What is the downside to living in Oregon? (Portland, Bend: mortgage, environment)

[Aldo76]

Well, I have to add that if you like trees & forest, the industrial logging in our national forests & on private land is really awful to behold. The industry (& many natives) can talk all they want about it's-just-a-crop-like-Iowa-grows-corn (sorry, not the same), or it's-all-reseeded-&-the-trees-come-back (sorry, the bare ground is sprayed with herbicide; the replanted trees form a monoculture; the soil degenerates with repeated logging; & the turnaround for re-logging gets shorter & shorter). I am not anti-logging, but I am anti-industrial scale logging. Timber generates jobs & tax revenue in many rural areas, & in a state that has unemployment problems. If we want to end logging, someone better come with something to replace it for the state & for the loggers, millers, & their families.

[freedom]

Originally Posted by Aldo76

Just to note that the McMansion problem is nationwide. My brother reports that they are on hillsides throughout New England. There it's city folk from Boston-New York. I think the most offensive McMansions I saw in Oregon were along the coast (Yachats comes to mind: picture big Tuscan villas clinging to a sheer bluff above a small town right on the coast). If you are from anywhere else, the natives can be quite unfriendly at first. I was treated rudely by store clerks & waitresses in several locations. I still think Oregon is a good place to live, especially if you enjoy outdoor activities--hiking, etc. The late fall-winter weather in many areas does take getting used to--SAD lights can help.

Mcmansions are a problem? I thought they were a freedom of people that can afford to build them?
Tuscan style villas are beautiful to many people, they are a work of art.
Those that are perched on a cliff that they purchased on the free market are very fortunate and I applaud their blessing.
To balance your comments, I have never been treated as an outsider here. I have lived in Oregon 15 yrs.. and been vacationing here since a young boy.

freedom

[Tesaje]

Oregon used to have the entire coast as public access land, tho there are parts that are nearly vertical. Has that changed?

[freedom]

Originally Posted by Tesaje

Oregon used to have the entire coast as public access land, tho there are parts that are nearly vertical. Has that changed?

Nope, if you can get to it, it is public...

[Tesaje]

I always thought that was a great thing about OR. Keeps people from building too close to the edge and in theory, you could walk from Astoria to the southern border

[freedom]

Originally Posted by Tesaje

I always thought that was a great thing about OR. Keeps people from building too close to the edge and in theory, you could walk from Astoria to the southern border

As long as you planned for low tides around the numerous points. There are some private properties that still jet out, and some private coves that are difficult to navigate, but in theory, on low tides you could make a good effort at it.

freedom

[jimg1126]

I think Oregon sucks. I've lived here for 30 years. It was great 20 years ago. Now it's Southern Californicated. Crowds everywhere, jerks cutting you off in traffic, massive traffic jams, cheap McMansions thrown up on farm land, a total lack of community in most respects...just an everyone out for themselves attitude that pervades California.

I'm getting out soon. It's sad to see Oregon turn out like this. Can't wait to leave.

[jimg1126]

Let's tell the truth about Oregon. First, the weather is terrible. It's constantly grey, cold and overcast except for July 15 to Sept. 30. Secondly, it's an environmental disaster despite its "Green" reputation. Portland dumps its raw sewage in the Willamette River which is so toxic that it's unsafe to swim in. The forests have been mostly clearcut and replanted with monoculture Douglas Fir. Look at the area on Google Earth. The land has been raped and pillaged. Second, the sense of community has evaporated over the years due to the large influx of Californians and foreigners. Expect massive traffic jams with several people flipping you the bird.

Oh, and someone mentioned Powells Bookstore. If it's so great, why did the employees vote to unionize? The owner is a complete jerk who treats his employees like slaves.

[freedom]

Originally Posted by jimg1126

Let's tell the truth about Oregon. First, the weather is terrible. It's constantly grey, cold and overcast except for July 15 to Sept. 30. Secondly, it's an environmental disaster despite its "Green" reputation. Portland dumps its raw sewage in the Willamette River which is so toxic that it's unsafe to swim in. The forests have been mostly clearcut and replanted with monoculture Douglas Fir. Look at the area on Google Earth. The land has been raped and pillaged. Second, the sense of community has evaporated over the years due to the large influx of Californians and foreigners. Expect massive traffic jams with several people flipping you the bird.

Oh, and someone mentioned Powells Bookstore. If it's so great, why did the employees vote to unionize? The owner is a complete jerk who treats his employees like slaves.

Oregon will miss your sunny disposition.

[jiffin4java]

[quote=jimg1126;1985174]...just an everyone out for themselves attitude that pervades California.
quote]

I've heard that attitude is common in southern CA, but we lived in northern CA for a few years and it was NOTHING like that. People who had nothing were willing to give what they DID have to people in need. I've lived in 5 different states so far and I've never seen communities care for other people the way they did in northern CA. Food giveaways, clothing closets, you name it. And you weren't forced the embarrassment of proving you were needy. It didn't matter. If you needed something, it was there. We started out there with nothing. A small two bedroom apt. we could hardly pay for, a car that we borrowed from my husband's parents and it hardly ran, and my husband was working at a slate mine for $10. But we ALWAYS had enough food and clothes on our backs.

There are things to be thankful for wherever you live even if it's not quite the place that's home for you. Childish state-bashing is inappropriate.