ghetto it is. Living around the world, I'd say Portland's worst is much safer than any other city, but there are still gang, violence, and drug issues. There is a big "gentrification" going on in the eastern districts though, as an attempt by the city to keep pushing poor people further and further away.

The people are cool, yeah. Being from Florida where everyone hates their life and you're on drugs or want to sell something if you talk to strangers; it was a real delight coming here. Yes, I would say people are more generally friendly.

However, it can be quite hard to make friends. I notice here in the PNW, people make 1 or 2 super close friends and stick to em. It's not like the east coast where I have a friend for every different car and we all get together frequently. It's just an odd switch for me. When you do find someone you can get along with, it is a lot better though. It's easier to find people who are into anime, JDM weebu stuff and still have a life. Hell, there are job offers on CL for Hentai illustrators haha. Just a very different open vibe about who you are and what you like-- people don't care if what they like isn't mainstream and I think that's cool.

It can be hard sometimes to find people who want to "do stuff" though. Sure, there are hikes and all kinds of other stuff to do, but it can be really hard to set things up without someone flaking or changing their mind. Not really sure what that's about..

Driving/car enthusiast wise it's ok. The roads are amazing, and in my area there are tons of well-maintained mountain/hill climb roads and treasures you can find everywhere. I've lived here for a year and have never been pulled over--the longest I've gone anywhere! The only problem is there aren't a lot of tuner shops, or trustworthy shops in my opinion. It can be hard to find car enthusiasts, and when you do find them it's overwhelmingly Subaru, volksvagon, and other cars that aren't your typical lineup. The guys and gals are cool though, and seem a mite more intelligent from my experience then most scenes I've been around.

Leading up to that, Portland is nice, it's clean, and even in some of the worst parts it is pretty safe overall. Honestly though, it's boring. 8/10 times when people want to go "do something", they take a trip north to Seattle or elsewhere. Me myself, I've taken 6 trips up to Seattle/Bellingham within the last 2 months. People don't come to Portland for fun, they go to Seattle.

If you are a big bar guy, Portland is probably your thing. But you have to sort of "establish" yourself as a regular to be treated fair sometimes. You won't be kicked out the door for not knowing everyone's name, but it's definitely a different treatment.

Personally, for me I don't like downtown Portland. I'm a big House, Drum and Bass, old school Jungle and Trance guy, and the music scene here sucks. Big time. It's a lot like Hawaii, crap dubstep and weird mixes with DJs that think they're some kind of DJ god.

Also the weather. It really is not that as bad as people say. In terms of rain, we've actually had a lot of dry months, and it didn't rain much. When it gets cold, it's not unbearable and it rarely snows (depends on where you are). Portland is actually pretty middle of the road, except for the increasingly warm summers. Right now it's 102. I never thought the PNW would get like that, but it does, and it sucks. The apartments and most housing do not have central A/C so it can be pretty brutal. Overall though, it's some of the best driving weather year-round you can get, and still have seasons.

Also, forgot to add a note about apartments. They are insanely costly. I actually had an easier time finding affordable apartments in Hawaii (that were quite cheap with respect to cost of living). As I said before, I live in an area that's a little more pricey, but I currently rent out my apartment for 875, and that is a steal. My landlord makes no money off of me, and I'm quite certain she loses money when HOA fees are due. The apartment real estate market is massive and evil here. You won't be able to afford housing, so you are forced into apartments which get more and more costly every year. I believe Griego stated this, but ironically people who purchase homes have 50% less, or even more of a mortgage payment than someone who pays rent in an Apt. My teacher, who I'm good friends with, lives in Hillsboro (which is a little more country) and pays like 500 for her mortgage on a 3/2 with land. Most people around here can pay 900-1200 a month for an apt so it's pretty crazy. *Also, side note: If you do go to school out here the faculty is awesome. I'm friends with many of my teachers and the mutual respect is great; I don't feel like I'm a subordinate like in the service.

On a positive note, I don't know if it's because so many people are forced to live in apts, but the power of the renter is quite good. If you have a landlord that is screwing you over or lying to you, Portland does not mess around and you have many avenues to go about it. This is a pretty big difference from past states where it's a "shit happens" mentality.

For the area I think there are just random little cool things that make me like the place. There is a japanese only book store up the road, I like how the gas is not self-service (LIKE MAD INITIAL D TAKUMI DAY JOB YO), and the fact that there are so many nice pleasurable drives and random little secret spots you can find.

