Is Eugene for us? (Portland, Corvallis: apartment complexes, employment, theater)

[uiier]

When we first moved here two years ago we had some serious doubts about the move. Eugene's downtown does not look inviting, nor did most of the houses for sale around the area. Everyone we met was nice but they never really get to know you.

But after living here for a little over 2 years I can say I love it here. You just have to find your place. We bought a house in a new development in the south hills. And its amazing to see the community that is growing around us. We have met everyone on the street and everyone comes out to talk in the evenings. Although on the outside we look a lot different from the valley folk ( we have nice cars and nice houses and are always working on them ) we still have the same community spirit that everyone in Eugene seems to promote.

I understand if you have your mind set to leave, but remember not everyone is going to fit in right away regardless of where you are. But you will in time. Good luck on your adventure and visit often!

[dinessa99]

Originally Posted by haggardhouseelf

3) Your willingness to look past appearances and really get to know the town and its people. As I've said many times before, appearances aren't top priorities for many people here... someone that could have passed for a "meth-head" came to our kids school this week and taught children how to do some amazing art - she's a professor at the university with graduate degrees... you wouldn't know it by looking at her! Her hair was all long, gray, and stringy and her face was without makeup and she was wearing dirty shoes and old stained overalls... she was a really cool person though and very talented... great with the kids! They loved her! I have experienced this over and over again in Eugene. Here it is more about the WHY of what you're doing or just WHAT you're doing... rather than how you look while you're doing whatever it is you do. Whenever I see a trendily dressed person or someone with their hair and nails done or wearing high heels... I always think to myself that they must be from out of state... Oregon doesn't care about how you or your homes or cars look so long as you and they are fun and functional.

It's not that I disagree with the sentiment here, it's just that my mother's entire family (she's one of six) were born and raised in western Oregon and my cousin who lives in Eugene is one of those trendy women you seem to think would be from out of state. I just have to chuckle at the expression on her face to be thought of as a newbie to the area.

My husband and I are looking to relocate to the area within the next few years, and we're not concerned with the job market (which sucks everywhere) either since we're both in health care. Since I've been all over western Oregon to see family my whole life, I'm amazed at the negativity toward Eugene this thread seems to have garnered! Maybe it's because I grew up as a military brat and have lived all over but mostly the east coast, but what some of you are claiming to be REASONS EUGENE IS TERRIBLE!!!! are so minor compared to even "nicer" areas on the east coast. Not to downplay crime, because it is certainly an issue, but I'm curious as to what utopias some of the members here have been living in that Eugene compares so poorly to. For what I want for my family and our life style, Eugene is ideal. I'm not expecting it to be untouched with negative influences. I am capable of safe-guarding against reasonable offenses, and of raising my children to be able to make safe and appropriate choices. Further, our world is global now, and I WANT my children to be aware of everything it holds, good and bad as age appropriate, so that they know how to comport themselves and the causes, effects, and consequences of behaviors.

This is not to say that there aren't other fantastic cities in OR, because literally my family is scattered all the way up and down. Corvallis, Salem, Portland, Eugene, and small towns in between. Oregon is just a great state to live. I would agree with some posters that perhaps comparisons between Eugene and towns that do not share any similarities beyond having a college or university are probably not fair or accurate.

And, my husband and I currently live near Pittsburgh. For any of you remembering the post about the comparison to there being more crime in Eugene than in Pittsburgh, well, not even a little bit. And I love Pittsburgh. But it has an enormous crime rate, much of which is gang-related. I just can't even imagine comparing the two, and as sad as the topic is, it kind of makes me laugh at the asininity.

Last comment, is that I think a lot of times people suffer from "relocation therapy", where the grass is always greener if they could just get somewhere. This can lead to quite a long fall and heavy thud when the city in question isn't capable of supporting your idealism. That said, the worst thing you can do is become pessimistic about it. Where you are is what you make of it. Get out and enjoy it.

[brzzz]

I know Pittsburgh, that city has actual 'hoods.' Eugene doesn't and violent crime is not very common. However property crime is higher in Eugene, the greater area has one of the higher property crime rates in the country. So just be careful of that, even in the nicer areas.

[Mr Eugenified]

Originally Posted by brzzz

I know Pittsburgh, that city has actual 'hoods.' Eugene doesn't and violent crime is not very common. However property crime is higher in Eugene, the greater area has one of the higher property crime rates in the country. So just be careful of that, even in the nicer areas.

Come on! This nonsense again?!

Dear readers, please do your homework and compare the data against other cities. Secondly, use your brain and understand that a college town is going to have hundreds and hundreds of reported petty thefts of bikes, frisbees, iPod's, etc. These will all be counted as 1 crime. Same thing in just about every college town. The result is heavily skewed statistics.

