Thinking of Moving from WI to Medford Oregon Area (Eugene: relocating, property taxes)

[Escape Wisconsin]

I am considering moving from Wisconsin to Southern Oregon, specifically Medford. I just spent the weekend in Medford, and I seriously got such a bad vibe from the place that I am reconsidering. I have been reading posts, and no one talks about the homeless people that come out at night with their lives in shopping carts, or all the meth addicts and the crime (home invasions, business burglaries, rapes) that occur in the Medford area. I did some research first and then saw it first hand.

Did anyone mention that most everything closes by 9pm (especially gas stations, which are all full-service by law)???

I liked the eclectic feel of Ashland much better. This would be a huge move for me. Nothing wrong with Wisconsin except the 40 below winters.

BTW, I am a transplanted Californian. Will I get grief from the natives? I noticed all the clerks and waitresses called me "hon". Kind of endearing at first...Any help is appreciated. Please be gentle.

[Skytripper]

Yeah.....I have heard Medford to be also known as "Methford" and it is right on I-5 so there are plenty of transients trying to make their way south into California or north toward Canada.
Ashland is definitely better.....and Grants Pass.....both are also on I-5 though.
BEND.....in Central Oregon is definitely a good option.
Its close to Mt. Bachelor Ski Resort, superb golf courses, rafting, camping, etc. and has over 300 days of sunshine/year, good job market......BUT....it has been growing way too incredibly fast for several years now and I don't think the city was prepared.
Klamath Falls could be another option as well.
It does tend to get pretty toasty in these places in the summer and quite cold in the winter.....something to consider.
Great scenery and outdoor fun along with superb fishing, hunting, whitewater rafting, skiing, Crater Lake National Park and....of course.....the magnificent southern coast of Oregon.....are all so close.
You probably want to forget Medford though.

[Escape Wisconsin]

Sooooo...I decided that $14/hr//$29K/yr is not enough reason for me to leave my home, family, dog and plants for a place I am so unsure of. I will put up with the harsh Wisconsin winter another year.

Thanks for your help, Skytripper.

[orygun]

If you have bad vibes, definitely go with that and don't choose Medford. I am originally from Illinois, spent 19 years in Oregon and a short 4 months in Wisconsin. Now we are in Montana and it is my favorite. In Oregon it is hard to know for sure the best place though I prefer it over the Midwest after so many years out here. We spent a lot of time in Eugene and I liked it way better than Medford. Oh, and if you don't like Medford, NEVER consider Spokane, WA.

[John Cova]

You might want to avoid the Rogue Valley area. All the Public Libraries in 2 counties including those in Grants Pass and Medford are closed.

[Escape Wisconsin]

Thank you for mentioning this, especially for others that may think of relocating to the Rogue Valley. I saw that, and could not understand how the counties/cities could allow that to happen. It made me wonder, especially when I head of the huge downtown project in Medford, to build Lithia Motor's corp HQ. What kind of place doesnt have libraries...or even maintain anything online. Scary stuff.

[MajorHart]

Originally Posted by Escape Wisconsin

I am considering moving from Wisconsin to Southern Oregon, specifically Medford. I just spent the weekend in Medford, and I seriously got such a bad vibe from the place that I am reconsidering. I have been reading posts, and no one talks about the homeless people that come out at night with their lives in shopping carts, or all the meth addicts and the crime (home invasions, business burglaries, rapes) that occur in the Medford area. I did some research first and then saw it first hand.

Did anyone mention that most everything closes by 9pm (especially gas stations, which are all full-service by law)???

I liked the eclectic feel of Ashland much better. This would be a huge move for me. Nothing wrong with Wisconsin except the 40 below winters.

BTW, I am a transplanted Californian. Will I get grief from the natives? I noticed all the clerks and waitresses called me "hon". Kind of endearing at first...Any help is appreciated. Please be gentle.

When we were living in Medford 1981-82 - Illegal aliens were already prowling around the town at night -all night and the police had their hands full. We had a scanner and listened at night. I imagine it's much worse now that there are many more in Oregon. The orchards use a lot of them and some hang out all night - causing trouble. I sure wouldn't let my wife go to any of those convenience stores at night and probably woudn't go myself either. When I was working at S. Oregon State College - an illegal alien went on the college jogging track and killed 3 people - just stabbed them to death.

Redding has them too but somewhat lesser numbers - I guess because there isn't as much agriculture in the Redding area. I do wonder though if California's massive debt from the Enron scandals and the ongoing welfare and prison costs - will eventually place a heavy burder on Redding Residents.

MajorHart

[MajorHart]

Originally Posted by John Cova

You might want to avoid the Rogue Valley area. All the Public Libraries in 2 counties including those in Grants Pass and Medford are closed.

Why are the public libraries closed?

Thanks

MajorHart

[freedom]

Originally Posted by MajorHart

Why are the public libraries closed?

Thanks

MajorHart

Josephine and Jackson (Medford) county was dependant upon timber receipts. The entire economy was based on Logging and Milling lumber and forest products. It is our harvestable natural resource.
"Radical" Enviromentalists hired attorneys to sue the BLM (federal forest beauracracy), and the Lumber companys and tied up the harvest schedules with litigation based on wildlife stresses. Mainly the spotted owl. Which come to find out that logging had nothing to do with the shrinking population of owl's, nevertheless they were the excuse, and Salmon spawning beds, which also had very little to do with logging. Subsequently the delays in harvest put all of the mills in Jo County out of business except for one family owned mill in Cave Junction/Obrien area.

No harvest, no money for Jo County. No libraries or for that matter any real income other than property taxes, which are severely out of balance.
My Property tax is $4,200 per yr. of which $315 goes to run county gov't.
The rest goes to education. OR spends $7,700 per student, nat. avg. is around $5,500.
The only other real income for the county is through the building dept.
Now that home construction is at a snails pace, they will most likely run a deficit for the forseeable future, due to the no growth attitude of our Enviromentalist community and market fluctuations.

Libraries at this point, are the least of our concerns. One thing that bothered me about the library is the pay of the head librarian. Over $100,000 per yr.
The highest paid County employee! More than the DA, the Commisioners or anyother official.

They will eventually reopen under a new system, one of user fee, mixed with non profit.

To sum up, "Radical" Enviromentalists are why we presently don't have libraries.

Medford is in the exact same position, other than the fact that they have a larger economy, and Builiding officials that reject the no growth attitude. They have much more flat land.

[John Cova]

Originally Posted by MajorHart

Why are the public libraries closed?

Thanks

MajorHart

The libraries are closed because of a loss of Federal Funds. In Josephine County the Commissioners decided on heavy funding for the Sheriff and none for the libraries. One County library in Grants Pass sits deserted, full of books and public computers. It is a building of about 4000 square feet
and it had been open for the last 40 years. The talk now is of a non-profit soliciting funds for the library. Imagine the possible problems with censorship, etc.