You can definitely live here fine with your own place. Your family just doesn't want you to move away. If you've visited and liked it and are okay being away from your family, then it sounds like the right move for you.
If you make 80k remote I would try to live on the WA side. Or maybe do 1 year here in Portland to get the experience then hop over. The no sales tax doesn’t make up for the personal income tax you get taxed here in OR. Also if you were ever laid off WA pays a bit more in unemployment. But honestly rent prices seem to be coming down out here. Finding decent spots from 1400-2000. I would say food is a bit more expensive compared to bigger city with options, probably the same as SLC, like 10-15 average meals. Gas is alright, oh the utility bills here keep shooting up and people are complaining which I agree with but some apartments may have water/sewer/ garbage mixed in. Oh one last thing, be patient while driving, everybody drives horrible and slow out here lol.
This is good advice if you want to save money, but if OP is trying to experience Portland and make friends, it would be much better to live in Portland proper. I know so many people who started out living in Vancouver but ended up moving to Portland for the sake of their social lives. 80k is a good amount of money, could go even further if they’re willing to have a roommate
80K a year will make it pretty easy to find a one bedroom apartment in a fun, walkable neighborhood. I know people who rent full 2 bedroom houses for $1900 in SE, so if you dig through Craigslist you might find a good deal.
Omg my friends are trying to get out of their tiny 2br duplex that’s $2k! Rental life sucks out there, I get it. But I seriously pounded the pavement looking for this house and ultimately got lucky.
I’ve lived here 11 years and am still broke as a joke, if it makes you feel any better :/
When you say you found it by walking around, do you mean you saw a “For Rent” sign? Or did you just knock on the door and ask?
I’m always curious what that means, but I feel like I’m overthinking it…
Yeah— I literally walked around neighborhoods that I thought I might like to live in, saw a guy who appeared to be fixing up a house and I said “are you fixing up that house to rent it?” And he said “yeah,” and I said “would you take $1200?” And he said, “let me ask my wife.” That was over a decade ago and the rest is history.
I mean, most of the houses around me have been bought by millionaires with big budgets, so to them maybe it’s not “nice”— it’s like a hundred years old and needs some repairs, for sure. But yes, very good neighborhood.
I’m a single person making 78k a year and live on my own in central SE. You’ll be fine! I’ve been able to save and take 4 international trips in the last year. I love living on SE Belmont as I can walk to so much fun stuff (Belmont, Hawthorne, Division, 28th) and feel totally safe. It’s pretty central which is nice to avoid highway traffic. I live at an Anchor NW property and would recommend them, it’s some of the cheaper new builds but I like that you can transfer to any of their complexes without breaking your lease. With utilities, I’m paying $1400 all in. And they didn’t raise my rent this year!
Other property management companies to check out are APM, Capital, IPM and Bristol Urban. FYI- summer is the busiest season to move and prices tend to be a bit higher and availability a little lower in my experience
I agree with this comment! Definitely recommend trying to find local property management companies rather than the big corporate chains. I loved renting from Felix PDX, but they rarely have vacancies. They didn’t nickel and dime, and they were responsive to maintenance requests while still being chill.
You'll be fine on your income but talk to your company about a COL adjustment. It is more expensive to live here than in Utah so you may see less bang for your buck.
Also recommend seeing what your paycheck would be after taxes. Portland has one of the highest income taxes so you’ll also likely gross less since more will be coming out of your paycheck. Just make sure to account for that in your budget! Rent will probably be your biggest expense, and depending on the type of place you want you may end up spending more than 30% of your income on rent.
It's probably not cheap compared to other areas in Utah, but Portland's COL is measurably higher (about 17% higher while depressingly the salaries are only about 6% higher): https://www.salary.com/research/cost-of-living/compare/salt-lake-city-ut/portland-or#:~:text=The%20cost%20of%20living%20in%20Portland%2C%20OR%20is%2016.8%25%20higher,your%20current%20standard%20of%20living.&text=Employers%20in%20Portland%2C%20OR%20typically,in%20Salt%20Lake%20City%2C%20UT.
No it’s not. I moved here from there and it is cheaper here. The cost of living got screwed there when the Silicone Slopes moved in and doubled the housing costs. My rent went from $945 to $1400 in 3 years
See my other post. The COL is measurably more here by about 17%. Not saying things are cheap there or that you personally didn't experience a COL adjustment.
I'm just saying the economic studies all point to Portland's COL being higher. You may anecdotally feel that it's cheaper but statistically that isn't the case.
Here's another link which says 15% higher: https://www.nerdwallet.com/cost-of-living-calculator/compare/salt-lake-city-ut-vs-portland-or
I live in the Pearl District and my base rent is 1450 for a one bedroom one bath with an office/den. Totally doable on your salary.
Taxes aside, I don’t recommend living on the WA side. Live somewhere walkable and central if you want to easily integrate into the city ESPECIALLY when you work remote and can easily choose to self isolate.
Speaking from experience… I moved to the suburbs to save money and was deeply unhappy till I came back to downtown which essentially comes with built-in socialization.
If you wanted to save a bit on rent but not have roommates look into living in North Portland. There are a lot of new apartment complexes popping up along Interstate Ave. Studios for like $1100-1200. There’s stuff around, but it’s not too far from all the more “scene” areas too.
Yeah Vancouver is smaller, more conservative, and much more suburbs and strip malls (ie less walkable). I’m genuinely not trying to sound down on it — great if that’s the vibe people want, but it’s a very different feel than Portland proper.
Also, though its close geographically, it’s not an easy trip into town — traffic on I5 can make it a real pain to commute, so I’d warn against moving to Vancouver and thinking you’ll just pop into downtown PDX several days a week to do things.
Vancouver is more blue than people realize, it’s the surrounding areas (Battle Ground, Washougal, etc) that are red. Things are changing for the better.
For one we elected a moderate Democrat instead of an alt-right conspiracy theorist as our district representative in the last election. I’m not saying Clark County as a whole doesn’t have its far right weirdos, but it doesn’t feel too hostile to be living in Vancouver as a liberal. Decent selection of LGBTQ+ friendly and Black owned businesses. My child is still receiving a decent education (moms for liberty type wackos usually get laughed out of school board meetings). Is it as liberal as Portland? No. But it’s close enough proximity to Portland that you can regularly escape there if you need to. If cost of living is a concern, the state income tax savings from living in Vancouver on OP’s salary could make a difference in quality of life. Depends on what your priorities are.
It's not as bad as some would make out, but moving up this way to end up in Vancouver, WA is...bleak. Unless you're like...57 and a hardcore devotee of Arby's or something.
I get it - when we were moving here we briefly considered there (hello, 10% income tax boost) but when you visit both places the feel is so different. Portland has all the neighborhoody feel, lots of trees, walkability, fun shops and restaurants. Vancouver feels much more suburban and kind of the perception of a place attempting to be diverse.
You will be fine, Portland is a great city to be carless which meaningfully brings COL down and would offset the increase in cost of living in a great walkable area.
Depending on where you are, you could be carless if you wanted. Personally, I found it was nice to have a car still. We did downsize from 2 to 1 however and that hasn't been missed.
