Good Schools Low Crime Affordable Housing (Salem, Bend: real estate, rentals, houses)

[InWyoming]

Does anyone know of a place in or on the Oregon or Washington coast for good schools and affordable housing. We have three kids ages 3years 2 years and newborn. We currently live outside of Jackson Hole wyoming and are looking for work in construction for my husband or elementary teaching for me. I saw the thread on Coos Bay and was concerned about jobs and crime there. We are open to moving anywhere in the US except Utah and California (well possibly Northern California), Can anyone help me Ive looked at a dozen places and I cant seem to find any that fit the bill. We are open if anyone can help me even central oregon. We traveled to Bend but it seemed like there was already crime and high prices moved in. We went to Wala Wala Washington and I was scared to go to the bathroom. I worked in South Central Los Angeles but I dont want to raise my kids in a place like that. Thanks!

[Nell Plotts]

Construction??? You have to be kidding!!!

Bend's bubble is letting out a lot of gas. It will take years for building to recover.

I am unaware of any crime problem in the communities you mention. I suspect you happened across Hispanics who work in agriculture or construction. Other than the strong possibility that the were undocumented they don't have a criminal bent higher than others.

Whether you or your spouse can find employment in Coos Bay I can't say.

[illinoisboy]

Why not Utah?

[Silverfall]

Builders are laying off construction workers like crazy in Oregon, so I hope that he is looking for work in commercial/industrial construction?

Last time I checked, all of the major Oregon cities ranked lower for violent crimes than comparable same sized cities, but higher for property/nuisance crimes. Car break-ins, etc are higher than national averages here.

So if you are looking for low violent crime, Oregon cities fit the bill, but you do need to lock your car doors.

I personally don't consider most places along the coast affordable, but that depends on your definition. What can you afford?

[Nell Plotts]

Frankly I am at a loss as to why they want to leave Wilson/Jackson and go west. The oil and coal industries in Wyoming should be staffing up shortly and their public schools are fine, in part because of the $$$ of extraction fees. One reality, however, is that living there isn't cheap. When I would visit in The Hole locals described their existance as magnificant poverty.

[InWyoming]

Well thank you for your responses. We currently live outside of Jackson Hole in a more rural setting. The real estate and rentals are wayyyy too expensive in the Jackson Hole area. The snow is killing me and I miss ammenities. We lived in Los Angeles California for a long time and hispanics dont bother me but crime does. My husband is an avid fisherman thats why Oregon. Is there any work there at all for construction? Houses in the 100-200K range? Utah has a big Mormon influnce, and not for us or what we are looking for at this time. I was looking at towns 70K population or lower, so I started looking at costal cities. Any advice

[Silverfall]

Okay I looked at our local paper (StatesmanJournal.com | Statesman Journal | Salem news, community, entertainment, yellow pages and classifieds. Serving Salem, OR) and there were 40 jobs in the construction industry that came up for our area (Salem Metro)

Oregon has a large Mormon population as well, but I think we are more diversified from a religious perspective.

Maybe one of our "coasties" can give you a link to the local newspaper. I'm not sure you can buy a house on the coast for $100-$200K but we do have some locals that can tell you that for sure.

Most Oregon towns have less than 70,000 people. If you were willing to come inland more, you would have some options.

[John Shaft]

Make sure you have a secure construction job lined up before you come out, and even that is no guarantee. Oregon has not been hit quite as hard by the housing bust--SO FAR. But from what I can tell it's going to get worse before it gets better, and the Bend area (for example) is pushing 10% unemployment, presumably due to construction layoffs. Construction is no doubt a tight market (understatement) right now but I imagine that's a blanket statement and there's some differences within the industry (supposedly commercial construction is doing fine but I'm only relying on the media for that).

[Waterlily]

Well I do know they are building some here but not so much houses as commercial buildings. This is a link to the local newspaper The World Link - Homepage

This is for the Coos Bay and North Bend area. Most areas are fairly safe here. You'd need to come and check out the coast to see if you like it. Then drive around a bit. Get off highway 101 if you want to see the towns. The last figure I saw said we had 8% unemployment rate here. Still there is usually some hiring once summer starts. Nobody can ever be sure you'll find a job because that's up to you or your husband.

There's a mix of older and younger people here. I know a few people who have retired just lately. Those jobs make openings for younger workers. Most neighborhoods are really quiet.

[InWyoming]

I liked everything about Coos Bay from the information that I looked at the only thing is Im not sure about the schools there. The scores are low according to greatschools.net
is there any place I'm overlooking as far as Oregon is concerned or should I give up on this state?