Sick of CA please help Eugene or Portland? (Corvallis, Grants Pass: fit in, house)

[MrsBrianO]

My husband and I have been researching areas to move to we are living in San Diego and it is beautiful but people here seem to be so fake and vapid. We have visited Portland and liked it also lived in Seattle for a short bit so we know about the weather we get it. We have been reading about Eugene and it seems very hippie which we love and we wonder maybe it would be nice living in a smaller community, maybe get to meet some real friends and things like that. We are an interracial couple I am black he's white, Pagan, vegetarian and we have two daughters 8 and 2. Does anyone have any insight I would really appreciate some info, areas to avoid, would we be comfortable, what is better about either city stuff like that. Also, do people in OR dislike when Californians move up there?

[FVWinters]

Originally Posted by MrsBrianO

....Also, do people in OR dislike when Californians move up there?

I don't live in either place but have spent considerable time in both. I can only answer your last question with any confidence:

That depends on the Californian. The sense I get from your post is that you are adverse to the same types of people some of us here in Oregon find so frustrating when they move here. This isn't limited to Californians. You will be moving to a different environment and that means the culture will be a little different. Some have a hard time adjusting to that; it doesn't sound like you will. You and yours should do just fine.

Now for the "aw shucks".....Unemployment has passed 12 percent to make Oregon second only to Michigan as the worst for job outlook in the nation. I hope you either have independant income, work in health care, can telecommute or have a job already lined up. Otherwise you will have an easier time tying a bolt of lightning into a knot than finding work here at this time.

[Smiled]

You'd probably fit in just fine in Portland, Corvallis, Eugene, or Ashland. Elsewhere, you'd be trading vapid and fake (I know what you mean, people are superficially friendly) for redneck (though that's not all bad). 1/2 the people in OR are from CA.

The big part right now is finding work, and it doesn't pay as well as SD. Housing has tended to be expensive, though this is changing. Example: Bought a tract house in 1994 for $125K (about $90 a SF). The market peaked with that place at about $280K; I'm guessing it would sell for $240K now, but probably $200-210 a year from now.

[Silverfall]

Honestly either sounds right up your alley. If you like hippie Eugene is probably a better bet.

I also disagree with Smiled that everywhere else besides those cities is redneck. Silverton, OR has a transgender mayor...not exactly redneckville.

[backdrifter]

Originally Posted by Silverfall

Honestly either sounds right up your alley. If you like hippie Eugene is probably a better bet.

I also disagree with Smiled that everywhere else besides those cities is redneck. Silverton, OR has a transgender mayor...not exactly redneckville.

Agreed. Not everywhere else is a redneck podunk town. Silverton, for one. Grants Pass (where I live), for another, is not a liberal mecca, but it is waaay more middle of the road than people make it out to be, with organic grocery stores that people I know from Ashland (a supposedly very progressive town, but less than it's made out to be) come to shop at, the largest outdoor farmer's market in the state, a couple of really great metaphysical bookstores, closeness to various communes including a faerie commune where they celebrate the pagan festivals (I am not pagan, but may go there to celebrate Beltane soon with friends), a fair trade gift store downtown, etc.

That being said, being pagan, you'd probably find the biggest community in Ashland or Portland. I know the community must exist in Eugene, but I haven't spent enough time there to know about it. Parts of Portland, particularly Southeast, are a dead ringer for Eugene in the hippiness department, although it is often a bit more hipster in Portland than genuinely hippie. Being an interacial couple should not be a problem anywhere in the state, even "redneck" towns. If you look like a hippie, with tattoos and dreads and such, then you may get looks in the small "redneck" towns for that, if anything. But not for being an interacial couple.

Generally, many, if not most Oregonians don't care about Californians moving here. Many of them, as others have said, are former Californians themselves. The others may not like "all those Californians" moving here, but that doesn't mean they won't like you, especially once they get to know you, and people aren't going to be rude or unfriendly to you just because you're from California, as long as you are friendly and respectful back, which goes without saying as true in 99% of situations anywhere.

As for what others have said about the unemployment situation... It's true. It's really bad all over the state, and probably the lowest in Portland at 10.X%. Not sure of the exact rates in Lane County (Eugene) or Jackson County (Ashland), but I know they're worse than Portland.

Wish you guys the best of luck with your search!

[haggardhouseelf]

I think either town would be great. We are in Eugene and we see interracial couples quite often. It's a very tolerant and educated town. Lots of people who practice nature-based spiritual paths as well. Embracing diversity and being kind and respectful is something that is stressed in all the public schools. We have experienced first hand at the middle school and elementary school levels how bullying and "put-down" type behaviors are not tolerated, and are swiftly dealt with when they do occur. Portland is a great town, too. It's just a bigger and even more progressive Eugene, with even more to offer it's residents. Personally I think Eugene is perfect for raising a family. It's the perfect size - not too big, not too small - and has some really wonderful recreational opportunities, many of them offered free to residents during the summer. We have a beautiful new library and lots of music and arts and dance and theater opportunities. Community gardens, natural food co-ops, the Saturday Market the bike trails the hiking trails the wildlife areas... an hour to the coast... a bus ride to ski slopes... lots of great things here in this little often overlooked town. When my husband and I decided to move here, people couldn't understand why. At first glance it looks like a little nothing podunk stop-over town on the 5... but the longer we've stayed here, the more surprises we keep finding. The Hult Center, the planetarium, Mount Pisgah, the bike trail, art museums, the university, the vineyards, the chocolateries, the locally-grown food, great little bookstores... and on and on... this little town is really quite impressive, but unassumingly so. We love it. Good luck with your search!

[ordinaryradical113]

i am from the Los Angeles area in California, and I moved to Newberg, which is close by Portland. I LOVE it and everyone is really friendly, and don't mind at all that I moved here. I highly recommend it if you like greener scenery, cool weather, and rain. :]