Most liberal cities in Southern Oregon? (Portland, Eugene: violent crime, how much, homes)

[nocheapones]

Hi all. I'm looking to move my family in the next couple of years, and right now Oregon is on the top of my list. I'm just confused about where. One of the main reasons I want to move is the climate where I'm currently located, in western PA, is very cold and very overcast. I know that the northwest isn't really the place to move if you are looking for more sunshine, but the south is way too conservative for me, and the southwest seems to be too expensive (California, anyway). It's also important for me to live in an area that is safe, especially from violent crime, that is good to raise a family, and is more liberal. By "liberal", I mean I don't want people preaching to me about the bible, I like a "live and let live" sort of attitude when it comes to your lifestyle, and I would like an availability of organics, etc. I've heard that Medford, Roseburg, and some of the other southern Oregon towns are "conservative". What exactly is meant by this? How conservative is it? Is it like the south or the midwest, or just conservative by Oregonian standards? Portland sounds just wonderful, but I don't think I could handle 8 months of no sunshine. Any suggestions on a good area to check out that meets my qualifications? Oh and an added bonus would be some sort of millwork nearby, as that is what my husband does, and I am currently working on becoming an RN. Thanks in advance for any info

[BLAZER PROPHET]

You want Ashland. It's everything you could ever hope for in liberalism.

Have fun.

[nocheapones]

Thanks Blazer!

[BLAZER PROPHET]

Originally Posted by nocheapones

Thanks Blazer!

Anytime. I'll send you a bill.

[bluebird39]

Ashland if you can afford it... I moved from the Medford are to Northern rural Michigan, and it's MORE liberal here than it was in Medford, although that's rapidly changing as more and more folks from California move to Medford.

Eugene is very liberal, but it gets much more rain and cloudy days.

Ashland is a college town, and has a huge professional theater there. It's neat, but very expensive.

[FVWinters]

"Liberal" is kind of a loaded word anymore. It means different things to different people. I lifted the following out of the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language:
"Lib-er-al, adj, Abbr. Lib. 1.Having, expressing, or following social or political viewsor policies that favor non revolutionary progress or reform. 2. Having, expressing, or following views or policies that favor the freedom of individuals to act and express themselves in a manner of their own choosing."

I went to the trouble of spelling out the definition of "liberal" to point out that many of our more right wing inclined elements confuse liberalism to radical leftism, socialism or communism. This is incorrect. These folks tend to view anyone to the left of Atilla the Hun as a "librul" and, unfortunately Medford, as well as Grants Pass, Roseburg and other communities in southern Oregon seem to have large numbers of people whose politics are oriented in that direction.
That number is far eclipsed by many more other people whom I would call "conservative" but are friendly, well educated, compassionate, and take an interest in their community and the world at large. I believe they are sufficiently open minded to leave well enough alone and are of the "live and let live" persuasion.
The kind of conservativism you encountered in the South or Midwest may be a reactionary, even bigoted type that is based of fear and ignorance (I mean not knowing, rather than stupid); a fear that "they" - whoever "they" are - "want what we have". What these fearful types have often isn't very much.
And southern and eastern Oregon has its share. But many others have values that may be more similar to yours than expected.
I do not live in the area but I have visited it long enough and often enough to be able to say you won't find a lot of evangelising; far less "bible thumping" than in the south (I've spent a good deal of time there, too).
Ashland is probably the most "liberal" of the cities outside Portland and the Willamette Valley and the weather is noticably better in southern Oregon. Watch for winter fogs in Medford, though; they are as bad as any of those pea soupers in the Allegheny or Monongahela canyons. Grants Pass is nearly as bad.
Jobs might be pretty iffy for your husband. We don't do steel out here but even in our chosen industries - lumber and paper products - millwork is hard to get and job security is iffy at best. Health care, OTOH, is a growth industry here as well as most other regions.
As for the amenities such as organics and suchlike, and other intangibles...I believe all of the larger cities in the region will have something of that - how much, I couldn't say.
The whole region is fairly thinly populated (so far). Medford's the biggest and probably most conservative of the lot at some 60000. Ashland is probably the fastest growing and has passed 20000 this past census.
I apologise for the long winded response but I wanted to give you a more thorough overview than what I have seen so far. I would recommend taking a trip out here and spend a week or so in each of the larger communities, if you can, to be sure this is what you want to do but given what I know from your post, I would recommend Ashland - if you can afford it.

