Thinking about moving to McMinnville? (Portland, Salem: crime, houses, buy)

[scone]

I'd say the biggest drug problem in rural Oregon is meth. If you go the the Department of Justice website, you can get a pretty good idea of the situation, not just for meth but across the drug spectrum. Oregon has made a big effort to crack down on meth, no pun intended, by regulating pseudoephedrine. However, the decline of the local meth labs seems to have led to a rise in imported meth. If you google "oregon" and "newspaper" and "meth" or ""drugs" you'll get some of the news stories on this.

As far as the other drugs go, the DOJ site says heroin and cocaine is mostly around Portland. Marijuana is generally a misdemeanor for possession, and in practice I think the police have pretty much given up on it.

As far as gangs go, it's not L.A., but there is some gang activity. The big issue seems to be Mexican gangs bringing in the meth. The local newspapers will cover that issue.

My biggest concern for the future is the loss of the "timber payment" system that helped fund county services, including the sheriff and deputies. If that gets cut back, law enforcement could suffer.

[sunrisechaser2]

If I were you, I would not move to Oregon at all, if you have a religious base to your life, This is a Liberal State that doesn't discriminate against religion, but it also does not respect it either.... The McMinneville area is a big Mormon and Jehovah's Witness area, as well the other small Churches,, there is alot of Tatoo ed people, with all types of facial peircings,, So, if you are not familiar with this type of thing, or if you don't want your children growing up around it, then you should look into the religious facility of your choice, and speak to the congregation members for thier opinions on how the community and schools are, if your children are special needs, then by all means, move to the EAST. Don't come here.

[nanannie]

Yes, God help the children that see tatoos or a body peircing Jehovahs, Mormans,small churches -OH MY!!

[Nell Plotts]

I don't know what planet Sunrisechaser2 has been living, on but if s/he finds that there are people who don't meet their standards there are other places to live.

This is a great country, folks can live where they are most comfortable. "Live Free or Die" would have been our motto if another state hadn't picked it first.

[Livvy]

My family and I currently live in McMinnville, and have for the past 11+ years, and have found it to be a beautiful, quiet community which is progressively growing and is located close to lots of great attractions and cities. However, we are looking to move to the south to own some land, as homes are becoming more and more expensive here (people relocating from California are driving the prices up). Another reason we are leaving is because my two children are entering high school in the fall, and there is only one outdated, crowded high school here which has been overlooked time and time again. If you have small children, I would not worry because you will have nearly 10 elementary schools to choose from, most of which are currently undergoing extensive rennovations. As someone mentioned before, the crime rate is very low, however, there have been more and more marijuana related incidents in Mac, and a growing population of hispanic immigrants have been affecting crime in the way of gang activity. This is present at the middle schools and high school, and in some parts of town. All and all it is a beautiful place to live if you can afford it and have young children. The scenery is gorgeous and the people are friendly, and we are leaving only because we have outgrown the city, which is a very difficult decision. Hope this helps!

[nanannie]

Livvy, Southern Oregon? Just wondered what High School/area you are considering.? Curious about the schools there.

[Livvy]

nanannie, I was actually referring to the southern US, which offers much more affordable housing and acreage. I have looked into some high schools in southern oregon, but they seem to be rather small and inadequate. I really would reccomend McMinnville if you are looking to move to Oregon though, it has served us well for more than a decade, and perhaps by the time your children reach high school the schooling situation will have changed. McMinnville offers lots of ammenities; some shopping, a community center, pool, city park, and charming historic downtown. Plus, Linfield College is a gorgeous campus centrally located in town. Mac is also close to many attractions; about a 45 minute drive to Portland, a little less to Salem (both offer great shopping, festivals, outdoor markets, etc.), a short trip to neighboring Newberg takes you to beautiful Champoeg Park, located along the beautiful Willametter River it's perfect for biking, hiking, and camping, and plus McMinnville is about an hour drive on the highway to the gorgeous central Oregon coast, which while chilly, is a great trip any time of the year. Plus, you can't beat the gorgeous scenery; sunlit vineyards, purple coastal mountains, sprawling golden fields, and towering emerald evergreens in every direction.
So, as you can tell we love McMinnville, and can only help that our next home will make as happy as we've been in McMinnville! Hope this helps!

