Looking for a slower paced family life.... (Portland, Eugene: for sale, low crime)

[schamonin]

My husband and I like in Los Angeles (Torrance) We have four children, and our own business. We are tired of paying a $4,000.00 monthly mortgage payment, and dealing with things like gangs, traffic, 200 sq. foot back yard, the crazy rat race life that we had created. I would really appreciate opinions from people who have made the move, or live in Oregon. The reason I am looking at Oregon, is that is is still close to Cali, where my family is, and I refuse to live in the desert (AZ. NV, TX)
This is what we're looking for:

Slower pace, more space, community feeling, low crime & drug rate, good schools. Ocean (currently we are approx 5 min. from the Beach), or even a large lake, not too much rain, but snow is great, a good neighborhood, with educated people. We are in the Heating & A/C business currently in the six figure income level, which I do not care about losing if the quality of life is better. Decent job market, we are willing to work for someone, or move our business.

Our current home value is 800K, so we do have approx. 200K in equity, we would like to purchase our home with at least 50% down.
My concern is, I have no idea how much money we are able to make in Oregon, we have both lived in Cali pretty much our whole life. I am scared to make the move, but I feel more scared staying in a gang infested city.

Please give me your honest opinions if I am being realistic, or if my head is in the clouds.

Also, I should add, my husband is Hispanic, I do not want to move somewhere where there is prejudice against my family, I could not handle that.
Thank you so much

[Arf Arf]

Schamonin: First off, the hispanic thing. As long as your husband is legal, there shouldn't be any problem. Please bear in mind, though, that prejudice exists EVERYWHERE.

If you don't want lots of rain, you might want to re-think Oregon west of the Cascades. Rains gradually start in late September/early October. They are at their peak in January, February. Mind you, it doesn't rain every minute of every day. However, you can go days or weeks with little sun That's something that many ex-Californians find hard to take. However, if you stick it out for the glorious spring/summer/fall, you'll understand why we love it.

I would look at, considering your requirements, Jackson County in Southern Oregon (Medford, Ashland, Central Point, Eagle Point, etc.); Josephine County in Southern Oregon (Grants Pass); possibly Douglas County (Roseburg, Winston, Sutherlin) also in Southern Oregon.

Perhaps Central Oregon--Klamath County (Klamath Falls) in South Central Oregon; Deschutes County (Bend, Redmond) or Prineville in Central Oregon. Or The Dalles in North Central Oregon along the Columbia River.

The Willamette Valley is an hour from the ocean and gets more rain than you probably want. Southern and Central Oregon get much less rain. Nevertheless, in the Valley, check out Silverton, Sherwood, Wilsonville, Canby, Dallas, Monmouth, Cottage Grove, Veneta. Larger communities would be Corvallis, Albany, McMinnville, Newberg. Mind you, I'm taking large/small from an Oregon perspective. I know that in L.A. county, suburbs can be a quarter million people. I used to live in Orange County so I know what you're going through.

Good luck. If you have more questions, just ask. Welcome to Oregon!!!!

There are very few large cities near the Oregon Coast so you might find it difficult starting up a business near there. The largest population concentration on the Coast has 26,000 residents (Coos Bay/North Bend).

[schamonin]

Thank you for you input! And yes, my husband was born here, legal, educated, and wants the same things in life I do. A better place to raise our children. Out of all the cities you mention, if you had to chose one for us, taking into cosideration all aspects of my current lifestyle, (specifically job market) which (1) would you choose?

Thank you

[Silverfall]

Of the ones Arf Arf mentioned, Silverton puts you close to Salem for jobs. Silverton only has 9,000 people mind you. Coming from LA, pretty much everything we have is small and slow paced out here.

You need to decide how slow paced you want to be.

Our Ocean is not like CA. We call it the coast. The water is not warm, and people don't typically sunbathe on the beaches like CA. It can be cool on the coast even in summer.

I would also consider South or West Salem and Keizer, OR. More job opportunities for you since Salem is a larger city.

[esya]

For a family heating and AC business, I think coastal Oregon is a strange choice, because it has one of the most moderate ranges of temperatures in the US. For your business to do well you have to either have extreme summer heat or extreme winter cold or both. The coast in Oregon does not really have either. Look at the houses for sale to see what sort of systems are in the housing...and whether you can count on new installs alone.

[nephthys]

I'd recommend Astoria, Eugene, Salem, or outside of Portland, like Hillsboro or something.

[Arf Arf]

I agree on living at the Coast. With an AC business, you're not going to get a lot of work. You'd get a lot of heating work, though!!

If I had to choose? Egad, so many wonderful little places. I was born in Silverton and now live in Salem. In the past ten years Silverton has re-emerged as this artist's enclave with trendy shops, bistros, etc. There's always something going on, especially in the summer. You're away from the hustle and bustle.

I LOVE BEND. Too pricey, though. If I had the money, I'd live there. I went to high school in Canby--excellent school district.

Guess I'm gonna have to side with Silverfall and say Silverton.

[jdland]

Reading through the replies to your request I would have to suggest Southern Oregon. I agree that the coast is not a good place for an AC company. Northern Oregon rains a lot though. Medford area is very dry and hot--probably better for your business and your desires for a dry climate. You would still have the amenities you are used to in a bigger cities, but without the crime rate. We are from Roseburg up farther North, but have visited areas on the I-5 corridor extensively and along the coast. Good luck with your decision.

[bluebird39]

I was thinking along the same lines as a few others that AC/heat buisiness would nto do well along the coast. I lived In S Oregon, adn you'll find plenty of ex-LAers there. It has a sizable, adn growing hispanic population too, and gets very hot in the summer, and colder in the winter. I also lived in the high dessert for a while, and used heat a lot, but people rarely had AC's.

I'd be careful of where you look with schools though. One reason we left was that the schools were getting bad, but many people send their kids to private schools. From what I've heard, tuition is far less in Medford than many places. I couldn't afford it though.

With that much equity, you should have no problem finding something there too.

S Oregon is over an hour away from the ocean. The Ocean is totally different in Oregon than it is in S CA. People don't generally swim in it or bask in the sun. It's more a place for storm watching and beach combing. There's plenty of places to raft and hike though.

Good luck.

[TedH71]

What's wrong with Texas? It's not desert! Some parts of it is, but the vast majority of it isn't. East Texas is a virtual wetland. Central Texas is a mix. South Texas is mostly hispanic with a lot of Spanish speakers. West Texas is a mix of dry desert with semi-desert areas. North Texas tends to get some snow every 5-7 years. Panhandle and West Texas tends to get snow every year. My favorite town is and still is Austin. A/C and heat businesses do very well in Texas. It irriates me that people think Texas is a desert or people still ride horses, etc. Do your research.