If you aren't on this ping list and are interested
in articles about Oregon, please FReepmail me.
Bare in mind that it does not take to much to go all the way... once you have slipped over to the dark side....
Over to you.
You've read comments from a lot of people warning you about Oregon (and Washington). They are right. All the politics & votes lie in the areas like Portland & Eugene (Seattle and Tacoma). Their state politics are a liberal mess because of it. Living in the more conservative east side might give you some solace, but the bottom line is state politics will override most everything. Especially if times get more difficult.
You have also thought the Idaho panhandle would be a great place. Idaho's a great state with adults in charge of the state's budget. Unfortunately, like many other areas, it may be difficult to find employment in your trade. There are a lot of local electrical contractors with deep experience that are struggling to keep food on the table. Some are able to maintain, because they are already well established.
Many Californians moved to the Coeur d’Alene area thinking it was an ideal place to relocate. You can't blame them, it's very pretty. Now, a few years later, they are in financial trouble.
Wherever you move, find a stable job FIRST. Employment is difficult in many areas that were once thought to be the relocation Mecca’s.
Good luck
Dallas/Ft Worth. Period.
I am a native of Bend and 56 years. I left to the Middle-East for work in Jan 2009 after the central Oregon economy took a big hit, particularly in Construction. I am “slightly” to the right of Genghis Khan, when it comes to my conservative nature. The city has been absorbed with trust fund babies and liberals in general. I keep a house there, with my daughter and her family living in it at the moment. Son-in-law is a tile contractor and business is not good. It IS a beautiful area with some great recreation. That being said, I am ready for a place in Wyoming and place in the Philippines. Certainly not in the Middle-East. I want a beach and boat half the year and hunting and outdoors for the other... I worked for a company with corp office in Manila and grew attached to the conservative lifestyle of most in the country.
bump
There is an active Conservative movement here in Oregon and we are pushing back. If you want work there is quite a bit in Portland around Intel but times are tough. Idaho has much lower taxes and more sanity.
Pray for America
Spend a winter in north/central ID before you make your final decision.
If you are thinking about Portland or Salem, consider Newberg. It is sort of half way between the two and is a nice small town with a Christian university.George Fox, a Quaker school).
Based on 2011 figures of the 50 states and D.C., Oregon ranks as follows with regards to taxes:
Ranked the highest in State Income Taxes at 8.60%.
One of 5 states with no sales tax.
Ranked right in the middle for property taxes (25th) .
Ranked the 8th highest at excise taxes on Gasoline ($0.30 per gallon).
Ranked in the middle for excise taxes on Cigarettes ($1.18 per pack).
Ranked the second highest for excise taxes on Liquor ($23.30 per gallon).
The reason I was looking into this is because I used to live in southern Oregon and the wife has expressed an interest in retiring there. Based on my research, Texas is looking better.
There are a few manufacturing outfits in northern/panhandle Idaho. Generally speaking, the house build industry is dead and not likely to come back for a while. Electrician probably better find something more in the industrial side. Not much of that except mining and some machining businesses in northern Idaho. Many of the lumber mills will have electricians on staff.
Southern idaho has its share of industry from heavy manufacturing to electronics. Being high desert the south is quite different from the north half of the state.
We moved a small high tech business to Idaho going on 8 years ago. Just south of Lewiston - ‘bout halfway between Boise and Coeur d’Alene. You will want to spend a month or two in midwinter before deciding - unless you have lived where ‘winter’ is. Definitely 4 seasons.
In our town’s case the largest employer is Federal Government. 80% of the state is government owned. While that has provided a stable source of employment in the past, all it would take to devastate the economies is a big spending cut by congress. Local economies will be hard hit until other income sources come about.
Politically, Idaho is as interesting and can be as screwed up as anywhere else, just much more conservative as a whole. Politics can get pretty real here - I remember a number of years back the county commissioners had an open debate on setting up a county plan. Ended up getting the topic tabled as nooses were tossed up on the desk in front of them. Still don’t have a plan.
In general, the state is easy to get along with, makes only a few annoying nanny state laws. And taxes are mostly low.
Portland is dimocrat as is the Eugene area.
Are you moving for a job? Vacation home?
The rest of the state is red, though. Just those two blighted areas.
Idaho has fewer liberal/progressive/morons. In Oregon, the progressive wetside has an economic and political choke hold on the conservative eastern half of the state. Most of the former Californians are on the west side, trying to recreate their lost paradise with the same stupid liberal paradigms that they destroyed CA with.
Rural cleansing on steroids as the only thing the land use planning commission will approve on the dry side is windmills.
It’s a decent place to live if you’re outdoorsy or want to farm. No sales tax if you are retired on a fixed income, but if you have to work for a living, it’s going to be harder.
I live in Bend and have for 10 years. Great town; population is around 80,000 for the county.
It’s “High Desert” area w/lots of sage, rabbit brush and Juniper trees. Directed to the west are seven extinct volcanos approximately 9000’ high - Mt Bachelor, a great ski resort, is one of them. Bend is at approximately 3800 feet elevation; Sunriver, a great resort area to the south, is a little over 4000’ elevation. The summers are 2nd to none - very rarely does it get into the 90’s and you might have a 100 degree reading or two in July or August. The humidity is low - -20% - and it cools off every night into the 40’s or 50’s except, again, for the night or two in July or August. There are numerous hiking/biking trails and numerous lakes and streams in the area for fishing.
The winters are long and cold. (We have a freeze warning tonight) We had -10 degrees on Halloween 3 years ago; not a lot of snow but you can count on cold temps from mid October to the end of May.
Job situation is not good. U-3 unemployment is around 10% and wages in Central Oregon are about 20% below what Portland, Salem & Eugene is paying for skilled workers. I’d visit but would consider Idaho -
Pray about it!!
As to a liberal strangle-hold—the last Republican to win a gubernatorial election was Vic Atiyeh, who was re-elected in 1982. Only Washington has a longer Dem streak—they last elected a Republican in 1980.
At one time we were going to go to Bend, until we went there one winter....It was bone chilling frigged, wind blowing, ice covered roads, gloomy etc. Idaho can also get severe long winters.
We quickly decided to stay in Southern California....lol
Overlooking the politics, and the economy - both of which are "not good".
I am presently in New Mexico, but I keep a house in Oregon (rented to family). Living off of the mini oil boom in SE NM, it is not a place I expect to stay but it pays the bills. Texas would be much better.
But Oregon is still home!
About 15 years ago, my wife and I were considering moving to SW Oregon if I got early retirement.
Our older son was in Oregone in charge of a heavy duty construction job.
He warned me about the politics and how the state was veering towards bankruptcy. He told me to take the Oregonian Newspaper for 6 months to a half year to see where the state was headed.
It took less than 3 months.
That son’s company went broke as they put too much effort in trying secure the heavy duty construction in Oregon. He is back in California, and he has kept his company from bidding on any governmental bidding from any level. That has kept his company in business.
The younger son was a chef in Portland and wanted to go to the Bend area. Fortunately for him some fellow chefs moved to Bend and got caught in the current financial downfall which started years ago in Oregone. He thought that he was an environmentalist until he saw what the econazi terrorists were doing to Oregone on a regular basis.
He has been back home in the wine business for 5 years. Most of his friends in Portland lost their restaurants or the restaurants they worked for went broke. The survivors are children and grandchildren of very rich people, and they survive because they are trust fund babies. The red tape required to expand a restaurant or even to just improve on the site, drives many owners out or out of money.