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I'm psyched to hear everything I can about Eugene, and my husband, who bike commutes year round in the fridged, snowy midwest will be pleased too! A place where our family can bike everywhere and leave our car behind (except to get to outdoor adventures) is exactly what we're looking for. The leaf piles sound awesome too, I would miss that if we weren't moving someplace else that had a beautiful fall.
I have moved to Eugene, and have been disappointed in my experience here. Although if you like the biking, access to the coastline and the mountains, liberal minded apathetic attitudes, with lots of "environmentally aware" accessibility, this can be the place for you. I do somewhat agree to the abrasive reality of kjasdf although I am probably a bit less angry and pessimistic. While Eugene is somewhat a college town with good ammenities, it gives off airs of arrogant rich "hippies" who judge people far too quickly if they aren't driving a Prius. And then you have the poor white communities with the illegals taking over in the winter, when they aren't harvesting the marijuana in the summer, with police unable to do their job because the community overwhelming believes in the media when they broadcast police abuse as a norm. Most of the West Coast seems to give off airs that marijuana and drugs aren't just a crutch leading to MANY other problems, illegals are just like our ancestors and aren't really draining our economy and health care system, and the government should be taking care of us because we really can't be kept accountable for our own actions. We are thinking of moving back East where it seems to be a little conservative in values and attract people who, although have just as many problems, are a little more respectful of each other's opinions, if you aren't just fighting a cause to fight a cause.
I'm curious - why "apathetic"? I haven't felt that at all since we've moved here. It seems like you're really having a rough time here. We recently spent a year in the Seattle area (actually the eastside of Seattle) and we were sorry for ever making that move. We were very unhappy there due to the extremely high cost of living, horrible traffic, crime and just bizarre things happening all the time even in the nice area where we lived, very rude and abrassive social climate, and I could just go on and on. It was shocking, really, how horrible our experience was there. We were so happy to come back to Eugene and make this wonderful place our home again. Hopefully you'll be able to find your happy place, too! Not every place is right for everybody. Best of luck with everything!
Springfield & smaller towns in Oregon are better than Eugene
I would not move to Eugene. Most of the elected officials in Eugene, Oregon are very corrupt and heavily influence the Lane County Elections officials to keep people that don't fit their profile off of the election ballots (i. e. anything other than affluent white). The State of Oregon is investigating currently investigating election fraud in Eugene.
The current elected officials and the University of Oregon also are very anti-veteran, especially disabled veterans. The city of Eugene for the most part absolutely refuses to let any American Veteran, Arab American, African American organizations be included in parades and job fairs. The University of Oregon and most of the city of Eugene also does not recognize the national holiday, Veteran's Day.
In my humble opinion, I also believe that the police in Eugene are very corrupt too. Auto Theft, Buglaries, Drugs, and Gang activity is alarmingly higher than most big cities in the US. By the time anyone calls for the police, the need for them has usually long past if they even show up at all, an average of 5 to 11 hours for 911 calls is not uncommon. The City of Eugene does very little other than lip service to keep criminals in jail. It is not uncommon for people who are arrested to be let back out on the street for crimes like car theft 3 hours later only to get arrested for car theft again in the same day. The City of Eugene, Lane County, and senior State of Oregon officials are pushing to give themselves a 54% raise with no accountability, while they claim there isn't enough money for jail beds or to help senior citizens, the disabled, the homeless, and keep animal shelters open. Furthermore, the City of Eugene does everything but invite adult book stores and strip clubs on major city streets. In addition, most employers in Eugene will find reasons not to employ you if you are disabled. I know this first hand as a disabled veteran.
However, all is not lost in Eugene or Lane County, if you live outside the major city limits, the Lane County Sheriff's department is doing an outstanding job with the extremely limited resources it gets allocated to it. The K thru 12 educational system for the most part is very good in Eugene. Lane Community College is one of the best in the entire country too. However, the University of Oregon is more concerned about their sports teams than they are standards of education for their students. Also, the general population of Eugene is polite and unbiased. The situation in Springfield is much better than that of Eugene, the City of Springfield is proactive and not corrupt in trying to stop crime and run down areas of Springfield. Their worst area is car theft around Gateway Mall. I would put any valuables in your trunk site unseen if you happen to go there.
There are lots of churches throughout Eugene and Springfield for Christians like myself. But, most of Eugene and parts of Springfield is very liberal. I am a disabled US Navy veteran and have lived in the Eugene area for about 8 years. I have attended both LCC and U of O, and stay in Eugene so that I can live close to my kids that live with my adulterous exwife.
