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I'm looking to relocate within the next year or so to the PNW. Yes I have visited both WA and OR previously and while I didn't get to spend as much time exploring as I would have liked, I really enjoyed both states (with the exception of Portland, due to the massive amount of homeless people everywhere, which I know can be a problem in big cities). I am not a big city person (no thanks traffic, smog, crime) but I like rural or suburban areas - anything where I can can commute to a job within 30 min, or work remote.
I am from CA and have never been a huge fan of it here. While we do have beautiful beaches and lots of sunshine, it has always been a great place to visit / vacation rather than live due to the crazy high cost of living, which has recently gotten more absurd than ever. Gas is $5/gallon, eggs are $9/dozen, milk is $6/gallon, and rent on a simple 2 bedroom apartment is over $3K/month. Basic homes in my area are over $1 million and anything "nice" is easily 2 million or more. I know people in OR / WA probably have seen an increase in cost of living as well, and I have noticed it too from my online research, BUT its still no where near as bad as CA.
In addition to the crazy cost of living, I am a cold weather person. I dread the weather most of the year in CA. I prefer overcast and rainy to sunny and warm. When I visited WA/OR I loved the weather there!
I've given relocating a great deal of research and thought already (for several years) and feel this will be a good move for me. I am reaching out to get some feedback on the two locations I have narrowed my search down to - Salem OR and Vancouver WA. Both seem nice, similar weather, and both seem to have stores in the area that I'm familiar with. The wages seem fair based on the rent prices that I've seen online, at least compared to CA. But I still don't have too many details on what makes one place a better fit possibly than the other, and I would love to hear from the locals - what do you like vs dislike about your area? If you have lived in both places by chance, is there one you prefer to the other, and why?
A little about me - I'm nearing 40, I'm divorced with no kids (so I don't need to be near good schools), I am an office admin currently with lots of office work experience and can do any type of office work that pays the bills. I am vegetarian, animal lover, nature lover, church attender, cat rescue volunteer, not big into politics, laid back vibe, have tattoos. Anything you want to know about me, feel free to ask. However, please refrain from trying to talk me out of relocating. I've seen that as a very common trend on this site. Thanks!
Vancouver WA vs Salem OR - best life for the price
I'm looking to relocate within the next year or so to the PNW. Yes I have visited both WA and OR previously and while I didn't get to spend as much time exploring as I would have liked, I really enjoyed both states (with the exception of Portland, due to the massive amount of homeless people everywhere, which I know can be a problem in big cities). I am not a big city person (no thanks traffic, smog, crime) but I like rural or suburban areas - anything where I can can commute to a job within 30 min, or work remote.
I am from CA and have never been a huge fan of it here. While we do have beautiful beaches and lots of sunshine, it has always been a great place to visit / vacation rather than live due to the crazy high cost of living, which has recently gotten more absurd than ever. Gas is $5/gallon, eggs are $9/dozen, milk is $6/gallon, and rent on a simple 2 bedroom apartment is over $3K/month. Basic homes in my area are over $1 million and anything "nice" is easily 2 million or more. I know people in OR / WA probably have seen an increase in cost of living as well, and I have noticed it too from my online research, BUT its still no where near as bad as CA.
In addition to the crazy cost of living, I am a cold weather person. I dread the weather most of the year in CA. I prefer overcast and rainy to sunny and warm. When I visited WA/OR I loved the weather there!
I've given relocating a great deal of research and thought already (for several years) and feel this will be a good move for me. I am reaching out to get some feedback on the two locations I have narrowed my search down to - Salem OR and Vancouver WA. Both seem nice, similar weather, and both seem to have stores in the area that I'm familiar with. The wages seem fair based on the rent prices that I've seen online, at least compared to CA. But I still don't have too many details on what makes one place a better fit possibly than the other, and I would love to hear from the locals - what do you like vs dislike about your area? If you have lived in both places by chance, is there one you prefer to the other, and why?
A little about me - I'm nearing 40, I'm divorced with no kids (so I don't need to be near good schools), I am an office admin currently with lots of office work experience and can do any type of office work that pays the bills. I am vegetarian, animal lover, nature lover, church attender, cat rescue volunteer, not big into politics, laid back vibe, have tattoos. Anything you want to know about me, feel free to ask. However, please refrain from trying to talk me out of relocating. I've seen that as a very common trend on this site. Thanks!
The only differences I can see for you between the two communities is that Salem has a lot of state government jobs, so there might be more opportunities for office admin type employment, and the income tax thing if you're going to be renting. Other than that, if you can be happy in one of these cities, you can be happy in the other. But you'll find crime/homelessness in both cities as well as in their surrounding suburbs.
The only differences I can see for you between the two communities is that Salem has a lot of state government jobs, so there might be more opportunities for office admin type employment, and the income tax thing if you're going to be renting. Other than that, if you can be happy in one of these cities, you can be happy in the other. But you'll find crime/homelessness in both cities as well as in their surrounding suburbs.
