Is Grants Pass "odd"? (Medford, Ashland: housing, rent, lease)

[ladysrodgers]

Originally Posted by freedom

Grants Pass has a 9.2% unemployment rate? Can you tell me where I can see that statistic?

The whole state as of Jan.1 will have a system of Domestic partnership licenses. Basically marriage without the word.
And I think that it is a sad day for Oregon.
Freedom

I got the statistic online. Grants Pass, Oregon Facts and Demographics

I agree with you about the domestic partnership license.

[ladysrodgers]

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Each weekly meeting,
The Grants Pass Lions Club strives to have a guest speaker from the community

Lion Linda Friebus welcomes Steve Ware of the Grants Pass Chamber of Commerce and loan officer for HMS (Home Mortgage Solutions). Steve presented an eye opening account of the financial imbalance of wages in relation to the pricing of homes in Grants Pass. Mr. Ware offered a number of approaches for many folks to realize the dream of owing their own home.

[chrisruns2far]

Originally Posted by ladysrodgers

Home ] [ Feedback
Each weekly meeting,
The Grants Pass Lions Club strives to have a guest speaker from the community

Lion Linda Friebus welcomes Steve Ware of the Grants Pass Chamber of Commerce and loan officer for HMS (Home Mortgage Solutions). Steve presented an eye opening account of the financial imbalance of wages in relation to the pricing of homes in Grants Pass. Mr. Ware offered a number of approaches for many folks to realize the dream of owing their own home.

While I appreciate the good intensions, the chasm between median and/or entry level home prices and the median Josephine County wage is already to massive for any mortgage broker to resolve. I fear that this may be yet another Mortgage Broker trying to make another pitch to low to middle income folks to over-extend themselves to make a home purchase of a over-inflated home or suck them into one of those adjustable rate mortgage programs that are sinking the economy. I was tying to address this issue in Grants Pass over 10-years ago as I saw the writing on the wall as to how negatively the housing dynamic was going to affect long-term and younger Grants Pass residents given the present trends and my forcast of the events now unfolding. All my advocating for affordable housing and/or modestly priced residental housing planning (and development) fell on deaf ears. I drafted an article that the local paper ran and the backlash I got from the community was depressing. The Mayor at a public meeting accused me of trying to transform the area into a mecca for low-income people. He completely missed the point of the adverse consequences that are now in place and hampering the middle-class of Grants Pass.

[ladysrodgers]

Originally Posted by chrisruns2far

While I appreciate the good intensions, the chasm between median and/or entry level home prices and the median Josephine County wage is already to massive for any mortgage broker to resolve. I fear that this may be yet another Mortgage Broker trying to make another pitch to low to middle income folks to over-extend themselves to make a home purchase of a over-inflated home or suck them into one of those adjustable rate mortgage programs that are sinking the economy. I was tying to address this issue in Grants Pass over 10-years ago as I saw the writing on the wall as to how negatively the housing dynamic was going to affect long-term and younger Grants Pass residents given the present trends and my forcast of the events now unfolding. All my advocating for affordable housing and/or modestly priced residental housing planning (and development) fell on deaf ears. I drafted an article that the local paper ran and the backlash I got from the community was depressing. The Mayor at a public meeting accused me of trying to transform the area into a mecca for low-income people. He completely missed the point of the adverse consequences that are now in place and hampering the middle-class of Grants Pass.

Oh, I agree with you completely! I just posted that to show other posters, that there "is" a big gap between wages, and what is really feasible in the housing market in GP.

