In search of Eugene Oregon (Portland, Beaverton: environment, equity, agriculture)

[redcrown]

I moved from Roseburg which is an hour south of Eugene to Portland (specifically beaverton) about 3 years agoo.....I would NEVER consider living in Eugene..disenfranchised youth and hippies is right. IMO, eugene is flat, and rather boring, and not much greener than roseburg. Interestingly enough, I have been looking at Asheville...

Look at Beaverton/Tanasbourne. I really enjoy it here. Its nestled in a valley, but you have the west hills, and the hills going to newberg. Once you get past the city, BAM! country driving, which I love. rolling hills and vineyards, winerys... Lots of produce, summer berry picking everywhere. Eugene's agriculture is cows, and grass. yay. Beaverton is pretty close to the beach, and only 10 miles to the city. Beaverton in general is really well manicured as well, which I appreciate. Very clean city. Beaverton is quite NEW also...not a lot of history (you can go downtown for that) but that also means wide streets, and with the amount of traffic, that becomes important. Beaverton also has PARKING LOTS!!!! what a concept!!

[Lavon Sailor]

I spent 5 years in Eugene working at the Hynix plant. It is very beautiful there, I learned to scuba, it was only 1 hour to the ocean. We had good skiing 1 hour to the east, and it was always fun to take in a Ducks or Emeralds (minor league baseball) game. On the negative side, it seemed like spring took forever to arrive, summers were too short (but they were beautiful) and gas was always higher than any where else in the country. Houses were expensive, but it worked out to my advantage because I made a good profit on the one I bought and then sold after 5 years. Fern Ridge Lake is nice from April till October, then the Corps of Engineers drain it. One final thing, there are drive-thru coffee shops are all over town, and they are great. I really miss them here in Texas.

[HMIL]

My perspective comes as one who was raised here, moved away for ten years, and has been back since 1991. I think I've seen it all. Eugene is a mixed bag.

If you're thinking of moving to Eugene, be aware that it's a pretty political town. The liberals are very vocal and the conservatives tend to be less so. If you're liberal/green/socialist, it's an easy place to live. If you're conservative/libertarian, you'll see a lot of frustrating things. No matter your leanings, or even if you don't have any, I encourage you to get involved. This is one of the things that truly "takes a village".

The city council is almost all liberal and, in my opinion, are wasteful with our tax dollars, funding study upon study to study the study they studied to try to prove why we really shouldn't have what the voters voted in (i.e. West Eugene Parkway has been put off for 20 years, but a dedicated bus lane from Eugene to Springfield is speeding along - go figure). Seems Eugene ends up on the news mostly for shameful or embarrassing things. (Remember City Manager Jim Jones - or whatever his name was - not letting City employees put Christmas trees up in their offices or decorations? That ended up on national news and used as examples in books)

As a student under 21, there was nothing to do unless you had fake ID. I didn't, so I went to the movies a lot. Now, there's a 17-screen, stadium-seating theater across I-5 in Springfield, and a new one is being built near Valley River Center in Eugene.

The restaurants range from the national chains to the regional, to the "very Eugene". If you want it, you can probably find it. There's even a delivery service that will get it (for about 35 places in town) and bring it to your door. But be careful - they charge the prices from the dinner menu even during the day, and there's a $3.95 fee, and the driver expects to be tipped generously.

Shopping is plentiful -Valley River Center is the nicest mall, but is starting to look a little "cookie cutter", Gateway Mall (Springfield), is not as nice, but gets a lot of traffic due to the theater and "restaurant row". A place, full of stuff from local/regional artisans is Fifth Street Market. It's being remodeled now, but should be well worth the wait.

Schools are better-funded here than most would have you believe, but there's still an amazing amount of waste - notably due to rididulous requirements put in place back in the late 90s for the CIM/CAM program. I recommend the Bethel School District, with more approachable administration.

If you're looking for a church, they range from the mega-sized Faith Center to smaller home churches, from Baptist and Methodist to Unitarian and Ba'hai. Might even be satanist congregation or two - I'm sure there are also plenty of Wiccan groups and pagan gatherings. Eugene's got it all.

