Looking for a rare gem of a town...can you help? (Portland: best city, low crime)

[middleoftheroad]

I revived an old thread that had asked for the best city in OR, but I think that this might fare better as a new thread, so please forgive the double post, if indeed it is a 'foul', and (mod) should you need to delete a post, please take it from the other thread. That said, thanks for looking into this. Any response will be appreciated........

With weather as the co-contender in the criteria column, along with low crime, what town in Or has the perfect combo?

I'm seriously considering Redmond for retirement. I have some minor concern about the chilly winters, so with that in mind;

Is there a city/town in Oregon, that has a little more mild winters than Redmond, with:

• the temps maybe getting only down to the teens or so, (instead of the infrequent -6 that happens in Redmond),
  
• a MINOR increase in rainfall, (not the 25-40 in in the wet parts of the state, but how about in the 6-16" annual)
  
• And summers that average around 80-85, instead of the 90-100, again in the Redmond area.

I know those seem like small differences, but I find it difficult to locate such a place, in Eastern Or, or anywhere. I just do not know where to look, and hope it is my lack of knowledge that is making it hard to find, not the actual absence of such a town.

And, all things being close to perfect, a crime index lower than the US city average (320) would be nice!

Thanks for the help!
F

PS... We would like to be no further than 30-40 minutes, an hour tops, to a medical facility/hospital, just in case either of us needs to get to a Doctor!

[delta07]

I think you may find it hard to find a city in Oregon that doesn't have rain, but has relatively mild temperatures. Anything east of the Cascades is going to potentially get hot in the summer and cold in the winter. Anything west is going to be relatively mild temperature wise, but you'll have to deal with more precipitation. There are some towns in Central Oregon that don't get as warm as Redmond (Sisters, LaPine) but they can be colder in the winter and usually have more precipitation in the form of snow in the winter.

With that said, Redmond doesn't get very many days that are in the negatives. In fact, I believe the average low in the winter is in the 20s, so that certainly fits your criteria. There are also not that many days above 90 or 100. We've had a few days in the upper 90s so far this summer in Bend, but it's certainly not the average temperature.

To find a city that fits your criteria exactly, you'd probably need to look at southern California, but then again, the crime may be higher. It's hard to find anything north of there that has mild overall temperatures with very little precipitation. If you do find it, let me know! I may move there too.

[PNW-type-gal]

Most of Central and Eastern Oregon is high desert, so you get those temperature swings. The average winter low is not -6, that was my lowest winter low temp last year. From my weather station, the average low in December 2009 was 18 and the average low in January 2010 was 28. (The average highs were 28 and 38, respectively.)

I live south of the area, at higher elevation, so my low temps are probably lower than the general Bend/Redmond area.

The area with the lowest temp swings would be the Oregon coast, but much more rain than you are looking for (less in the banana belt south toward Brookings) and probably higher housing costs.

The Rogue Valley (Ashland-Medford-Grant's Pass, call it) isn't as cold in the winter, but there are more days over 100 in Medford than Central Oregon. Higher rainfall than Central Oregon, not nearly as much as the Willamette Valley and coast.

According to Weatherunderground, this last year Medford's average December low was 29 and average high was 42, with an absolute low of 11. But, so far this July, it's hit 100 five times. In Bend, it's only topped 90 three times.

[middleoftheroad]

Originally Posted by PNW-type-gal

Most of Central and Eastern Oregon is high desert, so you get those temperature swings. The average winter low is not -6, that was my lowest winter low temp last year. From my weather station, the average low in December 2009 was 18 and the average low in January 2010 was 28. (The average highs were 28 and 38, respectively.)

I live south of the area, at higher elevation, so my low temps are probably lower than the general Bend/Redmond area.

The area with the lowest temp swings would be the Oregon coast, but much more rain than you are looking for (less in the banana belt south toward Brookings) and probably higher housing costs.

The Rogue Valley (Ashland-Medford-Grant's Pass, call it) isn't as cold in the winter, but there are more days over 100 in Medford than Central Oregon. Higher rainfall than Central Oregon, not nearly as much as the Willamette Valley and coast.

According to Weatherunderground, this last year Medford's average December low was 29 and average high was 42, with an absolute low of 11. But, so far this July, it's hit 100 five times. In Bend, it's only topped 90 three times.

I suppose that you saw it was me again. I appreciate your help. Just wondering if, by my own lack of knoledge, I was missing some other town. I was thinking that if you 'slid' just a little down in elevation, it might provide a small, but friendlier weather pattern. I mean Redmond looks like a very comfortable area, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to ask.

