Best City in Southern Oregon? (Eugene, Medford: live, shop, move to)

[freedom]

The libraries and fairgrounds in Josephine county needed a shake up, I think in the long run they will be better run and able to fit the needs of the community.
Grants pass is family friendly in my opinion, many of the families are just into activities that don't revolve around the library and the fairgrounds, 4h has been attracting less youths year after year, Grants pass built a skateboard park and is developing sports parks all over town, there are public tennis courts, basketball, baseball fields in every area. Soccer is huge for the youth here, and most kids are on the internet so library attendance is down and becoming less of a priority.
Personally my kids use the library and fairgrounds and are sad that they may need to restructure or close (the fairgrounds won't close IMO, it is being used as a wakeup call to citizens), when there are budget woes the extras get cut first.
Retirees are very welcome here, they bring their retirement dollars, experience and charity to the area, that said they are approx. 30% of the population. Meaning this is primarily a family community, with lots of youth, the schools are filled and new ones have been built, and each one has its own library.

[readymade]

Thanks for the advice everyone! To be honest, I don't really want to move. I love Southern CA (the weather, anyway). However, it's crazy CRAZY expensive here!

We live in a fairly tiny 3 bedroom house w/ a tiny yard and we pay a ridiculous amount for mortgage (& property taxes). As much as I love the weather, I know I'll probably have to give it up. We want to move somewhere beautiful, kid-friendly, & fun. We're not interested in the desert (like Nevada & Arizona). I'm originally from Boston & my husband is from Chicago. We're no strangers to horrific weather. Obviously we'd like something more mild than those two places, however.

I'm really looking at Southern Oregon. Medford, Ashland (although, that seems pretty expensive), Jacksonville (don't know anything about it other than the fact that Bruce Campbell, who I love, lives there). We're going to visit Oregon to scope it out in the near future. Any suggestions on where to go? What to look at? We're going to fly into Portland, drive down to Eugene, and then drive down to Medford & fly out. All this in about 4 days!

I know Ashland has a college, and that gives me hope. Are there cultural things to do in the Medford/Ashland area? Do bands play there? Unusual films? Nighclubs?

I was also thinking about contacting a real estate agent to check out a couple of houses while we're there (in Southern Oregon). Where should we look? We'd like to pay no more than $400K (preferably closer to $350K) & live in a safe neighborhood. I'm not obsessed with living in a liberal neighborhood (although my husband & I lean pretty far to the left), but would like to live somewhere I feel comfortable.

Again, thanks everyone for your great responses! I really really appreciate it!!

[live4kidz]

I'm new to this forum. I'm not 'new' to Oregon, however, having only lived here for 3 plus years - this time around. I am an Oregon native, born in Portland. We are pre-retirees and both still full time employed. One thing that I have not seen mentioned here is this. There is a vast difference to the 'felt' temperature, depending largely on humidity, wind factor and other variables. Low humidity is much more tolerable in low temp situations or in higher temp conditions. Example: We spent 10 yrs. in Salt Lake City. Snow Country. I dreaded the thought of my husband's transfer there thinking I would be immobilized by the climate, since we are water skiiers and boating enthusiasts and NOT snowboarders or skiiers, per se. Our Winter Blast we just had in the northwest portion of Oregon (as well as WA state) has left me feeling colder, achey-er and far less comfortable than the snow blasts we'd have in Utah. Humidity in Utah is low almost everywhere by comparison with alot of other states. We could honestly be in our shirt sleeves in 38 degrees, with 2-3 ft. of snow on the ground and full blue skies with loads of sunshine. Low humidity rules - as far as I am concerned and I am a native of western Oregon!!! So, when you are talking about temperatures, do take into consideration the humidity factor as well as the altitude and wind speeds. When we have heavy fogged in days - which are more than a little common in the western portion of both OR and WA - it might as well be raining. It is 95% plus humidity in the heavy fog that just hangs there. It is damp, wet, and it is cold! The temperature guage may say 45 or 48 but it feels much colder to many people. I had friends from Phoenix AZ visit us in Portland one summer and they froze in August. It was pouring rain for a week and between 55-59 degrees. That's not "cold" you say? Coming from low humidity and heat to rain and dampness created alot of aches and pains. These folks were in their 40's. Just something to really consider for those folks who may not understand those conditions and how it affects not only moods but physical well being. For us: We are looking at Roseburg and Klamath Falls. From what I hear, Klamath Falls is pretty self-contained and the golfing is nearly year round. We have spent a couple of days down there 3 yrs. ago, staying at the Running Y Resort there. We liked what we saw in our short stay there. This move, we are not considering kids in the mix - it will be a place where my husband and I feel better and have alot of sunshine and a place that is affordable. We also want to be as mobile as possible and feeling better in low humidity and higher altitude is what we feel the best in. It will be a 5.5 hr. drive for 3 of our adult children, but at least we'll be in the same state and there is air travel easily accessible from K Falls airport to PDX international airport. When we first moved back to the Portland area, I enrolled in gerontology classes at the local community college, in hopes of preparing myself for helping care for my 90 yr. old mother who lived in Portland. One thing I learned is that Oregon is "#1 for disabiling arthritis in the nation". That falls into the physical well being/health list of things to consider and for us, it is a big one. Good luck in your continued search.

