NEED ADVICE: Looking to Relocate from Indiana to Oregon

[DerbyFever]

OK, all, going to give an update on our trip. We had all the details ironed out and everything was going great but then life happened and we had to cancel everything and return home. We spent a glorious 5 days in Portland and got up on the 5th and were headed down to Brookings when we got a call from home that my dear aunt had passed away. So we turned around, returned to Portland, and took the next flight out in the morning (getting up at 2am with 2 seniors & a 2 year old...4 airports & 3 flights--not a good day!!) We had to cancel the rest of the trip, unfortunately forfeiting a lot of $$ as we'd prepaid our vacation rentals through vrbo and priceline, as well as paid extra $$ to change our airline reservation. So all this week we've been planning my dear auntie's funeral instead.

We absolutely positively fell in love with Portland and can see why Oregon is so fabulous, even though we saw only a small fraction of it. One day we took off and went to see Multnomah Falls, the Gorge area, Hood River, and headed back to Portland via the Washington side of the river. Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful! The day we were headed to the coast & had to return we decided to go ahead & at least drive to the ocean before returning. We drove to Salem then headed over to Newport, up to Lincoln City, and back to Portland. Probably a terrible idea on Sunday July 5th as traffic was terrible and the weather was cold, rainy, & drizzly. It was picture perfect upon our return to Portland so I'm wondering whether that weather pattern is common for the coast? Anyway, we only got to meet with 1 allergist (instead of the 4 we'd had scheduled in various cities) in Portland. He looked at our son's allergy records & assured us Portland isn't the place, though was more optimistic about Hood River area but mentioned Bend specifically. So we'll definitely need to return & finish our trip at some point. The places we saw were beautiful & pictures don't do it justice. Can't wait to return to OR, and under better circumstances.

[mdvaden]

Originally Posted by DerbyFever

mdvaden--although Seattle is the only place in the PNW I've been to, I'd have to agree with you that overcast/p.cloudy would definitely be preferred over our humid & hot weather. Our home in extreme southern IN is even considerably more hot & humid than Bloomington. Out with my son yesterday morning & had to come in before 10 b/c it was unbearable--yuck!!

Do you have a lot of sunny days in Beaverton, particularly in the summer months? Does it get warm enough to swim? Are there bodies of water large enough for boating & water skiing (and does the water get warm enough)? We love the stats. on the Portland area except for the gray weather, but that's probably most people.

The Beaverton area, west side of Portland, is mostly sunny weather in summer. More sun than clouds, with about 83 degrees being average. Maybe an inch of rain per July and August, each. September is usually warm the first few weeks.

Water? Willamette River is pretty big. Columbia River is enormous. And there is a Hagg lake west of here. Might have one "g" as Hag Lake.

That's right - I remember water skiing and tubing on Hagg Lake with my friend who is not in Bloomington. While in Indiana last summer, I enjoyed about an hour on his 200 HP Jet Ski - at the lake which I think was to the south. He has this pontoon boat too. Water is his main fun. Mine is really hiking or the Oregon Coast.

I'm usually at the redwoods 5 hours south by the OR / CA border often spending nights at Brookings area Harris Beach State Park. Or near Seaside and Cannon Beach down to about Manzanita and Nehalem Bay.

We have a few of those allergins, but I don't think you will have much of a problem unless Pine or Douglas fir and maple were way up your list.

Here's our son on Nehahkahnie Mntn. with Manzanita down in the background with Nehalem Bay and the campground park - all the green. Not sure if you can tell how big the Columbia River is of this shot looking over the Vista House close to Portland. And the redwood is me by a tree. It's my favorite tree in one grove, so I post it frequently.

[mddd]

Bend is a great balance.

Green from downtown to the west and more desert like to the east of town.

Lots of larger Ponderosa and aspen west side- juniper on east side.

Lakes, rivers and outdoor trails. Urben trail system is amazing with walks along the river and patio dining with views of the river and mountains.

Portland is all lush, which I love, but you have to be able to tolerate rain, rain and more clouds than Central Oregon.

[mdvaden]

Originally Posted by mddd

Bend is a great balance.

Green from downtown to the west and more desert like to the east of town.

Lots of larger Ponderosa and aspen west side- juniper on east side.

Lakes, rivers and outdoor trails. Urben trail system is amazing with walks along the river and patio dining with views of the river and mountains.

Portland is all lush, which I love, but you have to be able to tolerate rain, rain and more clouds than Central Oregon.

Bend is pretty nice.

Nothing about it has ever struck me as being undesireable.

