Advice needed: Possibly moving to Portland

[RaggedClaws]

Hello all,

My wife-to-be and I are expecting our first child in August, a little girl  We're also considering moving out of the New York City area, most likely somewhere on the West Coast.  We've been talking about it for a while and investigating and researching, and we're very interested in Portland, Oregon.  Most of our family members currently live in Central and Southern California, but neither of us are crazy about the idea of residing in California for a variety of reasons.  I must live somewhere with forests and seasons, first off, and it has to be somewhere freedom-minded and green (where the citizens don't take their environment for granted). I've lived my whole life in or about New York City, and I need a change!  Somewhere with a slower pace that isn't so gosh darn expensive, and somewhere that respects the individual right to keep and bear arms...

So that brought us to Portland.  I work in the IT field and have 10+ years of serious professional experience, including leading development teams, and I have a Masters degree in Computer Science.  My fiancee is in the HR field.  We won't start planning any move until one of us has a job in our target area, so this is all just in the pre-planning research phase.  We also haven't started physically exploring, but we do plan on taking our vacation time next Spring, after the baby is born (we'll drop her off with one set of her eager grandparents) to look around for a new place to call home.

So, tell me about Portland!  Is it a nice place to live?  It looks outrageously beautiful.  Is it very isolated?  Would I need to make special arrangements to bring my rifles there if we do move?  How's the job market in my field?  How's the local economy (growing, static, declining)?  Any and all comments about Portland, or any other Northwest US city, would be greatly appreciated, and especially comparisons of the Northwest to the Northeast.

[Stickjockey]

Ragged-

Positive:

   wonderful atmosphere

   plenty to do

   close to natural areas, including one large park in the city limits

   great library system

   good public transportation

   easy CCW permit process

Negative:

   high taxes

   only county west of the Rockies with county income tax

   decidedly Leftist city council

   higher cost of living than other areas

   rapidly increasing housing costs

[Standing Wolf]

Buy umbrellas.

Buy rain hats.

Buy rain coats.

Buy waterproof shoes.

Buy spare socks, because waterproof shoes aren't.

Buy heavy duty windshield wipers.

Buy mud-snow tires for your vehicles.

Buy a good dehumidifier for your gun safe.

Buy airline tickets to Phoenix when it's been raining 42 days straight and you're starting to feel damp all the way down to the marrow of your bones.

Seriously: Oregon is a beautiful, relatively very clean state with wonderful high desert country in the east and delightful ocean beaches on the western edge. I've always liked Oregon a lot, and was even teetering on the brink of moving to Portland on September 11, 2001.

I moved to Colorado rather than Oregon in 2002 because Oregon is unfortunately packed to the rafters with leftist extremist nut cases. I'd already put up with more than enough of those in the People's Republic of California.

[RaggedClaws]

Haha, I'm aware of the rain!  But that's what makes it so lush and green there

The taxes are really bad?  I'll have to explore that some more.  I saw that they don't have any sales tax there, which is very nice, coming from where there's 8.5% sales tax.  

Hmmm, the rain doesn't bother me so much.  Anybody know how the labor market (especially in high tech) and local economies are doing?

[Stickjockey]

No sales tax, but the property and state income taxes are a bit higher than other places. Multnomah County is also, AFAIK, the only county with an income tax west of the Rockies, if not the Missouri. It's supposed to be temporary, ending next year, but you know how that goes.

Have you thought about Corvallis? Hewlett-Packard is down there, it's a college town, and has a bit lower cost of living than the PDX metro area.

[Fatcat]

Have you thought about Corvallis?

+1 to that, it's pretty nice here. As Stickjockey said, HP is down here as well as CH2M Hill and a few other big outfits. The university also has lots of tech related jobs. It's gun friendly, though some counties are better than others for CCW permits. Living costs are less than Portland, and there's a nice range only 10 miles out. The only downside is that you gotta put up with thousands of unruly college students such as myself..

Personally I would avoid Portland itself, unless you get an ultra-cushy job at Intel; all the Californians move there, and they're slowly ruining the place. Just my opinion, though.

The coast is incredible, but jobs are scarce there unless you're willing to commute. (My Dad used to commute from Rockaway to Portland every day... about 160 miles roundtrip.. he did that for a few years).

Oh, did anyone mention the rain?

[Gewehr98]

Unless things have changed there...

You can't pump your own gas at a service station, either.  