When I visited the suburbs in both states (WA & OR) I didnt see a big homeless problem like I saw in Portland (downtown). Since you are saying there is a homeless community even in these suburbs, is there a nearby area you suggest instead?
When I visited the suburbs in both states (WA & OR) I didnt see a big homeless problem like I saw in Portland (downtown). Since you are saying there is a homeless community even in these suburbs, is there a nearby area you suggest instead?
You won't find Portland-style tent cities in most of the suburbs, but they're there — not on the sidewalks but along the creeks and rivers in wooded areas and other places where you won't necessarily see them. Seems to have gotten worse since the pandemic. It used to be that homeless populations decreased the farther you got from I-5.
Even here in CA where the homes cost 5 million + by the beach we have homeless who hang out at the beaches for the free showers and bathrooms, but nothing to the extent of what you see in Portland. I did read the oregon was rated "best place to be homeless" because the community there is so accepting and accommadating. Here the police ticket the homeless for "loitering" and throw away their sleeping bags, so its not an easy place to be if you are in that bad situation. I have been attacked by a crazy homeless person before, which is why I am trying to avoid that / those areas going forward.
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Hey, come on up and become a "gorge cat!_". This is a great group https://www.gorgecat.org/. Very close to hiking and photography and river adventures. But.... < 20 minutes to everything metro. Close enough, but far enough away from stressors to equal a pretty good shot at quality of life. Wages on the WA side are equivalent, but no state income tax in WA, so your money may go farther living and working in WA. There are a variety of job options, and very easy to hop a flight to sunshine.
Vancouver is part of the Portland metro area and consequently is growing very fast. It will have a lot more job opportunities and probably more social opportunities.
Salem is more of a stand-alone town that is frankly not as economically vibrant as Vancouver so employment may be a bit tougher. But for basic office work you can probably find work either place. If you look at a map, the distance from Salem to Portland is the same distance as from Longview WA to Portland. People commute to Portland from both Salem and Longview but I wouldn't want to do it.
Vancouver will be more expensive due to proximity to Portland. It is basically a Portland suburb. You are paying a premium to be part of the Portland metro area. And if you live and work in Vancouver you will minimize your taxes because no state income tax in Washington and you can shop tax-free in Oregon where there is no sales tax. You are supposed to voluntarily send in your sales tax payments to the state of WA for shopping you do in Portland. But I don't think anyone actually does it.
Personally I'd rather be single in Vancouver than in Salem. There is just more going on and you have a much bigger prospective dating pool in the Portland area than Salem area. If that makes any difference to you.
Vancouver should feel more familiar to you if you're coming from the coastal parts of Southern California because Washington's zoning creates sprawl. It's hard to tell where one town/city ends and the next one begins. Also, the Vancouver area has a lot of people.
In Oregon the zoning laws create distinct communities so the towns have "edges" and outside of those edges there is often farmland. Salem is like that. Salem is quite a bit smaller than Vancouver and a bit rough around the edges, but it has a nice little downtown.
I believe Vancouver overall has more outdoor recreation opportunities - swimming, boating, hiking, skiing, etc. Salem has Silver Falls State Park nearby which people come from all over the world to visit. It's that good. There is also lots of hiking in the nearby areas.
Vancouver is part of the Portland metro area and consequently is growing very fast. It will have a lot more job opportunities and probably more social opportunities.
Salem is more of a stand-alone town that is frankly not as economically vibrant as Vancouver so employment may be a bit tougher. But for basic office work you can probably find work either place. If you look at a map, the distance from Salem to Portland is the same distance as from Longview WA to Portland. People commute to Portland from both Salem and Longview but I wouldn't want to do it.
Vancouver will be more expensive due to proximity to Portland. It is basically a Portland suburb. You are paying a premium to be part of the Portland metro area. And if you live and work in Vancouver you will minimize your taxes because no state income tax in Washington and you can shop tax-free in Oregon where there is no sales tax. You are supposed to voluntarily send in your sales tax payments to the state of WA for shopping you do in Portland. But I don't think anyone actually does it.
Personally I'd rather be single in Vancouver than in Salem. There is just more going on and you have a much bigger prospective dating pool in the Portland area than Salem area. If that makes any difference to you.
Thank you! That is actually all very helpful info. If I do go with Vancouver as opposed to Salem however, I would want to find employment in Vancouver. As opposed to commuting to Portland. I just want to make that clear. Although I know Portland is "just across the bridge" as I have visited (and yes I know about the income tax and tax free shopping I have considered that great option as well!) I would like to steer clear of Portland if I can. I was uncomfortable when I visited due to the massive amount of homeless. Maybe that is just the downtown experience of Portland? Maybe there are nice Portland areas I have not seen yet? But from what I did experience when I came to visit, Portland didnt feel very safe. Areas I looked at like Lake Oswego were the opposite - very beautiful, charming, clean BUT had a high rent price tag when compared with some of the other cities.
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Vancouver WA vs Salem OR - best life for the price