It's true that unemployment is a problem. I'm a highly qualified administrative assistant, but it took me six months to find another job when my old company closed up. However, there is a great resource sponsored by the OR Employment Div., Lane County, and many of the employers in the region. If you're not coming to a job waiting for you, you'd be doing yourself a favor by checking out the Lane Workforce Network. But a word to the wise - the Lane Workforce Network office on Oakmont is a depressing, unfriendly place. I found that the staff there seemed to be made up of "burn-out cases" who were waiting to retire and looked at me with suspicion. On the other hand, the office at Lane Community College was much more inviting and the people far friendlier.

The climate is perfect - for me. It does rain a lot here, but that's what makes it so very green! I prefer to think of it as liquid sunshine. (Plus, the rainier the season, the lower the chance of nasty forest fires in the summer - look up the Biscuit Fire on Google!)

The temperatures don't get dramatically low in the winter and summer high temps happen but not often and not for sustained periods of time. Most houses and apartments built before 1990 don't have air conditioning, but if you have a house with a decent cross breeze and a few fans, you can manage quite nicely.

All things considered, the good and the bad, the happy and sad and embarassing, I love it here. (Although I've given serious consideration to moving to a more conservative town - maybe Springfield? - because it's a very tough place to be a conservative, Christian, Republican straight woman.)

So, if you come to town, welcome. Make yourself a home!

[Eugguy]

Originally Posted by HMIL

The city council is almost all liberal and, in my opinion, are wasteful with our tax dollars, funding study upon study to study the study they studied to try to prove why we really shouldn't have what the voters voted in (i.e. West Eugene Parkway has been put off for 20 years, but a dedicated bus lane from Eugene to Springfield is speeding along - go figure).

That's because the Bus Rapid Transit line (EmX) is alread payed for and is something we need much more than a freeway in the middle of the West Eugene wetlands. It's a totally different project funded by a totally different source. Also, you should know that building more freeways/roads does NOT reduce traffic in the long term at all.

[Jennifer&Bob]

About the school districts, what is CIM/CAM requirements?

[Eugguy]

^ It's the Oregon Standards Testing program. Many states have them, although they are optional, they are recommended by teachers in public schools throughout the state. CIM stands for Cirtification of Initial Mastery and CAM stands for Certification of Advanced Mastery. The contain tests very similar to the California Standards Tests (CSTs) are which are a major component of their STAR program.

Here's the langauge:

The Certificate of Initial Mastery (CIM) is an award earned by students who have met performance standards on state tests and classroom work samples in English/language arts, mathematics, and science.

The Certificate of Advanced Mastery (CAM) is an award earned by students who have demonstrated rigorous application of knowledge and skills in preparation for their post-high school goals.

(They are pronounced "Sim" and "Cam")

[Jennifer&Bob]

Ah, thanks Eugguy !

[Des_Demona]

Wow I really love this thread. It really brought all the information to light for me. I've been wanting to move to Eugene and after reading about it here I am definitely still in that mindset. I do worry a lot about jobs though. It's scary to think I have a lot of experience and a bachelor's degree but I still may not find a job! I've worked at UCLA for over a year now and I'd like to get a job working at the University or Lane Community College when I come up. I'm not sure what the job market for that is though. I'm concerned also with the whole "outsider" mentality as well.

[Clear2land]

Hi Des_Demona:

Eugene is a perfect job fit for you. Pick up the phone and give the U of O a phone call. They can tell you if you have the skill-sets for positions there. In addition, they will show you how to go on-line to look at current job listings. Lastly, you can ask for the name of the best person to review your resume. Firms will not hesitate to go out of state to get just the right person for a job.

I have not heard one complaint about Corvallis. You might, as well check in with Oregon State University. If those two doors are closed for you skip on down. Let your job pick the city for you. Disappointed, you will not be.

Dan

[Des_Demona]

Thanks Dan! You are so helpful. I love to read all your informative posts. I will most definitely look into that. I figure that just about ANYWHERE in Oregon will be better than where I live now. I can't wait to become an Oregonian and shed my Californian snake skin haha.