[amymcallister]

Hood River is a great place to live. We have lived in Hood River over 16 years. I am a native Oregonian and have lived in Portland, Beaverton, Forest Grove, and other towns west of Portland before discovering the gorge in 1985 and moving east to Stevenson, WA in the gorge about 45 min from Portland but in the wet zone (75-80" annual precip). We wanted a drier climate, couldn't find anything reasonable in Hood River so moved to Bend and lived there for 2 yrs. We liked Bend when we lived there but decided we wanted to have more of a growing season. It is sunny often yet can get very cold. It can frost any month of the year-even August. In summer it rarely gets super hot, I'd say mid 80's at most, yet it can drop back down to 40 degrees overnight. It is definately high desert climate. It is very dry (about 12" precip annually) and a lot of sage brush and junipers, not as green and lush as many other areas in Oregon. The housing market in Bend has really declined in the last 2 years also. There are currently many foreclosures and short sales.
We moved back to Hood River in '93. Our teen sons were starting to windsurf and missed the river. We also were tired of the dry, sagebrush and barren surroundings. We love Hood River. The climate here is drier than Portland yet not as dry as Bend or The Dalles. Often when it's raining in Portland we are enjoying beautiful sunshine. Hood River gets about 25" of precip annually compared to Portlands 45" and yes we do get snow, sometimes a lot of it. Hood River is beautiful and green. Lots of trees fir, pine and also many orchards. Hood River County is the largest producer of pears in the U.S. Many people have second homes in Hood River. It is a vacation destination for sports minded folk who windsurf, kiteboard, kayak, mtn biking, snowboarding, skiing, and hiking. The historic downtown is very trendy with shops, wine bars, galleries and restaurants. Summer season is very lively in Hood River with tourists.

[nanannie]

Originally Posted by amymcallister

Hood River is a great place to live. We have lived in Hood River over 16 years. I am a native Oregonian and have lived in Portland, Beaverton, Forest Grove, and other towns west of Portland before discovering the gorge in 1985 and moving east to Stevenson, WA in the gorge about 45 min from Portland but in the wet zone (75-80" annual precip). We wanted a drier climate, couldn't find anything reasonable in Hood River so moved to Bend and lived there for 2 yrs. We liked Bend when we lived there but decided we wanted to have more of a growing season. It is sunny often yet can get very cold. It can frost any month of the year-even August. In summer it rarely gets super hot, I'd say mid 80's at most, yet it can drop back down to 40 degrees overnight. It is definately high desert climate. It is very dry (about 12" precip annually) and a lot of sage brush and junipers, not as green and lush as many other areas in Oregon. The housing market in Bend has really declined in the last 2 years also. There are currently many foreclosures and short sales.
We moved back to Hood River in '93. Our teen sons were starting to windsurf and missed the river. We also were tired of the dry, sagebrush and barren surroundings. We love Hood River. The climate here is drier than Portland yet not as dry as Bend or The Dalles. Often when it's raining in Portland we are enjoying beautiful sunshine. Hood River gets about 25" of precip annually compared to Portlands 45" and yes we do get snow, sometimes a lot of it. Hood River is beautiful and green. Lots of trees fir, pine and also many orchards. Hood River County is the largest producer of pears in the U.S. Many people have second homes in Hood River. It is a vacation destination for sports minded folk who windsurf, kiteboard, kayak, mtn biking, snowboarding, skiing, and hiking. The historic downtown is very trendy with shops, wine bars, galleries and restaurants. Summer season is very lively in Hood River with tourists.

Teen age sons? I hear the schools are sadly lacking in HR.

[Shorty77]

If you are looking for lush, Eastern OR is not it---Bend is shrubby, deserty, but still beautiful with the snow covered mountains and great weather. The coast is almost always very windy and cold--it's more scenic than a place you would go for swimming and hanging out on the beach. Plus the economy on the coast is based on tourism, so it sucks. Western OR is lush and beautiful, but FILLED with allergins. I suspect you would just develop entirely new allergies once you lived here awhile. My husband and kids both have allergies, and he was medicated all spring/summer for years until he started taking fish-oil pills daily. Now his allergies are mild enough that he only needs to medicate when there is a severe dry spell, lack of wind. Just an idea.
We live in Corvallis, and it's gorgeous, but expensive and lots of allergins.
One thing I will say is if you want green and lush, you are going to have to take a lot of rain in the bargain. It rains here 3/4 of the year, although mostly drizzle/light rain. Oregonians mostly don't even own umbrellas, just hoodies. It just makes it difficult if you like to spend a lot of time outside. Summers are nice and hot and swimmable, but that's the only time of year that it isn't raining, and even so, it rains during the summer a bit too.
You may have to give up some things on your wishlist, because many aren't compatible with eachother (i.e. being lush and green, without allergies is unlikely)
good luck

[Smiled]

The Willamette Valley has the world's highest grass pollen counts. It's why we're the world's golf course grass suppliers. On the plus side, we've stopped burning the grass fields after harvest.