[Fjolnirsson]

Everything is relative, as they say.
   I know folks talk about the liberals ruining Oregon, and socialist laws and such. I moved to Oregon from CA in Dec. I lived in the Bay Area my entire life. Compared to where I'm from, Oregon is a libertarian paradise. Seriously. I have run into the occasional liberal whackjob, but they're like cockroaches. The human race can't hope to eradicate them, only keep them out of the well lit, clean places.
   Portland is a bit much for me, honestly. I moved to a town of 8,000. We're the last gas for 70 miles as you head East toward Bend. Everyone knows one another, and people don't throw their trash on the ground. Corvallis is nice. If I wanted "city life", I'd probably move to Corvallis. I'm really enjoying the fact that I have to drive an hour to get to a mall. Of course, the drive to the mall is breathtaking. Of all the pictures I've seen of different states, I've yet to see any as beautiful as the scenery I see here everyday. I can't think of anyplace I'd rather live than where I do now.
   I feel like I've gone back in time 40 years, as far as people's attitudes and laws go. When I tell people here what CA was like they don't believe me. I've actually had people think I was lying about how bad it was, how peanut butter isn't allowed in some public schools, and 7th graders are required to have three weeks of training in Islam, and so forth. They complain about traffic and crime, and they really have no idea. I feel sometimes like I've moved from a third world country.
  Oregon is wonderful. You won't regret the move. It's nice to live in the USA.
   Oh, yeah, about the rain. You said you're from New York City, or thereabouts. People warned me about the rain, and seasonal affective disorder. I've actually had more exposure to sunlight since I moved here than I got in CA. You should be fine. I would suggest some full spectrum light bulbs, just in case. And the rain leaves everything fresh and clean.
   Did I mention no sales tax? The taxes here are actually a lot lower than what I'm used to. My property taxes on my 837 square foot shanty in CA were 3400 a year. My home here is 1700 square ft, and I pay 1200 a year. As I said, everything is relative.
If you have more questions, feel free to email me, and I'll answer if I can.
We can always use more gunnies, especially in the cities.

By the way, there are large areas of publicly owned land where I guy can just go shoot, with no fee or anything. At least, that's what they tell me.

[Schuey2002]

Unless things have changed there...

You can't pump your own gas at a service station, either.  

The only exception (IIRC) is if you have a commercial account at a cardlock facility, such as a truck driver, for example.

[Wildalaska]

Move to Alaska, all your problems will be solved.

WildandimthertooeventhoughiamscornedandmistreatediwillstillbefriendlyAlaska

[RaggedClaws]

Thanks for all your replies!  Can't pump your own gas?  Sounds like New Jersey (I think it's New Jersey where you can't do that either, somewhere around here).

Alaska would be perfect for me, but I have my woman to think about.  She HATES the cold, but understands I need seasons and can deal with it within reason.  Unfortunately, Alaska-cold would be far more than her Southern-Californian body could take (you can take the girl out of SoCal, but you can't take SoCal out of the girl, heh heh).  

As far as taxes go, it's all relative.  You forget that I live in Westchester County (I'm just renting right now).  I've seen 900 sq foot houses, with 1 bathroom, a 1 car garage, and .10 acres, go for over $600,000 with $12,000 a year in property tax.  Believe me, it's relative.  But then again, jobs general pay more in the city than elsewhere in the country.

Check out this site: Salary Calculator

According to that site, if you make $100,000 in NYC, then you would need to make $40,609 living in Portland (if you prefer to own).  If you prefer to rent, and you make $100,000 in NYC, then you would need to make $69,340 living in Portland.  It sounds like the cost of living is much lower in Oregon in general.  And I just love the outdoors and the scenery, the unspoiled places, forests, the ocean, etc.  

Thanks again, everyone  Lots to think about and explore...

[Standing Wolf]

I feel like I've gone back in time 40 years, as far as people's attitudes and laws go. When I tell people here what CA was like they don't believe me. I've actually had people think I was lying about how bad it was, how peanut butter isn't allowed in some public schools, and 7th graders are required to have three weeks of training in Islam, and so forth. They complain about traffic and crime, and they really have no idea. I feel sometimes like I've moved from a third world country.

Laughed until the tears streamed down my face. I've had the same experience here in Colorado: people simply can't believe the ugliness and stupidity I used to put up with in the People's Republic of California. My enthusiasm for Colorado sometimes makes people glance at me oddly. I've tried to explain it, but if they haven't lived in a people's republic, there may be no way they can understand it.