Finding a Community (Portland, Eugene, Beaverton: real estate market, to rent, low crime)

[meestro]

I have two years remaining in training and then will be looking to relocate in Oregon. I will likely travel to Oregon for interviews within 6 months. My wife and I have a toddler so schools will be important in a few years (public only). I am a urologist so please do not focus too much on my potential employment situation as it is such a small niche profession and I will take care of that end.

I am asking (you, the experts) for advice on a community. We plan to live on acreage and be within 20 minutes of a moderate sized community/hospital. From the sounds of it a few good options include Beaverton, Corvalis and Eugene. We will probably rent for about a year and possibly even try to build a place on acreage with a little woodlands area, hopefully a stream.

Of course we are interested in low crime, who isn't? I am primarily looking for a community to provide my son with a great experience in school... extracurricular opportunities, high school sports, etc. I prefer public schools and am not interested in private schools.

What other details do you need to help me out?

Thanks again for all your comments.

I should also add that the primary drive for us to relocate to Oregon is the natural beauty and outdoor activities like fishing, hiking, etc. We prefer liberal, progressive type culture within the primary community we plan to live near.

[Larry Caldwell]

Since I have a history of kidney stones, I approve of urologists.

Because of Oregon land use laws, you may find it easier to buy acreage with an older mobile home and replace it with a house. If you think along those lines, you will find appropriate land in many areas. If you want to tie into a big mortgage, there are a few upscale large lot rural developments that cater to the affluent professional.

Your 20 minute limit removes any Portland jobs from consideration. You aren't going to make it to OHSU in 20 minutes unless you start in the parking lot! You might consider a urology clinic. The one I go to in Springfield does almost everything in house. They even have their own CT scanner. You wouldn't have to go to a hospital every day, which would widen both your potential home search and job search.

It's unlikely that the real estate market in Oregon will recover much in the next two years. After the 1982 recession it took almost a decade for prices to really start appreciating again. I would expect real estate near the large population centers to recover first, followed by more rural areas.

[mamh]

Being the wife of guy who has a gravel pit in his body and kidney stones are a fire drill at our house,
welcome to Oregon, come up to the salem area...
It and its surrounding communities are a great place to live and raise a family..

[GoBeavs!]

You didn't put Ashland or Bend on your list. You might consider those places as they have a progressive culture and plenty of healthcare needs/resources. Within 20 minutes of Ashland are three hospitals, two of which are pretty major and draw people from as far away as Northern California and Oregon's coast.

[Nell Plotts]

Because you want to live on acreage you may be in rural schools. Rural school districts often don't have the highest test scores and may not have the resources to provide your child the education you desire.

The one exception of which I am aware is Skyline Grade school which is in the Lincoln enrollment area in Portland. From there you can easily practice in the Tualitan Valley (Beaverton, Hillsboro), Portland, or even St. Helens.

There maybe some acreage home-sites along the west side of the ridge in the Beaverton or Hillsboro school districts. Expect to 'farm' Christmas Trees.

I don't know other communities well enough to be specific. Generally speaking school districts that include a college in their enrollment area have good academics. Take a look at Forest Grove and Ashland in that regard.

[meestro]

Thank you all for the invaluable information.

This helps my search. I am still all ears for anyone with additional thoughts.

[Smiled]

You might enjoy looking at Newberg/McMinnville as well. Two colleges there, less expensive housing and land, slightly slower pace of life. The elementary schools are quite good; I'm less sure about secondary.
The "expect to farm Christmas trees" comment comes from farming property tax deferral. That also applies to forestland; you could live in the forest and have fairly low taxes. Newberg has George Fox University and McMinnville (10 miles away) has Linfield College. Forest Grove has Pacific University. The Hillsboro and Beaverton areas have a large number of well-educated people who also value strong schools. Intel in particular has many volunteers.

[Hawk J]

Howdy Meestro .

You might be able to find a nice rural property by (Sunny Valley,by Grave Creek), (Hugo, Jumpoff Joe Creek), (Merlin, by Rogue River). There are quite a few nice small towns around, where you could drive in to the hospital in Grants Pass, or even Medford.

Roseburg by the Umpqua River is another option. Close to small towns like Riddle, Canyonville, Myrtle Creek, Winston, etc.

Best of Luck to you.

[Nell Plotts]

Yes, add Newberg to the list.

My favorite home finder is the John L Scott website. It places the properties you sort for on a map and it is more inclusive than other sites I have seen.

[NW Crow]

Walterville just east of Eugene is reportedly moderate crime. Might find property you'd like to rent or buy. I can't address the school question but maybe someone else can or point you to a resource. You could also look at Marcola to the NE. May be cheaper.

Just west of Corvallis is Philomath. Same deal as above.