Honestly though, for me I'm thinking of moving on. Seattle is a little too intense and dirty for me. And it has a lot more rough patches. I need to PM whoever was talking about Bellingham because that place is the shit.

It all depends on what you want. You can overcome any of the problems I've listed by just using your head. 2 bedroom apts are around the same price as 1 beds, and many people just get a buddy or a roommate to fill the second spot; just as an example.

I moved here from Hawaii and OR really took care of me. There are tons of programs to help you find jobs, look for work, and get money to help you adjust. I think as a state it really takes care of people, and it's one of the few cities/ states where quality seems more important than quantity (kinda the feeling you get when in Japan) and it shows.

I really didn't look to see how old this was, but give it a shot. It's clean, nice, and safe. The job market isn't amazing, but I think Portland is a good place to start, and, if you're like me, you'll just keep moving north until you're Canadian .

You only live once, give it a shot.

P.S> Griego lives south of Portland in Salem, but he is your man. You can berate him with questions and he'll give ya open arms Also, a lot of people live in the Salem and south portland areas such as Wilsonville, where housing is MUCH more affordable, and you can still drive towards portland where most jobs are with little traffic. Also, I'm going to type in all caps here: DO NOT MOVE TO VANCOUVER. You will regret it. It is a town just a couple miles north of the city where cheap housing and a close commute make it ideal. However, you have to cross ONE bridge with tens of thousands of other commuters every morning/late afternoon and the traffic is horrible and fraught with accidents. Do your reasearch; City-data is a great site that has many threads about preparing to move to Portland.

Cloud_Strife

^This. DEQ is a joke. I was worried whenever I would get cars tested, cars that I thought would be impounded, they were so ZOMGJDMODRIFTO, and the testers didn't even bat an eye. Honestly, if you couldn't even throw a cat on, there are many ways to go around it. Legally, the car has to be made before 1975 to be exempt. It is 20 bucks for the test and from my past experience, 190 to register and title a vehicle (mine have all been out of state).

Cloud_Strife

Damn I need to shut up. Anyway, just wanted to add on to this. It sucks trying to find a decent car up here, espeically an s chassis. They are always fucked, bondo, wrecks, rust, 4 different colors, and tons of issues. IF you do find a clean one, it has so much money and mods into it, it's more than likely out of your price range and no fun.

I've bought 4 cars since I've been here. In every case I took a plane or ride up to Seattle or down to Cali to get it. I've yet to find something decent in the area that isn't completely F*****. In this case, it's good to network, and find people who want to sell BEFORE they post on CL.

Just my two cents

ZenkiKid

I actually do work for my county government. Wow, thanks for giving me so much personal insight, my next trip is in November and I was thinking about trying to meet a local and get their personal input on living there but I think you have said more than enough for me to sit and think if this is really for me or not. Thanks man!

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ZenkiKid

So I went back up from 11/16 - 11/21.

LOVED IT AGAIN.

Seriously, The people were very friendly but sensed almost instantly that me and my fiancee were not locals (probably because we're filipino and dont look thai/vietnamese like other asians up there). One store we walked into the female worker there (who too was asian) immediately asked where we were from.

Traffic does not seem THAT bad except the routes leading to beaverton. Even then its nothing that im not used to seeing already. The whole thing about not pumping my own gas still trips me out. There are more older 90's vehicles up there too assuming because of more relaxed smog requirements.

gonna go up again for a 3rd time around the spring/summertime to make a real decision if this place is for me or not, but so far ive had 2 trips and loved them both times.

Hopefully my resume and history of working in a law enforcement/government setting will be worth something up there.

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FaLKoN240

Sounds like a good move. I recently visited Colorado and liked it there as well.

I'm like on the fence of getting the fuck out of California.

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hasemi

Move to Arizona. Cheap, one of the best car scenes, close to cali, and 8 months great weather. 4 months of hell during the summer but you can escape with an hour drive up north to the mountains. I would take hot summers over cold winter any day! You can rent a 3,000 sq ft home with a 3 car garage in a gated community in a good part of town for $1,600. In the bay area rent would be $6k plus. Almost moved to SF for a job offer. Glad I stuck with AZ.

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ZenkiKid

Yeah I am seriously considering it now. Since Ive been there 2x in the cold I wanna see how its like when its "warm" to make a solid decision.

I found out that my job title pays at least $2 more hourly up there. My Fiancee just needs to file transfer paperwork since she works for a major hospital that has locations everywhere.

I estimated the value to relocate from socal to the PNW and it would cost roughly $5k including shipping cars. Hopefully I over guessed that amount.

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