thinking about moving to oregon from michigan (Portland, Eugene: home, rental)

[Nikki32]

I'm looking to move sometime this year to oregon but not sure what city. I did some research in the lane county area but still havent deciced. I'm looking for a safe and friendly area where i won't have to do much driving. Any suggestions?

[Silverfall]

Most of Oregon is safe and friendly. Are you looking rural, what type of jobs, what do you want to me close to? More information would be helpful in terms of your wants. There are a lot of great people on this forum that can tell you pretty much everything about anyplace in Oregon.

[Patti LeBlanc]

The Willamette valley is a beautiful part of Oregon. We get a lot of wet weather, although the tempertures are very mild. We are 60 miles from the mountains, and 60 miles from the ocean. Lots of nice communities between Salem and Eugene. What kinds of interests to you have? What kind of job will you be looking for?

[Nikki32]

Originally Posted by Silverfall

Most of Oregon is safe and friendly. Are you looking rural, what type of jobs, what do you want to me close to? More information would be helpful in terms of your wants. There are a lot of great people on this forum that can tell you pretty much everything about anyplace in Oregon.

Right now im a nanny. I'm looking for mild weather and a city that has a small town feel. I eventually want to raise my kids there. I was looking in the lane county area

[tiffela74]

hummm....Eugene maybe? thats a hard one for me to say, since Im a diehard Beaver, but hey, even I can say it might be a good fit for you...
unless you want to go to Corvallis instead, its pretty splendid IMO!

[Silverfall]

Mild weather I guess is a matter of perspective. It doesn't get super cold here, but we do get rain and wind. Small town feel, I would look at Silverton, Banks, Forest Grove, Monmouth and Independence.

I live in Marion county, so my knowledge of small towns around Eugene is non-existent. I am sure someone on this forum will have some ideas for you.

[bluebird39]

Hi there,

We moved from Oregon to Michigan 1 1/2 years ago. If you want good public transportation, I'd recomend Portland. They have a rail system, and good busses. I'm not sure about the Eugene area, but they seem bike friendly there.

Oregon has much higher home prices than Michigan, so I'm not sure if that factors into your planning. Eugene might have more rentals, since it's a college town. It may "fit" you better, if you're young too. It's very liberal, very beautiful. IMO Oreogn beats Michigan hands down in the beauty department. Eugene doesn't get much snow, but does get ice from time to time. It is cloudy a lot there. If you go further South, or East, you'll get more into the sun. Bend is a popular area.

I might caution you that many people with families, like myself are leaving Oregon because it's getting too expensive to live there. Plus, the school system has been deteriorating since the mid-90's. Many retirees are coming to small towns in Oregon and pushing up the home prices and pushing out the families. You'd probably be better in a big urban area, like Portland or Seattle for a nanny job. Most small towns don't have people with big enough pay checks to hire a nanny. That just my 2 cents though. Eugene may have some professors families or even a campus child care center though. Good luck. I love Oregon, but our family situation made it hard to keep living there. I hope once my kids are older we can return out West somewhere. Until then, we're enjoying the Great Lakes State.