[freedom]

Originally Posted by chrisruns2far

While I appreciate the good intensions, the chasm between median and/or entry level home prices and the median Josephine County wage is already to massive for any mortgage broker to resolve. I fear that this may be yet another Mortgage Broker trying to make another pitch to low to middle income folks to over-extend themselves to make a home purchase of a over-inflated home or suck them into one of those adjustable rate mortgage programs that are sinking the economy. I was tying to address this issue in Grants Pass over 10-years ago as I saw the writing on the wall as to how negatively the housing dynamic was going to affect long-term and younger Grants Pass residents given the present trends and my forcast of the events now unfolding. All my advocating for affordable housing and/or modestly priced residental housing planning (and development) fell on deaf ears. I drafted an article that the local paper ran and the backlash I got from the community was depressing. The Mayor at a public meeting accused me of trying to transform the area into a mecca for low-income people. He completely missed the point of the adverse consequences that are now in place and hampering the middle-class of Grants Pass.

Do you think this is unique to G.P.?
freedom

[chrisruns2far]

Originally Posted by freedom

Do you think this is unique to G.P.?
freedom

No.....I wish it were. Unfortunately many a small Western Town has had its youth and long-time residents shut out of the local housing market. That being said, a few small western towns have taken steps to provide for 'work-force housing' such as residential investment enterprise zones (Property tax reductions, frozen tax values or short-term tax abatements, 3-5% low interest loans with a minimum occupancy duration requirement (5 years), etc.) for certain neighborhoods and zonning regulations that require that a certain number of new construction permits must be for housing at or below the present median home value for that particular area. Several smaller Colorado towns have put in place the aforementioned zonning requirement and Bozeman and Missoula Montana are floating the idea around for consideration. The only towns in Oregon that have such zonning plans in the works are Ashland and Bend. Also, last month, the communties of Joseph and Enterprise Oregon came together to pro-actively address the serious lack of affordable housing in which a zonning requirement has been positively accepted and discussed by many diverse interests within the community, including a two developers.....believe it or not. Ashville, NC was the first city/town in the country that devised the minimum affordable housinig zonning change in 1993. Housing Prices there have historically taken two tracks.....the free market to the highest bidder track and a segment of controlled and affordable housing options that provide a better quality of life for the local work-force which has proven to stabalize the local economy, reduce crime, improve schools....including student performance levels to due homelife stability that family home-ownership brings, retain a stable middle-class, provide the mechanism for more young people to stay within the communties in which they were rasied (if so desired) to maintain a sustainable diversity of age groups. It is not such a radical idea.

[ladysrodgers]

Originally Posted by chrisruns2far

No.....I wish it were. Unfortunately many a small Western Town has had its youth and long-time residents shut out of the local housing market. That being said, a few small western towns have taken steps to provide for 'work-force housing' such as residential investment enterprise zones (Property tax reductions, frozen tax values or short-term tax abatements, 3-5% low interest loans with a minimum occupancy duration requirement (5 years), etc.) for certain neighborhoods and zonning regulations that require that a certain number of new construction permits must be for housing at or below the present median home value for that particular area. Several smaller Colorado towns have put in place the aforementioned zonning requirement and Bozeman and Missoula Montana are floating the idea around for consideration. The only towns in Oregon that have such zonning plans in the works are Ashland and Bend. Also, last month, the communties of Joseph and Enterprise Oregon came together to pro-actively address the serious lack of affordable housing in which a zonning requirement has been positively accepted and discussed by many diverse interests within the community, including a two developers.....believe it or not. Ashville, NC was the first city/town in the country that devised the minimum affordable housinig zonning change in 1993. Housing Prices there have historically taken two tracks.....the free market to the highest bidder track and a segment of controlled and affordable housing options that provide a better quality of life for the local work-force which has proven to stabalize the local economy, reduce crime, improve schools....including student performance levels to due homelife stability that family home-ownership brings, retain a stable middle-class, provide the mechanism for more young people to stay within the communties in which they were rasied (if so desired) to maintain a sustainable diversity of age groups. It is not such a radical idea.

It sounds like a great plan!

[Waterlily]

You can check the unemployment rates of Oregon countys here http://www.qualityinfo.org/olmisj/AllRates
Josephine county has a 6.8 unemployment rate as of Oct. 2007.