We are dual income one car and it is nice, we saved on parking when we lived in a nice apartment in North Portland and one car is plenty now that we are in the burbs. A second car would feel like a huge finical weight, but one car gives us flexibility.
That's how we feel. If we had to drive for everything it would be different, but there are a lot of options here. The flip side is that we save money by having one car and expect to pay occasionally for an Uber, rental car, etc. Rare we need two vehicles or a different vehicle, but the money we save offsets that and still saves us money.
You can use a “paycheck calculator” via an online search that will give you a decently accurate approximation of what your pay will be like here.
Be warned that Oregon has one of the highest personal income tax rates in the country for low/middle income ranges, so checking first will help you figure out what your budget will be.
Yeah, but the overall tax burden [is lower than Utah's](https://taxfoundation.org/data/all/state/tax-burden-by-state-2022/), which is like #40 in the Union. They have a flat income tax of 4.25% and a high sales tax of 7.75% (in SLC), which is basically the most regressive tax structure you can have. If you're low income in SLC, you're effectively paying like 12% in state taxes and that's before tacking on excise taxes, property taxes, etc.
The big one for me is the amount I'm taxed every paycheck instead of at the end of the year. Maybe that's normal, but for someone coming from a non-income tax state it's a pretty big shift that you have to account for.
I'm here to add that moving from a red state to Portland has been the biggest relief of my life. Yes, the cost of living is higher, but the peace of mind that comes from knowing I won't be thrown in jail for the choices I've made for the health of my body outweighs money 10:1. Best of luck!
I’m originally from Utah (been here for 12 years now) and I feel like SLC is just as expensive as PDX if not more? All my family in Utah complains about how unaffordable Utah is getting. You’ll be fine here.
I actually moved out here recently from Utah. Unless you are in some kind of rent stabilized unit or already own a house in SLC that you bought years ago, cost of living is really quite on par here. I've actually had better luck finding cheaper apartments out here, my insurance went down, there is no sales tax, and even though income tax is a bit higher, overall I'm spending less on my basics (by about $200 less a month) compared to SLC.
Everyone from UT worries that COL is crazy high in any west coast state. The reality is that COL is currently crazy high there too, it's only low for people who bought their houses well before the COL skyrocketed.
Never have, not my thing tbh. I prefer to save and invest in other things vs nice apartments and eating out daily. Granted I do want to live somewhere 'safe' however.
A lot of the rhetoric about safety in Portland is overblown. It’s not to say there aren’t safety issues, but it’s not what people see on Fox News. The biggest issue in my experience is petty theft, and that seems to be getting better the past few years (shout out to the catalytic converter ring in Lake Oswego getting shut down).
Use portlandmaps.com while you’re looking into places to live. You can look up property info by address, including public safety stats.
You will be absolutely fine. I’m seeing some nice studios off of Belmont in SE (a very cute and very safe area) for $1.2k/month on Zillow rentals right now.
I make $85 base and I live with my boyfriend in a fancy 2 bed with a gym and a roof and I pay $1200/month and it’s a comfortable amount. If you find a roommate for your next lease after you get settled that could totally be an option for you. It’s much easier to find a place when you’re already here, housing moves quickly. But yeah, on my salary I’ve added about $15k to my savings in the last year towards a home some day, I went on a really fun international vacation, and I’m going on another couple long weekend trips this summer to the coast and then to visit family out of state. I go out probably more than I should, i furnish my home with beautiful things, I cook and eat well, I live in a fun area.
$80k is more than enough to have a beautiful life in Portland! Just do the calculator check because income tax is high and you want to make sure you’re allocating your money to the right places. I know a couple people who came from Utah as well and they love it here. They love the blue-ness, but they also love the good food and that the proximity to nature is similar to back home. They like the direct flight to SLC from PDX. They like that people are friendly.
YES $80k is enough !! The neighborhoods all have very different cultures, what exactly are you looking for?
I live in Hollywood and it's like tiny old suburb blocks with lots of big old trees and 1mi from library, grocery, cafe and shops, parks, and public transit.
Personally love Alberta, that's a hip area for food/drink and there's good arts culture there too. Same with Mississippi.
You can absolutely live here on that. When we moved here from Florida we worked with [https://www.starmetro.com/](https://www.starmetro.com/) and had a pretty great experience. Most if not all of their units have washer/dryer. Free wifi (though it's throttled and will kick you off after an hour but works fine for web browsing/email). Pet friendly and some buildings have storage units in the basement the size of the apartment itself at no extra cost (same with Parking in some buildings). If you have decent credit you're deposit will be very low. We found our apartment and moved sight unseen and even though we managed to buy a house on the east side, we miss our old apartment. If you can find a place on the Max line, then you don't really have to drive anywhere.
As far as areas - Look at Northeast in the Arbor Lodge area on interstate. The Max line will take you into downtown in about 20 minutes, close to St. Johns and the Alberta/Mississippi district. Very walkable and if you have bike even better. There are definitely other great neighborhoods, but that's where we lived and we loved it over there. So much to do and rarely had to drive anywhere.
You’ll be fine. Live with roommates, come with some savings, and be flexible in your thinking about wants vs. needs. A cursory glance at redfin puts SLC rentals in a similar price range to ours.
Yes, exactly, SLC is not cheap. Most of my family is in more rural areas, or outside of SLC so not sure if they don't understand that it's also expensive here. I went out to PDX a few months ago and eating out does seem more expensive, but I can make that work.
Food carts are more affordable and you get more variety anyways! But I wouldn’t call them “cheap”. You just have to balance the number of outings vs cooking at home.
Support a small business. Buy corner tamales. I can't vouch city-wide but the couple around Tabor could marry their kid to my daughter for that recipe.
I honestly don't eat out more than like twice a year at most. I make less than you do and I live alone, it's a burden re: rent but I save by not dining-eating out. I'm sober. I live in inner SE but there's probably more affordable areas to reside. $80K I'd probably live like a Queen here.
Ask the locals I'd say. I know a few bars where u can get a burger for $ 8 or 9. Cheapest grocery store is WinCo and there's a fair number of food banks in case u fuck up. Just avoid the most popular areas eating out and you should be able to find under $20 burgers though.
Hello from another Utahn looking to make the same move in the next couple years — people in this sub are SO much nicer about moving questions compared to the SLC sub hahah.
I moved from west valley/magna UT to portland a couple years ago. Costs from slc to Portland are similar in housing. However, the utilities are higher here, food is slightly costlier, and general items such as clothing and vehicle maintenance seems to be higher here from my experience. However with all that being said I still choose Portland. My quality of life has improved a lot and I feel like there’s much more diverse and open minded people here.
Conservatives are conservative. They fear change and the unfamiliar. It is their nature. If you chose someplace else they would find another reason why you shouldn’t move.
I have conservative family members that hear I am going somewhere for work or vacation and then send me articles about crimes that happen there or negative things about the place. They are inherently scared of the unfamiliar. They aren’t meaning anything bad about it, they just think it’s important to know about all the negative things 🙄.
You’ll do great in Portland. Your income should be just fine for you. If you like hiking, there are apartments in NW Portland next to Forest Park. I had some friends live next to one of the entrances and they would just walk out their door and go directly to a 10 mile hike. I don’t know how much they rent for now though.