P.S. In regards to certain other posts; perhaps you shouldn't take advice from a person who can't even spell the name of the town right. I have probably seen 3 people with visible tattoos in all of my time in McMinnville, and honestly, I'm sure that tattoos and piercings are not parcticularly damaging sights. And as far as religion goes, my children have many friends who are actively involved in their churches and youth clubs, and Wyldlife is a well known program that is thriving among kids in Mac and is run by fun, young counselers who are helping get kids interested in religion.

[sunrisechaser2]

FOr those of you with closed minds, I was not belittleing the town, I lived in Amity and loved the small town. I was speaking of Oregon in general.. But when the government allows a person to grow Marijuana in their back yards. yes, OH MY!!!....
The South does have more affordable properties, I myself am from Texas.. I don't have a problem with tatoos, but some people do, as well some have a problem with Religions, that want to knock on your door when they feel like it, and then they want to come in..... I like my privacy, if I want to attend a doctrinal assembly, I will choose my own, and go.
Well, I hope you figure out what you want, but I wish that I had been able to get some input before I moved here.
We do have a wonderful Naturpath there in McMinneville. The Family Healing Center. With Jason and Jessica Black, as well as Jennifer Salcido.. They have done wonders in treating my child.


The rest of you can wallow in your bitterness.. if that is what you choose..
I was trying to give an honest open minded answer to a question.

[fireheadedone]

Originally Posted by ANON42

We are thinking about moving to Oregon from Utah. The McMinnville city came into our attention as far as being small city but close enough to a big city. How would you describe the community and how people treat each other? Is there religion climate in your town? We have two little girls. One is just enter education system. I am really concern about the education quality wherever we are moving to. What do you rate the education system in McMinnville?

I moved to McMinnville from Portland. I would have to say honestly that although it was a bit of a culture shock moving from the city to this small town, it really grows on you. The people here are very nice and everyone helps everyone. Small town mentality with beautiful scenery and plenty to do.

They have recently built the Sue Buell elementary school, and from what I've heard, it has one awards for being the "greenest" school around. It's exterior shows it to be massive, and yet beautiful, and as for the educational standards; I am not sure how it rates. It's been open only a short time. It's located next to Linfield College, so the area is quite, not busy streets, and very close to newer homes and future shopping areas.

It took me quite a while to get used to this town, but all in all, it's peaceful, it's close enough to the city to visit, there are lots of outdoor activities, and absolutely NO TRAFFIC! I was recently considering moving back towards Portland, but decided that I like the small town of McMinnville; it really is a great place to live and raise children.

I hope this helps you in your decision!

[lizwidi]

McMinnville is a GREAT place to live. I think it is a wonderful place to raise children also. We have 3 kids, ages from 1-9, and the schools are fantastic. Religious pressures here aren't going to be any more than any other place, we do have a lot of churches, but people don't push things on you either. Commuting isn't as bad as most make it out to be. If your husband is a realtor he could find work right here in town. The problems with the bigger cities closer to Portland is you get more "colorful" people and drugs. McMinnville isn't as close, we have no gang problem, no graffiti problems, crime is really minimal here. If there is crime it is mostly just bored kids. Utility bills here are cheaper because they are on McMinnville Water & Light which is way cheaper then PGE (Portland General Electric) which the other cities use.. ex. Sherwood. McMinnville is also a historical town and more of a close nit community. We have older homes as well as new homes being built. It is a wonderful place to buy a home because home prices are relatively low compared to closer to Portland. Most people who live here don't commute to work to Portland, if you commute here it is usually to Salem which is the capital, and it only takes about 30 mins. But McMinnville has lots jobs and career opportunities here. I grew up in Albany until i was around 12 and I have lived here ever since. While i am partial to Albany and Corvallis because of my youth, i find that McMinnville is a far better place to raise children. It is quieter, more peaceful, less of the drama and drug. To me it seems like Albany and Corvallis has more of a meth problem. Actually the Oregonian did an article on meth a couple years ago and Lane county had one of the worse problems, aside from the Portland area. My husband and I were looking to open a business a year or so back and we looked into Sherwood. The thing with Sherwood to me is that it seems like such a.. drive thru town, I always worried that soon it would be one of those "connected" towns before long. McMinnville is a little further away but we are considered to be in "wine country" so it really helps with the house values starting to rocket. Hope this helps. And i hope you decide to move here because it truely is one of a kind! Close enough to everything but far enough from everything