[BLAZER PROPHET]

Originally Posted by FVWinters

"Liberal" is kind of a loaded word anymore. It means different things to different people. I lifted the following out of the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language:
"Lib-er-al, adj, Abbr. Lib. 1.Having, expressing, or following social or political viewsor policies that favor non revolutionary progress or reform. 2. Having, expressing, or following views or policies that favor the freedom of individuals to act and express themselves in a manner of their own choosing."

I went to the trouble of spelling out the definition of "liberal" to point out that many of our more right wing inclined elements confuse liberalism to radical leftism, socialism or communism. This is incorrect. These folks tend to view anyone to the left of Atilla the Hun as a "librul" and, unfortunately Medford, as well as Grants Pass, Roseburg and other communities in southern Oregon seem to have large numbers of people whose politics are oriented in that direction.
That number is far eclipsed by many more other people whom I would call "conservative" but are friendly, well educated, compassionate, and take an interest in their community and the world at large. I believe they are sufficiently open minded to leave well enough alone and are of the "live and let live" persuasion.
The kind of conservativism you encountered in the South or Midwest may be a reactionary, even bigoted type that is based of fear and ignorance (I mean not knowing, rather than stupid); a fear that "they" - whoever "they" are - "want what we have". What these fearful types have often isn't very much.
And southern and eastern Oregon has its share. But many others have values that may be more similar to yours than expected.
I do not live in the area but I have visited it long enough and often enough to be able to say you won't find a lot of evangelising; far less "bible thumping" than in the south (I've spent a good deal of time there, too).
Ashland is probably the most "liberal" of the cities outside Portland and the Willamette Valley and the weather is noticably better in southern Oregon. Watch for winter fogs in Medford, though; they are as bad as any of those pea soupers in the Allegheny or Monongahela canyons. Grants Pass is nearly as bad.
Jobs might be pretty iffy for your husband. We don't do steel out here but even in our chosen industries - lumber and paper products - millwork is hard to get and job security is iffy at best. Health care, OTOH, is a growth industry here as well as most other regions.
As for the amenities such as organics and suchlike, and other intangibles...I believe all of the larger cities in the region will have something of that - how much, I couldn't say.
The whole region is fairly thinly populated (so far). Medford's the biggest and probably most conservative of the lot at some 60000. Ashland is probably the fastest growing and has passed 20000 this past census.
I apologise for the long winded response but I wanted to give you a more thorough overview than what I have seen so far. I would recommend taking a trip out here and spend a week or so in each of the larger communities, if you can, to be sure this is what you want to do but given what I know from your post, I would recommend Ashland - if you can afford it.

I swear, there's one touchy liberal in every crowd (or message board).

[karlsch]

Originally Posted by FVWinters

The kind of conservativism you encountered in the South or Midwest may be a reactionary, even bigoted type that is based of fear and ignorance (I mean not knowing, rather than stupid); a fear that "they" - whoever "they" are - "want what we have". What these fearful types have often isn't very much.
And southern and eastern Oregon has its share..............

Since you say this kind of "conservativism" is based on ignorance, do you think that with the right sort of indoctrination these people might see the light and embrace correct, liberal, ideas, and lose their fear??

[bluebird39]

You don't know about the church out in the Applegate...

I grew up in the South, and while there are fewer church-going people in the main stream churches in Southern Oregon, there is a huge evangelical population there. Much bigger than where I live now in the Midwest, where everyone goes to the "main stream churches". There is also a huge Mormon population.

I must agree though that even my most conservative friends in Southern Oregon were incredibly open minded. People there are very down to earth and common sense. I had logger friends even as I worked to find spotted owl sites in Southern Oregon, but in Eastern Oregon I worked in secrecy... Shhh......

[silverfox]

What do you mean buy expensive in Ashland??
Price of homes...Property taxes...energy rates...food...?????
It could depend a lot on where you come from whether it is expensive.
Just curious.

Silverfox