Also, while you're at it, check out a crime map showing the good areas of Eugene. For example, take any area south of 20th street. That's a huge piece of the city and there are very very few crimes there.

Yes, there are, of course, some crimes happening, so while the upcoming personal anecdotes about crime are quite interesting, they are not in fact valid to describe an entire city.

[Olduvai2020]

I second the comment by Mr. Eugenified, and I suggest that anyone interested in getting a more accurate and detailed information about the crime rate in Eugene check out these sites:

City of Eugene Crime Statistics

City of Eugene Crime Maps

[brzzz]

Originally Posted by Mr Eugenified

Come on! This nonsense again?!

Dear readers, please do your homework and compare the data against other cities. Secondly, use your brain and understand that a college town is going to have hundreds and hundreds of reported petty thefts of bikes, frisbees, iPod's, etc. These will all be counted as 1 crime. Same thing in just about every college town. The result is heavily skewed statistics.

Also, while you're at it, check out a crime map showing the good areas of Eugene. For example, take any area south of 20th street. That's a huge piece of the city and there are very very few crimes there.

Yes, there are, of course, some crimes happening, so while the upcoming personal anecdotes about crime are quite interesting, they are not in fact valid to describe an entire city.

What nonsense? Look at the stats, I'm not making anything up.

Anecdotally speaking, I know numerous people who've been robbed and burglarized south of 20th st. Eugene isn't a bad place, but the property crime rate is very high (but the violent crime rate is very low).

[Olduvai2020]

While the property crime rate in Eugene is indeed higher than the national average (57 property crimes per 1,000 population in Eugene vs. 32 nation-wide), it is typical for a city of this size. Here is how Eugene compares to other PNW cities based on preliminary 2009 FBI statistics:


City 2009 Property Crimes per 1,000 Population
Salem 40.0
Portland 47.2
Eugene 57.0
Seattle 58.2
Spokane 64.9
Tacoma 70.7

[haggardhouseelf]

College towns do often have higher crime rates. I remember reading a story in newsweek about that a few years ago. You take the good with the bad with any choice you make.

We've recently begun geocaching as a family. I know you're now thinking, "what the heck does geocaching have to do with the crime/meth situation in Eugene?"

Well, if you've ever seriously geocached in urban areas, you might know what I mean. Geocaching takes you where the sidewalks end. It takes you behind areas where you might not have bothered to even notice before. You go places that you've passed thousands of times but never given a second thought. Maybe not even a first thought.

Think about those areas for a minute. In a city, those are exactly the sorts of areas where transients, punk kids, druggies, etc are going to hang out/hide/sleep at night/claim as "their spot", etc.

While geocaching, I'm constantly thinking of that scene from the film, Labyrinth with David Bowie and Jennifer Connelly... where she's trying to find the entrance into the labyrinth and she can't find it. But it's right in front of her, it just blends in. She just wasn't looking. Geocaching helps you look, and in a different way. So in that way, it helps you learn a city better.

So, in the course of urban geocaching with the family and kids, we've discovered a few homeless camps. We've begun to see the underbelly and darker side of the town we love. And we find some unpleasant things - used condoms, trash, discarded and suspicious looking clothing, etc. But we've never felt threatened.

I think if we ever have to relocate again to a new city, we'll probably geocache for a few days in different areas of that city - and not the nice neighborhoods part, but the more downtown'ish or not-so-nice neighborhoods parts - before we decide to move there. It's like looking under the rug to see what's been swept under there. And I'm telling you, in Eugene... it's not pretty but it's not scary, either.

[brzzz]

Originally Posted by haggardhouseelf

It's like looking under the rug to see what's been swept under there. And I'm telling you, in Eugene... it's not pretty but it's not scary, either.

That's what I'm saying...it can take a while to notice these things and many people are unaware of them. I lived near downtown so I know what you are talking about. I would agree that there is a seedy underbelly, but I am thankful that it isn't a particularily violent one.


BTW what is geocaching?

[haggardhouseelf]

Originally Posted by brzzz

BTW what is geocaching?

Geocaching - The Official Global GPS Cache Hunt Site

Oregon Field Guide (my favorite program on OPB) did a story about it a bit ago, that's how we learned about it: Oregon Field Guide — Geocaching · Oregon Public Broadcasting

It's like a treasure hunt, with caches all over the world. If you have the droid or iphone, there are free apps you can download right onto your phone which help you locate caches near you. It helps greatly, though, to have a GPS unit to help you find the exact coords of the cache you're looking for. The iPhone, for example, takes you very close but often not exactly to the spot.