Moving from Southern California to Oregon (Medford, Grants Pass: real estate, insurance, wages)

[Silverfall]

I was a transplant from Illinois, so I like Oregon weather. While I live in Salem, I don't think it rains all that much. What we get is a lot of "spit." It's overcast a lot and it just kind of drizzles. I still like that better than the winds off of Lake Michigan.

I like having seasons, although I do miss snow. We don't get much snow here, but Hoodoo is not that far to go sledding with the kiddos. I think if you move here, you need to make sure to live in a house or apartment that has a lot of natural light. You will do better to fend off the "seasonal affective disorder" that comes along with Oregon. I head out to Silverfalls State Park every winter and the falls are going crazy. Just have good waterproof hiking boots. It's amazing there in the winter time.

No place is perfect. I just tell myself, about mid-January, when I am ready for some sunlight that the rain keeps everything green. In Illinois we got plenty of winter sun, along with 0 degree weather, and brown grass. It's worth it to me to deal with the overcast winters in order to have stellar summers.

[Imperial1904]

Originally Posted by hometowngirl

If you loved Southern Cal so much - why did you come to Oregon? Go home - simple as that.

It's not always as simple as that. Some move because it's cheaper than SoCal (it's a fact). Some can have a hard time finding work and sort of get 'stuck' here in Oregon. Just because someone doesn't like the place doesn't mean they should be told to go back home.

[Happy & CC]

Originally Posted by Beth56

I feel the same way. I was looking into Oregon as a future home. I am slowly being pushed out of California with rising prices among other things. Why are some Oregon people saying Californian's are driving up their home values? Who then is driving up ours making it impossible for families to buy here? Why this blame? Does everyone from other states feel this way about Californian's? I have never heard so many derogatory comments toward a people of one state. This is very sad to me. I love California. Have lived here all my life. But I won't be able to stay much longer. And I certainly don't think I have done anything to cause it. I always thought the people of Oregon could be my new friends.

If the value of your home is rising, isn't that a good thing?

[WannaBNorCal]

Originally Posted by Hercumer

How sad for you. Your best option is to move back to Southern California. Oregon does not need people like you living here. Best wishes on your move back home.

Wonder if she ever moved back....
I lived in Milton Freewater, and Beaverton, saw the N,S,E,and W, Bend, Eugene, Springfield, Grants Pass, Lake Oswego, Oregon City, Seaside, Lincoln City, dang!!!--- Oregon City blows my mind - back in 1987, we used to run around in fields, there were cows and space to farm those animals, now, ALL that land is filled with condos (weird thought, I once suntanned, on a piece of land that now is probably a sewage system for a toilet in an upscale condo) argggg
The reason I came back was the weather.
The only reason that Oregon is cheaper than So Cal, is because Oregonians have ZIP sales tax. My friend worked for Pacificare, and got laid off, quick, and bad, because they were taking their businesses back to, you guessed it, So Cal. Oregon's property tax is quite high as well. I don't miss it, and Beaverton, at that time, was the so -called "hideaway" as I was told from Oregonians...

[katielynn]

Recently moved from sunny CA back to the Northwest where I was born and raised, though not the same area. After years of 360 days of sunshine you don't appreciate it. Living here gives you a whole different outlook, I saw 3 rainbows in 3 days, beautiful! When the sunshines, everything sparkles, from the trees, the river and the ocean. People where I am have been really friendly, I even know my neighbors names, have been invited over for coffee and baked goods, and they even take the time to watch out for you. All this never once happened when I lived in CA. Getting away from the fake, self pretentious people in SO CA definately has been a good thing for me. I do love the sunshine, don't miss the heat, just dress different and head out to meet new friends, explore new places and breathe deeply the clean fresh air.

[ladysrodgers]

Originally Posted by katielynn

Recently moved from sunny CA back to the Northwest where I was born and raised, though not the same area. After years of 360 days of sunshine you don't appreciate it. Living here gives you a whole different outlook, I saw 3 rainbows in 3 days, beautiful! When the sunshines, everything sparkles, from the trees, the river and the ocean. People where I am have been really friendly, I even know my neighbors names, have been invited over for coffee and baked goods, and they even take the time to watch out for you. All this never once happened when I lived in CA. Getting away from the fake, self pretentious people in SO CA definately has been a good thing for me. I do love the sunshine, don't miss the heat, just dress different and head out to meet new friends, explore new places and breathe deeply the clean fresh air.

I moved "from" Oregon last March and couldn't wait to get out of there. I lived in the Applegate Valley and while it was beautiful, that's all it had going for it.

The day after our escrow closed, we were notified of a huge rock/gravel quary that was due to go in right across the river from our land. Many of the neighbors were pitted against eachother, because some were promised to make mega bucks from Copeland Gravel.

We were asked to join in on a lawsuit to fight against the rock/gravel quary, and that struggle went on the entire 3.5 years I lived there.

An individual purchased our property, but the day escrow was to close, he added the name of one of the owners of the gravel company to his deed. It disgusted me as this man deliberately LIED and mislead us.

The economy in Oregon is in dire straights, and it seems the northern end of the state is in total denial over it.

Local politicians can be, and are bought. Jobs are few and far between, and wages are ridiculously low - if you can even find one. Property taxes are ridiculously high too, as is the state income tax.

