Best City in Southern Oregon? (Portland, Eugene: real estate, low crime, new home)

[cathyv]

My Husband and I wish to retire in Southern Oregon. We have lived our entire adult life in Hawaii but can't aford to retire here. We love Ashland but find the real estate too expensive. We love golf, warm climate and trees. Where is the best weather, nice but reasonably priced homes, with at least few trees.
We do not mind hot summers but really do not care for cold and wind, even 10degrees matters. What are the poor towns, or sections of towns that may have more crime or drugs? What area is more preferred: Eagle Point, Applegate, Jacksonville, Ruch? Does Grants Pass have cooler winters?
What areas expect to have the best property investments in the next few years?

Any information you may wish to share will be turely appriciated.
Aloha

[Flylooper]

Originally Posted by cathyv

My Husband and I wish to retire in Southern Oregon. We have lived our entire adult life in Hawaii but can't aford to retire here. We love Ashland but find the real estate too expensive. We love golf, warm climate and trees. Where is the best weather, nice but reasonably priced homes, with at least few trees.
We do not mind hot summers but really do not care for cold and wind, even 10degrees matters. What are the poor towns, or sections of towns that may have more crime or drugs? What area is more preferred: Eagle Point, Applegate, Jacksonville, Ruch? Does Grants Pass have cooler winters?
What areas expect to have the best property investments in the next few years?

Any information you may wish to share will be turely appriciated.
Aloha

No question that Ashland gets all the ink in terms of desireability. I would think that from an investment perspective, the closer you are to that town the better off you are if you want appreciation of value. Therefore, Medford, Talent, and Central Point would be good places to look. I buddy of mine just moved to Medford from New Orleans and loves it there.

Weather-wise, it can get cold there. It's elevated and snow is not uncommon there. Not a lot of it, but it happens. I've been stuck in Ashland trying to get over the hill into California twice in the last 5 years after they've shut down the interstate. Same with the Rogue Valley and Grants Pass.

[Clear2land]

Hi Cathy:

Roseburg, Grants Pass, and Medford are three areas that come to mind for your consideration. Of those three, Roseburg has the best weather and every other amenity of the other two. Low temperatures summer and winter tend to be the highest of the three and highs tend to be a bit cooler in summer than the other two. The economy of all three is good. Retirees are moving to all three areas with Grants Pass and Roseburg maybe number one and two. If you like mountains, Roseburg and Grants Pass provide plenty of viewing. I would have to say Roseburg has more homes on mountainsides than Grants Pass. You would like Ashland if it were not so expensive but the altitude there keeps temperatures cooler. The west side of Roseburg is most picturesque. I think Merlin is a great suburb of Grants Pass with homes built in the forest itself. If you are looking for green, Grants Pass is your best choice. If you like rivers, you can live anywhere in Oregon. Every city seems to have sprung up around its rivers. The economy of all three areas is good. Property taxes seem to be a bit lower around Grants Pass. Southern Oregon has less rainfall than further north. The closest commercial airport to Roseburg is Eugene. The closest commercial airport for Grants Pass is Medford. You can get more home for your money in Roseburg. You will drink some of the best water you ever tasted right out of the tap in all of Oregon. Both Grants Pass and Roseburg are of similar size. I grew up in Roseburg and lived in Salem and Portland. Of the three, I liked Roseburg best because of the weather and the mountains. It was Roseburg that gave me my love of mountains. I have pictures of both areas and would be happy to share them with you. All you have to do is send me a private email with your web address.

Good Luck in your search!

Dan

[freedom]

CathyV,

Good timing on Southern Oregon. There are new tract homes in the mid 200's, country properties in the 300's. The market breather and mortagage rates have really adjusted to a more practical level.
I'm in Grants Pass. It is a great town, very family oriented. If I remember correctly we are 35% retired, if this is wrong I am sure someone will correct me.
Building industry has surpassed the lumber mill and most all other employment sectors. There are plenty of new homes and subdivisions still going strong, unemployment is holding under 6% last time I looked.
For affordable square footage and pine tree settings the selma, cave junction area is growing pretty well, it has been known for hippy communes in the past, forunately that is changing, it is slowly becoming an affordable option to those that can't afford GP.

