Moving to Oregon? (Portland, Eugene, Bend: job market, good schools, university)

[AndyLoosbrock]

My wife and I are looking to move from Southwest MN. The winter weather here stinks. Our average highs are MAYBE 10 degrees, lows below zero, lots of snow, and unrelenting wind!
We don't have many preferences, outside of a nice climate! I'd like little wind and little, if any, snow. Little, if any, fog, and, as I alluded to, warmer winters! Outside of climate, I know my wife would like to leave near a lake (we are early 30's BTW). And I'm a golfer, so I'd like access to some nice golf course(s).
We want an area with good schools for our future family. A nice community where we can feel safe letting the kids play outside with their new little friends. Also, a good economy, a good job market, etc.
Our ideal city would be around 7500-9000 people.
Does this town exist in Oregon?

[davefr]

No it doesn't exist based on your criteria:

"Also, a good economy, a good job market, etc".

Western OR also get's lots of fog and gloom. You could explore the state and try and line up a job in advance. If you can't find work here then explore elsewhere. Maybe the outskirts of the Bay Area of CA would be a good fit like Healdsburg, Red Bluff or possible NV like Carson City or Lake Henderson.

Does this town exist in Oregon?

No. The lack or snow is in western oregon, which is very foggy. The good schools are in the populated portions of OR, which is basically from Portland in the north, along I5 to Eugene. Most places outside the larger cities have absolutely abysmal schools. Eastern Oregon is essentially an unpopulated wasteland, and it's cold there. Bend is just over the cascades, but it gets snow, and it's far away from everything else.

There is no place in Oregon that has a good job market. Corvallis is doing the best (well below the national average), but that is largely due to the influence of Oregon State University.

[Steve Pickering]

If you don't have a job before you come, you are not likely to have one when you get here either. Chances are as near zero as they can be. Figure two to three years of looking after you arive.

[redrebel66]

We do have a lot of rain, cloud cover, doom, gloom, depressed people, and a vast jobless society.

[Silverfall]

If your only criteria is climate then I think you want one of the warmer states like Arizona or California.

The reason Oregon is so green west of the Cascades is because we get a lot of rain in the winter time. You'll have to pick and choose what it is that you want.

If you can tolerate the gray, warmer winters here, then Silverton, OR would be my recommendation for your other criteria.

[mamh]

Three cheers for Silverton its a neat little town and people who live love it.
I disagree on the gloom ect.yes it gets rainy and overcast but its not that bad
plus you can easily go about your business .Kids can be outside and you can even work in'the yard in the winter..Its easy to take
If you gloom try the Sacramento valley it can get foggy and stay that way for quite a while..
Oregon is also easier to live in than my native northern california, people up here are far more friendly and its just a neat state to live in...
come visit and you'lll like it..

[FVWinters]

The mildest winter climate found in Oregon is west of the Cascades. But you trade snow and wind and -10 for unrelenting rain (not hard, mind, but interminable). It can take 10 days to get an inch here but there is apt to be near 0 sunshine during those 10 days. The low spots in our western valleys are fog magnets and on some days it can be thick enough you can't see one side of a two-lane highway from the other. 700-1000 feet elevation generally gets you away from most of the fog but then you are high enough to catch some snow and orographic rain effects (meaning that we are now talking abbout 5 to 10 inches of rain during those 10 days). Sure we get a few days of sunshine - even in January - and sometimes as much as two weeks, but then you're looking at much cooler temperatures.
On the plus side, summers aren't as hot and we can expect 40 to 60 days of continuing sunshine. Day time temps can range into the low 100's about once every two years but often drop back to the mid-50's before the next morning. Minnesota can follow a 102 degree afternoon with 82 at night. That never happens here.
If you want to get away from the rain you need to move over to the east side of the mountains. Doing that, though, brings you back to the cold and wind you want to leave in Minnesota.

As far as an economy is concerned....About the only state that is suffering worse than Oregon is Michigan (and maybe Nevada) and you live close enough to it to know how bad it is there. Corvallis is about the best place to find work if you do not already have it but even here the going is rough.
Someone mentioned Silverton and if you can find work, it is about as suitable a place for your requirements as any other in the state. Ashland is another that might work but I don't have a handle on the town's economy. Weather is a good deal better there than in the northern part of the state, particularly in spring and early fall. And, as I mentioned, there is Corvallis.

Oregon is a beautiful state with a lot to offer but ready jobs aren't among it gifts right now. As much as I hate discouraging anyone from moving here, I have to say you won't get everything you shared with us on your wish list in one Oregon community.

[Christopher777]

I have seen people making reference to California in their responses. The first thing I would consider is what you may already have. If you intend to start a family be very careful where you move. I have lived in California all my life and it has changed considerably over the years. Gang activity ( I know everybody is tired of hearing this) is all over California. We are investigating moving out of California. There are people that have been killed simply because they were wearing the wrong color. Fortuantely, the gang people mostly kill each other but not always. I live in one of the least populated counties in California which has been spared of too much gang influence. The economy is not good in California, or Oregon for that matter. We have very high unemployment rates. California and Oregon generally has beautiful weather at least when compared to MN. It seems like most people migrate out here because they seek better weather. Golf courses abound in California but you would want to investigate if you became interested in a specific area.

[stackswife]

Originally Posted by Christopher777

I have seen people making reference to California in their responses. The first thing I would consider is what you may already have. If you intend to start a family be very careful where you move. I have lived in California all my life and it has changed considerably over the years. Gang activity ( I know everybody is tired of hearing this) is all over California. We are investigating moving out of California. There are people that have been killed simply because they were wearing the wrong color. Fortunately, the gang people mostly kill each other but not always. I live in one of the least populated counties in California which has been spared of too much gang influence. The economy is not good in California, or Oregon for that matter. We have very high unemployment rates. California and Oregon generally has beautiful weather at least when compared to MN. It seems like most people migrate out here because they seek better weather. Golf courses abound in California but you would want to investigate if you became interested in a specific area.

I also lived in CA my whole life until '07. We moved to Missouri for family reasons and are planning to move back West. CA is NOT an option this time around. There's a lot to love about CA, but there's also a lot that I won't put up with having kids that are almost teenagers, No matter where you go, there's always something; weather, jobs, schools, crime, traffic, etc. that's a problem. I would rather put up with crazy weather, traffic and a low paying job just to have a better school & lowish crime. You just can't seem to get away from that, it's everywhere.

My suggestion is to take some time and visit the areas that most interest you. Set what is most important to you and go from there. We are leaving the end of May, and will stay with relatives until we find the area that satisfies our needs.