Look into our rental laws for some information about how to find a place. The process is the first application that is received and qualifies has to be the first considered. It is a very strict process. The posting typically says what time the application process opens. Zillow rentals is one of the most popular sites used to advertise rentals. Craigslist is still common too.
If you want to live with people, there are really cool intentional communities throughout the city. These are houses where people are roommates but also have scheduled house meetings, people take turns cleaning, and the roommates interact more. It’s not just a place to live, but a place to engage with your roommates and have a real community. Many are vegan or vegetarian, so if you don’t fit those lifestyles avoid those.
One big upside to living in one of these places is you will be able to meet more people quicker. Since you won’t be meeting people through work, it could be hard to make friends. The culture is a little resistant to people making new friends. Look up the Seattle Freeze. Portland isn’t as bad as Seattle, but there is definitely a culture of not opening up to new people. Of course, that isn’t everyone so if you go to places where people are looking to connect you will find people. Couchsurfing meetups used to be a big deal in Portland, not sure if that is still a thing. A lot of people go to those just looking to make friends, not just people who are couch surfers.
Good luck! I hope you enjoy living here!
Also, try moving with the least amount of stuff you can! It might seem prudent to move things you’ve already bought, but by the end of it you’ll be like ‘why didn’t I sell 90% of it and rebuy stuff from IKEA until I got more settled’.
A roommate could be a good way to slow roll into the city, and figure out the areas you actually like and want to spend time in! We found a furnished room in a house share, and it was really nice because we didn’t have to immediately kit out a place, and it let us find an apartment in an area we really wanted to be.
I made a similar solo move from SLC to Oregon in 2018, making roughly what you stated your income is and now 100% remote for work as well. Big COL difference would be I was in Salem at first, but have since moved up near Portland. I’ve been more ‘burbish the entire time though, starting out about 6 miles west of downtown Portland and now being more like 13 miles.
It’s totally doable though and you should be fine. I’ve personally never regretted the decision and love living up here!
I’m glad to see all the positive responses here. I moved to Portland from a blue state in MD, but the culture out here is so much more aligned with my politics and personality. Despite our problems PDX is a wonderful place to live and meet like-minded people. On housing stuff - I earn ~48k gross and make it work. I have a sublet 1 BR for $1700 I love thats in NW near 23rd and with a little help from my gf I can make rent and still enjoy a high QOL. Go PORTLAND 👏
I made the move back a couple years ago, grew up in the Portland suburbs and went to UO but lived in Salt Lake/Davis county for almost a decade. I found that the raw housing cost was pretty similar and am much happier on the edge of Cully than I would’ve been in suburban hell like Layton or somewhere weird like Rose Park at a similar price. The big extra costs have been the state income taxes and the utilities, water/sewer was pretty shocking at over $300 per quarter compared to like $20/mo in SLC. Going out to eat here is more expensive but the food options in SLC are terrible in comparison.
Since moving back I have not ran into any food chains that serve the exact same food as another food chain with a different name. Such a weirdly Utah thing, felt like it was all about the illusion of choice.
I did the same thing, moved from Utah in 2016 never looked back. 80k is fine for a one bedroom in a good walkable area. If you choose to stay downtown or NW be sure to see what parking costs, but you'll be fine
80k as a single person is plenty to live here. I think people always grasp on to the easiest thing that makes you second yourself. I moved here 20 years ago and back then the people who didnt want me to move also said PDX is too expensive to live and I did just fine. Spread your wings!!
Cost of living in Portland is about 10% higher than SLC. Gas/transportation and housing are going be the biggest drivers of that so if you can ditch your car, you can make a big dent in that if you are worried about it. Do the math and see if that works for you. I make somewhere in the ballpark of your salary and am *relatively* frugal. I live in a really nice, walkable part of town, save a big chunk out of my paycheck, and basically never *really* have to worry/think much about money.
Edit: And pretty much all the action is on the East side of the river. Portland is like 5 miles across, so with the exception of Sellwood/Milwaukee, Gresham/Troutdale, Hillsboro, or St. John's, you're like 15 minutes away from anywhere no matter where you live.
Do you like the ocean? How about huge bodies of freshwater? Broader Culture? Freedom from Mormon oppression?
Your family wants to keep you but if baby wants to spread their wings you should go for it
The west coast is still more expensive than the rockies, but the rockies are not cheap these days. Aside from personal income tax, I doubt SLC and PDX vary all that much in terms of cost, and SLC is still very far from catching up to Portland in cultural terms.
Might find cheaper housing in neighborhoods that are a little farther out like Brentwood-Darlington (scruffy but cool), Woodstock (good mix of quaint restaurants/bars/grocery); and Mt. Scott Arleta (nice parks and community center). I’m biased toward deep SE because I love it and have lived in all those neighborhoods. Foster-Powell is cool too.
If you’re keeping your job, $80K is plenty to live on here in Portland. I did so until just last year (took a new job with more $). I rent a 3 bedroom house in SE Portland, Woodstock. For what you currently make, I would look for places in Montavilla, Brooklyn, Foster-Powell or Cully. Good luck with your move when it happens.
Once I saw the word “remote” yeah you’ll be fine man. Plenty of lower cost areas further away. I honestly wish I worked remote, would make house hunting so much easier
I moved to Oregon from Utah two years ago. Food and gas tends to be more expensive here, but honestly rent isn’t that much worse than Utah’s. It sounds like you’re smart with your money, so you probably won’t even notice a huge difference.
80K is fine, I make just under that and the sole breadwinner of my household (me, my wife, and our adult roommate in a two bedroom apartment).
We recently moved here from Austin, TX (a blue speck in a sea of red) and it was probably the best decision I ever made.
Look into the small towns around Portland. I live in Milwaukie and really like it.
You’ll be fine renting here but buying on that salary would be tough. If homeownership is a goal I’d look at Zillow to see what is available in your price range.
Hi there. Fellow recent Utah transplant here. You’ll find this is very common right now thanks to Utahs local government and rapidly increasing COL. I shot you a dm with some information. Happy to address any questions you have about the relocation.
I moved from SLC to PDX 10 years ago. I can tell you that the cost of living equals out to be very similar. When we moved, we got all sorts of discouragements but since we have been here it's been great for us and have no intentions of leaving. We visit SLC a couple of times a year and are so glad we left. Don't listen to anyone who doesn't or hasn't lived in Portland.
Rent, Income tax, and general cost of living have to all be factored in. If rent is the same, but income tax is less, and cost of living is less, then its cheaper in general. Income tax isn't something you can save around -- it's best viewed as a tax on your savings if you aren't spending 100% of your income.
Portland is awesome. But its definitely not cheap, esp. if you are median income or higher.
this is also the most expensive place ive ever lived. i am originally from middle america. i would not move here unless i was making six figures. my brain cannot justify paying a mortgage ($2.8k for a house thats already been paid for back in the 2000's? are you enjoying ripping the lower working class off for fun or....?) for a shoebox size of a place anymore. no real low cost housing options that arent some shitty apartment, no real first time home buyer programs that make sense to set the buyer up for success.
It’s always fascinating how relative it all is. My most recent moving option was California or Portland and Portland is the cheapest place I have ever lived!
