Info on Oregon Towns (Portland, Eugene: low crime, houses, school)

[neighborly1]

I haved lived in the Arizona desert my entire adult life and will hopefully be moving in a few years. I was looking for information on cities around Oregon.
I wanted to find out about the crime, politcs, and religion in certain areas.

What are the politics of the following areas: Brookings, Gold Beach, Cave Junction, Coquille, Bandon, Coos Bay, and Astoria?
Are they more Liberal or Conservative?
I have read that Oregon as a state is very liberal. Any elaboration on that would be also appreciated.
Are these are more or less Christain areas? I have also read that Oregon is one of the least Christain states as a whole.
What is the crime like in these areas?

I have heard about people moving from California and trying to turn it in to where they came from. This is happening in many parts around the country. Here in Arizona they come over here fleeing the areas they ruined by voting in who they did and then they turn around and vote the same people into office where they flee to. Go figure.

Thanks for any help on these questions or any other info you can give me on these towns.

[tiffela74]

Hi. Welcome to the Oregon forum!
I live in Coos Bay, and would be more than happy to answer any questions you have about this area.
Im not very up on politics, sorry!, but I can tell you, I DO speak my mind here, and while ive been in some lively discussions, its never gotten rude or out of hand. Theres a lot of different views and opinions here, and you can say what you wish w/o coming to harm or cruelty.
We have several different churches of various beliefs, but theres not a "Shove it down your throat" issue either. During the holidays, right next to Santa in the mall, there was an area set up w/seats and all where a church group held storytime about the birth of Jesus, and gave the kids little goody bags w/a Christian color book, stickers and other such goodies. Like Santa, they were there inviting anyone that wished to come, but not being insistent either.
Crime isnt bad here. We had a hit and run that killed a couple a few months ago, but the driver was from out of state and the property owners are putting up a bench memorial for the couple. We do have drug problems, but no worse than other places, my family hasnt been touched by anyone personally due to drugs and the PD has a great drug task force in place that does a lot.
Anyhow, let me know if I can be of any help!
Tiffany

[Silverfall]

Oregon has the lowest church attendance of any state (someone has to rank last), Washington is #49. I don't think it has anything to do with being less Christian. I think Oregonians have a wide variety of spiritual beliefs and I think people are respectful about it here. Like Tiffany, I don't see a lot of preaching to the public about joining a church.

Oregon has interesting politics in that, yes the state overall shows up as a blue (Democratic) state during elections BUT, if you look at voting maps, Eugene, Salem and Portland show up as blue and most of the rest of the state red (Republican). The larger urban centers are liberal and the more rural areas, and smaller towns tend to be conservative. Oregon's population is fairly concentrated in the valley. The areas you are talking about, overall tend to vote republican. That doesn't mean that there aren't liberal voices there, but that is the majority.

I know several Californians, and honestly it really is more of a joke than a reality. Native Oregonians are a rarer breed here. MOST people come from other states. I haven't experienced Californians trying to turn OR into CA. I'm, honestly, not even sure what that means. Everyone has different values that are impacted by where they have lived. Most people acclimatize to Oregon culture after a few years.

As for more Christian areas, all cities have healthy Christian communities. I think that you will find a church and community in any city or town.

[jjpop]

I live in Corvallis, which, I believe, holds the distinction of having the lowest church-going population in the country. As a non-religious person, you would think that I would not have any churchgoing friends, but that would be incorrect. I know several people who regularly attend church. I like them and they like me. We recognize what we have in common and enjoy each others' company.

We non-religious types don't gang up on religious people and challenge their belief system, and religious people don't try to convert me. I think churchgoers have the attitude that if they see you in the church, religion is an open topic for conversation, but if they see you in Fred Meyer or at your kids' school you talk about other things.

[popswatch]

Originally Posted by neighborly1

I haved lived in the Arizona desert my entire adult life and will hopefully be moving in a few years. I was looking for information on cities around Oregon.
I wanted to find out about the crime, politcs, and religion in certain areas.

What are the politics of the following areas: Brookings, Gold Beach, Cave Junction, Coquille, Bandon, Coos Bay, and Astoria?
Are they more Liberal or Conservative?
I have read that Oregon as a state is very liberal. Any elaboration on that would be also appreciated.
Are these are more or less Christain areas? I have also read that Oregon is one of the least Christain states as a whole.
What is the crime like in these areas?

I have heard about people moving from California and trying to turn it in to where they came from. This is happening in many parts around the country. Here in Arizona they come over here fleeing the areas they ruined by voting in who they did and then they turn around and vote the same people into office where they flee to. Go figure.

Thanks for any help on these questions or any other info you can give me on these towns.

very simple rainy side democrat,dry side republican.small towns low crime less expensive land and houses,big towns higher crime more expensive houses.

[Dangerous Dave]

Neighborly, i also moved here from the AZ desert. If you want a bit more conservative, just stay out of Portland and Eugene. I live in Albany, which is fairly conservative and we have a pretty strong church community. The college here posts "Merry Christmas" signs and doesn't get sued to take them down. If you're looking on the coast, the Tillamook area is pretty "red". The Willamette Valley area as a whole is nice and has a tolerable climate. We fish, hike, etc. year round.

[rekaren]

I live in Gold Beach and have found the area to politically be mostly Republican. We have a smattering of Democrats and politics are discussed in a mostly polite and respectful way in most instances. I would say that the majority of GB citizens are Christian but not in an in your face, bible thumping type of way. We love the area we live in and most of the community worships the outdoors on Sunday versus sitting in a church. GB is definately a conservative town. Hope this helps!