Why Oregon? (Portland, Eugene, Bend: for rent, new home, buying)
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I think it depends a lot on individual circumstances and motivation, but I'll chime in with a few things I noticed on my trip that clinched the deal for me to move to Oregon:
People actually talked to me! I've lived in LA, with frequent business trips to SF, for 23 years. Nobody struck up casual conversations. I had begun to believe that I was defective socially and just couldn't talk to people. My next door neighbor of 5 years brought over a misdelivered package the other day and admitted she didn't know my name. While I was in Oregon, I talked to so many people.... just friendly, honest casual conversations. That meant an awful lot to me.
The ocean in all it's glory. I'm addicted to the water, always have been since growing up in Siesta Key, Florida. I've lived away from the water for a while in LA and was miserable until I moved back. I thought where I am now in Malibu was the ultimate - direct view of the pacific. But when I went to Oregon I found that my part of the pacific is like a tame lion... it's mostly flat, no waves, nothing that gives it the personality I saw in Oregon. I have found a place where I can still see the ocean from my living room (albeit through some trees so not the view I have now), for 50% less than I pay in Malibu for rent. As someone focusing on being self-employed with a home-based web technology business, making my savings stretch further is important.
Unexpected waterfalls and creeks. I can't tell you how many times I was distracted while driving as I found these waterfalls just popping out of rocks. I don't even remember where I was, but the image is burned in my brain. I'd be driving through tons of trees, look over, and there was a creek (or river I guess, I really don't know the technical difference). In Newport where I'm moving, there is also the Yaquina Bay, which had it's own beauty and appeal. Loved watching the ships go in and out, walking around the docks, etc.
Trees - man, they are glorious. I drove from Portland down to Newport and went through some kind of forest corridor, and was just enchanted. Where I'm going to be living is up by the southern part of Agate Beach (the part that's still in Newport), and I have ocean and trees. How awesome is that? And they have a tree smell (unlike palm trees which is really all I've had in Florida and LA). No more buying pine-scented air freshener to pretend :-)
Photographic opportunities. I'm an amateur photographer, and I really stopped taking photos unless I was traveling oversees. LA just never called to me to photograph, and the light and sun and smog were murder in my photos. The photos I took in Newport, with the grey sky filtering the light, are some of the best I've taken in the last few years. Once I figure out how to waterproof my camera, I'm going crazy. Thank goodness for digital storage - lol.
The "feel" or "soul" of Oregon. Now I don't know what exactly to call this, but I felt more alive in Oregon than I've felt in a long time. It was like breathing in peace, calm and strength with every breath. Even out in the rain and snow, I felt happy and content. I was in Newport for some great storms, and they were rough and wild - made me feel like *I* was strong and rugged, which was an awesome feeling.
Fresh Air. The entire time I've lived in LA, I have had sinus problems. My nose is continually clogged, and at least 50% of the week I wake up with bad sinus headaches. It cleared up in 2 days in Oregon, and I didn't get a single headache. When i came back to LA, nose was clogged again within 24 hours.
The moisture / rain. After living in the desert for 23 years, this was a godsend. My skin just completely soaked up the moisture, the rough skin on my elbows disappeared, my skin looked wonderful. Probably also helped with my sinus issues. Dried back out in 2 days when I got back to LA.
Anyway, those are some of the benefits to me. I realize that won't be the case for everyone, but it totally rocks for me. Off to pack more boxes :-)
Compared to where ever people decide to move to Oregon from. It seems fashionable to ask people why they choose Oregon when they decide to relocate, so I thought it would be helpful to post some possible reasons. Well, here are a few of mine. FWIW, I'm coming from the perspective of California >> Hawaii >> Ohio >> S. Carolina/N. Carolina.
So, how about you? Do you currently live in the state you were born/raised? If not, why Oregon?
Thank you, bghouse. That was a breathtaking post and exactly what I'm looking for.
Everyone has their reasons for relocating to another part of the country. I'm interested in what attracts people to Oregon (whether it's the same for me, having never been there). I had never been to Charlotte, either, and I have to say I've enjoyed it here. It's a fun town nearly on the edge of the stunning Blue Ridge mountains. The climate is almost perfect (if it weren't for the crazy heat/humidity of summer), the seasons are lovely, and there are a lot of outdoor activities and great food. But it doesn't offer some key aspects I'm looking for.
I hated Ohio (to each his own). Too cold in the winter, too hot in the summer; flat, but not; and, weird, insular community. I do miss the West Coast, and some aspects of California, actually, but I'm not certain I'm interested in moving back to high pop, expensive CA just yet. Want to try something different. Feeling lucky to have the opportunity to make a new home in the PNW.
