Need advice from Phoenix (Portland, Eugene: for sale, rent, low crime)

[indecisiveinaz]

I posted this thread in the Maine forums as well as here.
My husband and I are tired of Phoenix. We hate the heat, the crime, and pretty much Phoenix as a whole. We really want to move to a smaller city, with good schools, affordable housing, jobs, low crime, and friendly people. I am a native to Phoenix, and my husband is almost a native. He moved here from Michigan when he was three, and Phoenix is all he knows.
One of our most major problems is based on the climate. Coming from an area when the temperature is either very hot, or not as hot is making it difficult for us to decide on an area. We have narrowed our choices down to Portland/Augusta ME, Salem/Eugene, OR, and we are somewhat considering Appleton, WI (my father is near by). So far some of our concerns about Portland/Augusta have to do with work, and cost of living. We are also greatly concerned about the snow. Coming from Phoenix, and a hot blazing sun, we have no idea what the stuff looks like. We desperately want a change and a slower paced life style. Otherwise our research shows it is a wonderful place to live and raise a family.
We have similar issues with Oregon, cost of living is high, crime is not much lower than the national average, and of course, the rain. Non-stop heat and sunshine to non-stop clouds and rain, are a concern. Otherwise the scenery, and climate are very favorable. We are definitely leaning more towards Oregon at this point, but we are hung up on the cost of living, rain, job availability and crime. I also read that traffic is quite bad.
We also want culture, meaning festivals, museums, and arts. We want to choose a place that will enable us to utilize the outdoors and grow as a family of artistic people.
Unfortunately anywhere we go will be a major adjustment for us. We desperately need advice from people who have experienced a similar change, and who have or have not been able to adjust. This is a very large decision for us considering our two young children, and we want to make our moves as few as possible.
In case you are wondering, we are planning on renting initially so we can venture out and find "our spot" from there.
Any advice will help. Any info is good info, and every opinion counts, whether it be good or bad. If it is bad, please do your best to describe why. Every one has different likes and dislikes, and I want to do my best to be able to identify.
~Thanks~

[BLAZER PROPHET]

It's a good thing you don't want much.

My recommendation from your list would be Eugene. It's sort of artsy, liberal... and I think a very nice place to raise a family. There are some nice bedroom communities and a lot of the crime (I would not consider it a high crime area) is centralized in a few areas.

[Bendite]

There is a misconception about Oregon and rain. It is not cloudy and rainy all year long. The coast gets the most rain and it rains a lot, but Portland, Salem and Eugene have rain in the winter, but the summers generally are not rainy and there are plenty of sunny days (can be humid, though). You won't find a place that doesn't have some crime - but in Oregon you'll find property crime and not much violent crime and you can avoid problems by choosing a safe neighborhood and then taking simple precautions.

You might want to include some areas in your search that are more like the desert that you are used to rather than focusing on northern states which will be utterly different for you. Have you considered Salt Lake City or maybe Grand Junction?

[indecisiveinaz]

We're actually looking to get away from the desert. We love trees and greenery. We're expecting climate shock no matter where we go. We just want to get a better idea of what to expect.
As far as crime, you are right, it's everywhere. Some places are better than others. I don't think we'll ever reach the point where we feel safe leaving our doors unlocked, and I think that's a good thing.

[Silverfall]

I live in Salem and everything is relative. We just had a three week spell of incredible sunny weather around 50-60 degrees and the rain returned today. Not sure I'd call that rainy all of the time. It rains a lot from mid-Oct to end January. We usually have a nice break in February, and then it on and off rains until Mayish. This is my 16 years of living here summary...

We have a lot of petty theft here in Salem. Car break-ins etc, not a lot of "serious crime", but a lot of nuisance crime. I have never felt unsafe here nor in Portland, and I used to carry pepper spray and a knife when I lived in the Chicago area. I gave those up about 15 years ago.

I don't know what bad traffic you are talking about. I came from Chicago and THAT is bad traffic. You need to understand the Oregon mentality. People who live here are not faced paced kinda folks. That is the draw...so if you have to drive more than 20 minutes to get anywhere, traffic is bad. Now Portland does have bigger city traffic, but it is nothing compared to the Dan Ryan in Chicago. Everything is relative...

