Help Me Move To Oregon...please? (Portland, Eugene: low crime, elementary school, universities)

[goldpolkadots]

Hello
For the past year or so, my family and I have been preparing to move to a new state. We currently live in northern Indiana and cannot stand living in this horrible location any longer.

Because we have never traveled out west, I was hoping someone might recommend a town, or at least a general area of Oregon that might suit our needs and wants. Some things we are looking for include:
-low crime
-low humidity (below 40%)
-not too much snow
-no really severe weather (F3-F5 tornado, huge snowstorms)
-near a college & elementary school
-no flooding
-possibly a nice small town near a big town
-shopping centers

I know this is a lot to ask for, but we were wondering if there is any area in Oregon that meets all/most/some of these things.

Any feedback as to nice places to live in Oregon or even places to stay away from is greatly appreciated! Thanks.

[RockyMtnr]

I'm pretty new to Oregon - only been here 8 months - but I come from your neck o' the woods (cent. Ohio) and had a lot of concerns similar to yours so, I'd like to address a couple for you before the pros start feeding you stats.
It's a different humidity. My wife is from the intermountain west (the Rockies). She had a really hard time with Ohio humidity. Didn't like it at all.
So, after we moved back to Wyoming but really wanted to try Oregon, I learned on this site that the less-humid area starts about the middle of Roseburg and goes south. Our first job-offer was in that area but my wife turned it down. We accepted another and live about 150 miles north of there (a guess) and at the beach! She loves it! The humidity here didn't bother her at all and then summer came and it dried up well but remains on the cool side. We got here in early February and night-time temps were about 38-42. Along the coast, it rarely freezes. They say it only snows about once every five years - but right before we came it had snowed about 5 inches - shut everything down as, when it snows out here, it seems like everybody just stays home. The power was out for 3 days though.
I don't know what there is for colleges along the coast. Junior and Community colleges mostly, I suppose and perhaps a few secular institutions.
Inland, there's going to be a lot that meets some of your parameters - but never having been in The West, it's hard to say what's going to surprise you. It gets a lot warmer inland. They have skiing and snow sports available to them but for the most part, that's in the mountains that run along both sides of the I-5 corridor. Get ready for some terrific waterfalls.
Good luck on your decisions. I wish I could tell you more but I'm still learning myself.
I can tell you that I like it better than I liked Waterloo and Auburn Indiana. It's reminiscent of southern Michigan - and in truth, this state reminds me of almost every place I've ever been in the country ... except here, in Oregon, it's all a little prettier.

[CorneliaSeigneur]

West Linn Oregon is near a big city but still feels small though developers are taking over the city building on every square inch of country landscape. . .we have been here 18 years.

Cornelia Seigneur
[Mod cut]

[tiffela74]

might also look into Forest Grove.....McMinnville....Cottage Grove....Wilsonville....Woodburn...just a few more that might be worth looking into for you
Good luck!
Tiffany

[bobmulk]

Pretty much every place in Oregon is going to have less humidity, less severe weather and less snow than what you're used to. Central and eastern Oregon get more snow, but not the blizzards.

Every community is going to have an elementary school for the most part. If you're looking for a college town, I would suggest Ashland, LaGrande, McMinnville, Newberg, Monmouth or Eugene. Stay away from Woodburn; too much crime and it's a slum.

[Skytripper]

Personally......I would consider a small town near Eugene....(Cottage Grove?.....or between Eugene and Florence)...but some of the other suggestions are worthy of consideration too.
Down near Coos Bay along the south coast....maybe?
No doubt though......there are MANY nice areas around Portland and throughout the Willamette Valley that could be perfect for ya.

[Marko3]

As far as severe weather, Oregon doesn't really have tornados, hurricanes, or crazy blizzard like snow storms. Last winter we did have a wind storm with winds up to 100MPH in some areas that messed alot of things up, but that is extremely rare, and the first time I remember that ever happening in over 20 years. The majority of the snow is going to be in the Cascades and on the Eastern side. The humidity is going to feel much better to you anywhere in Oregon compared to Indiana, for being close to the ocean, it doesn't feel humid. Ever been to Texas, Louisiana or Florida? Nothing like that here! If you're wanting to live near one of the major universities, you should check out Eugene, Corvallis, La Grande, Ashland, Salem, and Portland. Your highest crime areas are going to be in and around the higher population areas not surprisingly, but the crime rate will probably be lower than you're used to in Indiana. I don't know that for a fact, but I do have a friend from Indiana, and that's what he tells me. Out of those cities I listed near the big universities, the ones with the better shopping centers are Eugene, Salem and Portland. Flooding is always a possibility, but I'd also consider it fairly rare, the last one I can remember was in 1996. I'd check out the cities I mentioned. All are along I-5 except for La Grande and Corvallis. I've never been to La Grande though, so I can't tell you anything about it. If you have questions about the others, let me know.

[Oregoncoasty]

Check out La Grande, Oregon. For the places I've lived, that comes closest to what you desire. The humidity requirement places you somewhere in E. Or....Crime is not an issue there, we never locked a door the whole time we lived there. Snow, severe weather and flooding are non-issues, Sure you get snow in the winter but usually not too much accumulation and its usually dry wispy snow which does not stop anyone from doing anything...
Excellent college (EOSU), nice size town, the only drawback is it is not near any large towns. However we found it had everything we wanted--plenty of grocery/clothing/dept. etc stores as well as a fairly new Walmart etc. To tell you the truth, I wish I still lived there! Hope this helps.

[Katie_girl]

Those were my thoughts exactly. LaGrande is a perfect town. I second LaGrande! I've lived near there my whole life but now live in Hermiston and my husband would love to move back. If you like the outdoors it is perfect too.

[DavePautsch]

I would encourage you to check out the mid-Willamette Valley (especially Albany and Corvallis)
Good schools
Nice small towns well placed to take advantage of I-5 access makes for an easy commute to Eugene or Salem; 1 1/2 hours to the coast OR the mountains
Summers are great weather; winter is a little wet but not severe by any means
Oregon State in Corvallis / Linn-Benton CC both in Albany (main campus) and Corvallis (branch campus)
Shopping includes Kohls (brand new), Old Navy, Gottshalks, Costco, Sears
Really nice town to raise a family (we've been here 6 years with 2 girls and love it)

Dave