I'm looking for the crunchiest place with the BEST weather in Oregon! Where is it? (Portland: equity)

[racheepoo]

In case you don't know what 'crunchy' is, it means out of the mainstream culture. Ideally we're looking for a place with a birthing center/midwives, breastfeeding friendly, where no one looks at you like you're crazy for cloth diapering or homeschooling or whatever, alternative medicine, eating organic, earth friendly, etc etc.

Add to that that my dh is in the I.T. sector and probably needs to be near a bigger city. Our income is in the 60-70K range and we couldn't make it without both of us working when we lived in So. Cal (add that to a long list of reasons we wanted to move away from there). So I'm looking to live in a more affordable place-at least where we could buy a house or a bit of land on 60K.

Add to that that we are not huge fans of constant gray, after a couple of years in Michigan we realize that love the sun. It's not the dealbreaker for moving someplace though-we are close enough to fly to the land of sunshine if we need to! I know it rains all over Oregon but where are the sunniest places with all the above criteria as well?

I know it's gotta exist somewhere!

Thanks,
Rachel

[freedom]

Bend has the most sunny days, yet it is very cold in the winter.

Southern Oregon has the best overall weather, and would accept all of the things you mentioned, in fact it is home to all of that. We (my wife) breast fed all 5, we homeschool, have midwife friends that make soap for us. All of the stores have some organic, and there are dozens of stores that cater to everything you are speaking of. Ashland co-op, Goosberries, farmers market, weekend markets in each main city, Ashland, Medford, Grants Pass etc...
In Williams there is a buffalo ranch that sells to all of the local organic focused stores.

IT jobs exist, they are just not like a major city.

best wishes

freedom

[Larry Caldwell]

Depending on your husband's skills, IT is very much in demand in some very rural areas. They just boosted the pay of the whole IT department at Douglas County by 20%, because the lumber mills were hiring all of the talent.

Modern mills are very computerized, with laser scanners that scan each log for size and defects, then calculate the proper orientation for the sawyer to reach maximum yield. Add to that keeping track of shipments all over the world and billing thousands of accounts, while managing independent contracts and payroll, and you can see why they have some serious computing needs.

If you really want someplace crunchy, the crunch wants you. Go job hunting. It won't take you long to meet or exceed your old income. You will find that is the case in all but the most remote areas of the PNW. Besides the Medford and Grants Pass area, you should look at Lewiston, Idaho (Columbia River Shipping terminal, lots of snow), La Grande, Ontario, Baker City, etc. The world is your oyster, except there isn't that much snow at the coast.

You will find midwives, birthing centers, organic groceries and home schooling all over the state. It's not the bleeding edge of culture, you know. Rural Oregon is full of people who have never lived any other way.

[racheepoo]

Originally Posted by Larry Caldwell

You will find midwives, birthing centers, organic groceries and home schooling all over the state. It's not the bleeding edge of culture, you know. Rural Oregon is full of people who have never lived any other way.

You would be shocked at how many places in this country do think it's the bleeding edge of culture and how frowned upon it is to be anything but mainstream...I am happy to hear that crunch is good in most of Oregon!

(Thanks for the info. on I.T. jobs, too, so good to hear because all I read about is the lack of jobs in Oregon.)

[elcapitan]

As long as the crunch referred to herein involves the wearing of deodorant, it's good by me!

By the way, all of that is mainstream in Eugene. That's what makes this city pretty neat, everything is mainstream because it's all accepted!

[sarahkate_m]

Eugene is probably the most open minded, intelligent place I've encountered yet.

[Silverfall]

Oregon ranks #1 in breastfeeding moms. Lots out here. Lots of homeschoolers as well. If that is the definition of cruchy, Oregon overall is pretty crunchy.

Salem, Eugene and Portland are the major cities here. All will have IT jobs, Salem will be the most affordable. We have two birthing centers here. I had my kids delivered at Silverton Hospital with a midwife. There is some controversy at Salem Hospital with mid-wives and I am not sure how much longer they will have priviledges there. Very looong story.

The farther you go down the valley the less rain you get, and the farther east the more sun.

[seven of nine]

Originally Posted by racheepoo

In case you don't know what 'crunchy' is, it means out of the mainstream culture. Ideally we're looking for a place with a birthing center/midwives, breastfeeding friendly, where no one looks at you like you're crazy for cloth diapering or homeschooling or whatever, alternative medicine, eating organic, earth friendly, etc etc.

Add to that that my dh is in the I.T. sector and probably needs to be near a bigger city. Our income is in the 60-70K range and we couldn't make it without both of us working when we lived in So. Cal (add that to a long list of reasons we wanted to move away from there). So I'm looking to live in a more affordable place-at least where we could buy a house or a bit of land on 60K.

Add to that that we are not huge fans of constant gray, after a couple of years in Michigan we realize that love the sun. It's not the dealbreaker for moving someplace though-we are close enough to fly to the land of sunshine if we need to! I know it rains all over Oregon but where are the sunniest places with all the above criteria as well?

I know it's gotta exist somewhere!

Thanks,
Rachel

perhaps one of our realtor contributors could make some suggestions on areas in the op price range, unless she is coming with a chuck of prior equity it will be difficult to afford land.

[seven of nine]

Originally Posted by racheepoo

In case you don't know what 'crunchy' is, it means out of the mainstream culture. Ideally we're looking for a place with a birthing center/midwives, breastfeeding friendly, where no one looks at you like you're crazy for cloth diapering or homeschooling or whatever, alternative medicine, eating organic, earth friendly, etc etc.

Add to that that my dh is in the I.T. sector and probably needs to be near a bigger city. Our income is in the 60-70K range and we couldn't make it without both of us working when we lived in So. Cal (add that to a long list of reasons we wanted to move away from there). So I'm looking to live in a more affordable place-at least where we could buy a house or a bit of land on 60K.

Add to that that we are not huge fans of constant gray, after a couple of years in Michigan we realize that love the sun. It's not the dealbreaker for moving someplace though-we are close enough to fly to the land of sunshine if we need to! I know it rains all over Oregon but where are the sunniest places with all the above criteria as well?

I know it's gotta exist somewhere!

Thanks,
Rachel

perhaps one of our realtor contributors could make some suggestions on areas in the op price range, unless she is coming with a chuck of prior equity it will be difficult to afford land.

[bluebird39]

Hi there,

Where are you in Michigan? We moved to NE lower P a year and a half ago, and I have to agree with the sun comment. I never knew how cloudy it is here! We moved from S Oregon... Medford area. All you mentioned is there. Prices of houses were high when we left, but maybe they've come down. One reason we left is so I could afford to stay at home with the kids, because we couldn't do that in Oregon. There are tons of CA transplants there too. The schools aren't great, but if you're homeschooling, you'll find plenty fo company there. Ashland even has a homeschool school, which I always thought was a riot, but apparently it's quite good. Winters are quite cloudy there, but not as bad as MI, although they get most precip in the valleys in the form of rain. They also get a ton of fog... more than practically anywhere else. I really don't miss the rain and fog in the winter. I'd rather have snow. I do miss the "crunchy" aspect of Oregon though. I make my own soap, sew, make my own yogurt, can food, roast our own coffee, etc... S Oregon can be pretty conservative, but has become less and less so as the area has grown.

Good luck.