[freedom]

Originally Posted by Waterlily

You can check the unemployment rates of Oregon countys here http://www.qualityinfo.org/olmisj/AllRates
Josephine county has a 6.8 unemployment rate as of Oct. 2007.

Thanks Waterlilly,

The last rate I remembered was during the housing boom 2 yrs ago and it was as low as 4.5%, which they term as full employment at anything under 5%

freedom

[newlife7]

well, i'm sorry you misunderstood me. no, i don't go around voicing my opinions as you may imagine. but i did work in a place where their religion was constantly on and i was expected to participate.. when i didn't, i was treated terribly.. i have respect for whatever anyone chooses to believe, i believe it is a personal choice and should not be used against a person in a work place... or in a town for that matter.

you speak of no jobs.. when i look at the data, the unemployment rate is low compared to where i am living.. and the wages are higher than were i am living. at least, the 'median' wage shown on city-data is higher..

perhaps we are just very different people, because when i hear someone say they are falling for a place, i think that they are finding in their research things that they like about the place... i don't think that they haven't done any research and who knows why they are falling for it..

i've spent literally a year researching where i want to live, settle in.. and stay for the rest of my life.. i had one place in mind, until i found southern oregon.. it fits everything i desire in a place to live out my life.. but i needed to know if it was evangelical as it is down here in the south.. until you live in a small evangelical town, you just cannot know what it is like. every third commercial on the tv is a commercial of religion. LOL.. the stores don't open on sunday mornings.. and if you wind up working in a small company that is headed by evangelical baptists, and you aren't of that belief, then you are shunned.

here's a typical of the people i worked with.. when new orleans was devastated by the hurricane.. they thought that was what they deserved for all the 'sin' there.. and.. what a lot of people don't know is that many of the churches in the hurricane area that were trying to help, would not take extra cots, food, clothing from the red cross because if they did.. they wouldn't be able to 'evangelize' and try to convert these now homeless lost everything people to their belief by giving them food and shelter along with a sermon.

so.. yes, i am concerned about where i live in regards to mindset.. and from everything i've read here, i do not believe grants pass is like it is here. but is more diverse in various beliefs and much much more tolerant.

i welcome anyone giving me a gods blessing.. and i god bless everyone in turn.. but i do have morals that do not include what i have seen and experienced first hand down here with these fanatics.

thank you for your time and i apologize if i was off base with what i was reading of your words.. you just never seem to have anything positive to say about the town. i could say that about where i live, but my grief is only with the mindset.. the town here is lovely.. and the cost of living isn't too high, houses are cheap. but, last i heard this state is low on the national list of good education, high on the list for teenage pregnancy and 2nd in the nation for unemployment.

grants pass has much more to offer than here..

Originally Posted by ladysrodgers

I didn't see you say anything other than you're falling in love with it, no comments either way. That's why I questioned what you said.

It seems like your complaint is being around people with religious convictions. If that's the case, you might have a problem with Grants Pass. It's not quite as you described above, but if you go around voicing what you did above, to people in Grants Pass, I doubt you'll have a hearty reception.

I don't know how to copy the rest of the portion of your reply, or I would address your comments there.

I don't have a grudge against Oregon at all.....it's just an economically depressed region with few job possibilities. And, what few jobs are there, don't pay squat.

The only thing the state has going for it, is it's beauty, and that will be gone before too many years, due to over-development. Medford is far from a beautiful city though. It's brown, has smog, the streets are poorly laid out, has way too many one way streets, and is dirty looking, has a high crime rate, has a zillion meth freaks, etc., etc., etc.

Grants Pass is greener, but has even fewer job opportunities, it does have the meth problem, and the crime rate is high. It has a high unemployment rate at 9.2%.

From what your original post stated, it doesn't sound like you would get along any better with the people there than where you're coming from.

And no, same sex marriages aren't legal.