Moving to the Pacific Northwest?

[Flea]

I'm struggling mightily with a wonderful problem, and I'm hoping someone here can offer some thoughts ...

I'm moving out of my neighborhood in any case, and I have the option of moving out West, a place I've always dreamed of living. Most of my extended family on my mother's side has been gravitating to Oregon over the last several years. My family is very cool with virtually no drama (the only dramatic relative moved to Malawi last year, much to everyone's relief.)

A big factor holding me back is financial concerns. I have a low income and a limited working capacity. I'm in the Midwest right now and I can get by comfortably on about $1600 a month for everything. It's not glamorous by any means, but I've always been very frugal by nature. I know that the cost of living is higher out there and I'm worried about housing - if I have to live in a neighborhood as bad as my current situation, I'd rather stay put. With three pets I don't think I'd be able to stay with any of my relatives, and because of my personal ethics I refuse to ask them for money. Can one get by on $1600 a month out there? I'd love to hear from some locals on this.

As far as my current situation, I have a lot of things encouraging me to stay. I've been in this city almost ten years and I have deep roots. I've been working very hard as a mental health advocate and it's paying off in a big way - our support group has expanded its membership tenfold since 2000. When a huge new clinic opened this summer at the local university, the director went out of his way to collaborate with us on meeting community needs. Most recently I've been invited to sit on an advisory panel for state government policy on mental health care. That's a lot of wheel to reinvent. As far as my paying job, I telecommute for a company based out of state, and I hope to set up a freelance writing and editing business some day. So that's utterly portable.

Still, it's an intuitive thing; my gut is telling me that it's time to move on. There's nothing wrong (spiritually) with signing on for another term here symbolically by buying a house locally in a new neighborhood. But I'll grow as a person faster and more solidly somewhere else. This feeling is pretty compelling; every time I make a serious move toward buying here I feel all hinky inside.

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.

So please, I'm begging you. Tell me where to live! :uhyeah: :lol: Seriously; my main question for any locals who live in the Pacific NW would be financial - how much does housing run out there, and can one survive with some dignity on about $18K a year? I'd even be willing to consider a trailer park if it was safe. I'm no diva, I just want something a little better than where I'm living now.

Thank you.

 

[Blindside]

Like in most things, "it depends."

Seattle housing is pretty high, average house sales are around high $300,000s and falling, last I heard Portland was low 200,000s and falling. In comparison, where I live in eastern WA, a new entry level house can be bought for 110,000 and rising as we are in a little mini-boom here due to the federal stimulus funding. The Tri-Cities in wa (Richland, Kennewick, Pasco) are considered the metropolitan area in the PNW with the lowest cost of living.

I would jump on windermere.com to get an idea about housing costs. It is a real estate company, but it has a decent search engine.

 

[Flea]

Thanks for the link.

For contrast, I expect to get about $60-65K out of my little 2BR condo in the hood. It's about 600 square feet. A house I like in my (local) target neighborhood is 3BR and $70K. It's still very much urban, but a lot calmer.

I suspect a lot of this is going to come down to stepping out on Faith ... but it never hurts to buttress that faith as much as possible.

 

[Flea]

Blindside, that link is fantastic! I've looked at a lot of real estate websites, and all I'd found in the NW were a bunch of foreclosed fleabags for over $100K. Granted, all they had were thumbnails of properties, but I found literally dozens of condos and houses in my range. It was very liberating. It may add years to my indecision. :lol2:

 

[Tez3]

Flea, I think you should emigrate to North Yorkshire here and live in the Dales! You can commune with sheep, wear your welies and grow your own veg lol! Oh and train with us!!

http://www.swaledale.net/

 

[Steve]

Flea, you can definitely make it, although if you're looking for an urban setting AND a relatively safe area, it would be tight. My wife and I talk about the cost of living around here. I'm from Texas and my wife is from Iowa, and it's fun to think about what our money could buy out there. But then... we'd live there and not here. Every time I drive to work with Mount Rainier looking like it's so close I can touch it, with the Cascade mountains off to my left and the puget sound and Olympic Mountains off to my right, I can easily see why it's a little more expensive here.

I've never lived in Portland, although I've been there many times and it's also very nice.

Tez, in most of the USA, communing with sheep is illegal.

 

[Tez3]

Flea, you can definitely make it, although if you're looking for an urban setting AND a relatively safe area, it would be tight. My wife and I talk about the cost of living around here. I'm from Texas and my wife is from Iowa, and it's fun to think about what our money could buy out there. But then... we'd live there and not here. Every time I drive to work with Mount Rainier looking like it's so close I can touch it, with the Cascade mountains off to my left and the puget sound and Olympic Mountains off to my right, I can easily see why it's a little more expensive here.

