Californians who've relocated to Oregon - weigh in (Portland, Eugene: gated, travel)

[DSMOM]

We moved here from northern CA when I was 5 & I'm now 39. Back in 1973 the economy in CA was going downhill & my dad had moved some friends of ours up here in 1972 & fell in love with Oregon. He used to call it God's country because it was so green & fresh. Of course that was over 30 years ago when things were simpler & less congested.
My family has never regretted the move. The schools here are decent & as I have a child w/Downs & autism this is a great place to get services he needs. I work in public special ed so I have access to all the ins & outs of the system. I also know many people that have moved here from other states for this reason.
You have every climate & landscape here: desert, forest, nountains, coasts, vlalley...the list goes on & on. You don;t have to look too hard to find anything.
As far as the drive from Eugene to Springfield & back...just go over the bridge & there you are. Granted Springfield isn't as commercially developed as Eugene but you don't have to go to Eugene to shop. You have Winco, Safeway, Albertsons & the Gateway Mall.
The parks here are beautiful & clean. The crime rate is about the same in one city as in the other. The housing cost in Springfield is a little less depending on the area of town. Both cities have their good areas & bad areas.
I've seen lots of changes here in the last 34 years & I think it's changing for the better.

[halfmoonbaygal]

Originally Posted by DSMOM

We moved here from northern CA when I was 5 & I'm now 39. Back in 1973 the economy in CA was going downhill & my dad had moved some friends of ours up here in 1972 & fell in love with Oregon. He used to call it God's country because it was so green & fresh. Of course that was over 30 years ago when things were simpler & less congested.
My family has never regretted the move. The schools here are decent & as I have a child w/Downs & autism this is a great place to get services he needs. I work in public special ed so I have access to all the ins & outs of the system. I also know many people that have moved here from other states for this reason.
You have every climate & landscape here: desert, forest, nountains, coasts, vlalley...the list goes on & on. You don;t have to look too hard to find anything.
As far as the drive from Eugene to Springfield & back...just go over the bridge & there you are. Granted Springfield isn't as commercially developed as Eugene but you don't have to go to Eugene to shop. You have Winco, Safeway, Albertsons & the Gateway Mall.
The parks here are beautiful & clean. The crime rate is about the same in one city as in the other. The housing cost in Springfield is a little less depending on the area of town. Both cities have their good areas & bad areas.
I've seen lots of changes here in the last 34 years & I think it's changing for the better.

Hi DSMOM,
I tried to email you, but your settings don't allow it. I see that you are a mom to kids with special needs, as well as an instructional aide. I'm glad to hear that you are happy with the education they are receiving.

I'm an adapted physical education specialist in California SFO Bay Area (Masters, CLAD, Health Science, lifetime adapted physical education certificate, single subject physical education, 7 years experience). My husband and I are thinking about relocating to the Portland area in two years, possible Eugene, but we want to be close to a major airport, so that leaves PDX, pretty much. He will be retired, but I intend to keep working for another 10 years or so. Do you, or anyone else that might want to chime in, know if Oregon has adapted P.E. specialists in their schools? And would it be impossible for me to get a job there, if not adapted P.E. then regular P.E.? I've looked on the Edzapp board, but I kind of wanted the inside scoop. Thanks.

[bobmulk]

Who gives a damn which rap idiot the lyrics are from? If not knowing rap lyrics automatically indicates I'm from Oregon or that I'm some "hayseed" because of some elitist who misses LA smog, then I wear that badge of contempt proudly.

Sounds like moving really belongs in California. That's great because we have enough people here that don't belong here. If you're not going to become part of Oregon, don't ***** because you don't like it. The rest of us do, thank you very much, and we don't need your attitude. Take it to LA where it will fit in fine.

[freedom]

Originally Posted by bobmulk

Who gives a damn which rap idiot the lyrics are from? If not knowing rap lyrics automatically indicates I'm from Oregon or that I'm some "hayseed" because of some elitist who misses LA smog, then I wear that badge of contempt proudly.

Sounds like moving really belongs in California. That's great because we have enough people here that don't belong here. If you're not going to become part of Oregon, don't ***** because you don't like it. The rest of us do, thank you very much, and we don't need your attitude. Take it to LA where it will fit in fine.