Have fun finding your place.

freedom

[Steve97415]

Everyone would like to have paradise on a budget. But realize how supply and demand will affect market prices. The very things you are looking for: climate, scenic beauty, low crime, nice houses, etc...are appealing to EVERYONE. So a place that has all these nice attributes will be attractive, meaning that the demand will be high. That means it will be less affordable. If affordability constrains your choices, you'll have to decide which negatives are ones you can most easily live with: winter fog? summer fog? high summer heat? high winter rainfall? a part of town with lots of ramshackle houses? shakey investment potential? being remote from city services? questionable neighbors? You can't have it all; you'll have to make some compromises and that's something that's difficult for others to help you with.

[ExNYC]

Cathy, we just went through this when moving to Ashland from SoCal. If you can't get into Ashland (which I would highly recommend you do your best to manage) then try East Medford. Talent is a possibility. You really should visit and get a handle on the area. We felt the same way you did but when we came here realized that Ashland suited us best. So our house isn't as glam as it would have been if we'd moved to another town. You get what you pay for.

No offense to denizens of other towns, but as a relo Ashland is a good bet.

[Steve97415]

Originally Posted by ExNYC

No offense to denizens of other towns, but as a relo Ashland is a good bet.

Ashland, by the way, has ALWAYS been relatively expensive compared to other southern Oregon markets...at least back to the 70's. But it has generally been a stable and sought-after RE market free from boom and bust cycles. I won't say "you can't go wrong" -- we're in a deflationary stage of an overvalued market nationwide -- but the Ashland RE market has had a good history of investment performance over the past 30 years, and I think the level of investment risk there is the lowest in southern Oregon, despite the higher penalty for getting in.

[LivingLikeAGradStudent]

Ashland is terrific, but it's costly. Roseburg is much more of a cowtown than anything from Grants Pass south. Grants Pass has a charming downtown, but it doesn't have a great deal of new housing. Medford is growing in many directions and has the region's airport. North Medford is the better of the two high schools. Eagle Point has a lot of golf-course development and might be a good fit, if a little more isolated.

[cathyv]

Thank you to all whom responded. This is great information!
My husband's main interest is golf. My main concern is to stay in the warmest area. Does anyone know about Myrtle Creek, Applegate or Jacksonville. I am aware of the Eagle Point golf community so that is definaltey one option. I am still open to Ashland but now it looks like it may be the coolest temp in the winter in comparrison to the othet areas mentioned.

I am so happy to see so many responses, thanks again!

[RodFarlee]

Originally Posted by cathyv

My husband's main interest is golf. My main concern is to stay in the warmest area. Does anyone know about Myrtle Creek, Applegate or Jacksonville. I am aware of the Eagle Point golf community so that is definaltey one option. I am still open to Ashland but now it looks like it may be the coolest temp in the winter in comparrison to the othet areas mentioned...

These areas don't have a significant temperature difference, perhaps not enough to be decisive between them.

Ashland
elevation 1750' MSL
average January hi/low 47/30 F
average year hi/low 65/39 F
average growing season 151 days between frosts

Medford
elevation 1300' MSL
average January hi/low 46/31 F
average year hi/low 67/41 F
average growing season 165 days

Grants Pass
elevation 930' MSL
average January hi/low 47/33 F
average year hi/low 68/41 F
average growing season 162 days

Ref: Western Regional Climate Center, 1970-2000 averages. Is this area is as warm as you want?

Jacksonville is an extremely neat town, like a small, quieter version of an Ashland long past, but alas is almost as expensive as Ashland.

Applegate is just a rural crossroads (but it's a gorgeous valley; that's my favorite spot but one would probably have to find land and build, because there's not many homes to buy there).

You might also look at Shady Cove.

None of these have golf courses, but they're all within 15 miles of a golf course, in either Eagle Point or Grants Pass. Best wishes finding what you seek!