Wine Country Living? (Portland, McMinnville, Newberg: sales, hotel, new home)

[Mike1956]

My wife and I are traveling to McMinnville in Feb to look at property.

We are 40-50 something and childless. I am a semi-pro musician and technical writer. I will be able to keep my job and work remotely.

We both love wine country. The combination of an agrarian community with an appreciation of the finer things in life is really compelling.

We are coming from So Cal and would like to live in a smaller community but still have access to the big city when we want to travel or catch some good music.

McMinnville seems like an obvious candidate. It's about the right size and we seem to be able to afford housing.

Any other candidates that I may have missed?

Thanks in advance.

PS- Anyone know about the music scene in the valley? I'm not a classical musician, but I play nearly every other style. I'm a big fan of bluegrass, americana and old school R&B. A city with a good music scene would be a big plus.

[Silverfall]

We have a lot of wine and music events here as well as many small town festivals that have music at them. I don't think I would qualify any of our small towns as having a good music scene. Not that we don't have some good local music, but you know what I mean...

If you want to be in wine country Yamhill county is the center of that. You may also want to take a look at Silverton or Forest Grove, but McMinnville sounds like a good choice for you.

[Metlakatla]

McMinnville is perfect. It's an absolutely beautiful area and close enough to Portland to be able to go in often. Portland has a pretty good music scene.

There are a lot of small wineries around the area--many of them host music events. One of my favorites:

Welcome to Mystic Wines

[BeaverState]

Look at Newberg, too. It's slightly closer to Portland, a little smaller, but similar to McMinnville in a lot of ways. The downtown is not as cute as Mac's, but there are some nice neighborhoods, and vineyards are closer to town. There is not much of a music scene in these small towns, but as another poster said, it's not far to Portland. Newberg and Mac both have colleges, but they are small and don't bring in much entertainment.

[kimhamblin]

Hi Mike,

McMinnville sounds like it meets most of your criteria. Of all the bigger towns in the county, Mac (slang for McMinnville) is the cutest and has the most charm.

If you like Pinot, this is your new home! Willamete Valley Wineries Association has maps and great info on local wineries. Also, a the Yamhill Valley Visitor's Association has tons of valuable information.

I know some musicians in the valley that play loosely in bands at bars, etc. It's not necessarily a great money maker, but there is a demand for new music. My good friends own the Wildwood Hotel in Willamina and are always looking for good music for gigs, also they have a jam night on Fridays. I've heard there is a great jam night in Dallas- old school country/bluegrass style with fiddles once a month, but I'm not sure where... If you google "McMinnville bluegrass" you'll get a snipet of the local scene. I know McMenamin's Hotel Oregon (http://mcmenamins.com/index.php?loc=7 - broken link) has live music. Also, the Oregon Bluegrass Association might be a good resource. Portland has a great music scene, but our scene here has potential for improvement and is very well received!

The average price of homes is about $220,000 and the market here is steady. Prices have fallen about 5% and the amount of sales are down. It is a great time to buy with all of the inventory on the market. Email me if you have any questions or if I can help.

[RogueRiverRat]

What Kim said. Mac rocks, and the folks that run the town flat out look for reasons to shut down the streets to vehicles so they can throw parties. Very, very nice folks on the whole as far as the West Coast is concerned. Old town Mac truly is the city's pulse.

Also, Mac has some awesome Italian food and Tai ... and if you visit, ask where the Tai wagon (think SoCal taco wago) is located and get there before 12:30. Wildwood Cafe also serves the best darn breakfast in that region of the country.

And if you go to Hotel Oregon, ask to go up to the roof AND to the cellar for a few Rubinators.

[KarlaT2]

How are the schools (middle and high) in Mac? It sounds like a cool town. I didn't make it out there when I visited last summer.

[KarlaT2]

Originally Posted by BeaverState

Look at Newberg, too. It's slightly closer to Portland, a little smaller, but similar to McMinnville in a lot of ways. The downtown is not as cute as Mac's, but there are some nice neighborhoods, and vineyards are closer to town. There is not much of a music scene in these small towns, but as another poster said, it's not far to Portland. Newberg and Mac both have colleges, but they are small and don't bring in much entertainment.

What is the college in Newberg? I didn't know there was one.

[Metlakatla]

George Fox University:

George Fox University - Oregon's Christian University Since 1891

[RogueRiverRat]

Originally Posted by KarlaT2

What is the college in Newberg? I didn't know there was one.

If I could send my children to one college in the state, it would be Linfield in Mac. GF is a good college, but it "ain't no" Linfield.