I'm Tired of Obsessing Over This - I need help! Considering Big Move to Oregon from MO. Portland Area or Southern Oregon (Medford: real estate, homes)

[ak.nessa]

Roseburg is near a town called Winston and they have a wildlife safari there! Very cool. I've been there many times...

[thehamster]

Culturally and politically, Ashland sounds like a good fit for you and your boyfriend. And the climate is far, far better than Portland's. As for housing, it isn't cheap in Portland either.

[thehamster]

"If you want quite a bit of sunshine and don't mind the cold in winter, you might seriously consider Bend"

I've lived in Bend for 24 years and trust me, it isn't as sunny as the Chamber of Commerce wants you to believe. Take a look at the charts for sunshine in Bend and Portland on this site and you won't see much difference.

Storms roll in from the Pacific, the clouds dump rain west of the Cascades and snow on the Cascades, and then are mostly dry by the time they reach Eastern Oregon. So we don't get as much precipitation but we still get the clouds.

Bend is mostly cold, gray and dreary in the winter, and the winters are eight months long (mid-October to mid-June). So if climate is a concern to you at all, I would recommend Ashland / Medford over Bend by a mile. My wife and I are looking forward to retiring in that area.

BTW housing is much cheaper in Medford than in Ashland.

[brandyrun]

Great information from everyone! My husband and I are doing lots of cosmetic work on our home and it's going on the market in Spring. This all depends on the status of his job transfer of course. Seems like Central to Southern Oregon would be my best fit. We of course did not travel further south than Sweet Home / Brownsville area. Loved that area. Looks like all the vineyards just west of Salem would need lots of sunshine to me? It is beautiful there!!!
I hope one day within the year I'll be posting from my home in Oregon!!!!!!!!!!!! Instead of Missouri.
Cheers everyone for your input~ (looks like I'll have to make another trip to southern Oregon soon!) hehe....any excuse!

[JMWS]

Also you might think about exploring neighborhoods in Portland that function like small towns. Multnomah Village, Sellwood, and others have the feel of smaller towns but you are close to entertainment and jobs and don't have to spend an hour of your day commuting. SAD is an issue in all of Oregon, I think, because its location on globe makes it have major differences in daylight between summer and winter. Light therapy sometimes helps.

[Melissa E]

Originally Posted by Caralyn

Hey did you ever move? Silverton/ Mount Angel would be right up your alley!!

Nope didn't yet cause we got stuck in a lease, however we found out we may be able to get someone to take our lease, so we are again looking and thinking of a move in December . Scary to come alllll allllone from MO, just me and Mike, but it would be an adventure. Looks like there are more nursing jobs posting places ... so we're researching. Today I'm looking into Sherwood a little...Silverton did seem cool when I looked into it before. I think I'll check it out again!

[Melissa E]

Originally Posted by brandyrun

To CJ Friedman;
My hubby and I are doing the exact same thing. Kids grew up and left us! THE NERVE! We went on a trip and stayed with a friend and 'fell in love' with Oregon. Actively looking for a place now. The people there were so very very NICE. I loved the rich, lush forest and moisture.
To: Melissa E;
We to are from MO and very tired of the weather extremes here. Born and raised here. Did you move yet? We are Oregon bound ourselves~ I have SAD but will be taking steps to ward it off. Have planned for this. I to have never felt comfortable here in MO. AT ALL. good luck my dear!

Bradyrun - I've never felt real at home here either, it's weird. I just feel this isn't my home or something? Strange ... I'll be so sad to leave my family, but we are moving to Oregon! It's just a matter of when. When are you moving?? What part of MO are you from? Have we wrote before? I get everyones name mixed up on here a lot. Email me directly if you want!

[Melissa E]

Originally Posted by White Mountain

Well, count my wife and I in as well.
This thread has many great post in it and I really appreciate it.
I lived in Grants Pass back in the 70's and have been longing to get back to Oregon for a long long time.
I had really made up my mind to go back to Southern Oregon, but, I may revise that, as there has been the mention of Eugene and I have to tell you that it seems like a wonderful place to live!
I do think that many of us have to realize we all are individuals with different taste and needs.
I think most of us look for the place where people are friendly and a place with a upbeat bring a smile to your face energy.
I hope to move there in the summer of 2010, till then, we will be checking in on the forum quite often...

