Ashland gay / lesbian community & place to raise child? (Portland: real estate, house)

[KristinaLA]

I'm looking to move from los angeles to ashland. I've visited a couple of times and read a lot of info on city-data.com, etc. Now I'm looking to get any local feedback and especially from anyone who's moved there from a big city like la.

Some pertinent things about me:
*single mom
*lesbian
*love the outdoors
*love the arts (music, theater, reading, opera, dancing, you name it)
*have very much loved having a mix of quiet and city life for years in los angeles, but am now looking to increase the "quiet" side a bit without completely getting rid of the "city life" side.

Is this a good place to raise a child?
*How would you rate the schools? Seems like Helman and Muir are the best rated online...?
*I want my son to be safe heading to the neighbors house to play with a friend. In los angeles, I have to send him with an armed guard practically. Are there lots of kids and kid friendly neighborhoods/communities?
*Lots of good parks to take a kid and a dog?

Is there a gay community?
*Will we run into much or any intolerance in town or in my son's school?
*Where is the nearest "gay bar"? ~coming from los angeles, where there are five or six every time you turn
*Any gay activist groups, hrc committees, etc?

The idea I get online is Ashland is really hot in the summer and pretty cloudy in the spring/fall. Snows in the winter but not too terribly. I heard snow doesn't even really build up/need to be shoveled. True?

Are the cost of basic things like utilities, internet, gasoline, etc. much higher than average, or than in los angeles in particular?

Would anyone recommend living somewhere else near ashland instead? I've heard mixed things about Talent, Grants Pass and some others. I've heard both that they're gay friendly and that they're not... that they have good schools and not.... etc. Open to living near ashland instead of in it, but having trouble getting solid information and have not yet visited any surrounding cities.

Sorry for the long post! Thank you for any answers you can give and if you have any feedback that I didn't specifically ask about, I'll happily hear it.

Kris

[BLAZER PROPHET]

Based on your post, I think Ashland is tailor made for you.

[Larry Caldwell]

Just be aware that the HIV infection rate in Ashland is huge.

[BLAZER PROPHET]

Originally Posted by Larry Caldwell

Just be aware that the HIV infection rate in Ashland is huge.

Well, if this is true, practice safe sex and don't eat quiche.

[obetty]

We're considering a move to Ashland as well, coming from the northern party of WA state (where it rains constantly), for the weather and culture. We have two elementary-age kids. My sister and niece live in Ashland, and we've spent some time there as well. Here are my answers to some of your questions:

Is this a good place to raise a child? Yes, lots of parks and open spaces and events/activites that cater to kids: parades, camps, classes, etc. Still, I wouldn't let them roam freely.

*How would you rate the schools? Seems like Helman and Muir are the best rated online...?
The high school is rated #10 in the state, for what it's worth. There's also a wonderful K-8 charter: Willow Wind. Might be a good fit for you both, community wise.

*I want my son to be safe heading to the neighbors house to play with a friend. In los angeles, I have to send him with an armed guard practically. Are there lots of kids and kid friendly neighborhoods/communities?
Yes.
*Lots of good parks to take a kid and a dog?
Yes!

Is there a gay community?
Small, but yes- although I don't have first-hand knowledge. Ashland would be it for the area; Medford is quite a different story -- more redneck.
*Will we run into much or any intolerance in town or in my son's school?
No, I don't think so.
*Where is the nearest "gay bar"? ~coming from los angeles, where there are five or six every time you turn
Don't know.
*Any gay activist groups, hrc committees, etc?
Don't know.

Best of luck!

obetty

[dusky_beauty]

Originally Posted by KristinaLA

*Where is the nearest "gay bar"?

I don't know very many single moms of ANY orientation who have a lot of time to go bar hopping lol! this might be worth getting pushed down on your requirement list for that reason.

[TheSecondHalf]

Unfortunately, Ashland parks do not allow dogs, except the dog park on the outskirts of town. That's why I have reservations about Ashland.

[B97701]

Climate Atlas of the US - someone asked about the weather -

Click on "most popular" for the various maps - These are free maps although one can purchase the optional CD from the weather service -

NCDC: CLIMAPS -

Someone will have a specific answer about schools. I don't know as I'm also here to get info but have a bookmarked list of all this nerdy statistical stuff.<eek>

Meanwhile - 4 Educational attributes on this map from the NY Times for every US census tract: % college grads, % masters' degrees, % kids in private schools, % of high school grads.

Does this indirectly give an idea of the quality of the schools in Ashland?

Probably not, since if the area is primarily BLUE COLLAR with TECHNICAL degrees that are not 4 year degrees, then it won't show up in the % with a bachelors degree. In Oregon, Forestry and Mountain Bike Maintenance are great examples of terrific blue collar careers!

