Move to Portland hold out?

July 22, 2009 4:03 PM

Move to Portland in a year or stay in San Diego, presuming we can buy a house outright?

My husband and I recieved a decent inheritance when his mother passed away. We used part of it to get the"yay stuff" out of our systems, pay for his school in full, and get a long term, reliable car. So, no debt at all.

We've thought very carefully about what to do with the remainder - 160k - and we'd like to buy a small house outright. We own a mobile home now, but it's in a bad part of San Diego and the rent is much more than we would pay with a house (900 a month plus property tax, despite owning it)

Explaination done - is Portland a worthwhile idea? We like the liberal leaning community and walkability. I'm an admin assistant, he's a masseuse. We wold move in a year.

posted by veritas to work & money (8 comments total)

Didn't we just have a thread on here about how there are no jobs in Portland? That's one factor.
posted by jenfullmoon at 4:20 PM on July 22

Yes. Move to Portland.
posted by The World Famous at 4:23 PM on July 22

I live in Portland, and I love it. So, I'm biased. The job situation might be tricky, though. I have an administrative job, which I got through a temp agency (which is your best bet on getting admin jobs). Also, there's a large number of massage therapists in the area (I'm actually in school right now for that), although I don't know specifically whether it's _too_ many. The therapists I know all seem to be doing well. Hope these data points help!
posted by hopeless romantique at 4:26 PM on July 22

We did it 7 years ago. Moved to Portland from Austin. Walkability was high on our list too. So we got a compass and a map, and drew half mile circles around all of the rail stops, clusters of commerce, grocery stores, and dog friendly parks. Found a house right away in a union of our multi-venn diagrams and bought it. I bike and walk a lot. When the weather's bad (usually about 1 week a year), I ride the train. My wife still drives a fair amount as her job takes her around town throughout the day.

We planned on getting jobs when we moved here, but couldn't find anything. So we both hustled as contractors in our fields (computer programmer and event planner) and continue to do that to this day.

You might take a look at zillow.com for real estate prices. In my plain, non-trendy neighborhood, a small 1000 sq ft 1940's 2-1 goes for $200 - 300k. There's nothing for under $200k. But a couple of train stops further out the prices drop.

What I love about Portland is the friendly vibe, kid-friendliness (we have one toddler and another on the way), and Mt. Hood. I do a lot of skiing and hiking and that's a huge quality of life boost for me.

Good luck!
posted by nonmyopicdave at 4:27 PM on July 22

Can you deal with the difference in weather? San Diego's climate compared to Portland's is about as extreme as you can get.
posted by LuckySeven~ at 4:53 PM on July 22

$160k for a house in Portland?
The average sale price is around $300,000 and the median is around $250,000.
It's been steadily falling, but not in huge numbers, who knows where it will be in a year really.

Unemployment in Oregon is very high, second or third in the nation depending on whose stats you believe.
While moving without a job is never really a brilliant idea, unless you've got cash to live on for a while, it could be a really bad idea now.

Also, and something I like to point out to most Californians moving up to Oregon (other than it's full and the border is closed. heh) is that Oregon isn't the cheap wonderland they seem to think it is.
Depending on where you are in San Diego (La Jolla or City Heights), you might not find it any cheaper to live in Portland.
The major price difference is housing, clearly. Gas is usually 20 cents or so cheaper, but groceries are pretty close, restaurants are pretty close, event prices are similar. Electricity is somewhat cheaper, but you use more of it, so it evens out.

The point is, if you are planning to cash out and live better, Oregon might not be the place.
posted by madajb at 5:25 PM on July 22

Quick clarify: we both like weather. I grew up in Chicago - all we really want to avoid is 100+ degree days. We're mostly just looking for a cheap starter house - even in a cheap house here you're looking at 200k and the worst schools. We got pre-approved for another 40k, and wouldn't move to Portland for another year or so, while we secure jobs.

Thank you for the advice so far!
posted by veritas at 9:00 PM on July 22

The job situation is bad bad BAD here in Portland. Even before the economy tanked it was not good. A friend of mine is hiring a legal assistant at the moment; she's received over 400 resumes. I have friends in varying fields, with tons of experience, who have been out of work for over a year or have had to commute up to Seattle area or down to CA for work.

You can certainly find a decent house here for under 200K.
posted by medeine at 10:07 AM on July 23