New Job and Apartment Search

I've been at my new job for a week now and so far things are going well. I'm working for Siemens, which is a huge engineering company (over 400,000 employees worldwide). I'm working in the light rail electrification group which has about 15 employees, so it feels like working for a small company. Most of the other engineers (including my boss) are electrical. I'm one of three mechanical engineers in the group.

I've already learned a lot about light rail systems, especially the overhead contact lines (which are way more complex than I though). So far, I enjoy the work I'm doing and like the the people I work with. I've been doing 3D modeling in SolidWorks and stress analysis on overhead contact line components (we're getting a license for ANSYS which I'll probably be using early next year). So, I'm actually using some stuff I learned in school, which is cool.

Right now, I'm staying in an EconoLodge. I spent most of my free time last week researching apartments and went to see a few after work. I found a duplex on Thursday and put a deposit down for it. It's got a garage, two bedrooms, a bathroom, and a wood burning fireplace. I'm pretty excited to move into it, but won't be able to until next weekend. They are replacing the carpet in the living and dining room areas with engineered wood (similar to what I put down in the cabin, for those of you that have seen it).

As for living in Portland... it's different. From what I've seen so far, it's a very pretty city. There are massive trees and parks everywhere. It doesn't really feel like living in a city. The weather has actually been pretty good since I got here. We've had several days with sunshine (uncommon for this time of year) and not much rain. It is overcast a lot, but it's a different kind of overcast. It's more of an all-encompassing fog, which is actually kind of cool.

It's very green here. We're at the tail end of fall now with leaves still falling off some trees. The grass is all still very green, and vines or moss grow on almost everything. Roofs, sidewalks, and even some roads have moss growing on them. I definitely miss living in the mountains, but am looking forward to the new challenges and adventures of living on the west coast.