Relocation to Salem quality of life?

[texasdiver]

Originally Posted by elijah210

Hmmm yeah that's the chicken-and-egg conundrum. I do want to leverage into a full-time career, but at the same time I know that Hiring Managers up in Oregon aren't going to take a job application seriously if they see it's coming from someone who still lives in California. I assume they'd want to interview and hire from the pool of people already living in the region, which is why I think I'll move up there first rather than just waiting around down in San Jose any longer and not really being able to begin building the quality of life I want to have. My older brother's been out of college since 2017 and he's been here in our parents' house ever since, trying to find a full-time graphic design job by applying to hundreds of jobs all over the country-- he gets some phone screen interviews and maybe re-locating is normal for the tech-type jobs, but for the field of work I'm in I feel like it would be better to get a foot-in-the-door with employers by being there in person and doing volunteer work, etc. Not appealing to me to stay stagnant in San Jose living with my parents and waiting around for years for one of the many positions I've already applied to to magically fall in my lap! My "side job of choice" and experience is dishwashing/bussing and I assume I could find an opening at a restaurant to bring in some income while continuing to search for jobs in my field and building up connections.


I've been back here in San Jose less than 5 months and feel like I've gotten more than enough of my fill of Bay Area life already My current plan is to resign from my para-educator job end of January and move up to Oregon near the beginning of February if all goes well.

Yeah, for bus driving jobs I doubt anyone is even going to look at your application unless you already have an Oregon CDL. First things first if you want a driving job. Same thing with teaching. Without an Oregon teaching license you won't even be able to complete the job applications.

[elijah210]

Originally Posted by texasdiver

Yeah, for bus driving jobs I doubt anyone is even going to look at your application unless you already have an Oregon CDL. First things first if you want a driving job. Same thing with teaching. Without an Oregon teaching license you won't even be able to complete the job applications.

Well I don’t plan on applying for a bus driving job so no need for a CDL. And I don’t plan on applying for any jobs that require a teaching license, at least in the next few years, for several reasons!. When I arrive I guess I will just have to pound the pavement and see what opportunities are out there, maybe I will visit the local Goodwill career center or the staffing agency to see if they can help. This is always the most difficult part of moving, I loved my job in Minnesota but it was just too far away from the west coast— maybe I can start up with some similar type of work here. I know patience will be key in the job search.

[Silverfall]

Originally Posted by elijah210

Through a mutual connection, I found a possible room for rent in Buena Vista 7 miles southeast of Independence at a great rate. Is this a fairly central location in the region if I'm looking for jobs among all the cities? Of course the location would not be permanent, just to get me started and I don't mind driving longer distances through farmland.


How are people in Salem and surrounding communities, are they generally welcoming to someone who just moved there? Over the years I've witnessed the 'Seattle Freeze', 'Minnesota Nice,' and also whatever the snobbishness/competitiveness is that's been making its way into the Bay Area as of late! What is the overall political mood in the region?

Buena Vista is farm country, but that location will serve you just fine while you get settled up here.

I have found Salemites very friendly.

The political mood is different. Oregon has always had odd politics with our red/blue split in the state as most of the cities in Oregon are small and rural and often libertarian. We used to have Senator Wyden (D) and Senator Gordon (R) and I thought they were a good team for Oregon, working well together. Gordon lost to Merkley a decade ago.

The dems have a supermajority in the statehouse and in this last session, the republicans left the state to make sure there wasn't a quorum for a vote on a bill. Things are more contentious here now, but I think that is true all over.

[Larry Caldwell]

Originally Posted by elijah210

Thanks for your input! That's funny, down where I live in California right now there seems to be a severe shortage of teachers, maybe we should conscript some of those underemployed Oregonian teachers to help out down here Yeah I've found over the last few years when I was working as an adult Computer Skills Instructor and more recently a teacher's assistant in elementary special ed (me being an introvert and a perfectionist) that I'm not so sure I want to pursue the route of public school classroom teaching after all-- you might call me a wimp but according to statistics 40 to 50% of new teachers quit within their first 5 years and it just seems risky to me to spend so much money on a teaching credential if I can already anticipate the burn-out! I wish K-12 teaching was a more sustainable job, but with all the increasing problems within education (teachers required to put in many unpaid hours, low parental involvement, technology addiction in young students leaving them with hardly any attention span, schools lacking proper disciplinary support systems) for me I just don't think it would be sustainable. I know the other sectors may be lower pay but that's a trade-off I'm willing to make, and hope I would eventually be able to find a promising opportunity. Whatever I decide to pursue I think it would be a good idea to first establish residency in Oregon so I can qualify for in-state tuition should I decide to go back for further education or a teaching credential later on in life.

Worked some things out and am planning to move up mid-February!

It may be different now, but when I was in high school my math teacher was working on his masters, and all of his educational expenses were tax deductible, since continuing education was a state requirement. He got his masters and moved on. Meanwhile, I got a great math teacher for a couple years. I was way ahead of my peers in calculus when I started college.

[Larry Caldwell]

Originally Posted by elijah210

Thank you for your observations, it's very helpful! Yeah I'm happy with driving to see the Beavers or even the Wolves, and I heard Salem has a minor-league baseball team as well. It's good to know about the wilderness opportunities nearby. In San Jose we do have wilderness around but IMO it's rendered pretty inaccessible because of the insane traffic that goes on around the clock and because of all the crazy drivers I avoid the freeway, and as a result feel sort of "stuck" in the city all the time. One of my reasons for leaving. It will be nice to be back in a place where a short drive can get you to a hiking trail.

Through a mutual connection, I found a possible room for rent in Buena Vista 7 miles southeast of Independence at a great rate. Is this a fairly central location in the region if I'm looking for jobs among all the cities? Of course the location would not be permanent, just to get me started and I don't mind driving longer distances through farmland.

How are people in Salem and surrounding communities, are they generally welcoming to someone who just moved there? Over the years I've witnessed the 'Seattle Freeze', 'Minnesota Nice,' and also whatever the snobbishness/competitiveness is that's been making its way into the Bay Area as of late! What is the overall political mood in the region?

Buena Vista is closer to Albany than Salem, but it is convenient to Monmouth, Independence, Albany and Salem. FYI, the locals pronounce it Byoona Vista. That may be changing as immigrants with no roots in the area move in.

[elijah210]

Hi all,


I will be moving tomorrow to Buena Vista/ Independence! Very excited, thank you all for the advice you offered here!


-Elijah

[leastprime]

If you will be traveling on S. River Road to Salem, please be careful, cars are fast, road narrow and the RR overpass & curve at Roberts (Illahee) have claimed many lives. Have fun. If you go over Ankeny hill or use the Ankeny Rd, they are fast for people who know the land but hazardous for new comers. Have fun.

[garyb112]

After living in Salem for over 4 years now, I would say maybe keep driving right on past. Salem has some great restaurants (try Anette's for sure), the roads are good, the coast is near, but the entire state is costly. Is it better than some other places? Probably a lot better.

[elijah210]

Originally Posted by garyb112

After living in Salem for over 4 years now, I would say maybe keep driving right on past. Salem has some great restaurants (try Anette's for sure), the roads are good, the coast is near, but the entire state is costly. Is it better than some other places? Probably a lot better.

Thank you for your extensive thoughts shared here (I think part of it got deleted?). Many things to consider, I think you may look at these situations with an especially critical eye. Which is not bad in itself, but I found that I have really liked living in the Willamette valley so far. I got a job working as a frontline employee with the state government (human services related) in Eugene so I’m sure I will learn a lot more about these economic issues facing the state.