Moving to Oregon – Relocation Overview

Are you considering moving to Oregon? If you are looking for information on the area, and help with your move to Oregon, then allow us to guide you. We will provide you with up to 10 free and personalised quotes from top experienced long distance moving companies who will safely transport your possessions from door to door, inter-state or internationally.

Oregon is located in the Pacific Northwest area of the US. It had land borders with Washington to the north, Idaho to the east and California and Nevada to the south. Its western border meets the Pacific ocean. It has one of the most diverse climates of any US state, with desert, glaciers and prairies to large forests in the north and south of the state.

Infrastructure / Job Prospects

If you are are thinking of moving to Oregon for work, the average personal income per capita in 2005 was just over $32,000 and the total state income was around $117.5 billion

The largest private employers in the state are employed by the Manufacturing, Retail, Construction and Professional and Technical Services sectors.

The area is well known for its high technology companies. In particular the area near Portland, known as Silicon Forest, is home to a cluster of hi-tech companies, particularly in the areas of Silicon device fabrication, Software and Imaging systems.

The largest and most well known of these is probably Intel, also one of the areas largest and most important employers, but well known software companies with a presence in the area include Symantec, WebTrends, Sage and AutoDesk and OSDL (the employers of Linux creator Linux Torvalds).

Although the region was hit hard after the dot com bubble burst, it has since recovered and has recently been targetted by bio-tech companies moving to Oregon for the local high tech resources, most notably Genentech.

Other large and well known employers outside of IT include FLIR systems, a leading defence and electornics company, and Nike, the world wide sports brand.

Due to an opportune change in the law in the 80s allowing drinking on brewery premises, and the raw ingredients of barley, hops and a good water source being on the door step it was almost inevitable that Portland would become famous for its breweries!

It currently has more breweries than any other city and is renowned in beer circles for its high quality microbrew beers. There are several annual events celebrating the local produce including the Oregon Brewers Festival and the Portland International Beerfest, both held in the summertime.

Portland is home to a large number of arts organizations and the state is well known for performing arts, particularly Ballet and Theatre. Portland has many theatres supporting the various local groups.

The art market is strong thanks to its support of the arts and cultural sectors and the public is catered for well with the Portland Art Museum, Portland Art Center and the Portland Institute for Contemporary Art amongst others in the city. Galleries have flourished in certain areas of the city, particularly downtown Portland, and one of the US’s largest museums is located in the area.

Living cost and Taxes

After moving to Oregon you will be subject to the state’s tax system. After you move you will have to file a part year resident return, or Oregon Form 40P. Once you become a resident your income will become taxable by the state. This includes retirement income, although certain deductions may be available.

The state has one of the highest rates of income tax in the country, of between 5 and 9%, with all income after the first $6500 charged at 9% To offset this, however, Oregon is one of the few states not to levy a tax on sales and has one of the lowest overall personal tax rates in the US.

If you have a car and are moving to the state you should also consider the costs of registering it, which may amount to several hundred dollars, depending on the type of vehicle and how long you are registering for.

For those thinking of moving to Oregon and starting a business the corporation tax is 6.6%

Ports

The Oregon area includes the Port of Portland, a deep water river port which operates cargo services, dealing with over 14 million tons of cargo in 2007 including over 4 million tons of grain and 5 million tons of mineral, and benefiting from a recent growth of over 20%

The Port of Astoria, which is located near the mouth of the Columbia river offers both commercial and passenger services. The port is encouraging cruise ships to call more frequently and currently has several cruise lines scheduled to call in 2008.

The largest sea port in Oregon is the Oregon International Port of Coos Bay. The area also has many smaller ports which cater to private yachts and other tourist vessels.

Major airports

Portland International Airport (PDX) is the largest airport in the state with daily international flights to Asian, European and South American destinations including Mexico City, Tokyo, Singapore and in Europe, Frankfurt and Amsterdam. The airport was recently voted number one US airport by travellers in terms of customer service

Important Cities and Population Density

The population of Oregon is around 3.6 million with the largest number of people being employed by the Manufacturing, Retail, Construction and the Professional and Technical Services sectors. The state is sparsely populated with a density of around 35 people per square mile; however this is due in part to its terrain and history.

Portland is home to over 3 million people and an important city at both state and national levels, with a worldwide reputation for Electronics, Software and other Hi-Tech industries.

State Facts

Portland, one of the state’s largest cities is known as the “The City of Roses” as it has a climate ideal for growing roses, and is well known for the large number of rose gardens.

The Oregon Symphony is the oldest Orchestra in the western US having been founded in 1896

Oregon has had very little diversification in its history, and is one of the least diverse states. More recently though with people moving to Oregon and in particular the urban areas, this is changing. Around 60% of the immigration is from non-white ethnic groups.

If you are looking to move to Oregon, we recommend you fill out the free estimate form which will allow you to specify details of the possessions you would like to take with you when you move. We will provide you with up to ten free, personalised quotes from pre-screened long distance moving companies.

You might want to read about:

• Moving to Portland

Useful links:

Government: http://www.oregon.gov/
Tourism: http://www.traveloregon.com/
Immigration: www.uscis.gov
Income Tax: www.oregon.gov/DOR/PERTAX/faq-moving.shtml
Jobs: www.employment.oregon.gov/
Local Newspapers: www.oregonlive.com/
State Facts: www.ers.usda.gov/StateFacts/OR.htm
Airports: www.portofportland.com/PDX_home.aspx
Ports: www.portofastoria.com/