[MzzBelle]

Originally Posted by ExNYC

Speaking of political climate, it might be helpful to know that Ashland is mostly 'blue', as is East Medford and the other areas are mostly 'red'.

If I'm wrong I'm sure my fellow Oregonians will jump in to correct me. :-D

Can you compare Roseburg to GrantsPass/Medford for political climate. Many people I question about Roseburg call it "red-neck". It sounds perfect in every other respect. any comments?
Margot

[Steve97415]

Originally Posted by live4kidz

There is a vast difference to the 'felt' temperature, depending largely on humidity, wind factor and other variables. Low humidity is much more tolerable in low temp situations or in higher temp conditions.

That is such an important factor that it needs to be highlighted. Humidex, RealFeel, the dewpoint differential...whatever you want to call it, temperatures by themselves can be very deceptive. The Willamette Valley is much milder than the Rogue River Valley, for example, in terms of thermal comparison -- summer highs are not as extreme, winter lows are not as cold; the growing season is longer. Yet many would say that southern Oregon has a better climate. The dewpoint temperatures are lower, relative humidity is lower, and the overall feeling is more of a Mediterranean climate.
If you know your plants, you can tell certain things about a climate by reading the landscaping. Rhododendrons and blueberries, for example, are very common in the Willamette Valley, but considerably less so south of Roseburg. That's an indicator of a less humid climate. Madrones are found throughout western Oregon, but are especially common in southern Oregon because they are able to compete in areas of summer drought better than many other trees...indicating a seasonally arid locale. The popularity of Bend -- which is not a mild climate by any stretch of the imagination -- shows that many people prefer cold weather that is dry, over cool weather that is damp. Reading temperature charts doesn't really tell you how comfortable you will feel in any given climate.

[Des_Demona]

That's so true about the "feel" of the temperature compared to actual temps. I'm from California so I was really worried about the winter temps in Oregon which is why I went up there in December to check it all out. I was in Eugene most of the time and there wasn't really any wind. What makes where I live cold is the freezing WIND. The wind that is cold and so powerful it rips out high rise building windows. So windy you couldn't get away with wearing a hat with a bill because it would be blasted off. The next day it could be all sunshiney and hot. I hate it here. In Oregon, it was really cold, the temps were anywhere from 28-46ish and I felt MUCH colder in California then I did in Oregon! It was the wind in CA that made me feel so cold. With no wind, the colder temps are much more tolerable. I get really bad ear infections from the cold wind that blows here and keep in mind I'm in Southern California in the LA area. It's not all about the temperature. So when you see that we're getting a 65 degree sunny day what they aren't telling you is the wind velocity or the suffocating pollution that is gagging you. I hate the dry weather in California. Personally, I can't wait for the cool humidity of Oregon!

[readymade]

Hi,
Does anyone have any info (i.e. website) on where I can research house rentals in the Grants Pass/Medford/Ashland area?

I looked in a couple of places and there's nothing.

[Clear2land]

Good Question!! If I were looking for rental information, I would go right to the classified second of newspapers in those towns.

For Grants Pass, you can look at The Daily Courier here:

http://www.thedailycourier.com/

For Medford and probably Ashland, you could take a look at the Mail Tribune here:

http://www.mailtribune.com/

The Ashland Daily Tidings, what a nice name for a newspaper, can be found here:

http://www.dailytidings.com/

Down the left side are links to the classified ads. You should be able to shop for rentals there.

Apartments can be found in phone books. Realtors are also a good source for rentals because many manage them.

Dan

[readymade]

Thanks! That's great info.
I want to come visit for a few days and check out the area. Any suggestions on where to stay? Somewhere convenient to Grants Pass/Medford/Ashland. Maybe along the river? A cabin would be fantastic. I miss the woods! (living in SoCal now)

Thanks!

Hey, is it snowing there? What's the temperature like usually at the end of Jan?

[freedom]

Nights are in the high 20's, low 30's the last few days have hit mid 50's, we are expecting some rain/snow showers on thursday, then clear again for 3-4 days? Can't really predict to much further out, that would be un-Oregonian.

Depending on how you are getting here, prepare for snow and sunshine.


freedom