Thanks for the responses above.

Office is actually in Vancouver WA, and looks like wife and I will be flying up end of the month to check out the area. Offer has to be finalized, and of course it has to meet our requirements, but the ball is rolling. Looks like time frame for move is 90-120 days if all works out.

This thread makes me want to move to the area

Vancouver is a suburb of Portland, but you probably already knew that. You could pretty much live where ever you wanted, although WA has no state income tax. Oregon has no sales tax. It's a pretty interesting place up here.

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Plus it's really fun to become a fan of one the NW Universities (Ducks, Beavers, Dawgs, Cougs);

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None of those compare to the atmosphere at Kyle Field or Blue Bell. I've been to both sports at all 4 universities. Not the same.

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I didn't say it was the same or greater or lesser than Kyle and Blue Bell. I said the NW teams are fun to follow. And when did Aggie Softball play start playing at Blue Bell??

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I lived in Seattle for 3 years. Just moved back to Texas 9 months ago in the middle August. I loved returning to those warm Texas summer nights. In Seattle, the nights would get kind of chilly even in the middle of the summer.

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You serious, Clark?

I want to move to Oregon!!! Wife refuses to leave Dallas. WTH.

finishing up post-grad training in the next year or so

ive never visited the NW (had flight connections), but from what Ive read and seen (pics, research), it looks great

wife is hippy-drippy and wants a moderate size town -- the only thing is she is not fond of the cold (however, she did like northern colorado when we were there for a year)

im trying to convince her of the NW

I guess it depends on what you think cold is. The winters really aren't bad here. I think Texas got more snow and ice than we did this year. If you go east, you get more winter weather, but Portland is pretty mild year round. There were many days this winter that Dallas had lower temps than us.

Bit of a long shot here, but thought it was worth a try.

My buddy just graduated from A&M with a degree in Biology. His plan is to go to Occupational Therapy School next fall. In the mean time he plans to just work and save money then attempt to complete the Pacific Crest Trail (Late April - Early Sept 2016).

He's been working 2 jobs for about 3-4 years now, one as a swim coach and the other as a care giver. He mentioned he planned to move back home to Houston to save money and try to get a job as a swim coach there and maybe also at REI. This guy loves the mountains though, so I am seeing if anyone knows of anything that he may be able to contribute to as he may go insane living in Houston.

I realize its a short time gig, but he wants to come back to the area after the PCT is done. Thanks in advance, and Oregon is amazingly beautiful.

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Office is actually in Vancouver WA, and looks like wife and I will be flying up end of the month to check out the area. Offer has to be finalized, and of course it has to meet our requirements, but the ball is rolling. Looks like time frame for move is 90-120 days if all works out.

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Visit went well, in spite of its brevity. The Portland area is a pretty neat place to visit, though a visit is never a gauge of what life in the locale is truly like. We stayed near the airport, drove around parts of Portland, drove out to the Cascade Locks, drove out to Astoria and Seaside, visited the office in Vancouver, ate pretty well, slept even better. Not sure how I would feel about the weather in 6-12 months after coming from SA, but I think I would be busy enough at work that I wouldn't have time to be bothered by considerable clouds or precip. Same goes for the wife.

We'll see if my employer is serious about my relocation with the offer, which should occur in the next 3-5 days.

I wouldn't worry about the weather too much. The last few winters have been getting drier and sunnier. This year, especially with the storms that just went through, Texas has gotten more rain than we have. It really doesn't get that cold here either. It will be sunny and in the 80s for the next 10 days or so with very little humidity.

bump: Wife and I are scouting our retirement (15 yrs from now) by spending a week in Bend in 2 weeks. Really hoping we fall in love with the place.

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bump: Wife and I are scouting our retirement (15 yrs from now) by spending a week in Bend in 2 weeks. Really hoping we fall in love with the place.

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Awesome choice. My only concern would be that Bend in 15 years isn't going to be the Bend of today. The secret is out.

I live in Bend, but will be in Aggieland next week. Robert Earl Keen will be playing in Bend at good life brewery the 27th of june. A rare treat up in the NW. Message me if you need some scoop on where to go and what to do.

Go to Boise Fry Company in Portland, Oregon. This location is Aggie owned and operated.

I know the Boise Fry Company guy. Pretty cool guy. You meet an eclectic group of people at the watch parties.

Well, looks like wife and I will be relocating sometime late fall/early winter to Vancouver WA. Employer offer was accepted, and the opportunity to grow professionally was enough to have the wife buy in to the move.

Will know more in the coming weeks. At this point in time, am pretty certain we will live in Washington to avoid the income tax in Oregon, plus the office is in Vancouver. Gotta start getting home ready to sell in San Antonio and get the wife on the job search trail.

Thanks to those for input on the area.

nm - reread earlier post that your office is in Vancouver.

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we will live in Washington to avoid the income tax in Oregon, plus the office is in Vancouver...

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from what I've read, the state, property, sales taxes wash each other out

but working in Wash, would probably live there as it seems the traffic from Vancouver to Portland is turrible

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we will live in Washington to avoid the income tax in Oregon, plus the office is in Vancouver...

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from what I've read, the state, property, sales taxes wash each other out

but working in Wash, would probably live there as it seems the traffic from Vancouver to Portland is turrible

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You'd be surprised, actually. When you work in Vancouver and live in Portland you commute against that horrendous traffic. We live in SW Portland and my husband works in Vancouver and I work in NE Portland and the traffic isn't bad at all ... He makes it to work in about 20-25 minutes.

