Relocating to Portland Oregon? (fit in, 2013, home)

[MeloMelo66]

Hi Everyone,
My husband and I are considering where to buy our home and settle down in a few (really few) years time. As you can see we are planners A bit of background info to make your answers more targeted. I am an MBA graduate, black and with a lot of experience living abroad, my husband is biracial French (black-white) employed in the IT sector. We are both in our late 20s.We’ll be relocating from NY.

I had long dreamt about living in Seattle because it is environmentally conscious and a bit nerdy However, looking at the high home prices in there, I don’t think we’ll be able to buy something that will please us in the next few years.

As a result, we are looking into Portland, Oregon. So here are the questions:
1.Will our kids, who I’m sure will be pretty international in outlook because of their diverse origins, feel at home in Portland?

2.We want to have friends of different races, what are race relations like in Portland? Will our kids be boxed in say, blacks stick with blacks etc (as I observed in Georgia and some places down south?)

3.What are the employment opportunities like there? I will be working in online marketing and my husband in Java development.

4.This is an odd question, but please don’t misinterpret my intentions, I speak four languages (including Japanese) and I have met people (again in a small town in Georgia who were surprised that someone black can be highly educated), from your experiences in Portland are highly educated minorities visibly present in the workforce?

Thanks in advance for your answers. Oh, and before I forget, my husband speaks English but he has a french accent, don’t know if that will work against us in any way…..

[davefr]

1. No Problem
2. No Problem
3. Major problem
4. No problem

You'll fit in well if you can secure employment.

[MeloMelo66]

Hi daverfr,

When you say "major problem", are you refering specifically to IT or the recession in general?

[sayulita]

Even though DAVEFR replied "No Problem" to your questions about race, you need to be aware that Portland is a very "white" city. Although many races do live here and for the most part harmoniously, you will find that most middle class/upper class neighborhoods will be predominantly white. Just a heads up. As to the employment picture, as has been said in so many threads before - secure your jobs before moving here. It may look different in a few years, but for now, it's not pretty.
Complete non-sequitur here - you might want to check out the French American School here for your kids. And you husband with the French accent? All I can say is Ooh La La! Everyone will love it. What could be sexier?

[MeloMelo66]

Hi Sayulita,

Thanks for the info. Yes, according to my initial research alot of people (25-39yrs old) move to Portland before finding a job and then remain unemployed for a long time. I really hope the job market picks up in a few years time. A full national rebound is predicted in 2013, however, I do admit that I will have to fully research Portland's local economical structure to see if it will follow the national trend.

[SIZE=3]As for race relations, my husband and I are actually in France (I followed him hereJ), we will be relocating to NY next yr (he’s following meJ) from which we hope to move to a clean, safe accepting place for our children-->Portland. We don’t mind being a minority, as we already are in France. What’s of primary importance to us is living somewhere where people socialize across color lines—as they do in France. I don’t want my children forming stereotypical opinions of others (despite our best attempts to educate them) because they don’t have the opportunity to interact with different people. As long as there is tolerance and open mindedness then we’ll be fine there J[/SIZE]

[davefr]

Originally Posted by MeloMelo66

Hi daverfr,

When you say "major problem", are you refering specifically to IT or the recession in general?

Both. Unemployment is >11% and Portland is one of the worst cities in the country for jobs. I also know there's a glut of IT professionals chasing very few jobs.

Secure jobs before you relocate if you depend on an income.

[whitlee07]

Portland in general is a multi racial city and I see no problem with your concerns in that regard, although as above poster said, you will find that most mid/upper class neighborhoods are more white.
Will be wonderful when that isn't a question that's ever asked.
Ditto to securing employment, especially in your fields and especially now.
I have no idea what price range of home you're looking at but Portland has a history of having pretty high home prices.
Keep in mind, that you will find the things you desire (environmentally conscious & nerdy) in other cities besides Portland & Seattle.
Have you looked at Raleigh,NC and the surrounding areas at all?

[MeloMelo66]

Hi Whitle07, "Will be wonderful when that isn't a question that's ever asked." I really liked your comment and I forsee our grandkids not even caring to think about asking this question. Hence, I'm pretty hopeful Thanks alot, I will definitely be looking into Raleigh, NC.

[seain dublin]

We lived in Portland for two years and I did notice the city was divided by race. NE Portland for a good portion was primarly black.

For such a "liberal" city it was very segregated. No one ever seemed to discuss that.

And Portland has always been a tough job market.

Very nice place to live, not enough jobs.

[Leisesturm]

I'm getting a little fed up with the blanket advice to "secure a job before you come to PDX". Maybe when I see it offered by someone who has done just that I will take it under advisement. That being said, Melo, the naysayers are correct. It is a very tough employment market and if it is tough for locals it is all but impossible for someone international. I live across the street from a recent medical school graduate that was laid off months after being hired after graduation and has not found work again, yet.

I didn't chime in to speak only to that talking point. You had some questions about race. The last poster was correct in a way, Blacks in PDX (and Seattle) exist in a subworld that intersects only tangentially with the rest of the Pacific Northwest. Asians of all kinds, Middle Easterners and Europeans are all very well assimilated into the wider culture but blacks remain apart. Highly educated blacks are all but invisible. I have been here over a year and I do not know a single non-white individual. Not one. Partly that is because Portlands suburbs have even less diversity than Portland proper. However, even in PDX proper it is pretty much separate and not very equal. I have to tell you that this does not bode well for your employment outlook. The unemployment rate for blacks is five times that of everyone else. I have four advanced IT certifications and recruiters call me all night and all day but once they collect the (voluntary) EEO Self Identification information I never hear from them again. On the one or two occasions I have been interviewed it was like a party. Lots of friendly chatter and nothing. I've stopped interviewing until I finish some more schooling to be in a very specialized line of IT that has little or no competition. I had to do the same in my avocation which is now my sole means of support. I was hired eventually in that field after much handwringing and a very excrutiating interview process. People just don't know what to make of intellectual and articulate African Americans in this part of the world. I am told they do in California, but only one part of it: L.A. And of course there is the Southeast but I just don't do Red states that well. Realistically, my job break is going to be from a large state entity that is held to staffing mandates that attempt to somewhat represent the community at large. The same is probably true of yourself and your S.O. Either that, or a personal contact from your Network. Once you establish one. Which takes time. Which takes money. Good luck.

H