Southern Oregon vs. Bend for summers only? (Portland, Eugene: transplants, neighborhoods)

[ctr88]

I'm looking for a place to spend around May through Sept that has beautiful mountains, rivers, lakes, recreation but also a cool town with some things to do. I'm 39 year old single male. I would live in San Diego fall/winter. I have a Internet based job that wouldn't be tied to the local economy.

I'm leaning towards the Bend area. What do others think of places in So. OR like Ashland, Grants Pass and those areas vs. Bend? I have not been to Bend yet I will visit in July. I've been to Southern OR on a limited basis in 2004. I think that drive down 199 from Grants Pass to Crescent City is gorgeous with the Redwoods. Once nice thing about So. OR is the Coast is a little closer than Bend. But I think the town of Bend has a little bit more going on for someone my age than any of the towns in So. OR.

Outside chance I may consider Portland too for summers, but I'm kind of more looking for a smaller town close to the mountains.

[mdvaden]

If I were in my 20s again, I would not describe southern Oregon towns like Medford or Grants Pass as having a lot of "cool things" to do. Bend a bit more, but I'd stick to Portland for "cool things".

Since I like outdoors, and not not skiing, I'd take Medford, Applegate Valley, or Grants Pass in a heart beat over Bend.

Primarily because I very much enjoy the coast and the redwoods.

If someone likes fishing and rafting - the Rogue River is nice.

Bend is still going to have some good natural areas to be found though.

[Deezus]

In Southern Oregon, Ashland is the only place with much going on as far as nightlife or cultural offerings. It's a college town and a tourist town, and in the summer time you get a lot of people attracted to the area by the Shakespeare Festival. You get some transplants from larger cities involved with the festival, so it has a lot more acitivity then Grants Pass or Medford. You've got some excellent restaurants downtown and the bar scene isn't bad. But at heart it's still a very small town and the true beauty of the region is that you can drive twenty minutes out of town in multiple directions and end up high up in the Siskiyou or Cascade mountains.

Bend feels a lot more developed than Southern Oregon--far more of a real mountain resort town, but a lot more tourists as well. The skiing at Mt Bachelor blows away most of everything else in Oregon. Bend reminds a lot of Lake Tahoe--all the young singles in town seem to be into skiing, mountain biking, kayaking, etc. It's a fun place, but it's grown exponentionally in the last twenty years, with lots of suburban development stretching out into the sagebrush. The westside of town towards the edge of the mountains still has some nice areas.

As far as weather, both locales are going to be pretty hot in the summer. Bend is a high desert climate, Southern Oregon has more of Mediteranean climate--lots of wineries in the area. I remember Southern Oregon getting really hot in the summers I lived there--luckily you can always escape to lakes or rivers nearby in the surrounding mountains.

You might want to consider Hood River as well. Only about an hour drive from Portland, great small town feel, close to Mt Hood and Mt Adams, lots of outdoors stuff to do, and really nice weather as well. It's about a 2hr+ drive to the coast, so that's a little longer then if you lived in Grants Pass, but even from Southern Oregon it takes a while to get to a nice beach--I never found Crescent City all that great. The Oregon Coast is a quick drive from the Portland area and you have a lot of options for beaches.

[backdrifter]

Bend, Bend, Bend, Bend, Bend.

[Neal2009]

Why dont you research east of Portland in a town like Sandy, Oregon? It is pressed up right against Mt. Hood where hiking is wonderful in the summer and near the beautiful Columbia River Gorge which also offers great hikes with breathtaking views of 4 volcanoes. Just a 2 hour drive away you are at the coast, about the same distance it would take to get to the coast in southern Oregon. If you need your big city fix, you are only 30 to 45 minutes from Portland, where alot will be going on in the summer.

Bend is quite interesting as well, you are basically on the border of the desert and mountains and there are great natural areas like the 3 sisters, Mt. Bachelor and a rock climbers paradise in Smith Rock(one of the more underrated places in Oregon) I personally though would prefer somewhere close to the coast and not as isolated as Bend.

[khunguni]

As a 36 year old male who has lived in Portland, Ashland, and Bend, I would absolutely say BEND! Pass on Grants Pass, not what you are looking for; in my humble opinion.

[ctr88]

Great informative responses. Much appreciated I've been thinking of Bend and Portland for so long and FINALLY I'm flying into Seattle July 9th to explore the area. I'll drive down to Portland to check it out 1st. Then through Mt. Hood on my way to Bend. I'm really looking forward to it.

[Steve97415]

May to September includes late spring as well as summer. In western Oregon, summer often doesn't really get underway until about the second week of July. Summer is still going strong through September, and October is usually one of the nicest months as well (even though the transition to autumn can be felt).
Also, "close to the mountains" isn't a very limiting criterion. Almost everywhere in the state is close to mountains of one kind or another. Ashland is along the north face of the Siskiyou massif. Bend is on the leeward side of the Cascades. Cities in the Willamette Valley are between the Coast Range and the Old Cascades. Even coastal communities are close to the mountains. The West Hills of Portland are perhaps not high enough to be considered mountains, but they are a foothills area with some nice topographic variety that feels a bit like mountainous terrain.

The best summer weather in Oregon is in the Willamette Valley from Portland to Eugene. I wouldn't count out Portland. It isn't like big cities in California. Many residential neighborhoods in Portland have a small city feel. Portland is also a very pedestrian and bike-friendly community. If you are looking for someplace that you can fly into and easily live without a car, Portland would be it.