McMinnville or ????????? (Portland, Salem, Corvallis: rent, home, employment)

[oregon bound]

Hi again!

So if you read my last post called "Had a great trip, etc.", then you know my husband and I are wanting to move to Oregon, within the next year. (Probably we will rent first). We traveled to many potential areas we would like to live and the town we liked best was McMinnville.

So next we are planing to go back up in January (I'd like to fly, but of course he wants to drive, hope the I-5 is open!) We will look at McMinnville, of course, but I am wanting suggestions of other towns we should look at for relocating.

What we liked about Mac was : its a small town, but not too small, (not a suburb) cute and busy downtown area, people were so friendly and helpful, we liked that it was in the wine country. There's enough shopping for me, health food store, restaurants, farmers market and a movie theater. Theres a small college in town, Linfield (although i wish it were a community college, Linfield is pricey) I like that the coast is only an hour or so away. And the home prices are really good.

OK, so knowing what we like about McMinnville, does anyone have any suggestions of other towns we should also look at? Oh Yeah, the most important part............ My husband really wants to live on a creek, stream or river, he lives to fish and I want him to be !

Sorry this is so long, I'd love to get your opinions. Thanks kindly in advance .

[davefr]

There are a tons of options but you didn't mention employment considerations and proximity to a large city. Is that a factor?

If you want to live either close to fishing or on a river then you might want to look at the stretch of Hwy 6 between Tillamook and Banks along the Wilson River. Both of these towns have that small town/non suburb feel.

There's also the Rogue River valley area in southern Oregon or the Umpqua valley close to Roseburg. I personally like the Umpqua wine country in Douglas county better then the wine country in Yamhill county.

You need to block out lots of time and just explore the state. As long as you're not tied to being close to a large city like Portland then the opportunities are almost limitless.

[sav]

I lived in McMinnville for 4 years. It is a great town and nice proximity to the coast and to Portland. The produce, food and wine scene there is spectacular. Other places to consider more towards the coast would be Willamina and Sheridan but they are pretty rural. Also Carlton and Yamhill to the north are very nice and about 15 mins drive to McMinnville. Good luck!

[Rob Allen]

Other ideas:

Astoria - where the Columbia River meets the ocean. A small town, but not a suburb. Active downtown area, and a community college.

Newberg - McMinnville's smaller neighbor. Same wine country, different college (George Fox University).

Forest Grove - another college town (Pacific University) with creeks to the north and south of town.

Dallas - further south, near Salem. Home of Western Oregon University.

Corvallis - the largest town on this list (more than twice the size of McMinnville) with the largest university - Oregon State.

[Silverfall]

Actually Western Oregon U is in Monmouth, but I would second the look at Dallas, OR. I would also consider Silverton, OR. You also may like the Monmouth-Indpendence area.

I also agree that you should check out Newberg, but home prices are more expensive there. Yamhill and Carlton are very small, but nice communities as well.

[Rob Allen]

Aaack! I knew that, don't know why I said Dallas. Thanks, Silverfall.

[Oregoncoasty]

Speaking strictly as a fisherman, your husband may not be happy enough with the slow-moving yamhill or any fishing around there for that matter...It seems you have to move East (What about Stayton? North Santiam is nice there and farther East) or you may possibly like Lebanon (South Santiam there with plenty of fishing close-by)...I'm in the process of moving to Corvallis and know already that I'll miss the fishing here on the coast...

[Silverfall]

I see lots of fisherman along the Santiam River... The McKenzie and Metolius aren't a bad drive to get to either...especially if you stay along the santiam canyon area (Stayton). Stayton just isn't very McMinneville like.

[MTNesters]

Hi Oregon Bound -
Have been so interested in your helpful posts - you and your hubby are on the same track we are. We visited Oregon this fall and drove the entire coast and explored the Columbia River Gorge... we thought we really wanted to relocate to the coast of Oregon,since we are coastal people living on the coast of NC, but not sure we could deal with the weather issues....it certainly is soooo spectacular though! We have pretty much narrowed our relocation search to the Yamhill co. area and Corvallis. Unfortunately, we did not get to Mac during our visit, but all we hear about it is wonderful, and I would love to know what you think about it after your January visit! I have sent you a "friend" request - not sure how this works, but hoping we could have some email contact about what you discover there. My hubby loves to fish also, but realizes he wouldn't be doing much fishing in Mac! He would have to go somewhere during salmon season and get us some supper! Hope all who post and read on these forums have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

[kimhamblin]

Of course, I'm swayed because I live here, but Yamhill County is a great place to live! It has art, wine, shopping and a good vibe. It is a little conservative, just so you are aware, some people complain about that.
McMinnville sounds like it has eveything you are looking for, I'd say your search is over!
Why a community college? Are you a student? EDU Subdomain Not Found (http://chemeketa.edu.com - broken link) is in Salem which is about 20-25 mins from Mac (slang for McMinnville)
Fishing is something I know little about. Be careful which rivers you eat fish out of- especially ones near timber industries...