I think it depends a lot on individual circumstances and motivation, but I'll chime in with a few things I noticed on my trip that clinched the deal for me to move to Oregon:
People actually talked to me! I've lived in LA, with frequent business trips to SF, for 23 years. Nobody struck up casual conversations. I had begun to believe that I was defective socially and just couldn't talk to people. My next door neighbor of 5 years brought over a misdelivered package the other day and admitted she didn't know my name. While I was in Oregon, I talked to so many people.... just friendly, honest casual conversations. That meant an awful lot to me.
The ocean in all it's glory. I'm addicted to the water, always have been since growing up in Siesta Key, Florida. I've lived away from the water for a while in LA and was miserable until I moved back. I thought where I am now in Malibu was the ultimate - direct view of the pacific. But when I went to Oregon I found that my part of the pacific is like a tame lion... it's mostly flat, no waves, nothing that gives it the personality I saw in Oregon. I have found a place where I can still see the ocean from my living room (albeit through some trees so not the view I have now), for 50% less than I pay in Malibu for rent. As someone focusing on being self-employed with a home-based web technology business, making my savings stretch further is important.
Unexpected waterfalls and creeks. I can't tell you how many times I was distracted while driving as I found these waterfalls just popping out of rocks. I don't even remember where I was, but the image is burned in my brain. I'd be driving through tons of trees, look over, and there was a creek (or river I guess, I really don't know the technical difference). In Newport where I'm moving, there is also the Yaquina Bay, which had it's own beauty and appeal. Loved watching the ships go in and out, walking around the docks, etc.
Trees - man, they are glorious. I drove from Portland down to Newport and went through some kind of forest corridor, and was just enchanted. Where I'm going to be living is up by the southern part of Agate Beach (the part that's still in Newport), and I have ocean and trees. How awesome is that? And they have a tree smell (unlike palm trees which is really all I've had in Florida and LA). No more buying pine-scented air freshener to pretend :-)
Photographic opportunities. I'm an amateur photographer, and I really stopped taking photos unless I was traveling oversees. LA just never called to me to photograph, and the light and sun and smog were murder in my photos. The photos I took in Newport, with the grey sky filtering the light, are some of the best I've taken in the last few years. Once I figure out how to waterproof my camera, I'm going crazy. Thank goodness for digital storage - lol.
The "feel" or "soul" of Oregon. Now I don't know what exactly to call this, but I felt more alive in Oregon than I've felt in a long time. It was like breathing in peace, calm and strength with every breath. Even out in the rain and snow, I felt happy and content. I was in Newport for some great storms, and they were rough and wild - made me feel like *I* was strong and rugged, which was an awesome feeling.
Fresh Air. The entire time I've lived in LA, I have had sinus problems. My nose is continually clogged, and at least 50% of the week I wake up with bad sinus headaches. It cleared up in 2 days in Oregon, and I didn't get a single headache. When i came back to LA, nose was clogged again within 24 hours.
The moisture / rain. After living in the desert for 23 years, this was a godsend. My skin just completely soaked up the moisture, the rough skin on my elbows disappeared, my skin looked wonderful. Probably also helped with my sinus issues. Dried back out in 2 days when I got back to LA.
Anyway, those are some of the benefits to me. I realize that won't be the case for everyone, but it totally rocks for me. Off to pack more boxes :-)
This exactly!!++++
As a fellow LA county resident who is counting down the days until my family can head up north.....you are IN my mind! We will more than likely be heading further inland to Portland, but other than that, I could have written your post myself
This is from a post I made in another thread. I'm just cut/pasting sections of it here:
I've mentioned this on the Oregon forum as well as other City Data state forums, but I want to say that I have lived all over this country and have traveled around Canada and Mexico and parts of Europe as well.
I have lived in 15 US states since I was born in the late 60s, from Minnesota to Texas and from New York state to Oregon. And many points in between. I've spent significant time in several other states and have visited or been through parts of all but four states.
For my money, Oregon cannot be surpassed.
In fact, it is the first place I've ever lived where I WANT to stay long term. Usually when I move somewhere (and my wife is the same way) we have a brief honeymoon period with the place and then after a year or year and a half we start planning an escape route.
"Where to next?"
I've never lived in one spot for more than three years.
My father was nomadic, and my wife and I both possess that gypsy, wanderlust spirit and tend to get itchy feet.
