Moving to Oregon from Florida (Portland, Eugene: low crime, job market, safe area)

[LoveSarah]

Hi
I currently live in Melbourne Florida. It's off the east coast right by the beach. It is a boring town with nothing to do and a lot of traffic and old people. Most of the people I went to High School with that have stayed in the area are now into drugs. Sometimes I don't blame them because there really is nothing better to do! Plus the job market is dwindling and it is very expensive to live here. Living pay check to pay check is just killing us!

So, I have conviced my fiance to move to Oregon where most of his family lives. His mom lives in Roseburg and the rest live in the Eugene or Portland area. I have been up there twice for vacations, and I LOVED it. (Especially Portland!) We went all over Oregon, and I'm sure it is different to live there then it is to visit (as it is with every place.) We are going up in November to look around and plan to move at the end of March 2009.

So what area's should we check out to live? We are open to any suggestions, though I do believe my fiance would like to stay closer to his mom if we could. We are both in college, so we need to be close to a good school, and we both need an area that is a little more exciting. I would like an area that had fun things to do besides night clubs and the like, since we aren't really into the heavy drinking / partying scene. We would like to be in a safe area (who doesn't) but it needs to be affordable. (Obviously we don't have a very big income since we are college students.) Any information you could give me would be great. Positive and negative feedback would be nice so I could have a better perspective of what it will be like to live in Oregon. (Besides cold!)

Thanks!
-Sarah

[coosbaytv]

LoveSarah:

from what you described, I would have to say that your best bet would be Eugene or a suburb (University of Oregon) area. If you are interested in Jr college, I think Lane Community College has a good connection to U of O.

Portland would also be a good fit as you already mentioned however cost of living can be high (look into Vancouver WA across the river).

All in all, Eugene is about an hour from Roseburg although I don't see you being happy in Roseburg from what you described.

Most importantly, stay on I-5 in the valley between Eugene and Portland. The rest of the state is accessible from there.

[Leisesturm]

I don't believe safety in Oregon is that much of an issue. In any case safety AND inexpensive are usually mutually exclusive. One has to compromise. Not neccessarily with safety but certainly with aesthetics. This is very individual so it really pays to look around for yourself. I did not go to college so I am maybe ignorant on this but can one simply pick out a good school and show up with money in hand or is there a vetting process by which one gains acceptance? For me I would need the o.p. to define "exciting things". And "cold" isn't what people usually say about Oregon, well not the I-5 corridor its "wet", "gray" or "cloudy". Someone from FL might think its cold but it really isn't that brutally cold. I have to agree it probably isn't Roseburg but it probably isn't Eugene either. Eugene doesn't sound all that different from Melbourne, just different geography and definitely different weather. Portland at least would be different socially.

H

[tigand]

i am born and raised from orlando florida and i cant bear living in eugene oregon. oregon is the complete opposite of florida both climate wise and culturally. its freezing and it will rain for days on end. also there is no sunlight. that has been the hardest part. it gives me really low energy and depression feelings but im taking vitamin d now and thats helping. the people are mostly either redneck or militant hippies (meaning they will get in your bisness and tell you how to live). there is absolutely no diversity. everyone is white. unless you are in portland there is just a little bit of diversity there. i feel like women out here dont get treated as equal to men and other girl friends of mine from the east coast have said the same thing as well. people drive slow, talk slow, walk slow and do everything slower so if you like to get a lot done in a day it probly wont happen out here. also expect complete strangers to wanna talk to you about their feelings. they even talk about feelings on news shows and in the newspaper. people are very thin skinned here (meaning they get offended and feelings hurt easily) and so everyone beats around the bush about everything. people say things they dont really mean and dont say what they really think if they think it wont be perceived well i.e. everyone is overly P.C. Ok as for positives: it is incredibly beautiful out here when the sun does actually come out and it is very very low crime. if you like doing outdoor adventure, pretty much everyone else here does too so at least you will have that in common. i dont know if this is a positive or negative but everyone (except people from california) drives 10 miles below the speed limit at all times

[BPLive]

Originally Posted by tigand

i am born and raised from orlando florida and i cant bear living in eugene oregon. oregon is the complete opposite of florida both climate wise and culturally. its freezing and it will rain for days on end. also there is no sunlight. that has been the hardest part. it gives me really low energy and depression feelings but im taking vitamin d now and thats helping. the people are mostly either redneck or militant hippies (meaning they will get in your bisness and tell you how to live). there is absolutely no diversity. everyone is white. unless you are in portland there is just a little bit of diversity there. i feel like women out here dont get treated as equal to men and other girl friends of mine from the east coast have said the same thing as well. people drive slow, talk slow, walk slow and do everything slower so if you like to get a lot done in a day it probly wont happen out here. also expect complete strangers to wanna talk to you about their feelings. they even talk about feelings on news shows and in the newspaper. people are very thin skinned here (meaning they get offended and feelings hurt easily) and so everyone beats around the bush about everything. people say things they dont really mean and dont say what they really think if they think it wont be perceived well i.e. everyone is overly P.C. Ok as for positives: it is incredibly beautiful out here when the sun does actually come out and it is very very low crime. if you like doing outdoor adventure, pretty much everyone else here does too so at least you will have that in common. i dont know if this is a positive or negative but everyone (except people from california) drives 10 miles below the speed limit at all times

Slow talkers..... I scratched that into my pad now too. I learned something new again today ... thhhhhhaaaaaattttsssss hoooooooooooot.

[TaDaBing]

What you are talking about is strictly in and around the Eugene area. I have spent a lot of time down in Eugene but work and go to school in Portland and it is very much fast paced. Eugene is a very slowwww city compared to more up North. There is also a lot of diversity especially around the Portland area anybody can tell you. Eugene is cool when you like hippies and drugs. Other then that there is a lot more that this area has to offer. Oregon is a beautiful state much like Florida.

[rhodan653]

Originally Posted by TaDaBing

What you are talking about is strictly in and around the Eugene area. I have spent a lot of time down in Eugene but work and go to school in Portland and it is very much fast paced. Eugene is a very slowwww city compared to more up North. There is also a lot of diversity especially around the Portland area anybody can tell you. Eugene is cool when you like hippies and drugs. Other then that there is a lot more that this area has to offer. Oregon is a beautiful state much like Florida.

Sorry, I totally disagree with Portland being described as "fast paced". Maybe compared to Eugene but then you might as well be describing very slow compared to stop. Compared to the east coast and even the mid-west Portland moves very slow and is very laid back. Most people, even professionals, have much more of a focus on work-life balance. Finding people on the freeway that drive more than 5 or 10 mph over the speed limit is fairly rare even in rush hour - more likely people are driving 5 mph under. It's like everyone is on valium and are kind of oblivious to what is going on around them...sometimes I suspect it is in the water....

Portland is also one of the least diverse major metro areas, it is documented fact. I do not think Portland actively encourages that fact but it is what it is.

Portland (and Oregon as a whole) is truly beautiful and it is far more enjoyable to drive yourself downtown in Portland than it is in say, Boston, which is an auto deathmatch when you are on the roads.