Thinking about moving to Portland, OR

[superbassman2000]

Hello all,

So, I am thinking about moving west, and Portland sounds interesting. What's it like out there?
Are there many opportunities for a guy with a bass and a business degree out there?

[Tracebassplayer]

Do you like rain?

[Chef FourString]

My guitarist is from Oregon. He says its one one of the most beautiful places he has ever seen.

[Tracebassplayer]

It is... Love it here!
If you like forest - move to Western Oregon.
If you like the high plains move to Central Oregon.
If you like more desert, move to the East Oregon.
If you like guns... Move to Oregon and Welcome, we are a Full Automatic friendly state.

If you don't like guns - move to ... California ... or make friends with your neighbor, he is faster than the cops are and a much better shot.

[Tracebassplayer]

Check on Careerbuilder,com for business admin opportunities in/around Portland, Or. It is a highly used site for the area's employment seekers.

I'd say that there are plenty of gigs to go around but may take you a while to get "in".
Portland is weird and most people find their niche here whether it be country, rock, fusion, Metal, celtic, hippie, ska, punk, mod, emo, jazz, Native American, etc....

But, If I were looking to move, I'd fly out and see for myself, spend a few days if not a week if you can.

[superbassman2000]

Originally Posted by Tracebassplayer

Do you like rain?

i went to college in Superior, WI...I can handle rain/snow

[Stilettoprefer]

Agreed on spend a while here before moving!!! Very rainy, but very awesome state! And portland is a cool city. I live in Oregon city and take trips to Portland pretty often. And gig potential is awesome out there!

The only problem that I have ran into with Oregon is the immense amount of rain during "winter" (fall, winter and spring everywhere else) summer usually hits at the beginning of july haha.

[superbassman2000]

we are coming for a visit in september to see what it's like out there

does it snow much in the winter or just rain?

[Passinwind]

Originally Posted by superbassman2000

we are coming for a visit in September to see what it's like out there

does it snow much in the winter or just rain?

Depends on exactly where you are. Doesn't snow too much at all in the city proper, but at any sort of elevation it's a different story. Here's a pic of Mt Hood I shot two days ago:



So if you lived in Portland you could take an hour drive and have lift serviced skiing on the 4th of July, which would be the case most years.

Where I live, an hour out from Portland, it rains 35 inches a year. Twenty miles west, it goes to 85 inches. Twenty miles east, it's 14 inches.

[Stilettoprefer]

Originally Posted by superbassman2000

we are coming for a visit in september to see what it's like out there

does it snow much in the winter or just rain?

Depends on elevation. Where i'm at we sometimes get a couple feet, sometimes we get a light dusting. Ice is more of a factor in the Portland area than snow. But Mt Hood is a short drive from Portland and is constantly getting dumped on

[Jim Ingraham]

I bought a place near Sisters last fall but can't move out till I sell my Pa. house. The rest of my family have already moved to Oregon, can't wait to get out there myself!

[Tracebassplayer]

... and an hour west and you at the beach....

[Tracebassplayer]

miles and miles of great motorcycle routes here, too.

[Stilettoprefer]

Haha it seems that Oregon is the only state where you can go from desert, to plains, to mountains, to beach only taking a 3 hour drive:P

[Tracebassplayer]

Originally Posted by Stilettoprefer

Haha it seems that Oregon is the only state where you can go from desert, to plains, to mountains, to beach only taking a 3 hour drive:P

Actually Wa and most of CA as well...

[Musiclogic]

Damian Erskine seems to like it...LMAO

[bongomania]

I like it here. I've lived all around the country, and every place has its great qualities, but the quality of life here is just unbelievably good. People walking their dogs and bicycling everywhere, trees and flowers everywhere, low crime, low pollution, good tap water. This is the kind of place where you walk around talking to your neighbors and local shopkeepers.

Yeah, it rains a lot. Some years more than others--the first year I lived here, the rainy season was short and forgiving; but this last season it rained almost nonstop from September through most of June. That's right, through the month that just ended a few days ago. It even sprinkled a little yesterday. Even the locals are fed up with the rain this year. But again, it varies, some years are much better.

The job scene here is brutal, we have one of the highest unemployment rates in the country. Some of my acquaintances have said they got turned down from jobs because they "only" had a bachelor's degree. I'm working now, but I spent about three years mostly unemployed, and my current job pays only 2/3 what I earned in San Francisco, before the recession.

But the quality of life is so nice that as long as we can continue to make our mortgage payments, we're staying for the long haul.

[superbassman2000]

Is anyone here going to the beer fest that is going on in September?

[Passinwind]

Originally Posted by superbassman2000

Is anyone here going to the beer fest that is going on in September?

Which one is that? The big one I occasionally go to is in July.

If you want to come out here I'll give you the five brewery in twenty miles tour too. Not that Portland is lacking in that department though...

[Tracebassplayer]

The cost of living is half of the Bay Area though. So you actually come out ahead and we have. No state sales tax