Questions about Roseburg (Portland, Eugene, Sutherlin: real estate, apartments, rental)

[anjipanjii]

I've read a few different threads on here about Roseburg and a lot of my questions have been answered, but there are still a few things I need more information about. I'm also interested in Sutherlin and haven't heard much about it.



Are the schools good? I'm mostly interested in elementary, I have a 6y\o son.

Is it hard to find a decent rental that allows pets, say around $700\month? I have a large dog & a cat. We want to rent for 6m to a year before we buy.

Would 125k get a decent 3 bdrm house? I'm not interested in age, just nice condition - if its on a half acre or more would be a plus. Newer mobiles are ok too.

Is it hard to get a job? My husband is interested in Alcan, its the reason we are looking more at Roseburg than anywhere else. He has worked in wire manufacturing for 5 years and hopes it would get him in easier than finding a different trade somewhere else. (Does Alcan treat their employees well?)

I've heard the word "mall" used. Are they strip malls or is there an actual mall?

How are the doctors & medical facilities?

Do the wages & cost of living balance out well?

Does Sprint cell service work there?

Is there much dust?

[Larry Caldwell]

Originally Posted by anjipanjii

I've read a few different threads on here about Roseburg and a lot of my questions have been answered, but there are still a few things I need more information about. I'm also interested in Sutherlin and haven't heard much about it.

Are the schools good? I'm mostly interested in elementary, I have a 6y\o son.

Elementary schools seem to be decent.

Originally Posted by anjipanjii

Is it hard to find a decent rental that allows pets, say around $700\month? I have a large dog & a cat. We want to rent for 6m to a year before we buy.

Check the newspaper. The News-Review - Serving Roseburg, Oregon

Originally Posted by anjipanjii

Would 125k get a decent 3 bdrm house? I'm not interested in age, just nice condition - if its on a half acre or more would be a plus. Newer mobiles are ok too.

Probably not. It depends on how far down your definition of "decent" goes. Check the real estate guide in the paper to get an idea of prices.

Originally Posted by anjipanjii

Is it hard to get a job? My husband is interested in Alcan, its the reason we are looking more at Roseburg than anywhere else. He has worked in wire manufacturing for 5 years and hopes it would get him in easier than finding a different trade somewhere else. (Does Alcan treat their employees well?)

The unemployment rate in Douglas County is always a couple points higher than the state average. It may take a while to land a decent job.

Originally Posted by anjipanjii

I've heard the word "mall" used. Are they strip malls or is there an actual mall?

One actual mall,, albeit small. One strip mall.

Originally Posted by anjipanjii

How are the doctors & medical facilities?

If you are a veteran, there is a regional VA hospital in Roseburg. Otherwise, medical care is variable. You may end up going to Eugene to see specialists.

Originally Posted by anjipanjii

Do the wages & cost of living balance out well?

I have no idea what that means.

Originally Posted by anjipanjii

Does Sprint cell service work there?

Yeah, I think so. Once you get off of I-5, cell service is pretty spotty, no matter who you do business with. I think US Cellular has the best rural service in the area, but don't really know.

Originally Posted by anjipanjii

Is there much dust?

Yes. Gravel roads. Gravel streets. Lots of construction.

[Marko3]

I'd have to disagree on the dust, I don't notice a large amount of dust, which is somewhat surprising considering that timber is the main industry, and there are mills outside city limits constantly in operation, I never notice dust or pollution. There's typically a nice off-shore flow of fresh air from the Pacific Ocean that keeps things cleared out & fresh.

I used to have Sprint and ended up switching because Sprint seems to work along I-5 and within a few miles east and west of it. This was a few years ago when I switched, so it may have improved since then, or may not. I have heard that the best service around here is Verizon, I have AT&T, and don't seem to have many problems unless I venture far up into the Cascades.

The "Mall" is pretty small. There's a Sears, Macy's and Rite-Aid that make up the 3 larger stores, and then a collection of your typical mall type stores. The majority of shopping in Roseburg are big box stores such as Wal-Mart, K-Mart, Home Depot, etc. Sutherlin has one big box store (Bi-Mart) and one grocery store (Price Less Foods).

I don't know much about the schools since I don't have children, but I did go to school in Roseburg from K-12 and at that time, the schools were very nice. The highschool has gone through major renovation and remodel since I've graduated and looks more like a college campus. Its a fairly large school (only highschool in town.) Apartments are scarce, and I don't know of any that accept pets, you may have more luck renting a house that allows animals, but typical rent for a 3BD 2BTH house will most likely be more than $700/month. Ofcourse depending on the area, prices fluctuate.

Right now its hard to get a job everywhere, Roseburg is no different. I have never heard anything negative about Alcan, always postive things but I don't know anyone that works there. Its located between Sutherlin and Roseburg.

The medical facilities and doctor's good. There is one hospital in town, and one veteran's hospital. Several Urgent Care clinics. Sutherlin has one clinic that I know of. There is only one level 1 trauma center in the state, and it's in Portland, so anything serious gets transferred. Hope this helps.

[Magfire]

Oh my gosh I did'nt log in and lost everything it just took me 15 minutes to write! Sutherlin/Oakland schools small/good. Good preschool/librairies. Roseburg High offers more if you can get the class but in my view is too big. Rather than focus so much on drawing athletes there should have been 3 high schools. Good YMCA. Good exposure to outdoor rec/dance/music/animals/4H/fishing/hunting/rivers. More hills/trees than fields. Little dust unless you live next to a field being hayed or tilled. Great FFA program espescially in Sutherlin. Sutherlin less expensive than Roseburg housing wise but recom. shop at Sherms. Rental likely to be found. Owner house also. maybe more like 150,000 to 200,000 maybe. Some nice manufactured homes on property. Big malls, better hospitals/Docs 1 hour away but here good for basics. Roseburg 15-20 minutes from Sutherlin/Oakland. I believe this is a good place to raise a family if you are involved and kids are busy. Costco probably coming to N. Roseburg.
Go for Verizon or AT&T.. Wages/Cost of living pretty balanced if you know how to shop smart!
Good Luck!! PS Grammer School in Sutherlin espescially good!