BTW, thanks for your posts. They are informative, and without ever knowing you, it has felt comfortable to find similar tastes in a lot of areas. I bought my wife a Kindle-she LOVES it, for the same reasons, and as well it is great to read in bed. We also have a print book collection of close to 500 or more. A lot of history, (her), culture, (her) and Mysteries (her + ME!). She also loves Mary Janes, Mother Earth, and the craft-garden style of life. She enters pies and needlework at the fair (3 or 4 blue ribbons, and a couple of 2nds) and just tries to enjoy that state of mind. I, well, I encourage her, and sleep a lot (just kidding)!

Thanks again for the insights!
Fred

[middleoftheroad]

Originally Posted by delta07

I think you may find it hard to find a city in Oregon that doesn't have rain, but has relatively mild temperatures. Anything east of the Cascades is going to potentially get hot in the summer and cold in the winter. Anything west is going to be relatively mild temperature wise, but you'll have to deal with more precipitation. There are some towns in Central Oregon that don't get as warm as Redmond (Sisters, LaPine) but they can be colder in the winter and usually have more precipitation in the form of snow in the winter.

With that said, Redmond doesn't get very many days that are in the negatives. In fact, I believe the average low in the winter is in the 20s, so that certainly fits your criteria. There are also not that many days above 90 or 100. We've had a few days in the upper 90s so far this summer in Bend, but it's certainly not the average temperature.

To find a city that fits your criteria exactly, you'd probably need to look at southern California, but then again, the crime may be higher. It's hard to find anything north of there that has mild overall temperatures with very little precipitation. If you do find it, let me know! I may move there too.

I'm thinking that Redmond is going to be as close as I can come to what we are looking for. Just trying to see if I could tweak it a little. PNW Gal has also been helpful in sharing her thoughts about the same. I am pretty sure that if the town I'm looking for ever existed, it would have a population of 75,000,000 with no gangs, smog, traffic, and low prices. (Maybe on the moon)....but I thought I'd ask. Thanks again

[Fiddlehead]

I would propose Ashland. It is milder than Redmond,and more affordable than it has been in a decade. Summers can get hot, but not for long, and I would say it is noticeably sunnier than other westside locales. Good medical in Medford too. A great town overall, just not cheap.

[Oregonmom3]

Forest Grove, Oregon. I grew up there. Low crime. More mild winter temp wise. It IS sunnier than Portland. It is at the foot hills of the coast and so it always felt like the storms came in from the coast, skipped over Forest Grove and hit Portland! LOL! I loved growing up there and plan to move my family back asap!
I come from a farming family, so I know that the land is very good. The farmer's markets are full of amazing produce fresh. You will eat well, breath very fresh air (thanks to the close coastal range) and enjoy sunshine. Also, excellent health care in Hillsboro and Forest Grove.

[middleoftheroad]

Originally Posted by Oregonmom3

Forest Grove, Oregon. I grew up there. Low crime. More mild winter temp wise. It IS sunnier than Portland. It is at the foot hills of the coast and so it always felt like the storms came in from the coast, skipped over Forest Grove and hit Portland! LOL! I loved growing up there and plan to move my family back asap!
I come from a farming family, so I know that the land is very good. The farmer's markets are full of amazing produce fresh. You will eat well, breath very fresh air (thanks to the close coastal range) and enjoy sunshine. Also, excellent health care in Hillsboro and Forest Grove.

Take a look at this annual rainfall graph......pretty wet, compared to 6-16". But thanks for the reply.

in fact, its heavy look at this
F

[delta07]

Originally Posted by Fiddlehead

I would propose Ashland. It is milder than Redmond,and more affordable than it has been in a decade. Summers can get hot, but not for long, and I would say it is noticeably sunnier than other westside locales. Good medical in Medford too. A great town overall, just not cheap.

I was surprised by this suggestion because I always thought Ashland had more rainfall than it does. I guess I assumed this because it's west of the Cascades and the little I know about Oregon (I'm relatively new to the state) tells me this. It's still higher than the OP wants though, with an average of 20 inches of rain a year, but the winters are much milder than Redmond, so it may be worth looking into.

[Oregonmom3]

Yea... I don't trust those cnn reports more than my personal experience. lol!
I thought you would be interested because there is a lot less hot days. Redmond is in the driest part of Oregon so it is hard to find any place that is drier than that.