I've never lived in Portland, although I've been there many times and it's also very nice.

Tez, in most of the USA, communing with sheep is illegal.

LOl, it's why we wear wellies here, so the sheep can't get away!

Nice as it is where I live I would love to move down to Cornwall, the problem being house prices up here are relatively cheap compared to down south so it would be hard to move.

 

[Steve]

LOl, it's why we wear wellies here, so the sheep can't get away!

Nice as it is where I live I would love to move down to Cornwall, the problem being house prices up here are relatively cheap compared to down south so it would be hard to move.

(Sorry I can't post a link for some reason. )
Closing Time Footraces Cause Trampling Concern
Arkengarthdale, Wales (Reuters) -
Quitting time in rural Swaledale now leads to quite a footrace out to the sheep fields, where hundreds of the local inhabitants flood the sheep fields. While there are approximately 100 sheep to each inhabitant, when asked why everyone is in such a rush, one local replied, 'Well, you don't want an ugly one!'

 

[Tez3]

(Sorry I can't post a link for some reason. )
Closing Time Footraces Cause Trampling Concern
Arkengarthdale, Wales (Reuters) -
Quitting time in rural Swaledale now leads to quite a footrace out to the sheep fields, where hundreds of the local inhabitants flood the sheep fields. While there are approximately 100 sheep to each inhabitant, when asked why everyone is in such a rush, one local replied, 'Well, you don't want an ugly one!'

sounds about right lol!
I don't get the Wales bit though, Arkengarthdale is just a couple of miles away!
why do Scotsmen wear kilts?
coz the sheep got used to the sound of zips!

Sorry Flea not helping you with your problem but hopefully making you smile!


Shaun my favourite sheep!

 

[Flea]

LOl, it's why we wear wellies here, so the sheep can't get away!

Tez, I have no idea what wellies are, but after reading this I may never travel to the UK at all! :uhyeah:

 

[Flea]

Flea, you can definitely make it, although if you're looking for an urban setting AND a relatively safe area, it would be tight. My wife and I talk about the cost of living around here. I'm from Texas and my wife is from Iowa, and it's fun to think about what our money could buy out there. But then... we'd live there and not here. Every time I drive to work with Mount Rainier looking like it's so close I can touch it, with the Cascade mountains off to my left and the puget sound and Olympic Mountains off to my right, I can easily see why it's a little more expensive here.

I've never lived in Portland, although I've been there many times and it's also very nice.

Thanks Steve. Most of my family settled in one small hippie town in Oregon (of course in Oregon that doesn't narrow it down much, does it?) I thought Portland might be nice because I'm more of a city person. That, and I think a little distance from family is a healthy thing. I want to be close enough to get there easily in an emergency, but far enough that Mom can't show up unannounced with a casserole. Even if she is a good cook. I was thrilled to find that someone is setting up shop with a Systema school in Portland too. That makes a huge difference for me.

 

[Tez3]

Tez, I have no idea what wellies are, but after reading this I may never travel to the UK at all! :uhyeah:

My dear,even the Queen wears wellies! LOL!



Wellington boots.

We use them for sport too in wellie throwing competitions.

 

[Steve]

My dear,even the Queen wears wellies! LOL!



Wellington boots.

We use them for sport too in wellie throwing competitions.

Galoshes. We use them for throwing whatever we want, cause that's how we roll in America.

Flea, Whereabouts in Oregon? My brother is down in Eugene, which is pretty nice. Smaller, but still nice. Roy Dean's BJJ school is in Bend. It'd be terrific to train with him.

 

[Tez3]

Galoshes. We use them for throwing whatever we want, cause that's how we roll in America.

Flea, Whereabouts in Oregon? My brother is down in Eugene, which is pretty nice. Smaller, but still nice. Roy Dean's BJJ school is in Bend. It'd be terrific to train with him.

LOL!
Flea, it sounds as where ever you go you'll have people you'll know of and a warm welcome!

 

[shesulsa]

Thanks Steve. Most of my family settled in one small hippie town in Oregon (of course in Oregon that doesn't narrow it down much, does it?) I thought Portland might be nice because I'm more of a city person. That, and I think a little distance from family is a healthy thing. I want to be close enough to get there easily in an emergency, but far enough that Mom can't show up unannounced with a casserole. Even if she is a good cook. I was thrilled to find that someone is setting up shop with a Systema school in Portland too. That makes a huge difference for me.

Which hippie town would make a big difference as to how much rent you pay.

