Oregon

I am a native. Too many people are moving here, they are swarming in from all over the country. My hometown is sinking under the weight of the crowds. Our traffic has become miserable and horrendous. Portland has made it to the top of too many " best of " lists, but the huge influx of people is crushing those quality of life characteristics that they came in search of. I don't find it fun to go places on the weekends anymore because the crowds just ruin the experience. Our freeways look like rush hour all the time. As near as I can tell, our employment opportunities have not increased, other than low wage service jobs related to the boom in population. Generally, jobs like that don't pay enough to live on and they tend to disappear when the inevitable bust sets in. We are also being affected by climate change. We recently had temperatures that would be normal in August in April and May! I fear we are going to end up hot and dry like California, which would be a disaster. Speaking of California, many of them have moved up here because they have run short on water. One of the biggest problems facing you if you try to move here is housing. We do not have rent control here. I talked to someone who said that they were going to lose their apartment because the owner was going to way Jack up the rents because they can get more money from all the new people moving in from other states. I would not recommend moving here unless you have a good job nailed down and can find an affordable place to live.