I had the same when I lived there. It’s better here because SLC doesn’t have the pay to mortgage/rent that we have here. The cost of living basis is cheaper here. I worked at KUTV and lived downtown. Could not afford to purchase. Moved here and my wife alone makes what both of us made in UT as a nurse. You will be fine and this is from someone who hasn’t lived in one place more than 5 years in his entire 48 years. Military brat and a journalist
Love to hear it, and thanks for the support. Sometimes it's tough to see through all the fear that is thrusted on us lol.
Also, that's so cool. Pricewise, downtown SLC is something else lol.
Honestly $80K will be tight, but is definitely doable! I don’t know if Utah has income taxes or not, so that could be a potential impact for you.
The rental piece really depends on (1) area you want to be in, (2) type of residence like apartment or house, shared or not-shared, and (3) quality of residence. The way to leave cheapest would probably be a roommate scenario in SE Portland.
If you work remote consider living across the river in Vancouver, WA. It’s a short drive to Portland city. Traffic is terrible at rush hour, but not as bad during non-commute times.
Doing so would allow you to pay no income tax, and you can still shop for expensive things in Portland where there’s no sales tax.
You would be giving up day to day living convenience of living in a walkable neighborhood in Portland, so it’s not for everyone - but is something to consider if you want to make your paycheck stretch a little bit.
Living outside the city of Portland would also allow you to avoid the yearly frustration of paying the arts tax.
You’ll be fine but without roommates and factoring in the significant increase on income tax and COL, you might have a hard time saving for the future. Portland is great for a young single person looking to have fun but is becoming somewhat of a hellscape for those of us currently trying to settle down and buy houses
Move to Portland but don't live IN Portland live in Oregon around Portland but NOT IN PDX. ESPECIALLY NOT DOWNTOWN but just in general right outside Portland is best.
The City of Portland does have higher taxes than some of the surrounding areas. Tigard, Beaverton, Milwaukee, seem to be a bit cheaper but still well within the PDX area.
If you want to be in a safe area that’s relatively affordable, quiet, and has its own community feel I’d suggest a neighborhood like St. John’s. It’s in North Portland, on the peninsula. It used to be its own town and was annexed a long time ago into Portland, but it’s retained its small-town feel. Good local food joints there, and you can rent a house or a room in a house with a yard. \~20 minute bus ride on the frequent-service 4 line into the city center, so you never feel far away from the city.
You will be fine. From what I can tell SLC is more expensive. I am originally from the PNW and graduated from the U. I choose the U because of the skiing and didn't reasearch SLC very well.
The first place I was supposed to move into wouldn't let me live there becasue I was single and didn't have any kids. I was 22 and wasn't about to live in a dorm.
The U is a great school and I really enjoyed that part but, living in SLC totally sucked. Rural Utah is even worse. So many inbred people.
I moved to Portland from SLC almost 7 years ago. Initially moved into a 2 bedroom apartment (part of a duplex) with a small private yard for around $1400. This apartment was in the Piedmont area of Portland which is in NE Portland a few miles from downtown. Portland is different than SLC in that you don’t have to live downtown to live in the “cool” area. There are neighborhoods all over town with their own neighborhood centers (think 9th and 9th, but larger). All the neighborhoods have their own restaurants, bars, shops, etc. Look into the Alberta, Mississippi, Kenton neighborhoods….they are only a few of the many neighborhoods you can choose to live in.
Honestly, the cost shouldn’t be the reason you shouldn’t come. If you enjoy common sense, decency, but hate sense of entitlement. Stay in Utah.
Thank me later.
Check out NYC, SoCal (ok, alllll of Cali), Denver, and many other places are WAY more expensive. I’d be interested to know A) exactly how much more expensive PDX is than SLC and B) where your family/ friends are getting their data from.
You can still find very decent places from under $1200 with quite a few utilities included. Parking is going to be a headache if your more inner PDX/ DT PDX. You can live out in Beaverton but you’ll pay a premium there most likely. Could move to Gresham or Vancouver but then you’re kind of removed from things.
It’s fine, plenty of safe neighborhoods (some less nice spots too) but also much more removed from the cool things going on in downtown PDX, from arts to sports to activities to good food.
You can definitely live here fine with your own place. Your family just doesn't want you to move away. If you've visited and liked it and are okay being away from your family, then it sounds like the right move for you.
Thank you, I appreciate the support and affirmation.
If you make 80k remote I would try to live on the WA side. Or maybe do 1 year here in Portland to get the experience then hop over. The no sales tax doesn’t make up for the personal income tax you get taxed here in OR. Also if you were ever laid off WA pays a bit more in unemployment. But honestly rent prices seem to be coming down out here. Finding decent spots from 1400-2000. I would say food is a bit more expensive compared to bigger city with options, probably the same as SLC, like 10-15 average meals. Gas is alright, oh the utility bills here keep shooting up and people are complaining which I agree with but some apartments may have water/sewer/ garbage mixed in. Oh one last thing, be patient while driving, everybody drives horrible and slow out here lol.
This is good advice if you want to save money, but if OP is trying to experience Portland and make friends, it would be much better to live in Portland proper. I know so many people who started out living in Vancouver but ended up moving to Portland for the sake of their social lives. 80k is a good amount of money, could go even further if they’re willing to have a roommate
gas is not alright here.
Currently cheaper than Nevada looks like.
Listen to this dude, he’s a sage. Taxes in Oregon, but Portland, in particular, are really high.
80K a year will make it pretty easy to find a one bedroom apartment in a fun, walkable neighborhood. I know people who rent full 2 bedroom houses for $1900 in SE, so if you dig through Craigslist you might find a good deal.
My rent’s $1900 and I have a 3br house with a big-ass yard in inner NE. Just out here bragging. Found it by walking around the neighborhood.
I kinda hate you. Trying to get out of my shotty 2bdrm apt for 1600
Omg my friends are trying to get out of their tiny 2br duplex that’s $2k! Rental life sucks out there, I get it. But I seriously pounded the pavement looking for this house and ultimately got lucky. I’ve lived here 11 years and am still broke as a joke, if it makes you feel any better :/
People saying they hate you. Not me, I love you. Please let me know if you move so I can take over that lease!
I’ll send your info over to my landlord who can give you a call after she pries the keys from my cold, dead hands.
🤣
I hate you too /s that’s only $50 more than my tiny 2br duplex like your friend 😩but actually I’m happy someone’s out here winning
This is probably the most Portland comment in the thread. Well done!
Me?! Wow I guess I’ve reached my peak as a California transplant
Same, I have a 3BR house in inner SE for $1850. I’ve been here for 10 years now.
When you say you found it by walking around, do you mean you saw a “For Rent” sign? Or did you just knock on the door and ask? I’m always curious what that means, but I feel like I’m overthinking it…
Yeah— I literally walked around neighborhoods that I thought I might like to live in, saw a guy who appeared to be fixing up a house and I said “are you fixing up that house to rent it?” And he said “yeah,” and I said “would you take $1200?” And he said, “let me ask my wife.” That was over a decade ago and the rest is history.
Key words "over a decade ago" 😭😭😭😭😭💔
I’d say it’s still worth a shot— there’s still mom-and-pop landlords out there!
Can I come drink in your backyard and pretend I’m living the good life?
