Moving to the Pacific Northwest?

[Ironcrane]

I live in Portland Oregon! And one of the interesting things about living in Portland Or, is that about 40% (possibly even more) of the people I've come across, are all from a different state. A 1 bedroom apartment here will cost 500-600 dollars. I've never even considered looking at a house, as me being able to afford one will never happen.

There are a lot of different types of people here. A lot of yuppies/hippies, drug addicts, (pretending to be) homeless, and gangs. I usually avoid going downtown, as I constantly get bothered by drug dealers, crazy people, and homeless. And I avoid using the #4 bus line as much as possible, as it zigzags its way through every "gang territory" in the northern area.

Also, if you just pick a direction, and start walking, you'll eventually run across a strip club, or a Chinese restaurant. And if you lose your job, you're screwed. Unemployment/underemployment is high, supposedly one of the highest in the U.S.

If you have any questions, I'll do my best to answer.

 

[Flea]

I live in Portland Oregon! And one of the interesting things about living in Portland Or, is that about 40% (possibly even more) of the people I've come across, are all from a different state.

That sounds like a glowing endorsement to me.

Also, if you just pick a direction, and start walking, you'll eventually run across a strip club, or a Chinese restaurant. And if you lose your job, you're screwed. Unemployment/underemployment is high, supposedly one of the highest in the U.S.

The job thing is pretty universal right now. As is the chinese restaurant/titty bar part of the equation. Wasn't Portland designated as one of the Most Livable Cities a few years back?

A couple years when I first decided to move, I researched cities nationwide ad nauseum. Oregon cities kept coming up consistently as meeting my criteria - lower crime, natural beauty and quality parks, climate, higher education levels, liberal politics, good transportation options, and so on. Washington looked pretty good too, but because of my family's location I didn't pay as much attention. Maybe I should.

If you have any questions, I'll do my best to answer.

Thank you Ironcrane. I will certainly get back to you on that.

 

[blindsage]

Well if you are thinking of Washington I might be able to help a little with looking into Seattle and the surrounding areas. If you are looking for a condo, this is definitely the right time. Over the last decade developers in the areas invested heavily in condos and the construction of them exploded. Now the area is heavily over built and the market is down. I've seen a number of new condo project converted to 'luxury' apartments once they open because they know it's going to be almost impossible to make their money back by selling them. In general Seattle is a very expensive real estate market, even with the market down, so just go into it the wiser. But again, this is definitely the time to shop for condos. Maybe google some condo auctions for the area, there's a lot of them now.

 

[thardey]

If you consider Eugene as "one small hippie town in Oregon" Then definitely don't look anywhere other than Portland, and the surrounding suburbs. Hillsboro, Gresham, etc all have their own sub-culture and issues, but are close enough to Portland itself to be interesting.

But, you should also consider that Portland gets more rain than even Eugene, and a lot more rain than where I'm from. People who move there often can't handle it, if they are prone to depression caused by the lack of sun.

I'm from Medford, at the southern end of the state, and it gets rain and fog here all winter, and 100 plus desert-like days in the summer. (We ususally run for the mountains or the coast on those days.) Also, the politics get a lot more conservative as you head south of Salem. Even though the largest percentage of Oregon is liberal, most of that is concentrated in the northwest part of the state.

 

[Brian King]

For what it is worth, Eugene has a VERY good Systema group that I not only can but DO highly and completely recommend.

Regards
Brian King

 

[crushing]

Beervana. . .ummm. . .I mean Portland sounds like an interesting place to me.

 

[Flea]

For what it is worth, Eugene has a VERY good Systema group that I not only can but DO highly and completely recommend.

Regards
Brian King

Thank you Brian. I googled "Eugene Systema" and came up with this. Zat him? And can you tell me anything about the Portland group?

 

[Brian King]

Flea wrote

“Thank you Brian. I googled "Eugene Systema" and came up with this. Zat him?”

Yup, Matt runs the study group out of Bests dojo. The Dojo is huge and has multiple work out areas. Matt has a great group of folks training with him. A few of them just attended the Vladimir seminar down in San Francisco. Matt is a professional educator and author and has a great understanding of Systema and ability to teach those understanding to a wide array of students. For folks around that part of Oregon he is a good guy and good to go.

"And can you tell me anything about the Portland group? "

The group in Eugene is going stronger than the small group(s) in Portland I think. My friend Ken Harper was working a group there but had a family member suffering health issues then had a bout with cancer himself but is back and is training again. I am not sure what their group is doing currently. If you ended up moving to Portland I could put you in touch with them but as said not sure how regular their current training is. Eugene is worth the trip.

Regards
Brian King

 

[Flea]

It's tough because this indecision has me chasing my tail - I'm afraid to list my condo for sale until I make this decision. This fear has extended to making any renovations so I can list it - why buy a new carpet when I like the one I have, if it's just going to wind up smelling like dog by the time a buyer takes possession anyway? I'm becoming paralyzed. It's such a problem that I bought a bunch of new switchplates, and I can't even bring myself to put those up. It's embarrassing.

At least I'm decisive in my indecision. I took a major step today by advertising my favorite piece of furniture on Freecycle. I loved it to death a long time ago and there's simply no room for it in terms of staging for potential buyers. I hate to see it go but it's an obstacle to a long overdue life change. I can always yard-sale a new sofa in my next home.

The contractor comes tomorrow for a thousand small improvements (I wonder if he'd like the sofa?) This afternoon I loaned my beloved solid-pine-wrought-iron bed frame to a friend who's just returned home from Iraq and has no furniture. We're both clear that it's a loan; he saves me the expense of a storage facility and gets a nice bed for a while. Win-win!

I'm sure that selling my home before I know where I'm going is completely bass-ackwards. I tried doing it the conventional way and it just didn't work. I know it's fear that's kept me here in this neighborhood, not so much of the unknown as of losing my grip and doing a metaphorical face-plant in my new surroundings. I'm hoping that if I force one foot in front of the other it'll get me going in the right direction. Any direction, really.

I sure will miss that sofa though.

 

[Flea]

If you consider Eugene as "one small hippie town in Oregon" Then definitely don't look anywhere other than Portland, and the surrounding suburbs. Hillsboro, Gresham, etc all have their own sub-culture and issues, but are close enough to Portland itself to be interesting.

Thank you. I had a realtor steer me toward Gresham, and I found some condos that look decent. Could you tell me about some of the other neighborhoods? Are they suburbs of Portland, exurbs, outlying satellite towns, or something else? And can you tell me anything about the culture of any of them?

Also, the politics get a lot more conservative as you head south of Salem. Even though the largest percentage of Oregon is liberal, most of that is concentrated in the northwest part of the state.

I'm on the fringes of the Bible Belt right now, so despite being a lily-livered liberal I don't mind conservative politics at all. I like being a little bit of a minority, it keeps me on my toes.

I really appreciate all the good advice so far. It's exciting to do the research, although the current condo renovations and furniture shuffling are nerve wracking. It's a lot of exercise and fear-confronting, so I've decided to coin the tern Mu Ving Do. :uhyeah: Hell, I've even gotten a few bruises so far, so that's a little extra authenticity. Behold my stacks of cardboard boxes, ye evildoers, and beware!!

:jediduel: