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I've lived in Marin County all my life and am tired of living in 400sq ft for $1000+ per month. I'm considering moving to Santa Rosa, CA or Medford, OR, which seem to be fairly similar, except that I could get a larger, newer place for less money in Medford than in Santa Rosa.
If you count the greater Medford area it is equal in size to Santa Rosa at around 175k citizens, though the city of Medford itself only has 75k inhabitants, so it is smaller, though that could be a plus.
The big draw for me in either place is their proximity to artsy, liberal, intellectual areas. In Santa Rosa there is Sebastopol, and in Medford, just a fourteen minute drive away, there is Ashland.
Medford currently has 10.4% unemployment, though that's not unusual for Oregon. Santa Rosa currently has 8.3% unemployment, so job prospects are definitely better here in CA. However, Oregon has no sales tax, which is a plus. They also have fewer yuppies driving Lexuses and getting nose jobs, so there's another plus on the Oregon side.
Medford has less crime than Santa Rosa, but then it really depends on which part of each city you live in. Both have posh and very safe areas, and others you wouldn't want to walk through at night. Santa Rosa definitely has higher rates of violent crime, however, and more gang activity.
Medford is hotter by about 10 degrees in the summer months than Santa Rosa, and colder by the same variance in the winter, but it's nice they have four seasons. Otherwise, their weather and amount of rainfall is very similar. Southern Oregon does not get rain all year like other parts of the state; in fact, it has a Mediterranean climate like Marin/Sonoma counties--unless you're in Bend, which is like Tahoe.
I'd love to hear if anyone has lived in both Medford and Santa Rosa in the past decade and has an opinion. Medford seems like the Oregon version of Santa Rosa to me. Am I right?
Medford really isn't all that nice. It is a bit readnecky. Ashland is really nice and nearby Jacksonville is great. Also, Shady Cove is a really cool rafting town nearby. Medford in general is just really uninteresting. The food isnt all that great... you have to go to Ashland for good (although expensive) food. I can't speak to Santa Rosa, but I always liked that area.
for coastal access, Santa Rosa is closer, but the coast is quite busy nearby. Medford is about 1.5 hours from Crescent City, CA and the REAL redwoods. In general though, S. Oregon is really nice... just a bit isolated... 4.5 hours from Portland and 4.5 hours from SAC/6 hours to SF. However, during my 2 years there, I tended to like that about it.
Thanks Ashlandbus! I was thinking of living in Medford just for cheaper rent. I would drive to Ashland for all cultural activities. I've heard Talent and Phoenix are all right too, though they're tiny places, and they're closer to Ashland than Medford. Would you recommend them?
I went to high school in southern Oregon and lived 2 years in Santa Rosa. I don't think they are similar AT ALL. People in Oregon are very different then Californians. yes, you'll find less snobs but you will also find less educated people and Oregonians make Californians look like New Yorkers energy level-wise. I lived about 70 miles north of Medford and found the area to be very economically depressed, the people very close-minded, racist, LOTS of drug use (Medford's nickname is Methford), and in general people move to Oregon to get away from other people, and they are very antagonistic to transplants from California. I would expect that Medford/Ashland will be a little better then where i lived, but not much. There is this perception that Oregonians are naturalist/environmentalists and the opposite is true in So. Oregon, its mostly farmer/logger/hunter/fisher types (rednecks). You'll find some progressive people there, but they'll be the minority.
If you're looking for more progressive types, similar to Californians, but with less expense and snobbery, I would look more in the area between Salem and Portland, but then you're getting worse weather too.
I went to high school in southern Oregon and lived 2 years in Santa Rosa. I don't think they are similar AT ALL. People in Oregon are very different then Californians. yes, you'll find less snobs but you will also find less educated people and Oregonians make Californians look like New Yorkers energy level-wise. I lived about 70 miles north of Medford and found the area to be very economically depressed, the people very close-minded, racist, LOTS of drug use (Medford's nickname is Methford), and in general people move to Oregon to get away from other people, and they are very antagonistic to transplants from California. I would expect that Medford/Ashland will be a little better then where i lived, but not much. There is this perception that Oregonians are naturalist/environmentalists and the opposite is true in So. Oregon, its mostly farmer/logger/hunter/fisher types (rednecks). You'll find some progressive people there, but they'll be the minority.
If you're looking for more progressive types, similar to Californians, but with less expense and snobbery, I would look more in the area between Salem and Portland, but then you're getting worse weather too.
I realize this thread is almost a month old, but I think you deserve an answer form somone who has actually lived in Medford on and off for almost 30 years. First of all, Medford has changed dramatically in the past 20 or so years. The population has increased to 77,000 in the city and nearly 200k in the metro area. The person making all the racist, close-minded, and drug use observations about the area could not be more wrong. Maybe that's because he or she was speaking from experiences in a town 70 miles to the north, which is much smaller and might as well be in another world. When you look at crime statisitcs, Medford averages a very low crime rate for a city of its size, inculding drug crimes. There are drug problems in ever city and town and Medford is actually below average. The commenter also stated that people in Southern Oregon are "antagonistic to transplants from California." That's a fairly laughable statement considering half the population consists of former Californians with more moving here every day. Further, saying "...its mostly farmer/logger/hunter/fisher types (rednecks)," is also very innacurate. It might have been an accurate statement over 30 years ago, but almost all of the logging jobs evaporated long ago. Medford is the economic center for all of Southern Oregon, so there is a good mix of industries.
In my opinion, you can't beat the weather in Medford. We get all four seasons and plenty of sunshine. And, if you want to be close to an artsy, intellectual area, you can't beat Ashland (15 minute drive).
I wish people would not comment on threads like this when they don't actually know anything about the city they are trying to describe. Describing Medford based on experiences in a small town 70 miles away is like saying L.A. is just like Riverside because they are both in Southern California.
If you're looking for more progressive types, similar to Californians, but with less expense and snobbery, I would look more in the area between Salem and Portland, but then you're getting worse weather too.
Eugene might be a nice compromise between the two. It's a college town and the weather is a bit better than further north.
Describing Medford based on experiences in a small town 70 miles away is like saying L.A. is just like Riverside because they are both in Southern California.
I have lived in both places- they couldn't be any different from each other. Medford is just conservative and basically dull but Santa Rosa is mentally stimulating but expensive.
There are many other places not real expensive but more exciting then Medford.
How about Chico Ca? Ashland OR? Portland OR?
People get nose jobs in Santa Rosa? How do you know that? I've seen plenty of people here with less-than-perfect noses. As for yuppies, Marin County is where they live, not Santa Rosa. A yuppie is someone with disposable income, right? Many self employed people (winerys, healers, contractors(remodeling)yoga teachers, etc live in Marin and Sonoma County, and they benefit from people with high incomes.
As for the weather in Eugene, it's cold and rainy all winter!
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