Mapping America ? Census Bureau 2005-9 American Community Survey - NYTimes.com

And, Sarah-Kate in the Introduction posted this post with a link on oregon school report cards -

http://www.city-data.com/forum/oregon/754431-coming-oregon-check-these-links-faq.html

And, on the one below, Oregon is not available yet, but California is.

School Performance Maps

And, City of Ashland financially co-sponors summer 2011 gay pride community, under City Councilor Dr. Dennis Slattery's leadership, who is also a SOU Professor. Is Ashland socially liberal like L.A. and Eugene?

Do Medford, Bend, and Klamath Falls resent Ashland's creativity and artistic values, or, do they get along? In regards to Bend, seems that Bend is just after money and more real estate, racing bicycles faster than any other US city except Boulder, and that they no longer value artistic values or people. What do you think?

If the OP is gay and needs a tolerant town in Oregon, I would be very suspicious about Bend, Medford, and Klamath Falls, but I really don't know. You're the experts. I'm the armchair Demographer reading Statistics for Nerds.

http://www.mailtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20110610/NEWS/106100331/-1/rss01

[amaykate]

I realize that this is an older post but replying might help other people looking for the same info!
I lived in Ashland for 5 years and LOVED it. I think that number 1- its a GREAT community to raise a child and identifying as a gay woman I had a great time living there. That being said, it is very close to Medford Oregon which I do NOT consider a great place to raise a child, or to be gay or frankly to be a civilized person. Now I hope that is not offensive to anyone, of course there are many great people there but it certainly is where I dealt with the most backwards hatred ever have. Its strange, Ashland is open minded and liberal and Medford is conservative and really scary. Its like if 1950's Texas was placed 5 minutes away from present day New York or California. I mean its WEIRD. And because they are so small and so close together if you live there, you will probably often go to Medford. Especially if you need to go to a convenient store like Fred Meyers or Wal Mart as the Ashland community does not support chains (which is pretty awesome! unless you are broke haha)

The Lesbian community is SMALL. Before moving to Ashland I had always heard that it had a huge lesbian community, which i think got confused with the fact that the small community that actually exists there are welcomed to live openly and accepted fully. Again, awesome for us, but compared to LA or even Portland it is tiny tiny tiny. CLOSEST gay bar would be in Portland (4 1/2 hours away). There is a small support group, PFLAG organizes the pride festival (yes there is a three day pride celebration but its pretty quite, exciting probably mostly for the college students).

as far as culture there is a lot of GREAT theater, but only if you prefer classics. There is not really any "cutting edge" or "new" theater because OSF needs to of course catter to thier audience. There are several jazz groups and bluegrass bands in town so the dance scene can be fun, but the only thing close to a "gay bar" would be when the sushi place Taroko has drag balls, however the bar itself is pretty lame and those nights are not really catered to adults. Its mostly people in there very early 20's and drunk teens that sneak in. No opera anywhere but there's a great library where they have some great selections.

If you want tp rid of city life this is the place for you. It is cozy, inexpensive and safe. However in the 5 years that I lived I started off being able to walk down the street alone at night, to not being able to do that, and frankly even got harassed in the middle of the day a few times by aggressive homeless people. There is a large population of homeless there who are kind, harmless and artistically brilliant, but another small percentage of aggressive and kind of scary homeless people. In fact one night my girlfriend found three homeless people sleeping in her stair well. She gave them soup and told them to leave. Your son probably could play with friends in the neighborhood without having to be watched. There is an AWESOME YMCA there also which is HUGE. I am sure its the biggest one in Oregon and offers non-stopped classes

outdoors? yes. anything you could ask for.

I consider Ashland my home, although I can probably never go back as I now have a serious career in theater. There is just not enough opportunity there for me, and now that I am in Portland I date a lot more and can choose to go to the Opera or Ballet if I wish. I do miss the small town atmosphere, the people and how breathtakingly gorgeous it is there. I mean, its like living in the adult version of Disney land. If that makes sense. The gay community is probably the same as it is in any other small town accept that you can openly hold your partners hand and no one will think differently of you for it. I think you can tell how in love with it I am as I can not stop writing about it. Hope this helps! and I am obviously willing to go into more detail if anyone has questions haha!

[PNW-type-gal]

This is an old post, but for future reference sake - when you are moving from an area of 10,000,000 to an area of under 10,000, don't expect the same level of diversity or variety. Is Ashland gay-friendly? Mostly, but what it really is would better be called "gay indifferent" - meaning that the acceptance level is high, but the level of services or businesses catered directly to gays (or fill in any sub-specialty less broad than say "older women" or "younger women" or "wealthy men" or "families with children" or "wealthy retirees") will be low.