Re: State and area recomendations for relocation

In article <Xns9911965F4F6D6fredbarneybigmailbox@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Bill
<wpflumus@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

Ok, I've decided the east coast rat race is over the top, too many people,
too many cars, too high taxes and WAY TOO many local laws and it is only
going to get worse so I need to get out! I am looking at long term plans to
move my family off the east coast and somewhere in the western area of the
country, been looking at North and South Dakota and Montana but am not set
on any particular state as of yet. Biggest problem is a job; I'm in IT at
the moment but could dust off my Electronics Tech degree if needed. So, if
you live in the west or did live in the west can anyone recommend a
state/city/location I should look into?

Just googling around I don't see too much of a problem with the climates in
any of those states and I like the fact that the insect problems and
amounts are on the low side, I'm not a 'bug' person. Kinda like to get my
hands on a piece of property of around 20 acres or so that is 5 to 10
minutes from a very small town, I saw lots of small towns out there on
Google earth, but within 45 minutes to an hour of a big city. I'd also
like a bit of variety in land elevation, some small hills would be great
and if big mountains are in sight even better.

I was with Intel for a while ('74-'86) and for two of those I years I
had a lab in Oregon. Specifically, in the Hillsboro area of Oregon,
which is about 20 miles west of Portland. The area has since grown
quite a bit, with many high-tech companies located in the area, but it
was semi-rural when I was there.

(Tektronix, the scope maker, had been the big employer. Nike, too. Then
Intel. Later, a lot of other chip companies. Some have had lay-offs,
however.)

One of my engineers wanted to do what you are describing: he bought
some land with a house on it in Vernonia, a small town about 20 miles
further up into the foothills from the Intel plant. (The town is the
place where "Westco" logging boots are made.)

This kind of area matches a lot of your criteria: no insects to speak
of, mild climate, a big city like Portland can be gotten to in about an
hour, nearby towns like Beaverton and Hillsboro are large enough to
have major services and amenities (including research institutes like
the Oregon Graduate Center), and a mix of employers.

If it matters to you, the area west of Portand is "upwind" of Portland,
based on normal wind direction flows.

Personally, I didn't like the overcast weather (often overcast and
gloomy from October to May, sometimes even through June) and was happy
to move back to coastal California.

The other issue is that small towns have relatively few employers, so
choice is restricted. Employers know this, so working conditions can be
more oppressive (they know they have employees at a disadvantage).

(An off the wall idea might be for you to see if any small colleges
want an IT person. Running the campus network at Montana State
University in Bozeman, to name just one example. A small town, and the
advantages of it being a college town (bookstores, theaters, etc.).)

Things are getting crowded nearly everywhere. Part of this is the
population increase in the past 30 years. But a bigger part of it is
this: nearly everyone over the age of 16 now has their own car, and
uses it many times a day.

This is a big change from, say, 30 years ago, where a family often had
just one car and there wasn't as much driving hither-and-yon to fast
food places, soccer practice, various "magnet" schools, shopping
centers, and all.

I was back east (Northern Virginia) for a high school reunion a while
back and the area was completely gridlocked for several hours every
afternoon. Lots more cars. Not just because of more people.


--Tim May
.

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