Ok, I am moving to Portlans in about 2 yearsI am finishing up college in a suburban town in CaliforniaMy husband and I am going to move as soon as I have my degree, due to Portlnd is extremely desperate for special-ed teachersAnd, I HATE California! So I have been apartment hunting, and I noticed almost all of the apartments are similar to ones in New YorkThe type set up like a hotel where you actually have to walk into a uilding and take an elevator or stairsSo is that how most apartments are in Oregon? We have nothing similar to that where I live, and it seems so strange! Also, what is the temperature like during the summer? I live in the valley, so the heat is unbearable!
If the walls are not insulated then the heat is radiating out the walls to the outside and the cold is radiating in.
turn down the thermostat to 68 and wear a sweater turn down to 50 when going to bed and when no one is in the house
Buy an electric blanket and turn the heat down at night.
Sealing your windows will help, but make sure you have eliminated any other draftsI wouldn't seal off air vents to rooms you are not in, but maybe seal off vents and entire rooms you don't use at allJust be sure you aren't sealing off areas with plumbing in the wallsOne of the biggest things you can do is check (or have checked) your insulationThe minimum R value recommended for your state is: Ceilings R-38Outside Walls R-19Floors over Unheated Spaces R-22 Remember, the higher the R value, the better inslulated your home will beI live in upstate NY and it's cold as heck right nowI have blown in R-49 in my atticDid it last year and my furnace runs a lot less than when just I had the old R-13 up there.
The pearl is awesome, especially for a young couple, which it sounds like you and your husband areThe weather here is NOTHING like california, and portland is a small big cityI really like it except the weather gets really depressing this time of year because you will be really ready for the sun, but it doesn't come until around may ishIf you want a small home with personality, you should look into lake oswego's first edition area, or in the sellwood areaBut sellwood can get kinda sketchy, you just have to find the right area, but that side of the river has some cute older neighborhoods.