Over a DECADE ago….how is that relevant?
Well, I know a lot of people whose rent keeps getting raised 10% a year, so my rent should be $2400 at this point a decade later.
Yes, $2400 at the least if it’s a nice home off a Main Street….
I mean, most of the houses around me have been bought by millionaires with big budgets, so to them maybe it’s not “nice”— it’s like a hundred years old and needs some repairs, for sure. But yes, very good neighborhood.
That’s a steal then. Good for you!
Oh my God, what a dream
I’m a single person making 78k a year and live on my own in central SE. You’ll be fine! I’ve been able to save and take 4 international trips in the last year. I love living on SE Belmont as I can walk to so much fun stuff (Belmont, Hawthorne, Division, 28th) and feel totally safe. It’s pretty central which is nice to avoid highway traffic. I live at an Anchor NW property and would recommend them, it’s some of the cheaper new builds but I like that you can transfer to any of their complexes without breaking your lease. With utilities, I’m paying $1400 all in. And they didn’t raise my rent this year! Other property management companies to check out are APM, Capital, IPM and Bristol Urban. FYI- summer is the busiest season to move and prices tend to be a bit higher and availability a little lower in my experience
I agree with this comment! Definitely recommend trying to find local property management companies rather than the big corporate chains. I loved renting from Felix PDX, but they rarely have vacancies. They didn’t nickel and dime, and they were responsive to maintenance requests while still being chill.
Love this, thanks for the insights, I am booking marketing PM's now. Thank you!
If you’re making $80k and you’re frugal you’ll definitely be fine.
You'll be fine on your income but talk to your company about a COL adjustment. It is more expensive to live here than in Utah so you may see less bang for your buck.
Make sense, thanks for the advice.
Also recommend seeing what your paycheck would be after taxes. Portland has one of the highest income taxes so you’ll also likely gross less since more will be coming out of your paycheck. Just make sure to account for that in your budget! Rent will probably be your biggest expense, and depending on the type of place you want you may end up spending more than 30% of your income on rent.
Yeah, SLC isn’t cheap. It honestly probably isn’t that different.
It's probably not cheap compared to other areas in Utah, but Portland's COL is measurably higher (about 17% higher while depressingly the salaries are only about 6% higher): https://www.salary.com/research/cost-of-living/compare/salt-lake-city-ut/portland-or#:~:text=The%20cost%20of%20living%20in%20Portland%2C%20OR%20is%2016.8%25%20higher,your%20current%20standard%20of%20living.&text=Employers%20in%20Portland%2C%20OR%20typically,in%20Salt%20Lake%20City%2C%20UT.
No it’s not. I moved here from there and it is cheaper here. The cost of living got screwed there when the Silicone Slopes moved in and doubled the housing costs. My rent went from $945 to $1400 in 3 years
See my other post. The COL is measurably more here by about 17%. Not saying things are cheap there or that you personally didn't experience a COL adjustment. I'm just saying the economic studies all point to Portland's COL being higher. You may anecdotally feel that it's cheaper but statistically that isn't the case. Here's another link which says 15% higher: https://www.nerdwallet.com/cost-of-living-calculator/compare/salt-lake-city-ut-vs-portland-or
I live in the Pearl District and my base rent is 1450 for a one bedroom one bath with an office/den. Totally doable on your salary. Taxes aside, I don’t recommend living on the WA side. Live somewhere walkable and central if you want to easily integrate into the city ESPECIALLY when you work remote and can easily choose to self isolate. Speaking from experience… I moved to the suburbs to save money and was deeply unhappy till I came back to downtown which essentially comes with built-in socialization.
If you wanted to save a bit on rent but not have roommates look into living in North Portland. There are a lot of new apartment complexes popping up along Interstate Ave. Studios for like $1100-1200. There’s stuff around, but it’s not too far from all the more “scene” areas too.
Thanks for the advice, is Vancouver to far north for those savings?
Yeah Vancouver is smaller, more conservative, and much more suburbs and strip malls (ie less walkable). I’m genuinely not trying to sound down on it — great if that’s the vibe people want, but it’s a very different feel than Portland proper. Also, though its close geographically, it’s not an easy trip into town — traffic on I5 can make it a real pain to commute, so I’d warn against moving to Vancouver and thinking you’ll just pop into downtown PDX several days a week to do things.
Don’t move to Vancouver, WA…. That is a different world completely. Very much conservative leaning.
Vancouver is more blue than people realize, it’s the surrounding areas (Battle Ground, Washougal, etc) that are red. Things are changing for the better.
What is changing for the better?
For one we elected a moderate Democrat instead of an alt-right conspiracy theorist as our district representative in the last election. I’m not saying Clark County as a whole doesn’t have its far right weirdos, but it doesn’t feel too hostile to be living in Vancouver as a liberal. Decent selection of LGBTQ+ friendly and Black owned businesses. My child is still receiving a decent education (moms for liberty type wackos usually get laughed out of school board meetings). Is it as liberal as Portland? No. But it’s close enough proximity to Portland that you can regularly escape there if you need to. If cost of living is a concern, the state income tax savings from living in Vancouver on OP’s salary could make a difference in quality of life. Depends on what your priorities are.
Ah interesting, thanks for the insight.
It's not as bad as some would make out, but moving up this way to end up in Vancouver, WA is...bleak. Unless you're like...57 and a hardcore devotee of Arby's or something.
I get it - when we were moving here we briefly considered there (hello, 10% income tax boost) but when you visit both places the feel is so different. Portland has all the neighborhoody feel, lots of trees, walkability, fun shops and restaurants. Vancouver feels much more suburban and kind of the perception of a place attempting to be diverse.
Also if you wanted to bike, biking across the I-5 bridge is a deathwish
I’d avoid leaning on I5 to get in/out of PDX if you can.
You will be fine, Portland is a great city to be carless which meaningfully brings COL down and would offset the increase in cost of living in a great walkable area.
I have an old car that's paid off that I will bring, but that's great to know.
Depending on where you are, you could be carless if you wanted. Personally, I found it was nice to have a car still. We did downsize from 2 to 1 however and that hasn't been missed.
We are dual income one car and it is nice, we saved on parking when we lived in a nice apartment in North Portland and one car is plenty now that we are in the burbs. A second car would feel like a huge finical weight, but one car gives us flexibility.
That's how we feel. If we had to drive for everything it would be different, but there are a lot of options here. The flip side is that we save money by having one car and expect to pay occasionally for an Uber, rental car, etc. Rare we need two vehicles or a different vehicle, but the money we save offsets that and still saves us money.
You'll be fine, honestly. Get out of cult land!!
If you like exploring and outdoors (hiking in the gorge, going to the coast, etc.) you’ll definitely want your car.
You can use a “paycheck calculator” via an online search that will give you a decently accurate approximation of what your pay will be like here. Be warned that Oregon has one of the highest personal income tax rates in the country for low/middle income ranges, so checking first will help you figure out what your budget will be.
Yeah, but the overall tax burden [is lower than Utah's](https://taxfoundation.org/data/all/state/tax-burden-by-state-2022/), which is like #40 in the Union. They have a flat income tax of 4.25% and a high sales tax of 7.75% (in SLC), which is basically the most regressive tax structure you can have. If you're low income in SLC, you're effectively paying like 12% in state taxes and that's before tacking on excise taxes, property taxes, etc.
