Medford Oregon or Redding California (Beaverton, Corvallis: insurance, movers, crimes)

[sxysparkler]

I was born and raised in Redding California and moved to Medford Oregon when I was 20 which is where I currently live. I have been married and started my family here in Medford as well. PP have answered the basic information regarding taxes between the two states. As far as everything else goes, here is my take:

Redding is more commercialized. It is hotter in the summers. There is more violent crimes. There are more sex offenders. Redding also offers better education, more opportunity for businesses, the lakes, more shopping, and better programs for the disadvantaged. It is also pretty ugly and dry and all about image (what kind of car you drive, house you live in, etc.). People are more judgmental there.

I find Medford more relaxed, more things to do in nature, within two hour drives to ANY climate you desire (beach, mountains, snow, sun, etc). We have poor education system, and we just lost our libraries. However, religious services are phenomenal, we have SOU and RCC (higher education), it's BEAUTIFUL, not too hot in the summer, not too cold in the winter, great parks, less crime, decent paying jobs (about the same as redding).

The housing markets are almost identical.

HTH.

[MajorHart]

Originally Posted by freedom

Spent the 4th in Redding, they put on a great pyrotechnics display. Looks like a very well adjusted town with family priorities in place with a good tax base.
If I didn't live in G.P. and was going to move back to CA. It would be Redding.

Grants pass has growing pains, but the core is strong and will pull out of the mess the enviros have gotten us into.
Medford is the same, other than they have more state dollars going towards organizing the growth especially the road and highways.

The benefit of Redding is the sales tax and smart community planners have really put tourism as a priority.

We live in Medford for a year and a half - used to work the flea market in grants pass - do they still have that? We liked both but that winter slimy stuff in medford and that constant fog in GP got to us. I worked at the college in Ashland - it was nice.

[MajorHart]

Originally Posted by jjpop

sberdrow, you know about the heat, right? Redding has been 110+ since the 4th of July. This is part of the West-wide heat wave, but it isn't unusual for Redding to have 110-degree days in the summer--particularly in August. Medford gets hot too, just not as hot as Redding. Maybe coming from Texas this won't be an issue.

I also think Redding has a sprawl problem, and traffic can be pretty bad. On the other hand, the Sundial Bridge over the Sacramento River and the adjoining Turtle Bay Exploration Park are really nice additions to the city. I've also seen the Independence Day fireworks in Redding and agree with Freedom--it's a killer show!

However, I think Medford has a greater variety of cultural and outdoor offerings. With Ashland and the Shakespeare Festival right next door, the Britt Festival in Jacksonville, and the Wild and Scenic Rogue River, Medford would win out over Redding in my books.

I have the Redding Mall at: Page Title with a thermometer on it and it says 91 degrees - feels like 91.

We know it's hot there though - we almost broasted in medford when we lived there but it wasnt' as hot as redding.

In medford we used to go to the Bucaneer's Pizza alot - it looks like they are all gone now.

Other favorites was Abbys and Pappy's and they are still there. Angelos was good too.

We live in Missouri right now but would like to move to Redding too.

Does Medford still have the deanza flea market there?

Thanks MajorHart

[John Cova]

Keep in mind all the poublic libraries in Medford are closed. Includes all of Josephone and Jackson County Libraries.Culture actibities are under attack in Southern Oregon!

[freedom]

Originally Posted by John Cova

Keep in mind all the poublic libraries in Medford are closed. Includes all of Josephone and Jackson County Libraries.Culture actibities are under attack in Southern Oregon!

Not really, there are plenty of privately funded cultural events throughout the year. The libraries were not a fair replacement for police protection.

Libraries are dinosaurs for the most part, if there is a true need for them, let them go private.

freedom

[albinoazian]

Libraries are dinosaurs? What the . . . ? No wonder people voet for Goerge W. talk like that. We have libraries everywhere here and the local one is 4 stories with a seperate children's library and it is always packed. I have been considering Oregon, but with no libraries and not much money for schools are my big concerns.

[freedom]

Originally Posted by albinoazian

Libraries are dinosaurs? What the . . . ? No wonder people voet for Goerge W. talk like that. We have libraries everywhere here and the local one is 4 stories with a seperate children's library and it is always packed. I have been considering Oregon, but with no libraries and not much money for schools are my big concerns.

We are in the top 10% on education spending. Money isn't the issue. Each school has a library, we finally are figuring out it makes more sense to have those available to the kids year round.

What does an opinion regarding public libraries have to do with President Bush? You realize his wife was a librarian.........and he doesn't share my opinion, don't you?

Jackson county is reopening its 15 libraries through a private company, that will take 1/3 less $ to run. The private sector has always been more efficient than government, and provided more quality experiences for the citizenry.

[freedom]

Originally Posted by albinoazian

Libraries are dinosaurs? What the . . . ? No wonder people voet for Goerge W. talk like that. We have libraries everywhere here and the local one is 4 stories with a seperate children's library and it is always packed. I have been considering Oregon, but with no libraries and not much money for schools are my big concerns.

We are in the top 5-10% on education spending. Money isn't the issue. Each school has a library, we finally are figuring out it makes more sense to have those available to the kids year round. Social disfunction and family disintegration has led to the most expensive day care (public schools) in the history of the world. Only the very focused and driven are able to stretch beyond the memory based mind freeze that is offered in public school, fortunately here in GP, many parents volunteer their time and effort to the pub system. It has made a huge difference.

What does an opinion regarding public libraries have to do with President Bush? You realize his wife was a librarian.........and he doesn't share my opinion, don't you?

Jackson county is reopening its 15 libraries through a private company, that will take 1/3 less $ to run. The private sector has always been more efficient than government, and provided a higher quality experience for the citizenry.

[sberdrow]

Originally Posted by albinoazian

Libraries are dinosaurs? What the . . . ? No wonder people voet for Goerge W. talk like that. We have libraries everywhere here and the local one is 4 stories with a seperate children's library and it is always packed. I have been considering Oregon, but with no libraries and not much money for schools are my big concerns.

Excuse me I don't like George Bush either but I was really hoping to compare medford to redding. Can we please go back to that

[lewi7722]

I found this discussion and joined the board.
Redding is where I grew up and still live. I was born in Portland Oregon and travel to the Oregon coast on vacations and to Beaverton to see my 95 year old grandmother. Redding is many things, I find is amusing when I hear people putting it down and yet somehow it is steadily growing. People are "waiting in line" to move here, if they can find the right job that will make it a possibility. The job market can be difficult for some depending on your field of work.
The weather is, as I see it one of the few things that keep this small city from exploding into a large city that I wouldn't want to live in. This years temps have been "mild" on the Redding scale except for about one week in early July. I'll take the average of 4-6 weeks of heat to keep Redding approximately the size that it is.