Where to live? Let me know what's out there! (Portland: low crime, neighborhoods)

[efrey]

I have so many things that I'm looking for when moving that I feel stuck where I am because I can't find my "dream" place! If anyone knows of any area that might help me out- please let me know!!!

These are the things that I am trying to find:

Fall foliage!! #1
Safe, low crime area
All 4 seasons
Festivals and community events
Sand dunes nearby (avid atv riders) and outdoor activities, water and lakes definitely need to be near, hiking, biking, etc.
Neighborhoods with large yards, a fair distance between your neighbors yard.
I want a neighborhood with trees- I want to rake leaves! And bike paths!
Good schools- no kids yet, but thinking about them!
Non-religion dominated town
Decent housing prices- Maybe around $250-350,000 for a good size home.
Available jobs- I am looking to start my own cafe/bakery and my boyfriend is a welder.
We would like a smaller town- smaller to me is around 20,000-50,000.
Animal friendly- we love our dogs!
Friendly people!! I want a supportive community!
A relativley short distance to a major airport


We would like to stay on the West coast, but would go to the East coast- like VT or NY area possibly. We have been searching through Oregon but I haven't found a spot that I just fall in love with. Maybe I should eliminate some of my requirements

[davefr]

Take Oregon off the list based on available jobs. We're nearly the worst in the nation.

Check out towns in Wyoming like Buffalo, Gillette, Casper, Sheridan, etc.

Definately 4 seasons with an abundance of outdoor activity and the job climate for a welder has typically been very strong which is driven by the energy industry.

The larger towns have commuter flights to major airport hubs like SLC or DEN.

[Steve97415]

If your idea of four seasons includes winter snow, there aren't many cities in Oregon that can fulfill that requirement. If having relatively mild winters isn't one of your requirements, then by all means you should be looking somewhere other than the West Coast.

What you're looking for is something that has been lost in time. You're looking for the simpler less crowded world of the mid-20th century. We all are. And that's part of the problem. When you're looking for something that everyone else is looking for, it's going to be crowded and expensive by the time you find it.

[Silverfall]

Silverton Oregon meets a chunk of those criteria, but not all. Eastern Oregon gets the most snow, but they don't have the foliage trees that you are looking for for fall color. The valley has fall color, but we don't get a lot of snow.

East Coast sounds like it might be right for you, but not sure about those housing prices out there.

[FarmerBethMarie]

Why I think Yamhill County is the right place for you...


Fall foliage!! #1
SO much of it, it is beautiful in the Fall here when all the colors change...

Safe, low crime area
Very low crime rates (McMinnville, the largest city, in 2007 had a crime rate half that of the national rate)

All 4 seasons
This gets a little hazy, but when you get sick of the heat a nice mild day comes around, and we have had some heavy winters for the last 5 years, but as soon as you get sick of it it goes back to normal)

Festivals and community events
Tons of events, arts, county, farmers, educational, fairs (oldest county fair in Oregon), tons of fun events! You are in Wine Country too!

Sand dunes nearby (avid atv riders) and outdoor activities, water and lakes definitely need to be near, hiking, biking, etc.
Sandlake is a hop skip and a jump away out at the coast (sand dune OHV area), plus Tillamook State Forest with ATV trails up the ying yang, rivers, lakes, fishing, trails, everything withen a hop skip and a jump from your door step...

Neighborhoods with large yards, a fair distance between your neighbors yard.
Everything from Triplexs to 100 acre farms available in your price range

I want a neighborhood with trees- I want to rake leaves! And bike paths!
Try Yamhill or Carlton, on the outskirts of McMinnville, you can get a place with tons of trees and leaves.

Good schools- no kids yet, but thinking about them!
Great schools, rating wise McMinnville is the best, but look into Yamhill-Carlton or Sheridan, small schools with great students and teachers, deadicated to making sure the students gets and does the best they can

Non-religion dominated town
Yep, every once and a while a Mormon or JW comes a knocking in town, but they rarely do

Decent housing prices- Maybe around $250-350,000 for a good size home.
300,000K will get you 4 bedrooms, 3 baths and 5 acres if you want to live in Sheridan area

Available jobs- I am looking to start my own cafe/bakery and my boyfriend is a welder.
Both those are common here, and only an hours drive from Portland

We would like a smaller town- smaller to me is around 20,000-50,000.
Whole county had 90k people, McMinnville is largest town with 32,000 people.

Animal friendly- we love our dogs!
And your neighbor will too!

Friendly people!! I want a supportive community!
Am I not friendly?!

A relativley short distance to a major airport
PDX is a 1 to 2 hour drive depending on traffic

Yamhill County Oregon!
http://www.city-data.com/city/McMinnville-Oregon.html
City of McMinnville - Home
McMinnville Area Chamber of Commerce - Welcome
Yamhill County, Oregon - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia