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

[Melissa E]

Geal12345- Thanks for the info =).

[Melissa E]

CalOrGal- Thanks for the info and sharing your experience. I really hope I dont' get the finger while I'm there on vacation - that'd suck!! lol Anyway, I'm pretty good at getting a feel for things quickly, so on my vacation this month I think I'll learn alot.
Also- I LOVE severe thunderstorms - so I think that'd be one thing I would realllly miss of MO.

[Melissa E]

CalORGal - you say you miss Oregon alot .. will you tell me what else you did like about it a little more. I'm happy to hear many opinions of both the good and the bad. Have you been to Northern Oregon much? Which areas and what did you like of it most?
One thing I really need to friendly people around. But, that said ... I don't put much weight into people in general. I'm wanting to go there more to communicate with nature. My opinion is people are screwed up all over the place in their own ways ... but yea I know some areas more so than others. And I do NOT like clicky types of populations or small mindedness. My interests are nature and learning ... and being close to my boyfriend Mike. I only need a couple close friends .. good enough for me.

[Hawk J]

Originally Posted by Melissa E

HAWK J - lol, I bet it's beautiful there by Grants Pass where you live. Thanks for the info. I've always imagined the gas money to be absolutely outrageous on those RVs or I might look into that more. It would be cool probably if I could afford it.

Your very welcome Melissa.................

Nowadays used RV's are selling at a more reasonable price. Due to gas prices many fulltime rvers sit in one area longer instead of traveling a lot.

My whole life i've loved fishin, (booniedockin') camping, having the forest critters as neighbors, & the amazing beauty of Nature for my eyes to behold.........................

Many folks say the Oregon State Parks (camping) is among the Best in our Great Country. In OR thar are many Beautiful Waterfalls & waterways which i love. (you can do a search for state parks, etc on Google.com )


Folks have always been friendly toward us heer. I haven't had any problems with anyone (& we lived in Monterey, CA area before we moved here) over 20 years ago....................................... .........


Have a Beautiful Day.............................

[Melissa E]

You have one, too Hawk ...
Yea i Looked at some state parks there and the little yurk cabin things .. it looked fun.

[CalOrGal]

Melissa
I can honestly say I do miss Oregon. One thing is because the familiarity of it. I lived there for 15 years. I watched Grants Pass grow into what it is now. Being a native So Cal girl I grew up in barefeet basically. I love to walk across the cool grass and feel it beneath my toes. Cant do it here. Chiggers...yuck!
The beauty of Oregon is breathtaking. The mountains...the snow...the weather...its not humid...its not dry...its just perfect. A 105 degree day feels great. The balmy summer evenings are great.
Camping...you can camp in a tent...woo hoo...we camped once here in MO in a tent and never again. We bought a pop up trailer a couple months ago, with air conditioning, just so we can go camping. My brother in Oregon thought a trailer with AC was quite funny.
The beaches...you cant really swim in the ocean there as it is to cold, not warm like So Cal, but the Oregon coastline is beautiful. I miss the ocean. I havent seen it in over 5 years.
The best part of living in Oregon for me however was I was only a 12-13 hour drive from my parents. I saw them all the time. They were just close enough.
I did have friends back there too. Not like here. I have the people I work with, my family and my inlaws. Thats it here. I dont go out with friends here like I did with my friends in Oregon.
Northern Oregon...Portland..Beaverton..etc..Love it. Portland is the prettiest city I have ever been to.
I really didnt want to discourage you from Oregon. It's a beautiful state. I just wanted to share my experience with you. My kids come first. They have way more to do here then in Oregon. They will be able to go farther and experience more here then there. If you are a big outdoor enthusiast then Oregon is great. The rivers, mountains, beaches, etc. Rafting, skiing, kayaking, hiking, etc. Its all great.
I do like some of the thunderstorms here. If there is no threat of a tornado I can handle them. When the tornado watches and warnings are issued, I freak

[Melissa E]

Originally Posted by CalOrGal

Melissa
I can honestly say I do miss Oregon. One thing is because the familiarity of it. I lived there for 15 years. I watched Grants Pass grow into what it is now. Being a native So Cal girl I grew up in barefeet basically. I love to walk across the cool grass and feel it beneath my toes. Cant do it here. Chiggers...yuck!
The beauty of Oregon is breathtaking. The mountains...the snow...the weather...its not humid...its not dry...its just perfect. A 105 degree day feels great. The balmy summer evenings are great.
Camping...you can camp in a tent...woo hoo...we camped once here in MO in a tent and never again. We bought a pop up trailer a couple months ago, with air conditioning, just so we can go camping. My brother in Oregon thought a trailer with AC was quite funny.
The beaches...you cant really swim in the ocean there as it is to cold, not warm like So Cal, but the Oregon coastline is beautiful. I miss the ocean. I havent seen it in over 5 years.
The best part of living in Oregon for me however was I was only a 12-13 hour drive from my parents. I saw them all the time. They were just close enough.
I did have friends back there too. Not like here. I have the people I work with, my family and my inlaws. Thats it here. I dont go out with friends here like I did with my friends in Oregon.
Northern Oregon...Portland..Beaverton..etc..Love it. Portland is the prettiest city I have ever been to.
I really didnt want to discourage you from Oregon. It's a beautiful state. I just wanted to share my experience with you. My kids come first. They have way more to do here then in Oregon. They will be able to go farther and experience more here then there. If you are a big outdoor enthusiast then Oregon is great. The rivers, mountains, beaches, etc. Rafting, skiing, kayaking, hiking, etc. Its all great.
I do like some of the thunderstorms here. If there is no threat of a tornado I can handle them. When the tornado watches and warnings are issued, I freak

hey thanks for giving me some things to think of . i hope i make friends wherever i go and mike does too. we're so lucky to have each other =). it is scary being so far from family, though .. we wont know anyone. we don't really have any friend here though anyway .. but some family.

[Storyhr]

Melissa,
Check out housing near SOU in Ashland or go to www.dailytidings.com Also, you could check the college web site. Consider Talent, Oregon. Short commute to Ashland (10 minutes drive), and far less expensive. Also, you might try craiglist for Ashland to see a pic of the place. Ashland has a hospital but it's pretty small. Medford is not a bad commute and has more options for work in the medical field. Also, the airport is right there. Wouldn't want to live in "dreadford", however. Too hot & redneck-y. Wouldn't be bad to work there, though and commute. Ashland has more yoga than you can imagine. It's gorgeous and expensive UNLESS you can get student housing... then it's amazing. There is a joke about that it is 10-square miles surrounded by reality. Good luck! Go for the student housing if you can!

[Shea Higley]

Melissa,
We are in the same boat...we are thinking about moving to Oregon from the NorthEast. After reading the other responses, perhaps we might want to reconsider. My husband has lost his job back in July and has been unable to find another. We thought we would look out west but it sounds as if unemployment is high. Not to mention the rainy days........
I love snow and sun. We have all of that here. The only negative are the bugs in the summer (black flys etc.)
Anybody.......is this not a good move? I need info for my husband.
We wanted to build a "green" house ( solar panels, etc.) have a self sustaining homestead ( chickens, gardens, etc.) Maybe this is not the state for us.

Would love some responses.

[Rob Allen]

Shea, you should start a thread of your own. I'm not sure if the mods would split this out into a separate thread... mods?

It sounds like you belong on the east side of the Cascade Mountains - the sunny, dry side of Oregon. Unemployment is indeed bad right now, but the green, self-sustaining homestead idea fits in perfectly here. The largest town on that side of the state is Bend. You can start looking more deeply at that area, and tell us more about what you're looking for and maybe some other places will come up in the discussion.