Salem is the state capitol so most of the jobs here are government jobs. Salem Hospital is the next largest employer. Salem Metro has many smaller towns that surround it and there are a lot of smaller festivals. It takes us 45-75 minutes to get to the different parts of Portland so if we want to take the kiddos to see Lion King we can. We don't have a lot of culture here in Salem. They did just start first Wednesdays about a year ago to promote local artists, but for culture you have to head to Portland. Coming from Chicago, Portland is lacking in culture, but I still love Portland and the loss of culture is well worth it for the quality of life.

You should come and visit and see what you think.

[indecisiveinaz]

I definitely think a visit is a good idea. I want my expectations to be realistic. So far I only know what I have read and what I have been told.

As far as the traffic, that is only what I have read somewhere here in the forums. Phoenix has it's share of traffic, but I think the worst I have ever experienced is in the Anaheim/Los Angeles area. It goes from bad to worse. Here we just have rush hour congestion that usually clears up in about two hours. If it is anything like here, I wouldn't call it too bad, but you are right, it all depends on your perspective.

It's unfortunate about the nuisance crime. We want to get away from that too. The crime rate here is horrible, and even though there is crime everywhere, some places are better than others. It's just a matter of taking the good with the bad, and picking your poison. Rain/Snow, Traffic/Jobs. It's a big decision, and the only way to truly know which area will work for you is experiencing an entire season there. Unfortunately, that's the problem. Which one is best for us? Oregon or Maine?

[Silverfall]

Nothing compares to LA for traffic. We do get rush hour traffic, here as well as Portland.

I've never been to Maine so I don't have a comparison for you. I love Oregon and plan to live here forever. You might want to visit the valley here, and maybe a city or two in Maine. You may find that one city just "feels better" than another. I recently visited Toronto and thought it was a fabulous city. I just liked how it "felt."

I like that we don't get a lot of snow, so I don't have to shovel my sidewalk everyday, but it's 1.5 hours away to take the kids skiing or sledding. The coast is also about 1.5 hours away, so you kind of get the best of both worlds.

I would visit Portland, Salem and Eugene. Salem is the most affordable of the group.

[jrhartwick]

Not within your search guidelines, but you should consider Columbia, Missouri I am also a native of Arizona; born and mostly raised. Parents and sibilings are still there. We moved to Columbia from Flagstaff in 1995 and have loved it since. It reminded us of the Flagstaff of the midwest. Low cost of living, excellent schools and and job opportunities. Home to the University of Missouri, it is approx. the size of Tempe, minus the rest of the suburbs. Four seasons, grass, trees, lakes, etc. Everything that Phoenix is not. But, also bugs, ticks, etc The low cost of living allows me to stay home with the children, and it would be hard to give that up to move back to Phoenix.
I also lived in Oregon a few years in elemntary school. Loved that as well. I was not bothered by the rain at all. I know that it can be a little pricey but the landscape is breathtaking. Snow skiing and access to rivers/ocean. Gorgeous!

[sgtg]

You should consider Ashland or Grants Pass as well. Moved from Bay Area and crime and traffic are not near the issues here as in CA or AZ.

[ConeyIsBabe]

GRANTS PASS is very nice but the winters are gray, bleak, rainy with a little snow and lots of morning frost! Spring, Summer & Fall are great ! People are very, very friendly, jobs are there for people who want to work. Cost of living is affordable. There are bargains in housing for rent and for sale.

I have experienced the "climate-shock" you speak of. I relocated from southern Florida (tropical climate) to Grants Pass Oregon. Although I love living in Oregon, it was a bit of drastic change for me and at (almost 70) my age, I think my old bones want to be back in Florida. HAVE YOU CONSIDERED FLORIDA???

I'd stay away from Miami (crowds, crime, rude people, expensive) but there are many other mid-sized towns which might appeal to you. I'm on a personal quest to find one and move back to Florida !