Medford, Bend, Eugene.. which one? (Ashland: ski resort, real estate market, rental) - Oregon (OR) - City-Data Forum

Coffeetomycream · 06-01-2016, 10:30 AM

My husband and I are looking to relocate to Oregon. We currently live in Texas, and are originally from California. We are a bit tired of the lack of outdoor activities in Texas. We love the outdoors. We want to be able to mountain bike, dirt bike, hike, camp... all the good and fun stuff. We moved to Texas because there was a good investment opportunity at the time (house) but we have never felt like it would be our forever home state. We don't have many ties here so leaving will be easy. I have not been to Oregon since I was a child, and he has never been. We want less severe weather (no tornadoes or softball sized hail), mild summers, snow is fine. We love coffee and thrive in "hipster" environments, although we are far from hipster. We want an acre of land (more would be fine as well). Out of Medford, Bend and Eugene... what would you recommend? We are heavily leaning towards Bend, I know the job scene is tough but we are looking to downsize our mortgage and have low overhead anyway. Any input would be appreciated.

BLAZER PROPHET · 06-01-2016, 10:47 AM

1. Bend

2. Ashland

Have fun.

delta07 · 06-01-2016, 11:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mcbulber

My husband and I are looking to relocate to Oregon. We currently live in Texas, and are originally from California. We are a bit tired of the lack of outdoor activities in Texas. We love the outdoors. We want to be able to mountain bike, dirt bike, hike, camp... all the good and fun stuff. We moved to Texas because there was a good investment opportunity at the time (house) but we have never felt like it would be our forever home state. We don't have many ties here so leaving will be easy. I have not been to Oregon since I was a child, and he has never been. We want less severe weather (no tornadoes or softball sized hail), mild summers, snow is fine. We love coffee and thrive in "hipster" environments, although we are far from hipster. We want an acre of land (more would be fine as well). Out of Medford, Bend and Eugene... what would you recommend? We are heavily leaning towards Bend, I know the job scene is tough but we are looking to downsize our mortgage and have low overhead anyway. Any input would be appreciated.

An acre of land and downsizing your mortgage in Bend (especially moving from Texas) is probably not going to happen, especially if you can't find jobs that pay well. I hate to burst your bubble, but Bend is experiencing astronomical growth and our real estate market is nearing the height of the last bubble. I just read an article that Bend's inventory rate of available is less than 2 months. I have a friend looking for houses right now below $300K and it's tough! Not sure what your budget is, but definitely something to consider. Also, even though you say you want to downsize your mortgage, it sounds like you need jobs too. What you do for a living and what you make now can be really hard to find in Bend.

Don't get me wrong, I love Bend. It's a great place to live and raise a family. But it's not easy. We were fortunate enough to move here 8 years ago because my husband found a great paying job that was pretty much recession proof. We bought when the market just about bottomed out and have a great home, in a great part of town, for way less than any rental half this size would afford us now. I would definitely look into things a bit more and make a visit out to Oregon to see what really appeals to you and what is finacially doable.

Coffeetomycream · 06-01-2016, 01:12 PM

I appreciate your input. He is in outside sales, and I am an office assistant. I have done just about every office job. Do you recommend a certain area in Oregon? We prefer smaller towns, although my opinion of small is probably inaccurate for Oregon. We aren't sure about Medford weather, we don't mind the heat, as we currently manage without air, but would prefer that it cools at night, 95 degrees at midnight is not fun. I know Eugene is a college town, and our favorite town in North Texas, is a college town. We love the feel of a college town. Our mortgage is below 1K (PITI), but creeping towards that. Our utilities are low, we don't use our heat or air. We would walk away with some cash after selling but we would like to keep our future mortgage under 1K (PITI) as well, the lower the better.

