Medford Oregon Neighborhoods Question??? (Portland, Grants Pass: real estate, apartments, to rent) - City-Data Forum

samhell · 06-09-2012, 01:23 PM

Hi, new member here. Very useful forum for someone moving to a new city.
My wife and I are flying up to Medford Oregon on Monday to find a house to buy. We currently live in San Diego (for the last 9 years). My wife is transferring up to the new Trader Joe's store that is opening up in Medford.
We have been looking at houses online and have found some great houses that we like at great prices. But one thing I can't find detailed information on is the neighborhoods. All I can find is that White City is not a good place to move to. We have been scouting houses in neighborhood of 8th ave & Chesnut, and right around that area. My main question is, is that an OK neighborhood? We want to live fairly close to my wife's work, and we like to be within walking distance of groceries, and shopping.. We were even considering Grants Pass, even though the commute to Medford is a bit of a trek.. We've been reading tons of threads here about the Medford area, and are stuck between hearing it's a terrible place full of gangs and meth addicts, and hearin gthat it's a great place, there are so many opinions on each side of the fence.. We don't want to be moving into a ghetto area, and later find out that we moved into a dangerous part of town. Thanks in advance for any help.

Larry Caldwell · 06-09-2012, 01:44 PM

If you are typical California equity refugees, you won't be shopping in any bad neighborhoods. OTOH, if your idea of "high end" starts around $125,000, that may be all you can afford.

There is no such thing as a ghetto in Medford, though there are older areas where the occupants are mostly renters, and the houses weren't much to look at even in the Good Old Days. White City gets a bad rep because it was working class in the days when loggers built their own homes when the weather was too bad to get into the woods. Their carpentry skills pretty much began and ended with a chainsaw.

The best advice I could give you is: Don't buy a house in one day. You should put all but necessities in storage for a month and rent a furnished apartment while you house shop. There is no way you could look at all the available places in one day, or even a week, much less do your due diligence, arrange for inspections and do the offer/counteroffer dance.

samhell · 06-09-2012, 02:01 PM

Larry, Thanks for your reply.. For the record we aren't "typical equity refugees" lol.. I'm 44 and my wife is 35, and we've been dirt poor here in San Diego, just renting small apartments.. My wife got a part of her inheritance and we will buying a house outright for cash, we have about a $90,000 limit.. we have found some really nice houses there in the $80-90,000 range that fit what we need. The cost of living here in San Diego has been a huge factor in us leaving this city. We love the weather, but beyond that, they can keep it.. We're kind of in an interesting "somewhat" complicated place. We are in a position of having to find a house in a week, during this trip, then return to San Diego, and then wait for the opening date of the Trader Joe's, then we have a 3 week window to move up there and she will start working there. We are in contact with a real estate agent who will be with us each day showing us houses, and we have been researching houses up there for the last month and a half.
But in your opinion, the neighborhood in the area I mentioned is OK? we kind of live in a semi-ghetto area now in San Diego, hookers, drugs, homeless, and general nut jobs walking around at night.. We won't miss it at all.. We're originally from Colorado where I grew up, so returning to mountains is a huge factor to us. Our situation is somewhat unique. When we moved out here form Colorado, we just loaded up a uhaul, drove and stayed in a motel for 2 nights, then found a place to rent..
Is Medford really that bad when it comes to the meth and gang problem? I've been reading that a lot of it hype, and a lot of people are saying it really isn't as bad as some make it out to be. Thanks again!

kadylady · 06-09-2012, 02:13 PM

Just wondering if you've ever been to Medford? I agree with Larry, you really need to come up and look around a bit. If you've been here before, and know that you like the Medford area, that's a different story.

kadylady · 06-09-2012, 02:33 PM

You can Google Map that area. There is a "walking view" of Columbus Ave, which is just a couple of streets over from Chestnut. It'll give you an idea of what the neighborhood looks like (if you haven't already done so).

samhell · 06-09-2012, 02:41 PM

We have never spent any time in Medford, just passed through.. We have been discussing where to move for the last 9 months and Medford fit the bill. And once we found that they were opening a trader joe's, that pretty much sealed it. We've literally considered every state and the pacific northwest is really where we want to be. Portland is too expensive, same with Seattle.. And the weather in Medford appeals to us, a little heat, not too much snow. Our real estate agent is going to be showing us 3 or 4 houses in Grants Pass as well. Which we are also considering, we're just weighing if we want to deal with the commute to her work in Medford.. One of my wifes coworkers went up there last month for a couple of weeks, and checked it out and found a house and he loved it. And she also works with a woman who grew up in Medford. I really do think it's going to a better place or us than San Diego, we don't go out to bars or do the whole urban yuppie entertainment thing. We are homebodies and like the outdoors, camping, fishing etc. We honestly want out of Southern California so bad, we're willing take a leap of faith so to speak..

kadylady · 06-09-2012, 02:59 PM

I'm glad that you're checking out Grants Pass, too. There's quite a bit of difference in the landscape of the two areas. I live about 10 miles NW of Grants Pass. I go to Medford for Costco and am looking forward to Trader Joes. Wish they'd build one in GP.

samhell · 06-09-2012, 03:10 PM

How is the commute between Grants Pass in the winter time? Is it icy a lot of the time? We've been researching grants pass and the beauty of it really appeals to us.. But in these forums, I keep reading about how there are a lot crimes and homeless there. Is this the case, or just more hype?
Thanks.

kadylady · 06-09-2012, 03:22 PM

There aren't any mountain passes between GP and Medford. Any road will be icy in the winter if the weather is bad, but I-5 is a major corridor. It doesn't stay icy long with the trucks and other traffic.
I don't live in town, but I shop there and spend time there at all the local functions. I like the people and never feel uneasy. BUT, that's not to say there isn't crime. I'm not really sure how it compares to Medford, but I would think it would be similar. You can check crime stats on City-Data. I think.
BTW.....Congrats on your opportunity and your new adventure!!

samhell · 06-09-2012, 04:26 PM

Thanks! I was just on the phone with someone in Medford and told them we were looking at houses in the 8th & Columbus ave are and he told me that area is where the gangs are. But he said that further south on Columbus ave, south of Stewart Ave, the neighborhood was a lot nicer.. I did look at the crime map on city data and it looks like that area is on the cusp between decent and shady.. Hmmmm..