1 hr. to portland airport but sunny?? (Salem, Bend: home, buy, high school)

[frogandtoad]

We are having a TOUGH time finding what we're looking for out West. We need to be within an hour of a major airport (Portland would work).

I know myself well enough to know I could not handle the weather in Portland. I've lived in that weather before and it did not work for me.

Is there anywhere within an hour of the Portland airport with a nice town, but sunnier weather, good schools? We would like to spend under $800K if possible, but can go to about $1Million if we needed to.

Either in OR or WA would be fine...and there would be no daily commute, so that doesn't need factoring in--just time to the airport.

Thank you!!!!

[scone]

The closest thing I can think of is Newberg, down in Yamhill County. It does seem to be hotter and sunnier there, possibly because it's farther from the river and it's protected from the maritime air masses to some extent. But it's not California, and the drive from Newberg to the airport is kind of a hassle. The Washington side isn't sunny at all, IMO, so that wouldn't work for you. In fact, you might want to look further inland, maybe Bend? (I think they have flight connections there.) I'd also look at Idaho-- you could get quite a spread for $800k. Good luck.

[Silverfall]

Salem is about 1 1/2 hours to the airport, and we are slightly less rainy that Portland, but our weather is not different enough to get you what you want. I think Bend and Southern Oregon are the only places weather wise that are sunnier, but it means being away from a larger airport.

I'm not sure Oregon could meet your needs.

[frogandtoad]

Thanks for the input. That's too bad--it is so beautiful. But better to know my limitations than get there and complain!

[dachmom]

What about Hood River? It's about an hour's drive east from Portland and it's easy to get to the airport from I-84. Check it out, it is sunnier than Portland because it's east of the cascade mountain range. It's a beautiful area and you should definitely be able to find a home in your price range. It is a small town so there are not a lot of family wage jobs there.

[Smiled]

Yes, I'd say the Gorge/Hood River is a decent bet. But truthfully, it's even cloudy there when it's not raining; they get some snow, and when I-84 ices up (1-2x a year) it's not possible to get to the airport. Housing prices are pretty much in Portland range, unless you go out to the Dalles (drier, hotter country).

[StealthRabbit]

I vote the Gorge too, since you asked for sun. You could go to Moiser (~ 10 mi east of Hood River) It gets much drier as you get a mile or two east of HR.

We can't make WA recommendations on the OR forum (advertising ) so, get yourself a map and look across the river from HR and Mosier. Some of us drive across the river several times / day so they seem like the same to us. And we support businesses and pay taxes on each side. (and pay lots of tolls... collected each direction) Check the WA forum for a recent post about a town 30 mi due north of HR, then do some research on their schools.

[Arf Arf]

The Dalles is what you're looking for. It's starting to get discovered, but prices are very cheap. Eight hundred thousand will buy you the county practically.

[dachmom]

The Dalles is pushing it if you want to stay within an hours drive to PDX (Portland airport). Discovered by who? Retirees?

[StealthRabbit]

The Dalles (Wasco County) has higher tax rate than HR, but values are lower. It does have A Community College which can be a real asset for adult continuing education and options for high school / post HS. + it often brings in industry (it has a free bridge to WA.. !!,). HR is quite land locked with the Scenic Area + National Forest holdings surrounding city, but it is still preferable for most AND within 1 hr of PDX. Mosier might stretch 1Hr without traffic, but The Dalles will be closer to 1.5 Hrs from PDX