OregonAg, the wife and I have decided to move to Portland. Do y'all take the light rail very often? We're thinking about dropping down to one vehicle since my old beast is on it's last legs.

We don't take the light rail often but only because it's not easily accessible in our neighborhood. I wish it was though because it passes right by my office. It all depends on where you work/live. The bus system is pretty good, too. Of course, not as reliable as rail because the buses have to deal with traffic, but definitely a great commuting option.

We dropped down to one car in 2010 and only just this year went back to two cars because we had a baby. Prior to that, I took the bus to work everyday and really didn't mind it.

Do you know where you guys will be living in Portland vs. where you'll be working?

My wife doesn't graduate with her Masters until this December. So, we're trying to time it where we won't be here too long after she graduates. We're just scoping out some companies and neighborhoods right now. Thanks for the reply!

Word of advice - It's the MAX, not the "light rail." People will look at you funny if you ask where the light rail is.

I used to take the max regularly when we lived in NE and were near a stop. Now we live in the burbs, and although there is a park and ride, it's not very convenient. We could be a one car family, but it would be incredibly difficult. It really depends on where you live. If you are in downtown or the Pearl district - no problem.
Also, rents and home prices are on the rise here, so you might experience some sticker shock depending on what you're used to.

If you move here in the winter, there's no telling what the weather will be this year, but I would watch out for the passes if you are going to drive up here. We hit a blizzard in Colorado the year we moved at the end of May. We were totally unprepared for that.

I keep reading that the unemployment rate is pretty high. Is that mainly for the Liberal Arts majors and people moving without a job first? I mean what's it really like for a Bachelors degree in Business type of person like myself? I can't imagine it taking me more than a month or two to find something. Thoughts?

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I keep reading that the unemployment rate is pretty high. Is that mainly for the Liberal Arts majors and people moving without a job first? I mean what's it really like for a Bachelors degree in Business type of person like myself? I can't imagine it taking me more than a month or two to find something. Thoughts?

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I don't live in Portland so I will defer to the posters that do. I will only say that the joke that is told about Portland is that it is "where young people go to retire." The joke is that Portland is such a nice place to live a lot of young people move there for the lifestyle and then look for work. I assume a lot of those folks are low skilled labor. It may be different (and better) for folks w/ college degrees. Again, I defer to any Portland Ags.

There are a lot of young people that come here to "retire." You can be a waiter here and earn at least minimum wage plus tips. The lifestyle is a big reason why a lot of people move here. The unemployment really depends on what field you're looking in. Since we moved here about 4 years ago, we have seen a lot more jobs come available. That being said, some fields are better than others. If you are in tech, there are a lot of companies here you can look at. Legal field seems ok now, but not booming.

Echoing what aggiespartan said, I think it may just depend on the field. From my personal experience and that of our extended friends and family, I haven't watched anyone struggle with unemployment and have frequently watched people seamlessly transition from one job to another. What I have experienced though, is the notorious issue of underemployment in Portland. There have been numerous articles written on the economic value people place on simply living in Portland and therefore are willing to sacrifice higher wages in order to live here. I've seen both sides of it -- either people getting underpaid for what they do, or people facing such stiff competition in the job market that they are perpetually in jobs they are overqualified for. But, in over 10 years here I've never known anyone to move away citing the job market as their reasoning.

Again, that's been my personal experience so others may have a different opinion. I do know there are a **** ton of people moving here so I'm sure there's a tipping point somewhere. Fun fact I heard on the radio this morning: ODOT has determined that Portland's existing highway system has hit capacity, so that doesn't bode well for future traffic outlooks!

The traffic situation is not very surprising. I will say though, that Portland is a little big city. There is hardly any sprawl. If there is no traffic, you can probably drive across the whole city in 30 minutes. Also if you live near a MAX station, the train is pretty convenient.

I drive 23 miles each way, it has been absolutely brutal lately. My average commute is 30-50% longer than it was when I bought my house in 2010. That is my main sign of growing population and/or reducing unemployment.

Thanks, everyone. That's the general idea I got, too. Does give me some hope that finding a job won't be as hard as when I graduated. The economy is a little better off. We'll see if pans out for us. And if we do move there, I'll make sure no one follows us!

Where is everybody watching the game? It doesn't look like our club has found a bar since the Oregon game starts an hour after ours.

Official first day of work in Vancouver will be January 11, 2016. Wife and I will depart Texas at least a week beforehand, perhaps a few days earlier. Corporate sponsored movers will handle most of the relocation labor, but wife and I will drive up from San Antonio with irreplaceable personal effects and 5 dogs.

Will begin home shopping here in the coming weeks. Think we will stick with our decision to live in Washington, but not sure whether we will be out toward Camas/Washougal or up north near Battle Ground or Ridgefield. Office staff live all over the place - even have one guy who has a home in Medford, but an apartment in Vancouver; he leaves Medford early on Monday morning, stays in Vancouver through Wednesday night, then drives back to Medford after work on Thursday. Hard core.

Looking forward to working and living in that part of the country.

Just moved to Bend and looking to watch some Fightin Texas Aggie football with like minded people. Any plans for tomorrow?

Sanka,

Mind if I ask what you do? Wife and I are really interested in moving to Bend at some point but haven't seen much in the way of jobs for my background (electrical engineering).