Someone tell me about Cottage Grove, please. (Portland, Eugene: house, safe neighborhoods)

[MarleysMama]

My husband and I live in Portland but are considering moving to a different area of Oregon. We have heard Cottage Grove is nice but haven't heard many details. Our main concerns are:

1. Good place to raise children (we have an 11-year-old and a 13-month old)...so good schools are a must!
2. Less rain than Portland would be a huge plus!
3. Nice, safe neighborhoods with lots of parks and things to do. Pretty standard wants for most families, I suppose.

We live on my husband's SSDI and my part-time income I can do from anywhere..so jobs are not an issue for us.

Thanks everyone!

[pw72]

Sounds like it might be a good fit. Rainfall isn't much different from Portland, however. Perhaps a little less, but not significant. Fewer ice storms. Keep in mind Cottage Grove is a small town with limited services. Eugene is less than a half hour away, though. Very nice part of Oregon.

[skinem]

It's a beautiful area and I've alwyas like the place. My family is from Cottage Grove-Lorane area, so some of what I'm saying will be through that filter...
Schools are good, but like any school, you get out of it what you put into it. I've known very successful students and others that struggled and others that were always in trouble. Not necessarily the school's fault.
Good place to raise kids, again based upon family experience.
Like any place some of the kids have problems and like anywhere there are drug/alcohol problems with some of the teens. Again, based upon family experience.
It's going to rain. As said earlier, seems about like Portland, but it being further south, there's not so much ice.
It is a small town and still feels like it. That can be good and bad, but it's not so small nor as insular as a lot of places can be.
It's a good thing jobs are not an issue.

[burnhams]

Cottage Grove is a pretty nice place, I have stoped by there on the way to Southern Oregon a few time. Seemed like a nice town.

[MarleysMama]

Thanks everyone for responses! I think less rain is a bigger concern than we realized..so we'll probably look elsewhere.

Take care everyone!

[pw72]

If you are looking for less rain and still in western Oregon, the obvious answer would be Medford. Only disadvantage, quite isolated. Portland is the nearest big town, a good 4+ hours away.

[sarahkate_m]

I think Cottage Grove is adorable, but I wouldn't want to buy a house there... Because of pollution concerns. If you google the town name & mercury you'll see these links: [SIZE=4]Contamination of two Oregon reservoirs by cinnabar mining and [/SIZE] & [SIZE=4]Oregon Fish Consumption Guidelines[/SIZE] - Cottage Grove has mercury issues from past mining operations. Maybe it isn't a big deal, but it just doesn't sit well with me. It's a great place to visit, though....