I am looking to relocate to Oregon-HELP! (Portland, Roseburg: real estate, apartment)

[boredwithcalifornia]

I am originally from California and I am looking for similar weather. Actually, I have a wish list as follows:

warm-but not excessively warm
no snow or extreme cold
close to a hospital
great schools
low crime
great job opportunities, especially in the legal field
affordable housing with large home and backyard (my husband loves to grow our own fruit and veggies)

I just cant take the extremely high priced homes in California, the high taxes, the high crime, and low job market. It is extremely depressing here and I want to raise my kids in a kid friendly area.

Any ideas?

[JohnPaul]

it snows anywhere and everywhere in the state of oregon, but west of the cascades it doesn't stick around very long. it does however rain and over cast for nine months of the year... taxes are high but not like calif., legal field would be eugene, salem , bend, portland.

[jjpop]

Originally Posted by boredwithcalifornia

warm-but not excessively warm

You mean just in summer, or all year around? You put this one first, so I'm assuming it's very important.

If just the summer, then anything in inland western Oregon from Roseburg north. If you mean all year around, then sorry, Oregon is not for you.

[Minervah]

No great job opportunities. Especially in the legal field. A newly graduated attorney I know had to work at a grocery store for almost two years before he was able to find a position at a law firm. There is a total saturation of paralegal jobs with competition between newly graduated paralegals and newly graduated attorneys.

[Metlakatla]

Yes, the legal field has been hit particularly hard in Oregon, and great job opportunities in any field really don't exist. It does seem that things are getting slightly better for employment in general though...but I still wouldn't advise moving to Oregon without a job, especially with a family.

You don't say what part of California you're from, so there's no point of reference for the type of weather that you want to find something similar to. Real estate prices are pretty reasonable and there are areas with good schools and low crime compared to parts of California, but you might have to compromise availability of jobs and weather for that.

[Larry Caldwell]

Take a clue from other Californians. My brother is an Oregon native who moved to West Texas just north of Dallas. It has all the things you are looking for.

[Daisy32673]

Originally Posted by boredwithcalifornia

I am originally from California and I am looking for similar weather. Actually, I have a wish list as follows:

warm-but not excessively warm
no snow or extreme cold
close to a hospital
great schools
low crime
great job opportunities, especially in the legal field
affordable housing with large home and backyard (my husband loves to grow our own fruit and veggies)

I just cant take the extremely high priced homes in California, the high taxes, the high crime, and low job market. It is extremely depressing here and I want to raise my kids in a kid friendly area.

Any ideas?

Where are you living in California? The only place that has similar weather to Portland is the San Fransisco area. If you're looking for weather like LA or SD you're out of luck. I cant think of any place in Oregon where there wouldnt be a possibility of snow. The rest of the things on your list are pretty easy to find though

[Hawk J]

If'n you live on Fremont Peak, CA, you mite find some similar spots in southwest Oregon. But we have much more beautiful timber...

Fremont Peak State Park - San Juan Bautista, CA

http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/dJFBN...dQYcH0YDe40Q3A

[Silverfall]

affordable housing doesn't go with great schools and low crime. Great schools and low crime areas are generally wealthier areas of cities which means higher home prices. Depending on where you are from in CA though, most of Oregon is affordable in comparison.

I 2nd the legal field being hard hit. Firms aren't hiring because their business is down as well. I know many of the legal grads are doing pro bono work just to gain legal skills while they work another job to pay the rent.

Sounds like you want California weather but not in California. There is a reason that home prices are so high there. People pay for the nice weather. If you want to move out of CA you have to give up the nice weather in exchange for some of those other things.

[Daisy32673]

Originally Posted by Silverfall

affordable housing doesn't go with great schools and low crime. Great schools and low crime areas are generally wealthier areas of cities which means higher home prices. Depending on where you are from in CA though, most of Oregon is affordable in comparison.

I 2nd the legal field being hard hit. Firms aren't hiring because their business is down as well. I know many of the legal grads are doing pro bono work just to gain legal skills while they work another job to pay the rent.

Sounds like you want California weather but not in California. There is a reason that home prices are so high there. People pay for the nice weather. If you want to move out of CA you have to give up the nice weather in exchange for some of those other things.

If you're moving from areas where a 3 BR APARTMENT can cost $2700, then anything in Oregon is considered affordable. We paid just under $3000 for a 1500 sq foot home in So Cal and our housing cost is now less than half of what we used to pay.
And I agree about your weather comment. You're not going to find the same weather here in Oregon