Law enforcement has had to cut back to the bare miniumum in Grants Pass, and Medford and have admitted they don't have enough people and will only respond to violent crimes. Why not just put up signs along I5 and invite criminals? Even the public libraries have closed due to lack of funding.

Oregon is beautiful, but that's all it has going for it.

P.S. I moved to Texas.......they blame Californians for driving up the prices of homes here too. I don't know why every state blames California for all their woes.....it's stupid.

[freedom]

Originally Posted by ladysrodgers

I moved "from" Oregon last March and couldn't wait to get out of there. I lived in the Applegate Valley and while it was beautiful, that's all it had going for it.

The day after our escrow closed, we were notified of a huge rock/gravel quary that was due to go in right across the river from our land. Many of the neighbors were pitted against eachother, because some were promised to make mega bucks from Copeland Gravel.

We were asked to join in on a lawsuit to fight against the rock/gravel quary, and that struggle went on the entire 3.5 years I lived there.

An individual purchased our property, but the day escrow was to close, he added the name of one of the owners of the gravel company to his deed. It disgusted me as this man deliberately LIED and mislead us.

The economy in Oregon is in dire straights, and it seems the northern end of the state is in total denial over it.

Local politicians can be, and are bought. Jobs are few and far between, and wages are ridiculously low - if you can even find one. Property taxes are ridiculously high too, as is the state income tax.

Law enforcement has had to cut back to the bare miniumum in Grants Pass, and Medford and have admitted they don't have enough people and will only respond to violent crimes. Why not just put up signs along I5 and invite criminals? Even the public libraries have closed due to lack of funding.

Oregon is beautiful, but that's all it has going for it.

P.S. I moved to Texas.......they blame Californians for driving up the prices of homes here too. I don't know why every state blames California for all their woes.....it's stupid.

Part of the unemployment problem is the "not in my neighborhood mentality". The gravel companys are being pressured just like the timber industries.
Guess what, no gravel, no concrete, no houses, no jobs. Can we see the pattern.
Radical Enviromentalists can't have it both ways, by saying we need good paying jobs, and services, and then fight the businesses and industries that supply those jobs and industries.

The libraries are closed because industry can not access the raw materials that pay for them, so guess what you get Higher TAXES.
Economy 101.

Complain about the problems and offer no solutions. Texas is lucky to have you.

[WannaBNorCal]

Originally Posted by freedom

Part of the unemployment problem is the "not in my neighborhood mentality". The gravel companys are being pressured just like the timber industries.
Guess what, no gravel, no concrete, no houses, no jobs. Can we see the pattern.
Radical Enviromentalists can't have it both ways, by saying we need good paying jobs, and services, and then fight the businesses and industries that supply those jobs and industries.
The libraries are closed because industry can not access the raw materials that pay for them, so guess what you get Higher TAXES.

DAMN - that was well put!!!

[Larry Caldwell]

The Applegate Valley has a large population of back-to-the-land granola hippies, sandwiched between I've-got-mine ageing yuppies, salted with rabid libertarians. They can be relied on to vote against anything, and file lawsuits against the rest. If that's what they want, more power to them, but they shouldn't complain about no jobs. Unemployment is what happens when you bite the hand that feeds you.

A basalt quarry opened about 1/4 mile from my house a few years ago. Once the gravel piles got high enough, I couldn't even hear the crusher. I made them locate their driveway away from my front yard, but that's the only obstacle I hit them with. They ran for a few years, but hit a vein of serpentinite that dropped their rock below ODOT specs. I don't think they have had a crusher in there for years.

OTOH, they wanted to turn a little motocross track into a world class extreme sport track on my property line, and I pitched a fit. I was ready to take the fight all the way, when one of their high hp dirt bikes left the track and killed a little 5 year old boy. The insurance company cancelled their policy, and that was the end of that.

[ladysrodgers]

Originally Posted by Larry Caldwell

The Applegate Valley has a large population of back-to-the-land granola hippies, sandwiched between I've-got-mine ageing yuppies, salted with rabid libertarians. They can be relied on to vote against anything, and file lawsuits against the rest. If that's what they want, more power to them, but they shouldn't complain about no jobs. Unemployment is what happens when you bite the hand that feeds you.

A basalt quarry opened about 1/4 mile from my house a few years ago. Once the gravel piles got high enough, I couldn't even hear the crusher. I made them locate their driveway away from my front yard, but that's the only obstacle I hit them with. They ran for a few years, but hit a vein of serpentinite that dropped their rock below ODOT specs. I don't think they have had a crusher in there for years.

OTOH, they wanted to turn a little motocross track into a world class extreme sport track on my property line, and I pitched a fit. I was ready to take the fight all the way, when one of their high hp dirt bikes left the track and killed a little 5 year old boy. The insurance company cancelled their policy, and that was the end of that.

Yes, a gravel quarry is just what you want to look at or hear in a pristine agricultural valley......lol The 240 trucks estimated per day by the gravel company on an already narrow residential 2 lane road was "very" appealing too.

FYI, the unemployment office in Grants Pass told me the cost of living in Josephine County had gone up 20% in the last 10 or so years, but the wages had remained unchanged.