I will tell you a flat downtown Portland can run upwards of $1000 per month. No matter where you are, downtown is usually much more expensive. No sales tax in Oregon but your income tax is high. In Washington, you could live in Vancouver or the surrounding area less expensively, pay NO state income tax and hop the bridge (a whopping two miles) to shop tax-free. Everyone does it.

I don't know where you can get a liveable house for 70k anymore, not even in the worse parts of town - the local farm houses are dilapidated for the most part, so if you paid that for a house outright, you'd be needing money for repairs and upgrades ... but you could use that for a nice down.

I understand the Felida area (a district of the City of Vancouver, I believe) has some very nice living quarters for less money and the area is decent not only in crime stats but also just *pretty.*

If you want to fly out and stay for a day or two in a local hotel I can connect you with a nice and inexpensive hotel and show you around. PM me if you're interested.

But 18K is kinda lean in these parts. You'd most likely require more income.

 

[shesulsa]

I'll ask, though, about some of the southern cities in Oregon - I hear things are MUUUUCH more "doable" there.

 

[Big Don]

If you don't like rain, the Pacific NW may not be for you.
OH my god it rains a lot there

 

[Flea]

LOL!
Flea, it sounds as where ever you go you'll have people you'll know of and a warm welcome!

Yeah, it's funny how these things work out. One of my neighbors is a very dear friend whose life lost its center a couple years ago - he retired from his career, and was widowed a few months later. Since then he's just been drifting. He's met some of my family and they've kind of embraced him. He's estranged from his own family, and also wanting to leave the neighborhood too.

I started teasing him last year - just move to Portland with me! You'll have all the family you want, and we can stay neighbors, and leave this crack hood far behind. Hell, we can even go in on a duplex together. What's not to love? It started out as a joke, but I suspect he's thinking it over. The more I think about it, the more I like the idea too. Family is crucial to anyone's quality of life. I'm very lucky to have a solid genetic family, but I don't take my Family Of Choice for granted either, and it would just kill me to lose him.

Yes Steve, most of my family is in Eugene, with one cousin going to school in Portland. Eugene is beautiful, but it feels a little small for me. I followed the Eugene paper online for a while, and the day the kindergarten graduation ceremony made the front page with twelve minutes of video I knew it was too placid a hometown for me. Conflict can be a nuisance at times, but it keeps life interesting.

 

[Flea]

Which hippie town would make a big difference as to how much rent you pay.

I will tell you a flat downtown Portland can run upwards of $1000 per month. No matter where you are, downtown is usually much more expensive. No sales tax in Oregon but your income tax is high. In Washington, you could live in Vancouver or the surrounding area less expensively, pay NO state income tax and hop the bridge (a whopping two miles) to shop tax-free. Everyone does it.

Tempting! And if I was in WA I could enroll in Brian King's Systema class. The only reason I'm in such an urban setting right now is that it was all I could afford when I was buying. I don't really consider myself an urban person - my happiest surroundings over the years has been a blue collar suburb, and an artsy-fartsy rural college town.

I don't know where you can get a liveable house for 70k anymore, not even in the worse parts of town - the local farm houses are dilapidated for the most part, so if you paid that for a house outright, you'd be needing money for repairs and upgrades ... but you could use that for a nice down.

I have a weird arrangement that way; I can't afford rent at all, and I doubt that I'd qualify for the Section 8 subsidy (not that I'd want it.) I bought my current condo by using a family inheritance to make a 40% down payment. My monthly mortgage payments are tiny. I plan to transfer that arrangement Out West once I sell here. Since I can't work a conventional job, it's the only way I can think of to do it.

There are a lot of Revitalization Grants floating around these days too; I may be able to take advantage of something like that. Again, I'm no diva, I just want something a little better than where I am now. That's a pretty broad category.

:mrtoilet:

I understand the Felida area (a district of the City of Vancouver, I believe) has some very nice living quarters for less money and the area is decent not only in crime stats but also just *pretty.*

If you want to fly out and stay for a day or two in a local hotel I can connect you with a nice and inexpensive hotel and show you around. PM me if you're interested.

Also tempting! May I ask where you're located? Are you in Vancouver yourself?

* edit * I hope I haven't put anyone off with the financial stuff. I know it's a taboo in some circles to discuss one's finances, but it's a very important part of my situation here. Besides, it may be helpful for someone else here is in a similar situation. If anyone following the thread would rather I get more vague, just say so.

 

[shesulsa]

I am in Vancouver, Washington, yes. And if you get tired of Systema, you could pop in for the occasional visit to me.