I'll second that vote. Meeting adjourned.
In fact if Moving again and again needs a hand, I'm sure the great Oregon hospitality would be more than happy to lend it.

godspeed

freedom

[suncat]

Why all the anger when someone admits he doesn't care for Portland? There's no need to get rude or take it personally. It's not for everyone. No place is.

[The Dish]

Not to beat a dead horse but LL Cool J did Goin' Back to Cali in 1988. Biggie released his in 1997.

As for this Cali Girl who is on her way to Eugene, I'll stick with LL....

Goin' back to Cali? Man, I don't think so.

[Larry Caldwell]

Originally Posted by suncat

Why all the anger when someone admits he doesn't care for Portland? There's no need to get rude or take it personally. It's not for everyone. No place is.

There's actually some easily retrievable lifestyle information in his comments. You will notice "nothing to do", plenty of drug comments, and "wonder what the people upstairs are doing at 3 AM." That's a picture of a low income person, living in a low income neighborhood.

I have been poor. In 1973, I spent 10 days in intensive care, with no medical insurance, being fed through my veins. After I got out of the hospital, I was disabled for another 2 months, then found my job had been eliminated by a recession. It took me six months to land another job, and by that time I was deeply in debt, behind on my rent and my car had broken down.

It took me three years of abject poverty to dig myself out of that hole. I didn't have much fun. I was not happy with my surroundings. However, instead of sitting around stewing about not being able to afford to have any fun, I spent 20 hours a week volunteering at a free medical clinic. By the time I saw financial daylight, I was their volunteer coordinator, and we were throwing some amazing parties. That was the last time I ever lived in a city. As soon as I was able, I put a down payment on 5 acres in the country, and moved on out. By 1977, I had started building my first house.

Reminiscing about the old days brings to mind the lyrics of a song I listened to back then, by Hoyt Axton:

"Good times come,
Good times go,
Hard times right behind 'em.
I don't know where the good times go,
Sometimes it's hard to find them,
But I believe that somewhere
There are other happy days,
Where the good times are not wasted
On a fool."

[Kathleenh54]

Larry, you have a good attitude. It sounds like you've made a nice life for yourself, you deserve it.

We internalize a lot, we humans. If we don't like something, 'it sucks'. However, one man's poison is another man's magic potion. Moving-again-and-again just didn't like the place. Whaddya gonna do? It's good to know that, and why.

What does 'nothing to do' mean, anyway? We have beautiful scenery here (I'm a newbie from NY by way of SoCal) and walking is a very nice thing to do. Are you near a lake? Bring a picnic, a book and a chair; you're in business. There has to be a movie theater somewhere. (Bruce Willis' new movie isn't bad!).

Museums are wonderful but not everyone lives within walking distance of one. Take a trip for a few days and do the museum thing. Theaters? Plays? If you're in Jackson County, the Oregon Shakespeare Festival is in full swing. Like music? The Britt Festival is also going strong. How about ballet? There is a ballet in the Rogue River Valley as well as an opera company.

If by 'nothing to do' someone means getting out into the singles' scene, that's a tough one for me. Someone else will have to fill in the blanks there.

Our money does go much further here than in SoCal. We like the weather, the seasons, the mountains and the scenery. We're talking about buying a small camper to drag around and really see the state.

Whatever you feel about OR and however much you hate it, I wish you happiness with your future plans. If they include bars, burger joints, singles' events, the beach or whatever, have fun!

[DSMOM]

Hi Halfmoonbaygal...

There are adaptive PE specialists in the Eugene/Springfield area. As I said before lots of people move to Oregon from out of state because of our awareness & available services for the special needs population. The U of O turns out more special ed teachers/workers than any other university/college/whatever in the US. My old boss moved here from NH just to get her special ed degree.
As far as airports go PDX is the major one here but we also have the Eugene Airport out toward Junction City. It's maybe a 15 or 20 minute drive from Springfield depending on whether you take the freeway or go through town.
As far you getting a job here in APE? We need people in all facets of special ed...the demand is so high here it's unreal. I'll fix my settings so you can e-mail me. My name is Val & I'm pleased to met you.

[moving again and again]

You mean he stays stoned to make it in the NW.