Starting to get a little freaked out about Oregon (Portland: low crime, schools)

[little peg]

Originally Posted by nm85

I was born in Portland, grew up in the Aurora area & lived most of my adult life in Salem. Currently my husband & I have relocated to another part of the country for work reasons... I truly LOVE oregon, the entire Willamette Valley is great, really beautiful & there are friendly, accepting, warm people everywhere you look, I'd go back in a heartbeat. The Aurora area is a wonderful place to grow up. Small community yet close to everything, great people.

How long has it been since you have visited Aurora?

[ladysrodgers]

Originally Posted by Larry Caldwell

If you have money to burn, Oregon is a great place to live. The outdoor recreational opportunities are endless. Unfortunately, high paying jobs are few and far between, and tend to be pretty short term. If you already have a job lined up, or a big wad of cash in your pocket, the move would be great. Otherwise, you better think twice. If you end up poor in Oregon, you probably will stay that way for the rest of your life. Being old and poor is something you really want to avoid.

I have to say, I found what Larry said above to be true after the 3.5 years I lived in the state.

[nm85]

Hi L. Peg, I still have friends & family in that area so I get back whenever I can, it has grown a little over the past few years, but not tons. I know housing has gone up a bit, but the area is great, espcially for raising kids (in my opinion)

[Patricia42]

Oregon is very liberal for the most part. I was born and raised in OR and I am about as Republican as you can get. However we did move away.
I love OR. it is so beautiful, but because of the beauty most of the wages are not that good, they will tell you that you you pay for the beauty with poor wages..Thanks so much. I love Grants Pass and would be very comfortable there. Beautiful aera. However before I moved to OR I would be looking at thier taxes. No state taxes, however they get you coming and going on property taxes, etc. Be sure to look at all that first.
Each aera of OR has something wonderful to offer. The beaches are free. No one puts up a fence like in CA and says you cannot go there. Plenty of beaches to enjoy and wildlife to see. Bend area is pretty, It has snow in the winter, lots of it, but fantastic summers. If you like to ski this is the place. It is growing fast, but has plenty to do. Like fishing. Southern OR has lots of that and big lakes to visit or go camping. They also have MT. Ashland for the winter ski persons. Expensive though. Portland has a lot more artsy places, museums, trade off, gotta get on a freeway to get there...
To each his own I guess....i still love OR however and I have 2 kids and 3 grandkids who live there now.

[haggardhouseelf]

Somebody asked if there was anything good which could be said about Oregon as a state. Well... I could go on forever (and I have in some of my other posts... I LOVE Oregon!!) but currently I just have one thing on my mind: Kicker checks!!!

I just got a kicker check from the state of Oregon. We don't even live in Oregon anymore (boo hoo...)... but we did in 2006, and we paid taxes like good citizens... and lo and behold we just got a check for $1500. Wow!

I love Oregon.

Oh - and there are too jobs there. People are always saying that there aren't jobs in oregon but really there are... it's just that there aren't enough people in oregon who are educated or trained properly for the jobs. That is why there are so many North Koreans moving into the northern part of Eugene and why companies like the one my husband works for has to recruit from outside the state and it often takes them a year or two to fill one job opening. That's exactly why we moved to Eugene - my husband had skills that apparently no one else in Eugene had. It seems most Eugene people are liberal arts majors with very little tech skills... yet tech skills=jobs. Unless of course you wanna work at the hospital or the university, but then you need other sorts of skills. You can't get a liberal arts degree and then expect to get a good paying job right from the start. With that sort of education you're going to end up starting at the very bottom and working your way up - and probably going back to school in order to get the skills you really will need for a decent paying job - and they are there! It's just that companies are looking outside Oregon to fill the jobs because the workforce in the area is severely lacking. That's just my two cents.

[fallingwater]

Originally Posted by oregonjed

Yes, Southern Californnia is definitely much safer than Eugene. Eugene in the Detroit of the West Coast. Avoid it at all costs.

LOL too funny. I live in Detroit, I dont think Eugene compares.

[sharonaly]

I think you will love Eugene. There was a bunch of noise by and about anarchists 8 or 9 years ago but I haven't heard anything about them lately. In 2004 Kerry got 58%, Bush got 40% and "other" got 2%. So we really aren't as liberal as we sometimes think.

My daughter is at South Eugene High School, which is an extremely good school. I have not had any issues with the schools, and I'm an involved, concerned parent. Better neighborhoods have better schools, mainly because of the parents involvement.

Meth has been an issue (more in Southern Oregon) but no where near as much as in SoCal or Hawaii. The law taking all products containing pseudophedrine off store shelves has almost eliminated the "mom and pop" meth labs. Now it has to come in from California.

People I know from bigger cities think our crime rates are nothing. It doesn't feel like there is any real gang activity like in LA, San Diego, Dallas e.g. (fights with knifings and shootings) mostly wannabes in a couple of the High Schools, but another poster who is in law enforcement wrote this when asked about crime:

relocation to Oregon

I remember the one case he mentioned. It was a really big deal because it was so unusual and because it was the first time average people heard anything about gangs here.

Anyway, come on up and see what you think for yourself. Don't let the alarmists get to you!

[sharonaly]

Originally Posted by wohelo

Avoid this neighborhood until clean up.

I don't think you meant the whole area, did you? There is an area near the old train yards on both the River Road and Bethel sides with groundwater pollution. The underground plume has been mapped. It is an amorphous blob with fingers stretching out both several directions.

But the River Road/Santa Clara area is much, much bigger than that and has a lot good qualities. Low taxes, large yards with great soil, lower home prices but right next to the river and the bike path to downtown and campus.

[sharonaly]

"The schools we saw had no fences,a nd then we looked on line and the test scores were pretty bad. But then you look at the next school down the road and its great! My head is swirling."

Do you want fences to keep people out or in? I think we don't have fences around the high schools and middle schools because so far we don't need them. And the recess/playgrounds in the elementary schools that I know do have fences. What schools did you look at? I can tell you the schools with the best (and worst) reputations. One key is that there are 2 school districts (3 if you count Springfield) and they are each different.

[sharonaly]

Originally Posted by antsy22

WOW! I am thinking of moving to eugene and I am so happy to hear such a positive experience. Reading these boards I was a little concerned. Could you please give me any insight or knowledge you have about the Chambers - West 18th avenue area? I invested in a property over there and did not spend much time in Eugene. I know it sounds strange, but I saw a good investment oppurtunity, so jumped on it. I know there is an Albertsons, can you tell me other businesses you remember near that location and also any opinions. I really want to learn more about it.
Thanks-

I know the area well. Is your property above or below 18th, and is it East or West of Chambers?

The Chambers and 18th intersection also has a Bi-Mart (Employee owned sort of general store) a fake 50s diner and a coffee/pastry restaurant. And 2 gas stations, a computer store, Dari Mart (convenience store). 11th and Chambers has pizza, good thai, asian food store, and more. About 1 mile east on 13th is Cafe Soriah and a great pizza place, and there's more as you go farther East.

Most important is that you are only 1.5 miles from downtown, and 2 miles from campus.