Racial tolerance (& neighborhood/community advice) in Medford area? (Portland: estate, houses)

[qwikbarton]

Hi everyone,

My wife & I are considering Medford as a possible retirement move from SoCal (surprise). We are a mixed race couple (white/black). I never even think about it around here, and it's never been an issue in most places we've visited. In Memphis, though, I thought we had grown second heads from the stares we received.

Any input on the attitudes in the Medford area?

Also, we like green trees and room (e.g., 1/2 to 1 1/2 acres), a decent sized house, say 2500-3000sqft, but only $400-550K. Is this possible? Any ideas on the best neighborhoods/areas?

My dream is to be able to hit a running trail through the woods from within a half mile of my house, and as retirees, we do not have to be right in town. We would like to be within a few miles of a supermarket, though...

Thanks in advance to any who respond!

[mdvaden]

For fun, you might like a few photos I just posted of our area in Applegate Valley. It's this thread... So, are real estate prices going up or going down in OR?

My photos are attached at replies 28, 29, 32, 33

It's a Jacksonville address area, 10 minutes out of Jacksonville (next to Medford)

There are places in Medford with trees, and places without trees. Driving down from northern Oregon, the scenery changes a bit at Grants Pass, but really changes at Medford, where the rainfall is 19 inches per year. The hills east of Medford look more golden brown, with a few oak trees. When you look west toward Jacksonville, the hills are more forested with oaks and evergreens.

Several neighborhoods in Medford have trees. You will just need to look around. One experiment you could try: load up Google Earth and type in Medford, Oregon, or the name of a nearby town. You can zoom in or out, and you can see from the satellite photos, how dense or sparse the different parts of town are in regards to trees and greenery. That's what I did when I moved here and wanted to know what areas to distribute advertising.

Our son even uses Google Earth to see the roof-line of houses to give estimates for gutter cleaning if he is too busy to drive out. He can see the approximate gutter lengths, and trees or shrubs in the way.

As far as racial tolerance, this isn't Portland or north Oregon, but I didn't notice anything to the contrary when we moved down here. Not a lot of mixed race, but the ones who are here seem to fit in quite well.

[freedom]

Your price range is very practical for this area. Cruise the MLS for areas in and around Medford, Rogue river and Gold Hill.
We are in G.P. and have racially mixed friends, never really gave it any thought, other than letting them know that I'm not P/C and if I happen to say anything that offends them, to let me know, and then get over it.

freedom

[mdvaden]

Originally Posted by freedom

Your price range is very practical for this area. Cruise the MLS for areas in and around Medford, Rogue river and Gold Hill.
We are in G.P. and have racially mixed friends, never really gave it any thought, other than letting them know that I'm not P/C and if I happen to say anything that offends them, to let me know, and then get over it.

freedom

Glad you posted.

Grants Pass came to mind too, when they wrote about trees, but I forgot to include it.

Grants Pass is definitely a much more wooded area than Medford central.

Does Grants Pass have running trails? I know it has a good size park, but wasn't sure how big it is - the one by the bridge.

[freedom]

Originally Posted by mdvaden

Glad you posted.

Grants Pass came to mind too, when they wrote about trees, but I forgot to include it.

Grants Pass is definitely a much more wooded area than Medford central.

Does Grants Pass have running trails? I know it has a good size park, but wasn't sure how big it is - the one by the bridge.

Sure does, the town is surrounded by BLM lands. Dollar mountain is used for hiking and running. Its just off of B st. Then there is the Cathedral Hills park, hundreds of acres of trails.

freedom

[pirate_lafitte]

Racial tolerance. I don't know much about Oregon other than there was a law in the books for many years stating that blacks were not allowed in Oregon. It was repealed in 1926, but it does make Oregon look bad. I don't know how it is now.

[freedom]

Originally Posted by pirate_lafitte

Racial tolerance. I don't know much about Oregon other than there was a law in the books for many years stating that blacks were not allowed in Oregon. It was repealed in 1926, but it does make Oregon look bad. I don't know how it is now.

yeh, I remember back in the 1800's that Americans could own slaves.
I wonder how it is now?

[mdvaden]

Originally Posted by freedom

yeh, I remember back in the 1800's that Americans could own slaves.
I wonder how it is now?

And I can remember reference back to when women couldn't vote. I wonder how it is now?

[Waterlily]

Lol you guys are making me laugh. Good come back!
Just for the Op's information I stoped into Grants Pass just about a month ago for a while. I did some some people of other races working there and it did not seem to matter. Hey the city was looking good from what I saw of it downtown.

Oregon is a part of the the USA and not that different from other states.