In the past, people often moved to the Pacific Northwest from California to find less congestion and lower living costs. This did NOT endear them to current residents, who feared job competition and higher costs. With economic problems nationwide, that attitude toward in-migration may or may not have intensified, but potential newcomers should be aware of the possibility.

Climate varies from mild and humid in western Washington to cooler and drier in the east. The western Olympic Peninsula receives up to 160 inches of rain annually, while annual rainfall in the eastern portion can be as low as 6 inches.

Expenses for groceries, utilities, transportation, recreation and housing tend to be moderate. You can research housing costs by scanning newspaper ads. For example, one Seattle paper showed prices from about $169,000 to $573,000.

Projected job growth in major occupational groups ranges from 6.9 percent in clerical/admin support to 18.2 percent in professional and technical. However, individual areas can vary substantially. For instance, projected growth in one region ranges from 6.1 percent for production, construction and maintenance to 25.3 percent for sales-related occupations, while in another, it runs from 5.7 percent for clerical/admin to 22.6 percent for agriculture, forestry and fishing.

Oregon has often had one of the highest unemployment rates in the country. For 2003, the whole state qualified as an Area of Substantial Unemployment, based on a 12-month average of 7.4 percent from July 2001 to June 2002. One of the problems in the western region is the rural isolation that makes it hard to land new jobs within reasonable commuting distance.

A heavy concentration of cyclical industries and structural changes in the state’s economy have contributed to high unemployment. Lumber/wood products and fishing have suffered during the past several years. High-tech stayed fairly positive until mid-2002, then experienced a steep drop. Foreign competition has intensified some industry declines.

Unemployment in June 2003 was 7.7 percent. Nonagricultural employment growth is projected to average about 1 percent annually from 2000 to 2005, but computer and health-care occupations are expected to rank among the fastest-growing segments. Both manufacturing and aerospace products/parts employment declined sharply from 2002 to 2003.

The top 10 employment industries are educational services; food services and drinking places; administrative/support services; transportation equipment manufacturing; ambulatory health care services; specialty trade contractors; hospitals; executive, legislative, and general government; and merchant wholesalers/durable goods.

Diane Gonzales, an executive recruiter, says Microsoft and Washington Mutual are hiring, but you need to know someone who can help get you an interview and the process can be lengthy. The IT industry continues to suffer and isn’t expected to improve noticeably until some time in 2004. Boeing has laid off over 35,000 employees since September, 2001.

Caution: Although abundant state-specific data is available, some of it is old. Check dates to make sure you’re basing decisions on reasonably current information.