Single mom with two teenage/20's daughters needs advice about Medford area (Portland: RV park, rentals)

[Impulse129]

Hello! I could really use some input as far as best area of Southern Oregon to relocate to for myself and two daughters.

I've grown up in Las Vegas and raised my two daughters, ages 16 and 22. I dislike Vegas very much. There is no "community," it's crowded, and the summers are insane. (I've been stuck here because my daughter's father lives here). I don't work, but have a "middle class" income, so employment isn't an issue.

I have been visiting friends who live near Ashland, about twice a year for the past six years. I love that Ashland is a college town and has theater, and the people I've met there have been very friendly, but it is completely out of my price range. And I do mean completely!

I've considered Medford or Central Point, but am wondering if there is much there for my daughters to do. They both enjoy biking, hiking, fishing, and art, but are there festivals, concerts, a music scene or any other social opportunities in the area for my daughters or myself? Are there specific neighborhoods you would recommend in Medford or Central Point for community, kind neighbors? (I am considering these two cities because my youngest will most-likely attend SOU.

I appreciate any input you may have!

Thank you!

[PNW-type-gal]

Coming from Las Vegas, it will seem much more quiet, particularly since most of the big music tours don't stop here, the way they might in Las Vegas. The dividing line would sort of be: the big tour bus acts don't tend to stop here, but the smaller "we bought a big Ford van and drive around the country" acts do. Most of the music here happens in bars or at wineries, which sort of leaves your 16-yr-old out. There are a couple or large arts and crafts festivals plus the regular weekend festivals.

There are music festivals, but, honestly, they tend to be skewed toward older audiences. The biggest music festival is the Britt (see below). There is a large (ridiculously priced) county music festival at the Expo Center ( Country Crossings Music Festival | Home ) and a much better, much smaller festival, the West Coast Country Music Festival (https://modernrootsfoundation.org/ev...usic-festival/ ) up at the Greensprings Inn in the mountains.

Last year's Britt season:
Britt Announces 2017 Season
the lawn tickets are a more reasonable price and there are also opportunities to work some of the events in exchange for tickets.

There are several theater groups here the largest being the Ashland Shakespeare Festival and the Craterian Theater and then multiple smaller groups.

The housing market for rentals is awful in much of the valley. If you are buying a house, Medford is much cheaper than Ashland, but if you are looking to rent a house, it's not that much better, particularly in the nicer parts of Medford (East Medford, east of I-5 by at least several blocks, parts of SW Medford). Central Point I am less sure about. There are definitely worse parts of town - Medford has a fairly high crime rate and it tends to be concentrated in certain areas

The local airport Rogue Valley "International" (MFR) is a reasonable small airport, with direct flights to Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Las Vegas, Salt Lake City, Denver. It isn't a cheap airport, however - none of the budget airlines fly to or from here and the airlines know that most people don't really want to drive to San Francisco or Portland for cheaper flights.

The hiking, biking, fishing, camping opportunities are excellent.

[Impulse129]

Thanks for responding PNW-type-gal.

I am familiar with the Medford Airport due to my yearly visits, and I plan to purchase a home. (It would be cheaper than renting in my situation).

Thank you for the music information, I'll share it with my daughters.

Do you know if there are hiking/biking/camping groups available for teenagers in the area, or where I could look to find out?

Thank you.

[Cloudy Dayz]

Originally Posted by Impulse129

Hello! I could really use some input as far as best area of Southern Oregon to relocate to for myself and two daughters.

I've grown up in Las Vegas and raised my two daughters, ages 16 and 22. I dislike Vegas very much. There is no "community," it's crowded, and the summers are insane. (I've been stuck here because my daughter's father lives here). I don't work, but have a "middle class" income, so employment isn't an issue.

I have been visiting friends who live near Ashland, about twice a year for the past six years. I love that Ashland is a college town and has theater, and the people I've met there have been very friendly, but it is completely out of my price range. And I do mean completely!