Haggarhouseelf -- I just took a look at the Register Guard because I have been thinking of relocating to Eugene from a mountain town. I was saddened to read the front-page article about lack of beds in the jails. Home | "No room at the jail" | The Register-Guard (http://www.registerguard.com/csp/cms/sites/web/news/2650273-35/story.csp - broken link)
I read the article and all the comments. Does the town feel the effects of "No Room at the Jail"?
Hi Mikkelborg... that's a tough question. Some people say yes and others say no. I can only speak on what we as a family have experienced while living here. We haven't had any problems with crime at all, though we do live in a nicer part of Eugene (the northern part). There seems to be a lot of people here who make poor decisions which sort of invite crime into their lives. For example, many here seem to expect to leave stuff out in open view inside their cars and expect it to be safe. We also see home windows open and front doors open as well, with no cars in driveways or parked out front. We also see people walking around with headphones on or talking on their cellphones (distracted, not paying attention, not staying alert to what's around them). We also see homes where garage doors are left open, or bikes and equipment and things left in the yard or in a fenced area without a locked gate. I can't tell you how many times we have seen unlocked parked cars around town.These sorts of things invite trouble. I'm from a big city and have grown up with at least a small amount of "street smarts" and so we lock doors, bar the windows, don't leave things out in open view, etc. I get the feeling that there are just people here who - because this area has such a small town feeling, and parts of it are so rural and "country" feeling - just aren't used to having to take extra precautions for safety issues.
As far as beds... you might have to do your own research for that question. I don't really know. I hear some people say it's a county problem, not a city problem. I hear others say the opposite. Maybe they are just passing the blame back and forth. I don't know. And I sometimes hear of new beds/jails being built in the near future. Personally I don't know, and I don't really think about it. I've lived in several different cities of different sizes in different states and the jails/crime issue was something that was always a story. It's one that gets readers, so the media flaunts it as often as it can.
For anyone thinking of moving anywhere, the best you can do is visit and spend some time in the place. Listen to your gut feeling. If you feel safe, you'll know. And likewise, if you feel thoroughly creeped out, you'll know that as well. Just keep in mind that all places have good and bads parts of town, and no place is perfect.
Eugene is the most crime ridden place I have ever lived and I have lived in Pittsburgh and Boston previously. Everyone I know here has had crappy things happen. My car has been broken into (window smashed to get in). Friend #1 has had the same car stolen 3 times in the last year, Friend #2 has his truck broken into on a regular basis (the first time they just broke the steering wheel $2000 worth of damage trying to steal it). Friend #3 on her first night after moving to eugene had her hotel room broken into and her laptop stolen. A couple I know woke up to a man standing at the foot of their bed and even more disturbing incident happend to another friends cat who came home and had clearly been raped. When she reported it to the police they said that they had been getting some frequent reports of the same happening to other residents pets. None of these people live in an area of Eugene that would be considered a bad area and a couple live in what is supposed to be a nice area in the south hills. I have considered quitting grad school and leaving this place but have come to far to quit now but I am looking forward to getting out the day after I graduate. If I had kids, I definitely would not feel safe letting them wander in the neighborhood on their own. Eugene's crime is bad and Springfield is worse. This place is crawling with meth addicts and homeless.
The culture here is full of pseudo-hippies. Uneducated people who prefer to focus on looking like the stereotypical image of a hippie rather than actually educate themselves about the issues and adopt a hippie mentality, ....
I know this is a negative post, but it is still useful for information. The person says they know these people. It's not "I heard"... I think its useful to get all sides, even if it isn't your experience. The positive reply was helpful too, to potential movers. Thanks,
Background: I lived in the Thurston area of Springfield, and lived in the area near Main Street Springfield/Island Park. I also went to school in Eugene, so I'm fairly familiar with both. I've lived in places that aren't Eugene, as well, on and off (Portland, Maine for a year, several months of ever year in LA, and currently living in Worcester, Mass/commuting to Boston), so I can provide a comparison that these statistics probably can't.
I would really disagree that Eugene is a crime-ridden place. Yes, there are parts of Eugene where crime rates are high, but it's honestly one of the safest places I've lived in. Some crime has happened to me, personally-- but this is the important part-- it isn't violent crime. I live in Main South, Worcester, which is a very run-down urban neighborhood in Mass, and not a day goes by when I don't hear about some armed robbery/assault within a few blocks of my house. Since I moved to Worcester, I've never had anything stolen, but part of that just has to do with common sense and how you practice it.
Eugene, I think, lulls you in to a false sense of security. The stories that you hear (and the crimes that happen to you, personally) usually involve some stupidity on the part of the victim. When I was nine and doing gymnastics at the NAAG, my mom's purse was stolen out of our car. Of course, she shouldn't have left it sitting on the drivers' seat anyway, and the car was parked around the corner of the building away from any windows. It's clear where the fault was there.
