Why is everyone moving to Oregon?

United Van Lines COO Rich McClure discusses the moving trends his company sees domestically and overseas.

[tootsla]

Too late, crabby Oregonians! I’ve got family here and have loved visiting Oregon my entire life. I just moved here. Get over yourselves. It’s a free country.

[Oscaregarciaiii]

Why you shouldn't

1. We Recycle and #2 greenest state in the US and #1 in Recycling
2. Most of our produce is local, especially wine, beer, berries and dairy (Tillamook Cheese is considered)
3. We arent too hot or cold but we do still get 90 degree warmth and 30 degree freezing (but also varies where you live)
4. We have every kind of land you can think of: Mountains, Valleys, Plateaus, Deserts, Coasts, Bays, Riversides, Swamps/Marshes, Urban life, Rual life, you name it
5. Minimum Wage is the highest and no sales tax (downfall is we have high income tax and Portland Area Rent is high but can be affrodable)
6. Our coast is government owned, no one has a single property on the sand shore.
7. Our highways may sucks, but our back roads can take you anywhere! and they are all great drives!
8. We are always supporting our forest and wild life
9. We really (in a Willamette valley perspective) only have to worry about Cougars and Bears but therye mostly in dense forests.... which is everywhere but also easily avoidable to encounter there
10. SO MANY RIVERS AND LAKES
11. CLEAN AIR!
12. Pot is legal (recreational and medical) and CHEAP AS HELL AND A THE BEST PLACE TO GROW
13. We are just an awesome state

So dont move here

[latishacroissant]

Oregon literally has everything besides warm water; a coast, valleys, mountains, forests, high deserts, rivers, canyons, basins, craters, lol. Maybe I'm biased but Oregon will forever be beautiful and forever be my home and I don't mind newcomers learning the culture of our state because I would never do that to someone else's homeland

[rippinaroundeverywhere]

Oregon native here, since 73...Change has definitely occurred here..

[alinice]

I lived in Oregon from 2010 until 2017. Really nice people there specially in college towns and I have made lots of friends who are Oregonians. I am originally from Iraq and was there to get my PhD in mathematics. Here’s my point of view, the weather is so rainy and causes depression and lack of sleep at night because it’s always dark during the day. It is really hard to find a good paying job unless you are in the medical field. Most of the flat lands are not used properly and left for growing natural grass or alpha alpha. So many laws and hard to start a business. Houses and rents are going way beyond the reality and most people paying half of their paying checks for rent or mortgage. I wouldn’t recommend anyone who doesn’t enjoy 6 months of rain and darkness to live there and work his ass of to get paid $1800 a month

[vf]

Cost of living in Oregon and housing prices isn't good. Our gasoline is high. Grocery costs are high, taxes, car registration is high compared to other locations. I quit fishing because a fishing license and salmon tag is almost $70 for a resident now. The state is beautiful, for the most part the people are great and there doesn't seem to be the social issues other areas have. It's not easy to make a living on the Oregon coast since it's mostly tourist driven with small business. The interstate 5 corridor, Portland to Medford is where the money and industry are. Not saying a person can't survive elsewhere in Oregon, and I truly believe the best places to live in Oregon are away from interstate 5 if your looking for tight knit community and peace n quiet.

[ghayath]

I lived in California for 2 years, and 10 years in Oregon, and 4 years in Switzerland. Oregon was my favorite. Clean air, and beautiful summers. They have the FOUR SEASONS.  

[agentned]

Tell people moving to Oregon about The Cascadia Subduction Zone & they may change their mind

[MD-lrij]

Why indeed? There are few jobs, and those that do exist pay 15-20% less than the national average. People dumping their out of state money into housing here has driven the costs up so much most working people can't afford to buy homes. Other than that, it's great here.

[jbarkerhill]

People complaining about people moving to Portland, OR probably also moved from somewhere else, so it's hypocritical to say that no one else should come somewhere when you yourself were attracted to that area.
It's annoying to deal with more people and competition, and it just means you have to work harder to succeed.
The quality of life in Portland is great if you work in tech. The weather's not so great, but it's just part of the package that you deal with.

[camilalozano]

I used to live in Oregon i hadi had to move cos my dads jobe went down i had trouble in my my new school from bullies and i moved to another school i still miss oregon so much i was born there i miss my old school i was there 10 years

[ellajones]

I lived in Oregon for over 40yrs and you couldn't pay me to ever move back, don't get me wrong it is one of the most beautiful places in the world but for me only 2 nice months a year. 10 months of wet soggy grey misery Give me sunshine for the rest of my life, I moved to Florida.

[Aster_Risk]

This is why rent in Springfield and Eugene has gone up so much in the last three years. It makes a lot more sense now.

[carasmussen]

this is an old post but I have been living in Oregon for over 25 years. it is getting way too expensive to live here but it is beautiful. We have the dullest weather ever in the PDX area. rarely snows, an occasional wind or ice storm. Rain in the late fall until early spring but not 24/7. Fairly mild in the winter. Gorgeous summers, not too hot and humid. Only down side no thunderstorms again a very rare occurrence.

[TylerHamiltonDesign]

I want to see some data on retention rates. I've known around 15 or so people who have moved to Oregon over the last 8 or 9 years, most of them in the last 2. All but one didn't last more than a year or so. People really underestimate the weather there and have fantasies about a wide open job market. It seems like the majority of transplants just don't make it.

[ralphbruckart]

Governor, Tom McCall said it best: Oregon ..a nice place to visit.... but don't plan on staying!!!

[naperking]

Why is everyone moving to Pennsylvania? Go there instead of Oregon, please!

[ciaofantozzi]

cant drive between 3-6 ANYWHERE! 205, 217, 26, I5, I84...Oh God..

[_and]

Great! Traffic in Portland is going to get worse. Thanks a lot, non-Oregon natives!

[oakvue]

Today you can sell property in Oregon for cash....Used to be you had to deal with some banker who wanted a bunch of changes and fixes....Now there are people with bags of cash fighting to buy old farms as is. Why? Because it's beautiful and fairly prosperous and for now, maybe the safest place on earth!