BLAZER PROPHET · 06-01-2016, 01:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mcbulber

I appreciate your input. He is in outside sales, and I am an office assistant. I have done just about every office job. Do you recommend a certain area in Oregon? We prefer smaller towns, although my opinion of small is probably inaccurate for Oregon. We aren't sure about Medford weather, we don't mind the heat, as we currently manage without air, but would prefer that it cools at night, 95 degrees at midnight is not fun. I know Eugene is a college town, and our favorite town in North Texas, is a college town. We love the feel of a college town. Our mortgage is below 1K (PITI), but creeping towards that. Our utilities are low, we don't use our heat or air. We would walk away with some cash after selling but we would like to keep our future mortgage under 1K (PITI) as well, the lower the better.

Eugene is a very nice city and fairly hip with a substantial drug culture. It is in Lane County- the only county in the country with both ocean beaches and a ski resort. Both are within an hour of the city, so that is very cool. But it does rain a lot there. But certainly a place to consider. I spent my childhood there.

bler144 · 06-01-2016, 02:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mcbulber

Our mortgage is below 1K (PITI), but creeping towards that. Our utilities are low, we don't use our heat or air. We would walk away with some cash after selling but we would like to keep our future mortgage under 1K (PITI) as well, the lower the better.

Mmm...unless you're talking about a lotta lotta lot of cash for a downpayment, 1 acre plus PITI < 1k don't really go hand in hand in Oregon.

Not that Boise is cheap either, but...have you considered looking outside Boise?

PNW-type-gal · 06-01-2016, 03:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mcbulber

I appreciate your input. He is in outside sales, and I am an office assistant. I have done just about every office job. Do you recommend a certain area in Oregon? We prefer smaller towns, although my opinion of small is probably inaccurate for Oregon. We aren't sure about Medford weather, we don't mind the heat, as we currently manage without air, but would prefer that it cools at night, 95 degrees at midnight is not fun.

In Medford we are currently in a heat wave (along with the rest of the Pacific Northwest) and high temps are 20-25 above normal. The forecast today is for:
noon: 82°
4pm: 89°
8pm: 79°
midnight: 68°
4am: 54°

because we are farther north and the sun sets later, the hottest part of the day here tends to be between 4-5:30 in the afternoon. It is relatively dry (it will be 15% rh at the hottest part of the day today).

It is hot during the summer here, we generally have between 12-15 days over 100°, even though the average July high is about 85° - we do have quite the temp swing.

For me, having A/C here is not an option, it is a requirement, as I don't care for really hot weather.

A house and acreage under your price requirements is going to be more than an hour out of town, though.

Tulippsy · 06-01-2016, 07:37 PM

My suggestion is to go one one of the many real estate websites and put in your parameters - how much you plan to spend, single family home, etc., for a variety of the cities in Oregon that you are interested in. That may give you some insight into what is realistic and what isn't. A mortgage under $1000 with a down payment of 20%, probably puts you around 200K. Is that what you are planning to spend? Because that won't go very far in most of the main metro areas in Oregon, unfortunately.

Coffeetomycream · 06-02-2016, 08:53 AM

We are hoping to put at least 50K down on a house... maybe? We for sure would like the house to be under 200K. We are not the typical buyer either. Cosmetic stuff doesn't bother us, we would actually prefer the house need small cosmetic work, but don't want a full on fixer upper. "Move in ready"for us doesn't included things like granite, or no painting needed... the things we care most about are the windows, insulation, and roof.

bler144 · 06-02-2016, 09:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mcbulber

the things we care most about are the windows, insulation, and roof.

One would think those would be a given, but...roofs can see significant damage from moss, lots of OR homes have little to nothing for insulation, and windows in the range you're looking are at least as likely to be metal- or wood-framed vs. vinyl.

How flexible are you on the acreage issue? 230-250k will give you some options for housing, but it'll still be somewhat restricted in all 3 of those markets, and the acre is probably going to be the biggest hurdle at that price range.

I agree with Tulippsy that you should break out one of the real estate sites (redfin, zillow, etc.) and just do a search and see what comes up. If you find something that looks good to you on paper, you're welcome to come back and ask for opinions on a listing.