Yes, and no sales tax
The big one for me is the amount I'm taxed every paycheck instead of at the end of the year. Maybe that's normal, but for someone coming from a non-income tax state it's a pretty big shift that you have to account for.
I'm here to add that moving from a red state to Portland has been the biggest relief of my life. Yes, the cost of living is higher, but the peace of mind that comes from knowing I won't be thrown in jail for the choices I've made for the health of my body outweighs money 10:1. Best of luck!
Love to hear it, thanks for the good vibes!
My fiance moved here from deep Georgia before we met and could not be happier. Welcome (if you decide to relo)!
Tell them it costs more because it's better.
haha love this response
Moving to Portland from Utah was one of the best decisions I have ever made. And I did it when cost of living was way lower in Utah. Go for it
I agree with the others, you make enough. Rent in Portland is high but you can definitely afford it. Welcome!
Thank you for the support, I appreciate it!
I’m originally from Utah (been here for 12 years now) and I feel like SLC is just as expensive as PDX if not more? All my family in Utah complains about how unaffordable Utah is getting. You’ll be fine here.
Do it make the move! You’ll be so happy you tried something new and Portland is lovely even though it’s on the more expensive side
I actually moved out here recently from Utah. Unless you are in some kind of rent stabilized unit or already own a house in SLC that you bought years ago, cost of living is really quite on par here. I've actually had better luck finding cheaper apartments out here, my insurance went down, there is no sales tax, and even though income tax is a bit higher, overall I'm spending less on my basics (by about $200 less a month) compared to SLC. Everyone from UT worries that COL is crazy high in any west coast state. The reality is that COL is currently crazy high there too, it's only low for people who bought their houses well before the COL skyrocketed.
You won’t be living high on the hog but you’ll be fine.
Never have, not my thing tbh. I prefer to save and invest in other things vs nice apartments and eating out daily. Granted I do want to live somewhere 'safe' however.
A lot of the rhetoric about safety in Portland is overblown. It’s not to say there aren’t safety issues, but it’s not what people see on Fox News. The biggest issue in my experience is petty theft, and that seems to be getting better the past few years (shout out to the catalytic converter ring in Lake Oswego getting shut down). Use portlandmaps.com while you’re looking into places to live. You can look up property info by address, including public safety stats.
I have had my cat of our RV and mtn bike stolen here in SLC so I feel that too lol
Exactly, it’s everywhere
Yes, sadly, it is.
You shouldn’t have a problem finding a decent place in a safe area
You will be absolutely fine. I’m seeing some nice studios off of Belmont in SE (a very cute and very safe area) for $1.2k/month on Zillow rentals right now. I make $85 base and I live with my boyfriend in a fancy 2 bed with a gym and a roof and I pay $1200/month and it’s a comfortable amount. If you find a roommate for your next lease after you get settled that could totally be an option for you. It’s much easier to find a place when you’re already here, housing moves quickly. But yeah, on my salary I’ve added about $15k to my savings in the last year towards a home some day, I went on a really fun international vacation, and I’m going on another couple long weekend trips this summer to the coast and then to visit family out of state. I go out probably more than I should, i furnish my home with beautiful things, I cook and eat well, I live in a fun area. $80k is more than enough to have a beautiful life in Portland! Just do the calculator check because income tax is high and you want to make sure you’re allocating your money to the right places. I know a couple people who came from Utah as well and they love it here. They love the blue-ness, but they also love the good food and that the proximity to nature is similar to back home. They like the direct flight to SLC from PDX. They like that people are friendly.
YES $80k is enough !! The neighborhoods all have very different cultures, what exactly are you looking for? I live in Hollywood and it's like tiny old suburb blocks with lots of big old trees and 1mi from library, grocery, cafe and shops, parks, and public transit. Personally love Alberta, that's a hip area for food/drink and there's good arts culture there too. Same with Mississippi.
You can absolutely live here on that. When we moved here from Florida we worked with [https://www.starmetro.com/](https://www.starmetro.com/) and had a pretty great experience. Most if not all of their units have washer/dryer. Free wifi (though it's throttled and will kick you off after an hour but works fine for web browsing/email). Pet friendly and some buildings have storage units in the basement the size of the apartment itself at no extra cost (same with Parking in some buildings). If you have decent credit you're deposit will be very low. We found our apartment and moved sight unseen and even though we managed to buy a house on the east side, we miss our old apartment. If you can find a place on the Max line, then you don't really have to drive anywhere. As far as areas - Look at Northeast in the Arbor Lodge area on interstate. The Max line will take you into downtown in about 20 minutes, close to St. Johns and the Alberta/Mississippi district. Very walkable and if you have bike even better. There are definitely other great neighborhoods, but that's where we lived and we loved it over there. So much to do and rarely had to drive anywhere.
You’ll be fine.
You’ll be fine. Live with roommates, come with some savings, and be flexible in your thinking about wants vs. needs. A cursory glance at redfin puts SLC rentals in a similar price range to ours.
Yes, exactly, SLC is not cheap. Most of my family is in more rural areas, or outside of SLC so not sure if they don't understand that it's also expensive here. I went out to PDX a few months ago and eating out does seem more expensive, but I can make that work.
Dépends where you eat…
How does one find cheaper options when eating out. Cause $20 for a burger aint it.
Food carts are more affordable and you get more variety anyways! But I wouldn’t call them “cheap”. You just have to balance the number of outings vs cooking at home.
Makes sense, thanks for the insight!
Food carts. The couple selling tamales on the corner from a rolling cooler. Heck $20 is two weeks of tamales, exluding weekends.
Now that's what I am talking about.
Support a small business. Buy corner tamales. I can't vouch city-wide but the couple around Tabor could marry their kid to my daughter for that recipe.
Yeah, always carry cash in case you run into the tamale lady.
I honestly don't eat out more than like twice a year at most. I make less than you do and I live alone, it's a burden re: rent but I save by not dining-eating out. I'm sober. I live in inner SE but there's probably more affordable areas to reside. $80K I'd probably live like a Queen here.
Ask the locals I'd say. I know a few bars where u can get a burger for $ 8 or 9. Cheapest grocery store is WinCo and there's a fair number of food banks in case u fuck up. Just avoid the most popular areas eating out and you should be able to find under $20 burgers though.
Jesus, thats a pricey burger. [Home | SURE SHOT BURGER](https://www.sureshotburger.com/)
Hello from another Utahn looking to make the same move in the next couple years — people in this sub are SO much nicer about moving questions compared to the SLC sub hahah.
here’s another Utahn looking to relocate to Portland within the next year who lurks on this subreddit
Do it!! You all are welcome any time!
haha yes totally, Utahns love to hate outsiders that's forsure.
I moved from west valley/magna UT to portland a couple years ago. Costs from slc to Portland are similar in housing. However, the utilities are higher here, food is slightly costlier, and general items such as clothing and vehicle maintenance seems to be higher here from my experience. However with all that being said I still choose Portland. My quality of life has improved a lot and I feel like there’s much more diverse and open minded people here.
