Hey gang, long time reader/first time poster.
My wife and I are considering a move from Austin TX to Camas WA. We want to get out of Texas for many reasons: conservative state politics and government, hot/humid climate, Texas' public school system, high property taxes, and we are also expecting our first child later this month.
I currently work at UT Austin in a staff role, and recently got a job offer with the University of Oregon. For the UO role, I would have an office in the White Stag building in Portland and would be required to work 2 days a week in office. I know the commute from Camas to downtown Portland is about 30ish minutes at best most workdays, so I'm wondering how many Camasonians do that commute regularly, what days of the workweek are best for it, and how tolerable you find it.
We've been to Portland multiple times and like a lot of what it has to offer, but my wife is a higher earner with a remote job, so living across the river seems like the right move for a growing young family. We like the idea of Camas because it's smaller (but still attractive enough for continued growth), has plenty of access to the outdoors, and from what I can tell has a decent public school system.
The UO job would let me take my full parental leave with UT, get back, put in my two weeks and start remotely in Texas in late August before moving halfway across the country sometime in September. One weird catch is, the hiring manager said I would have to fly to Eugene and do my actual first day onboarding in person at the UO campus. I need to get more clarification on this, but it seems to have to do with the federal I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification form, which there are two ways to verify these forms remotely/not in person. Seems like a strange thing to ask of me living halfway across the country but I will get more clarification on that this week.
All that being said, this would be a huge move for us, especially with 3-4 month old baby and a grumpy 11 year old cat. The idea of flying with the baby and cat keeps me up at night. But, it also feels like a great opportunity to take advantage of to get us out of Texas and on to (literally) greener pastures.
Let me know what you think. Any advice, comments, perspective, experiences, cautionary tales, encourgement or discouragement, would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
