Family trying to figure out where to move. Help wanted! (Portland: amusement parks, student loans)

[oregonwoodsmoke]

I just got as far as your budget for a house, and I would guess that you are headed to Texas.

[Rhinosaur09]

@OregonWoodsmoke I am sorry that is as far as you got. Our housing budget really comes down to a limitation based on time. We would like our graduate school loans payed off before making the leap into something more expensive. Perhaps we will just rent until then. Another factor depends on how much we can sell our current house for. Luckily our neighborhood has been pretty good for positive sales, so we should make some money. But thank you for posting?

@Silver/Nell So Portland area is off this list, at least for the near future. But you are right, there are a good amounts of homes I saw that were in our price range, in the Eugene area. Plus after watching some videos and looking up certain things (our recreational interests), it really is a beautiful area. Any advice on which areas would not be advisable when purchasing a home? I could be wrong but Eugene reminds me of the size and feel of the Tacoma area (not exactly) and we lived in the Tacoma area for 10 years. The river trails near the park seem like they might be a good substitute for Rustin Way in Washington. It sucks that both San Antonio and Eugene seem to have some beautiful areas for hiking, biking, and kayaking or this would be easier. Still, crime is what continues to sway us closer to choosing Oregon.

[hen_and_chicks]

I have lived in Oregon(pronounced OR-GUN) for 37 years and am not familiar with Texas, so I will speak only on Oregon. I would recommend checking out 2 towns that I am familiar with. 1st is the town of Silverton. Silverton is located about 1 hour drive south of Portland and about a 20 min drive east of Salem. Silverton is has a population of about 10,000 with all the major conveniences. You have the option of living within the beautiful city limits or many rural areas all around. There is also a very nice hospital in Silverton! Silverton offers public schools, public charter schools, wonderful private schools within reasonable distance, and a large homeschooling network depending on what you are wanting for your children. For $200K-$250 you can get an average home or perhaps small acreage with a used manf. home. Silverton is part of the Willamette Valley. In Oregon, the Willamette Valley sits between the Coastal and Cascade ranges and extends through a huge part of the state with the Willamette River and many other waterways. In the Willamette(pronounced WIL-LAM-ET) valley it is for the most part lush and green. This year we had an extremely mild winter and unusually warm days and not much rain compared to the norm. I am loving it. 1 week of sunshine in the 60's, 2 or 3 days of rain to water everything, then more sun. Last year we had early March a snow "storm" with about 6-10 inches of snow in various counties. This is a rare occurrence in the Willamette Valley "floor" because of our low elevation. Foothills get more snow, and of course the Cascade range, so snow recreation is usually within an hour drive depending on if you are wanting to ski or just throw snowballs and make a snowman. Our seasons are usually very definite. March-June more rainy days with sunny days averaging around 65 and cooler nights in the 40/50s. July-Sept is our summer with sunny days averaging around 80 with cooler nights in the 50s and hot days averaging around 95 with nights in the 70s. We still get days of rain in the summer here and there, but not enough to keep your lawn from turning brown if you don't water it. Oct-November is fall with crisp cool air and still some sunny days similar to spring. The temps are more near the 50s range and nights start cooling down and frost on the cars and landscape arrives. End of October trick or treating weather is hit or miss. For several years we had crisp, dry, evenings in the mid to upper 50s, and then a few years we had to wear mittens, raincoats, and carry umbrellas. Winter is Dec-Feb and is usually mild with the rare snow days. Temperatures average in the 30s and 40s most years. It is not often but you occasionally have temps reach the teens and occasionally temps will be in the 50s. If we have more than 5 snow days a year it is not typical. Schools will be cancelled or have late start with less than 2 inches snow on the ground. It is somewhat absurd really, but it is good that schools lean on the side of caution, and of course the kids never mind. Don't think that you are going to be home bound here if you are in the Willamette valley and it snows. RARELY do I feel unsafe venturing out when it snows here. Overall the Willamette Valley is plush and beautiful with definite and mild seasons. We do get a good amount of rain and our rainy days and overcast days are often pretty gray so many people would call them "gloomy".