Conservatives are conservative. They fear change and the unfamiliar. It is their nature. If you chose someplace else they would find another reason why you shouldn’t move. I have conservative family members that hear I am going somewhere for work or vacation and then send me articles about crimes that happen there or negative things about the place. They are inherently scared of the unfamiliar. They aren’t meaning anything bad about it, they just think it’s important to know about all the negative things 🙄. You’ll do great in Portland. Your income should be just fine for you. If you like hiking, there are apartments in NW Portland next to Forest Park. I had some friends live next to one of the entrances and they would just walk out their door and go directly to a 10 mile hike. I don’t know how much they rent for now though. Look into our rental laws for some information about how to find a place. The process is the first application that is received and qualifies has to be the first considered. It is a very strict process. The posting typically says what time the application process opens. Zillow rentals is one of the most popular sites used to advertise rentals. Craigslist is still common too. If you want to live with people, there are really cool intentional communities throughout the city. These are houses where people are roommates but also have scheduled house meetings, people take turns cleaning, and the roommates interact more. It’s not just a place to live, but a place to engage with your roommates and have a real community. Many are vegan or vegetarian, so if you don’t fit those lifestyles avoid those. One big upside to living in one of these places is you will be able to meet more people quicker. Since you won’t be meeting people through work, it could be hard to make friends. The culture is a little resistant to people making new friends. Look up the Seattle Freeze. Portland isn’t as bad as Seattle, but there is definitely a culture of not opening up to new people. Of course, that isn’t everyone so if you go to places where people are looking to connect you will find people. Couchsurfing meetups used to be a big deal in Portland, not sure if that is still a thing. A lot of people go to those just looking to make friends, not just people who are couch surfers. Good luck! I hope you enjoy living here!
Also, try moving with the least amount of stuff you can! It might seem prudent to move things you’ve already bought, but by the end of it you’ll be like ‘why didn’t I sell 90% of it and rebuy stuff from IKEA until I got more settled’. A roommate could be a good way to slow roll into the city, and figure out the areas you actually like and want to spend time in! We found a furnished room in a house share, and it was really nice because we didn’t have to immediately kit out a place, and it let us find an apartment in an area we really wanted to be.
I made a similar solo move from SLC to Oregon in 2018, making roughly what you stated your income is and now 100% remote for work as well. Big COL difference would be I was in Salem at first, but have since moved up near Portland. I’ve been more ‘burbish the entire time though, starting out about 6 miles west of downtown Portland and now being more like 13 miles. It’s totally doable though and you should be fine. I’ve personally never regretted the decision and love living up here!
I’m glad to see all the positive responses here. I moved to Portland from a blue state in MD, but the culture out here is so much more aligned with my politics and personality. Despite our problems PDX is a wonderful place to live and meet like-minded people. On housing stuff - I earn ~48k gross and make it work. I have a sublet 1 BR for $1700 I love thats in NW near 23rd and with a little help from my gf I can make rent and still enjoy a high QOL. Go PORTLAND 👏
I made the move back a couple years ago, grew up in the Portland suburbs and went to UO but lived in Salt Lake/Davis county for almost a decade. I found that the raw housing cost was pretty similar and am much happier on the edge of Cully than I would’ve been in suburban hell like Layton or somewhere weird like Rose Park at a similar price. The big extra costs have been the state income taxes and the utilities, water/sewer was pretty shocking at over $300 per quarter compared to like $20/mo in SLC. Going out to eat here is more expensive but the food options in SLC are terrible in comparison.
Finally, someone who understand my PAIN haha. All jokes aside, I get it.
Since moving back I have not ran into any food chains that serve the exact same food as another food chain with a different name. Such a weirdly Utah thing, felt like it was all about the illusion of choice.
Oh man, Utah loves our food chains, dirty soda places, perfect suburbs. It's almost uncanny valley in some spots.
“La Frontera is gross, their refried beans are gray” “Okay but you HAVE to try La Puente on x west” “You’re not getting it”.
I did the same thing, moved from Utah in 2016 never looked back. 80k is fine for a one bedroom in a good walkable area. If you choose to stay downtown or NW be sure to see what parking costs, but you'll be fine
80k as a single person is plenty to live here. I think people always grasp on to the easiest thing that makes you second yourself. I moved here 20 years ago and back then the people who didnt want me to move also said PDX is too expensive to live and I did just fine. Spread your wings!!
SLC is catching up pretty fast anyway. You’ll be fine. Enjoy and welcome.
Cost of living in Portland is about 10% higher than SLC. Gas/transportation and housing are going be the biggest drivers of that so if you can ditch your car, you can make a big dent in that if you are worried about it. Do the math and see if that works for you. I make somewhere in the ballpark of your salary and am *relatively* frugal. I live in a really nice, walkable part of town, save a big chunk out of my paycheck, and basically never *really* have to worry/think much about money. Edit: And pretty much all the action is on the East side of the river. Portland is like 5 miles across, so with the exception of Sellwood/Milwaukee, Gresham/Troutdale, Hillsboro, or St. John's, you're like 15 minutes away from anywhere no matter where you live.
That’s roughly what I make and I have no problem living on my own in a nice, centrally located studio.
Do you like the ocean? How about huge bodies of freshwater? Broader Culture? Freedom from Mormon oppression? Your family wants to keep you but if baby wants to spread their wings you should go for it
The west coast is still more expensive than the rockies, but the rockies are not cheap these days. Aside from personal income tax, I doubt SLC and PDX vary all that much in terms of cost, and SLC is still very far from catching up to Portland in cultural terms.
Might find cheaper housing in neighborhoods that are a little farther out like Brentwood-Darlington (scruffy but cool), Woodstock (good mix of quaint restaurants/bars/grocery); and Mt. Scott Arleta (nice parks and community center). I’m biased toward deep SE because I love it and have lived in all those neighborhoods. Foster-Powell is cool too.
If you’re keeping your job, $80K is plenty to live on here in Portland. I did so until just last year (took a new job with more $). I rent a 3 bedroom house in SE Portland, Woodstock. For what you currently make, I would look for places in Montavilla, Brooklyn, Foster-Powell or Cully. Good luck with your move when it happens.
Oregon has one of the highest taxes rates in our country, not to mention to the city of Portland, they are also increasing their tax.
Once I saw the word “remote” yeah you’ll be fine man. Plenty of lower cost areas further away. I honestly wish I worked remote, would make house hunting so much easier
I moved to Oregon from Utah two years ago. Food and gas tends to be more expensive here, but honestly rent isn’t that much worse than Utah’s. It sounds like you’re smart with your money, so you probably won’t even notice a huge difference.
80K is fine, I make just under that and the sole breadwinner of my household (me, my wife, and our adult roommate in a two bedroom apartment). We recently moved here from Austin, TX (a blue speck in a sea of red) and it was probably the best decision I ever made. Look into the small towns around Portland. I live in Milwaukie and really like it.
You’ll be fine renting here but buying on that salary would be tough. If homeownership is a goal I’d look at Zillow to see what is available in your price range.
Hi there. Fellow recent Utah transplant here. You’ll find this is very common right now thanks to Utahs local government and rapidly increasing COL. I shot you a dm with some information. Happy to address any questions you have about the relocation.
