Age 22, looking to move to Oregon (Portland, Eugene: to rent, crime rate, home)

[bengalsfanatic85]

Hey i just got out of college a little bit ago and am pretty much set on moving to oregon. Wouldn't mind living in Portland, but also wanted to hear some advice on places i havent heard much about. Obviously, being fresh out of college i would like to be in a fun city where there is things going on on the weekends, plenty of bars, etc... I also love the outdoors, and would love to be able to bike around town, go hiking, skiing, and be close to the coast. Speaking of which, where is the best surfing in Oregon. Most of all, i'd like to keep my rent around 400. any ideas would be greatly appreciated. thanks

[Silverfall]

Eugene and Portland are pretty much it for singles. I live in Salem and there isn't much here for single folks. Pretty family oriented. If you want to rent anything for $400 a month in the Portland area, you will be someone's roommate. A studio/small one bedroom can run around $600. Not sure about Eugene prices.

Surfing in Oregon is insane. Do you realize how cold the water is up here?? I do occasionally see a surfer, but honestly not many. You might want to consider switching to wind surfing and hit the Dalles/Hood River on the Columbia River.

[FVWinters]

If you like the nightlife and are into live music, then Portland is definitely it. It is as good there as any place on the west coast. Hosing costs are pretty high. Silverfall is probably correct in that $600 is as cheap as you'll find if you don't want to batch with someone.
Biking, hiking, outdoor stuff, and reasonably close to the coast; If that's you favorite thing then I would reccommend Eugene or Corvallis. Corvallis doesn't have the bar scene either of the other two but it is a little easier to get to the ocean. Both are equivalent as far as outdoor activities are concerned. Both also have large universities (so does Portland, come to that), so you will have plenty of opportunity to make friends with your peer group.
If you're really into skiing and you don't mind a six hour drive to the coast than Bend is your city. The nightlife there is probably equivalent to Eugene's, a little more varied than Corvallis and, like the others, can't touch Portland's.
I don't know how bicycle friendly Bend is but there is plenty of hiking, fishing, stuff like that when the snow melts. The Three Sisters Wilderness is just a few mile to the west.
If you have the time and can afford the expense, you might check out the Medford-Ashland area in Southern Oregon. The big strength here is the outdoor activities nearby. If you like off trail or mountain biking, you can probably do a trail a day and not get them all in your lifetime. There are also 3 first class wilderness areas nearby and Crater Lake is just a few hours away. The "aw shucks" is probably the next to nonexistant nightlife. It is also about as hard to get to the Pacific from here as it would be from Bend.
I didn't mention Salem. It's not a bad place by any means but someone of your interests may have a harder time living here than the other places I have mentioned.
I don't know what your social and/or political leanings are; and if you are open minded they won't matter much. I have lived in a number of cities here, ranging from raw-beef red to sky-blue and have never felt uncomfortable because of my own politics in any of them. But....Portland, Eugene, and to a lesser extent Corvallis, tend to be a little more "librul" while Bend and the Medford-Ashland area tend to be a little more conservative in outlook.

Hope this answers some of your questions and will give you a better idea of where to settle in.
FV

[tiffela74]

get a good wetsuit if you want to surf. I see a lot of people out surfing around here, and you betcha each and everyone has a wetsuit on.
theres a popular sport w/kite surfing ive seen too....it looks like fun (if i wasnt so afraid of what lives under the water!! lol)
i do agree that finding a place on your own for that price might be a challenge! If you DID find one, on your own, id be awful leery about the neighborhood! I know my ex lived in one, and theres no way on the face of the earth i would let my daughter stay the night there. no freakin way at all....
on the upside, if you can find a good roomie, you might have a surfing/hiking/etc, buddy as well. handy. lol
best of luck!
Tiffany

[bengalsfanatic85]

thanks for your help. sounds like eugene and corvallis are my cities. i had planned to live with a roomate or two my age in hopes of meeting some people. But how far are they from decent skiing? also, i never could have pictured oregon having a problem with crime, at least outside portland. being from cincinnati, its probably nothing i cant handle, but are there any neighborhoods in eugene or corvallis i should really avoid? thanks

[FVWinters]

Skiing....The four closest ski areas are:
Hoodoo Ski Bowl at about 90 miles from Corvallis; about the same from Eugene.
Willamette Pass at 115 or so miles from Corvallis; only 68 or about that from Eugene.
Timberline at about 130 miles from Corvallis and nearly 165 from Eugene. This one's much closer to portland and there are other ski areas nearby.
Mt. Bachelor is 150 miles from Corvallis and 140 from Eugene. Bachelor is right outside Bend.

Crime....Can't say for sure about Eugene but I would guess the crime rate is a good deal lower than inner city Cincinnati. Maybe on par with Middleton? Anyway, not too dangerous for a city of 140000 on a major freeway. Corvallis is even easier on the security budget. Your biggest worry here is property crime and theft. Violent crime is comparatively rare and, when it occurs, is most likely alcohol fueled. A word of caution.....there is a zero tolerance toward attitude with driving while "impaired by alcohol". If you move here and do hit the bar scene your best bet is to walk home (which is easily enough done in this town) or hire a cab.