The other town to check out is the high dessert town of Bend. Many people LOVE Bend. It is much different than the lush green and gloom of the Willamette Valley. Bend is the "big" city of eastern Oregon with a population of 85,000. I have a sister who was raised in the Willamette Valley and moved to Bend after she got married. She loves it over there. Think hotter drier summers, colder more snowy winters. More definite seasons, shorter growing season. They do not get the same overcast and gray days often like the valley thus my sister says it is not "gloomy". Bend also has at least one hospital that I know of but my guess is there is prob more. Rural Bend is more sagebrush and pine trees verses the lush green vegetation and fir trees of the Willamette Valley. I would say it is just your personal preference. Since I do not live in Bend, but just visit my sister often, I do not know as much detail as far as average temps, but in general like I said, think higher elevation, (+) 5-10 degrees of the Willamette Valley in summer and (-)5-10 degrees of the Willamette Valley in Winter and I think it will give you a rough idea. As far as schools go, lots of public school options, private schools, home school groups, and I believe they have charter school options as well. Bend is about a 3 hour drive to Portland and about a 2 1/2 hour drive to Salem or Eugene. There are also smaller towns such as Sisters and Redmond which are less than a half hour drive from Bend and offer smaller town living within a reasonable drive to work in Bend. I would say Bend's real estate price range is somewhat comparable to Silverton. Zillow.com is a good place to view what kind of places are available in your price range for both areas.

Not sure if it is any concern to you as far as living in a conservative or liberal area. If it is, I would recommend researching or inquiring about that by county. In my opinion as far as voting goes, Oregon is in general a liberal state verses Texas being conservative. That being said I would also say that the Portland metro area has the most condensed population in Oregon and most liberal population while many counties in Oregon are conservative but have smaller populations.

My pregnant sister in law is currently moving with her family from WY to OK, so I know it can be quite stressful, especially with children. I hope you are able to find the perfect place for your family. Best of luck.

[Nell Plotts]

I haven't lived in the mid-Willamette Valley in many years 'tho have relatives in Eugene Metro. That said Silverton and Mt. Angel have a great reputation.

[bler144]

I agree that I would rule out the Portland metro. On the whole getting a decent home in a decent school district for $250k is a tough ask.

You could, however, take a gander at the Salem environs (Silverton, west or south Salem, etc.) aside from Eugene. You could in theory find something in your range in Corvallis as well, though I think it's a bit more of a stretch and you haven't said if your jobs are quite that portable.

[Silverfall]

Corvallis is more expensive than Eugene. I don't think they could find affordable housing there.

I like Silverton, but it only has 9,000 people. People who are considering Portland and Eugene are generally not small town people. I mean the OP is taking access to Six Flags, Disneyland, PAX, etc. They aren't small town people. I don't think Silverton and Mt. Angel are what they are looking for.

I think they want to be in the valley, and Eugene is probably the closest blend of affordability and lifestyle that they are looking for.

[Nell Plotts]

And Mt. Angel is even smaller than Silverton. That said they are nice towns an easy drive to either Portland Metro or Salem for serious shopping.

[bler144]

Originally Posted by Silverfall

I think they want to be in the valley, and Eugene is probably the closest blend of affordability and lifestyle that they are looking for.

That occurred to me, but I didn't want to underestimate the allure of Enchanted Forest.

I mean, who needs Six Flags, really?

[Silverfall]

Originally Posted by bler144

That occurred to me, but I didn't want to underestimate the allure of Enchanted Forest.

I mean, who needs Six Flags, really?

Did you hear that Humpty Dumpty fell off the wall, literally?

I think he is fixed and back up now though.

[bler144]

Lol, I had not. That's funny.

I agree Eugene is a good fit in lots of ways, but if they're really looking for big shiny attractions like Six Flags, I think Eugene is worse in that regard. Nice YMCA? Great parks/pools? Sure. Decent but not world-class shopping? Sure. But if you want an amusement park you'd driving 45 min up to the Salem area for EnchFor.

If you want "big city" offerings on any regular basis you're driving 2 hours each way to Portland. But you're probably right that the smaller towns might really be too small.