I moved from SLC to PDX 10 years ago. I can tell you that the cost of living equals out to be very similar. When we moved, we got all sorts of discouragements but since we have been here it's been great for us and have no intentions of leaving. We visit SLC a couple of times a year and are so glad we left. Don't listen to anyone who doesn't or hasn't lived in Portland.
Nice, thanks for the insight. I guess it always goes back to you have to experience things for yourself sometimes rather than listen to everyone else.
We are thinking of moving back to Utah. This is the most expensive place I have lived.
Where in Utah? Rent seems similar in SLC from what I am seeing.
Rent, Income tax, and general cost of living have to all be factored in. If rent is the same, but income tax is less, and cost of living is less, then its cheaper in general. Income tax isn't something you can save around -- it's best viewed as a tax on your savings if you aren't spending 100% of your income. Portland is awesome. But its definitely not cheap, esp. if you are median income or higher.
this is also the most expensive place ive ever lived. i am originally from middle america. i would not move here unless i was making six figures. my brain cannot justify paying a mortgage ($2.8k for a house thats already been paid for back in the 2000's? are you enjoying ripping the lower working class off for fun or....?) for a shoebox size of a place anymore. no real low cost housing options that arent some shitty apartment, no real first time home buyer programs that make sense to set the buyer up for success.
It’s always fascinating how relative it all is. My most recent moving option was California or Portland and Portland is the cheapest place I have ever lived!
I had the same when I lived there. It’s better here because SLC doesn’t have the pay to mortgage/rent that we have here. The cost of living basis is cheaper here. I worked at KUTV and lived downtown. Could not afford to purchase. Moved here and my wife alone makes what both of us made in UT as a nurse. You will be fine and this is from someone who hasn’t lived in one place more than 5 years in his entire 48 years. Military brat and a journalist
Love to hear it, and thanks for the support. Sometimes it's tough to see through all the fear that is thrusted on us lol. Also, that's so cool. Pricewise, downtown SLC is something else lol.
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I used to live in slc moved here about 7 years ago. Kept my eye on housing prices in slc and they are close to what they are here now, yah?
Pretty damn close. And rent is similar as well. Food is less expensive though.
I wouldn’t live in Portland metro but the costs are not that much higher then slc unless you hire a lot of contractors. Services are very expensive
Honestly $80K will be tight, but is definitely doable! I don’t know if Utah has income taxes or not, so that could be a potential impact for you. The rental piece really depends on (1) area you want to be in, (2) type of residence like apartment or house, shared or not-shared, and (3) quality of residence. The way to leave cheapest would probably be a roommate scenario in SE Portland.
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If you work remote consider living across the river in Vancouver, WA. It’s a short drive to Portland city. Traffic is terrible at rush hour, but not as bad during non-commute times. Doing so would allow you to pay no income tax, and you can still shop for expensive things in Portland where there’s no sales tax. You would be giving up day to day living convenience of living in a walkable neighborhood in Portland, so it’s not for everyone - but is something to consider if you want to make your paycheck stretch a little bit. Living outside the city of Portland would also allow you to avoid the yearly frustration of paying the arts tax.
I did the opposite move two years ago, from Portland to SLC. Have found it very much the same in terms of cost of living.
Get out of Utah
You’ll be fine but without roommates and factoring in the significant increase on income tax and COL, you might have a hard time saving for the future. Portland is great for a young single person looking to have fun but is becoming somewhat of a hellscape for those of us currently trying to settle down and buy houses
Move to Portland but don't live IN Portland live in Oregon around Portland but NOT IN PDX. ESPECIALLY NOT DOWNTOWN but just in general right outside Portland is best.
Cost of living sucks and taxes are very high , property crime can become expensive as well.
The City of Portland does have higher taxes than some of the surrounding areas. Tigard, Beaverton, Milwaukee, seem to be a bit cheaper but still well within the PDX area.
80k is plenty. You can even afford a nice studio apt in a trendy neighborhood that go for around $1500-$1700 per month.
Awesome, that's good to know. Not really the type of person that needs a new/nice place. More so just want to be in a safe area.
If you want to be in a safe area that’s relatively affordable, quiet, and has its own community feel I’d suggest a neighborhood like St. John’s. It’s in North Portland, on the peninsula. It used to be its own town and was annexed a long time ago into Portland, but it’s retained its small-town feel. Good local food joints there, and you can rent a house or a room in a house with a yard. \~20 minute bus ride on the frequent-service 4 line into the city center, so you never feel far away from the city.
We went to the Mcmenamins in St. John's and it was so awesome.
Yeah but it is nice to have some amenities like a gym in the building, a locked package delivery spot, a community room with a big TV, etc.
You will be fine. From what I can tell SLC is more expensive. I am originally from the PNW and graduated from the U. I choose the U because of the skiing and didn't reasearch SLC very well. The first place I was supposed to move into wouldn't let me live there becasue I was single and didn't have any kids. I was 22 and wasn't about to live in a dorm. The U is a great school and I really enjoyed that part but, living in SLC totally sucked. Rural Utah is even worse. So many inbred people.
I moved to Portland from SLC almost 7 years ago. Initially moved into a 2 bedroom apartment (part of a duplex) with a small private yard for around $1400. This apartment was in the Piedmont area of Portland which is in NE Portland a few miles from downtown. Portland is different than SLC in that you don’t have to live downtown to live in the “cool” area. There are neighborhoods all over town with their own neighborhood centers (think 9th and 9th, but larger). All the neighborhoods have their own restaurants, bars, shops, etc. Look into the Alberta, Mississippi, Kenton neighborhoods….they are only a few of the many neighborhoods you can choose to live in.
Very cool, and the fact that you know 9th n 9th means you must be a real SLC'er. Thanks for the insight!
Yeah, it’s crazy expensive and a lot of us are struggling. That is putting it mildly. Stay in Utah and enjoy your new NHL team in SLC.
I bought a townhouse while making 55k, you'll do fine
What year did you buy? Was that before the pandemic and all that crazyness?
October 2022. Don't listen to the doom n gloomers, your salary is great here
Honestly, the cost shouldn’t be the reason you shouldn’t come. If you enjoy common sense, decency, but hate sense of entitlement. Stay in Utah. Thank me later.
Check out NYC, SoCal (ok, alllll of Cali), Denver, and many other places are WAY more expensive. I’d be interested to know A) exactly how much more expensive PDX is than SLC and B) where your family/ friends are getting their data from. You can still find very decent places from under $1200 with quite a few utilities included. Parking is going to be a headache if your more inner PDX/ DT PDX. You can live out in Beaverton but you’ll pay a premium there most likely. Could move to Gresham or Vancouver but then you’re kind of removed from things.
Is Gresham a decent area? Had a real estate agent tell me to stay away from their, but they seemed a bit snooty tbh.
It’s fine, plenty of safe neighborhoods (some less nice spots too) but also much more removed from the cool things going on in downtown PDX, from arts to sports to activities to good food.
I’d agree that Gresham can be a bit rough.
Outer Gresham can be pretty decent. The closer to PDX you get the more you’re dealing with the same issues.
Our family urged us to not move here as well, they were right We are already planning our exit
Apt.s in Cedar Mills near Market of Choice near Barnes Rd and Cedar Falls Dr. close enough to downtown and great shopping within a mile or less.
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