I've considered Medford or Central Point, but am wondering if there is much there for my daughters to do. They both enjoy biking, hiking, fishing, and art, but are there festivals, concerts, a music scene or any other social opportunities in the area for my daughters or myself? Are there specific neighborhoods you would recommend in Medford or Central Point for community, kind neighbors? (I am considering these two cities because my youngest will most-likely attend SOU.

I appreciate any input you may have!

Thank you!

The music scene in Oregon is 99% local, with the possible exception of Portland. The nearest major concert venues are 400 miles south or 450 miles north of Medford.

Please have a good reliable job lined up before you decide to move. Just because you have a middle class income in Las Vegas, doesn't mean you will have the same in Oregon.

[PNW-type-gal]

Originally Posted by Cloudy Dayz

The music scene in Oregon is 99% local, with the possible exception of Portland. The nearest major concert venues are 400 miles south or 450 miles north of Medford.

I'm very familiar with the local music scene through a fairly large swath of music genres - I'd put that figure closer to 75% of music being local. It's just that the out-of-area acts tend to be smaller.

As far as the OP's question about outdoor-oriented teens groups - can't really help there, but I bet the schools would be a place to start, also City of Medford Parks and Rec. Also, if you are on Facebook, there is a group called https://www.facebook.com/whattodoinsouthernoregon/ - it's run by a man (couple, really) who have two smaller children and a lot of the events are family-oriented.

[Cloudy Dayz]

Originally Posted by PNW-type-gal

I'm very familiar with the local music scene through a fairly large swath of music genres - I'd put that figure closer to 75% of music being local. It's just that the out-of-area acts tend to be smaller.

As far as the OP's question about outdoor-oriented teens groups - can't really help there, but I bet the schools would be a place to start, also City of Medford Parks and Rec. Also, if you are on Facebook, there is a group called https://www.facebook.com/whattodoinsouthernoregon/ - it's run by a man (couple, really) who have two smaller children and a lot of the events are family-oriented.

You are probably right about the 75% number. I was thinking of big name acts. Is there any venue in Oregon outside of Portland that even has more than 5,000 seats? I can't think of any, except the football stadiums, and they don't seem to have a lot of major concerts. Most venues seem to be below 1,000 seats. Even Portland seems to get skipped on most major concert tours. Which means that Oregonians who want to see anything bigger than club acts, are going to have to go to the SF Bay Area, or Seattle to see them.

[PNW-type-gal]

The biggest venues down here are The Britt (2,200 people between the reserved seating and the lawn seating), the Craterian Theater (780 seating max), The Rogue (in Grants Pass, around 600 max), the soon-to-open restored Holly Theater in Medford, which should be around 1,000 seats.

The "Country Crossings" thing at the Expo Center was a 3 day festival and had something like 15,000 attendees. It was the first year at the site and there were some hiccups (although nothing as bad as this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fyre_Festival ). Jackson County had just built the "RV park" next to the fairground (basically a gravel parking lot, some paving, but I think full hookups) and there were some issues with hotel room capacity.

[Yankeemama]

How about Salem which is only an hour drive from Portland and is more affordable that the PDX Metro. Your daughters’ could drive to Oregon State or U of O for events and Ashland is cool town to take your daughters for a few days.

[CAjerseychick]

Went to school with a buddy from Ashland (it was more affordable back then)- the Shakespeare festival was a popular employer for teen girls ... and lots of fun...good exposure to the Theatre Arts as well..

[soarswitheagles]

Originally Posted by Cloudy Dayz

You are probably right about the 75% number. I was thinking of big name acts. Is there any venue in Oregon outside of Portland that even has more than 5,000 seats? I can't think of any, except the football stadiums, and they don't seem to have a lot of major concerts. Most venues seem to be below 1,000 seats. Even Portland seems to get skipped on most major concert tours. Which means that Oregonians who want to see anything bigger than club acts, are going to have to go to the SF Bay Area, or Seattle to see them.

The Matthew Knight Arena has over 12k seats in Eugene.