But we both hope to always live in the state. We may not always reside in Portland (though it's a great place and we enjoy it very much and could happily remain here) but we'd love to always be in the state, and preferably close to the Pacific.
Oregon truly does have it all. Varied climates, astounding growing seasons and every kind of geography/topography you can think of--in spades.
Innumerable little rivers, valleys and plains, woods and astonishing forests, hills, mountain ranges, desert and--most meaningful to me and my family--the coast. The Pacific is THE Ocean as far as I'm concerned, and we have a magical swath of it in Oregon. Often we hit the beach and are almost the only people we see. Incredible! Scenery as beautiful as any you'd find on the planet and it's as if it was there just for us.
We've seen a good portion of Oregon but there is so much more we hope and plan to see. We haven't even hit Crater Lake yet. We haven't seen the Wallowa Mountains. We haven't been to Bend. Heck, there's a million things to do right in and around Portland that we haven't experienced yet.
As another poster said, I think California is the only state that can rival Oregon for varieties of scenery and landscapes and weather, but Oregon is less expensive and less crowded. California is vast and has all kinds of towns and people, but particularly when you factor in SoCal, I'd say Oregon overall is a much more laid back, natural, unpretentious kind of place.
I can't think of an area where I would be happier to live and raise my family. Good people, good communities. No place is perfect or without its problems, but take it from someone who's been about everywhere--you could do a LOT worse than to live in Oregon. We are lucky to live here and help be stewards of this wonderful land, its resources and its natural beauty.
I am fortunate that I've finally found a place (and again, my wife feels the same way) to settle. (At least as far as we're likely to. Now we'll probably just move to a different part of Oregon every three years for the rest of our lives...)
More $$ spent on education and sustainable infrastructure
Outdoor recreational opportunities and unspoiled natural areas
More progressive social environment
Greater diversity of beliefs and values
Less poverty and urban decay
Less partisan politics
What else?
Like the six blind men of Hindustan who thought that the whole elephant must look like the one part that they could feel, we Oregonians tend to think that our individual experience in the particular speck of the state where we live represents the quintessential "Oregon."
While the above generalizations might be true of Portland, Eugene and some other Willamette Valley locations, they could hardly be farther from the truth in 80% of the state's territory. Choose your EXACT location with care.
Like the six blind men of Hindustan who thought that the whole elephant must look like the one part that they could feel, we Oregonians tend to think that our individual experience in the particular speck of the state where we live represents the quintessential "Oregon."
While the above generalizations might be true of Portland, Eugene and some other Willamette Valley locations, they could hardly be farther from the truth in 80% of the state's territory. Choose your EXACT location with care.
I love the fact that even Oregon has pessimists. You would honestly say that only the urban areas of Oregon are greener...less partisan than, oh say, Columbia SC? How about Detroit, MI? Or maybe Phoenix, AZ?
It's all relative, I think.
I guess if you're going to compare apples to apples, then it wouldn't necessarily be logical to compare rural areas of Oregon to urban areas of other states. The city I live in now is about the same size as the city I'm planning to move to in Oregon, but it's also just outside of a major metropolitan city. So, I expect it will feel more rural in OR than it does here.
Pretty much on the west slope, though Southern Oregon is a lot dryer. East slope, volcanic and desert tones are the rule. I always wondered what made that red lava red.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cinnamon_Girl
Cleaner
Maybe. When I was a kid, the Willamette was little more than an open sewer. In the '70s and '80s they cleaned it up, but now the 30 year old sewage treatment plants and septic systems are breaking down, and the river is a sewer again. You don't want to eat any native fish you catch between Eugene and Astoria.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cinnamon_Girl
Healthier
Oregon is #14 on the list of healthiest states. Not bad. New Jersey is healthier. Chew on that one a while.
More $$ spent on education and sustainable infrastructure
Oregon has been spending more money on prisons for that last 20 years that it spends on higher education. We even amended the state constitution to remove rehabilitation as a goal of imprisonment so we could have mandatory prison terms. Elementary schools close and teachers get laid off every year. The educational picture is not bright. I'm not aware of any sustainable infrastructure projects, unless you are talking about the wind turbine projects in the Columbia Gorge. Oh yeah, and Portland's big tunnels to store sewage instead of dumping it untreated into the Willamette.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cinnamon_Girl
Outdoor recreational opportunities and unspoiled natural areas
Land use planning has resulted in less urban decay, since it is often more feasible to bulldoze decaying buildings than to get new areas added to the urban growth boundary and rezoned for development.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cinnamon_Girl
Less partisan politics
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cinnamon_Girl
What else?
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