Looking for a slower paced family life....

[PNW-type-gal]

Since we don't know what "too much rain" is, it's hard to answer. the geography of Oregon is quite a bit different - there is the northern coast, which is a narrow strip between the Coast Range Mountains and the sea, the Southern Coast, where the mountains pretty much come right to the sea. The Willamette Valley is just east of the northern section of the Coast Range. There aren't really any towns in the Coast Range (just in the foothills). So your choice would be to live on the cool, wet coast or in the Willamette Valley, where you'd be 40-80 miles from the coast. Or south of the Willamette Valley, in Southern Oregon.

You won't find a Southern California climate anywhere in Oregon. Southern Oregon, along the I-5 corridor (Grant's Pass to Ashland) is probably the closest. I live on the east side of the Cascades, where we are in what's called the high (about 4,000 feet) desert - not cactus-style desert, but Ponderosa Pine forest, sage, juniper and scrub. We do get snow in the winter, and it sticks on the ground (right now we have close to 2 feet, but it's part of an unusually strong winter storm that's hit all the northern states hard - the same one that cause snow in Las Vegas and 2 foot of snow in Victorville).

But you have to know you'd be relocating in the teeth of a recession - very hard to get a business going, especially when you are competing with established businesses who have word-of-mouth going for them. Economy-wise, Oregon generally lags the rest of the country, meaning it takes us longer to come out of recessions.

The point is not to discourage you from coming, but you say your current income is six figures - it's not going to be that here, it's probably not even going to be close. Unless you have money saved up to start the business and get through some lean times, your husband is most likely go to have to go to work for someone else, and he'll make an installer's wage.

[oldhippie]

Check out Central Point, OR (near Medford). I have family there and they love it. The schools are very good. Real Estate was pretty high but I think the prices are starting to come down. I think jobs are going to be an issue in most areas of the state.

[BendOregon]

Bend sounds like a great fit for you. Its 1/2 hour away from a Mt. Bachelor Ski Resort and gets about 300 sunny days a year. I've sold a few homes to clients from the LA area and they all love it here. The winters can get cold, but it usually doesn't last long.