It is amazing to see all the post of people feeling the pull of Oregon
I wish everyone the best and hope you find your dreams come true.
Who knows, maybe we will meet up one day...
Blessings
White Mountain.

I hope your dreams come true, too!!! We're on the search again! It's gonna be an adventure .. into the wild, just me and Mike hahaha. I hope we make friends in Oregon!!

[Melissa E]

Originally Posted by thelocaldish

Thank you simplygib for your response. The reputation of Southern Oregon is rather undeserved as far as "rednecks". Yes we have our problems, yes we have people that are stuck in the past, but the truth is people are people no matter where you go and you simple trade one hang-up for another.

Now on to the point - I'd recommend Southern Oregon as well (as I always do). It sounds like you would be able to find many of the things you are looking for - ranging from community feel to Yoga - as well as schooling both at the university level as well as community college level. There are also options to take course work/gain advanced degrees from schools in Portland such as Concordia in the area. The climate will fit you better as well and while it may be a bit tough to find a job (look now!). If you have an education and especially in nursing you have a decent chance - health care is a major industry in this area.

For cheaper housing check out Talent or Medford - Talent is developing into a cute little bedroom community of Ashland while avoiding the high cost of living. You should be able to find a decent rental for around $800. Medford may also have some options and is a short drive from Ashland.

Also, if you love the outdoors you won't be bored, and the drives south and north to larger areas are very pretty! Our airport was recently redone as well and Allegiant Air now flies out of Medford, so you can get some very cheap flights to L.A. and couple of other places (I went to L.A. round trip for $50 including the taxes and fees!!)

Yes, Southern Oregon is absolutely beautiful with nice weather in my opinion!! there's always a little sacrifice of some kind no matter where a person goes .. may not have the excitement of Portland, ect, but it's awesome in it's own way. We are still considering Medford area on our list!

[Melissa E]

Originally Posted by ak.nessa

IF you want sunshine you need to consider Southern or Central & Eastern Oregon. But since you don't want rednecks I think Southern or mid-Willamette Valley would be best for you. Portland is rainy, cloudy, depressing. So is Corvallis and Salem. The summers are very nice though!!! You could consider tanning!!?? I think Eugene might be a place to consider. Hmmm but I have never lived there. I was born & raised in Lake Oswego, a suburb of Portland, and it is a very clean, safe, beautiful city. It is very liberal. VERY LIBERAL applies to the entire Willamette valley (everything east of the cascade mountains basically) - the mountains are like a divider - if you venture onto the eastern side you enter redneck-ville! But I LOVE Central Oregon. It is just too beautiful, and sooo sunny compared to the western side of Oregon. Anyway, more about Lake Oswego - You can drive to Portland in a short amount of time. AND Portland Community College has a campus that is technically in Lake Oswego, in my opinion. It's a nice little town. One thing I love about Lake Oswego is you can basically walk to the grocery store. If you do live in Portland I highly recommend SW Portland. It is much cleaner, safer, prettier, friendlier than the rest of Portland. Stay away from the East side!!!!!!!

Ashland - lots of hippies
Eugene - lots of hippies
Portland - lots of variety, overall very liberal
Lake Oswego - very wealthy, liberal, probably too expensive to live there

I think SW Portland would be a good place for you and your boyfriend. Just make sure you take some vacations to eastern Oregon to catch up on your sunshine needs. One thing I love about living in the valley is you are close enough to drive to the beach for the weekend (great for summer time)!

Yea, we figured LO was way too expensive for us.
I actually love country type of people - farmers are my heroes!! I think farmers are the most awesome people ever. By rednecks I just don't want too many small minded overly religious, ect. You know what I mean...Ashland was definitely not for me, though I did like it's downtown area. I didn't find Ashland diverse at all!! I like Subarus, too, but geez I saw like 60 Subarus when in Ashland! lol, everyone acted the same, it seemed, ... but of course that was just first impressions, and it has some great points, as well. Mike and I were counting to Subarus and laughing so hard!! Thanks for the reply!