In Eugene, you'll hear about cars being stolen (you'd be surprised how often people accidentally leave their cars unlocked, pressing the electric keys and not waiting to see if anything happens) and you'll hear about and peoples' houses being broken in to on a regular basis. I'd be surprised by this, if I didn't know how many of my friends never bother locking their back doors. In other places, like Worcester, if you're robbed, there's generally a weapon involved. Be smart, and you'll be safe. Sure, there are parts of Eugene I wouldn't raise kids in (the 7-11 on the intersection of Willamette & 31st gets robbed on a regular basis) but most of it is certainly safe. High property theft doesn't mean high danger.
There are plenty of nice, safe neighborhoods to raise children in in Eugene/Springfield. The area around D-street in Springfield attracts plenty of families with kids in their cul-de-sacs. There are plenty of neighborhood parks, and they're all fairly well maintained. Whether or not I'd let my kids play in them alone depends on their age and the location of the park. As an adult, in daylight, it's safe to walk around pretty much any part of Eugene alone. This is something that really can't be said about most cities of its size and larger. At night, it's safe to walk around pretty much any part of Eugene in a small group of two, maybe three, and to walk around most of it alone. For comparison, I get nervous walking a block to get milk after dark in my current neighborhood.
Raising a kid in Eugene/Springfield is fairly safe. It's highschool where things become a bit more complicated. I won't lie-- high school in Eugene was boring. Generally, for fun, you'd go bowling, go to the movies, or eat. There weren't any safe 16 and up clubs, and Taboo's 16-up nights were certainly not any place anyone would want to be. Drugs are failry accessible to a teenager in Eugene, and alcohol isn't hard to get if you're near the U of O campus. Unsurprisingly, marijuana is fairly prevalent. Still, if you're upfront with your children about the risks of drugs and instill that in them at a very young age, drugs probably won't become a part of your child's life. Again, for comparison, I'd say that "safe" drugs, and therefore drugs as a whole are harder to access in Worcester (I'm assuming kids would be too sketched out to buy from the strange-smelling man on Park Street, so I'm saying "safe" drugs) but in Eugene, the pressure to use them is nowhere near as strong. Drugs are there, but they're a sideline, part of the background. (As someone who doesn't smoke or drink, I can attest to this.)
With regards to the weater, because this really is important if you're considering moving to Eugene. The rainy "gloomy" days are some of the most beautiful things I've ever seen. I'd prefer them to the muddy ice days in the Northeast any time, if it weren't for one thing-- SAD. In the Northeast, even though it's colder, I get far more sun. My SAD, for the first time in five years this year, hasn't affected me. If you're prone to SAD, keep this in mind. However, if you think the "gloomy" weather will bring you down, it won't- it's absolutley gorgeous.
And let me just say this: I love Eugene. I miss the culture, and the people. I miss the Country Fair and the Saturday Market. I miss the Eugene Celebration and crowning the Slug Queen. I miss hiking in the forests round Eugene and running up Mount Pisgah with my dog. I miss the fantastic coffee and the food and Sweet Life (oh, I miss those lemon bars!) I had to leave Eugene for my own health- my SAD had gotten to the extent that time in light boxes wasn't helping- but I hope to spend more and more of my summers back in the future, and I hope that my children get to have as amazing a childhood as I did growing up in Eugene.
Sangy - good, honest, post. I just wanted to thank you. I'm sorry that you suffer from SAD. I know several people who do. They take Vit. D supplements and use light therapy and other things, but they really only begin to feel like themselves again once the weather warms up and things begin to bud - until Spring decides to take root, basically. I sometimes get down in the dumps, but light and warmth help me. I have to admit - I use the tanning salons when I feel myself getting depressed. The light and the warmth does wonders for my spirit. If I could get away to some warm tropical sunny place every year - I totally would! But the tanning salons are the next best thing. I also do a lot of exercise and keep hot drinks with me - hot water with lemon helps me. I try to stay away from caffeine as that seems to make me feel worse. Anyway - thanks again for sharing your experiences.
I moved from northern California to Eugene and just came back to California. Even in this economy part of me wishes I could go back. If you've lived in the Northwest you're already used to the rain and winter weather. Eugene is great, because it is a small town but has plenty of outdoor activites, bike trails, river path, and so many interesting restaurants, coffee shops, etc.
Don't worry about the crime. Yes, it's true that Lane county has a drug problem, but there are plenty of safe places to live in the city. Too many folks blame Springfield for all the problems. There are just as many bad apples in Eugene. If you avoid living near the university neighborhood and some parts of downtown Eugene, you'll be fine. I lived in the southwest hills and never worried about crime. There are many safe neighborhoods in Eugene.
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Disappointed in Eugene
Springfield & smaller towns in Oregon are better than Eugene
Just keep in mind that all places have good and bads parts of town, and no place is perfect.
