Bethel-Danebo area - why "bad"? (Portland, Eugene: for sale, crime)

[Ostracon]

Hi Eugenites!

DH and I have been living in and around the Portland metro area but are looking to move further south into the Willamette Valley now that we are retired. We have looked at some of the smaller towns to the west of Portland and around Salem then in Salem itself, but have summarily dismissed the idea. What we have to consider is being located where there is easy access to a really good public transportation system (with short walking distances to the stops as we both have mobility issues) because we will eventually get to the point when we won't be able to drive. (Also access to good hospitals with cardiac care since DH had an attack last year, and health issues will accumulate.) And must have a good library as we have been catching up on our reading a lot lately! We've been to Eugene before for a short visit, and liked what we saw and the 'feel' of the area.

We are currently living in a 55+ mobile home park and want to find a nice one in Eugene that isn't going to bust our fixed budget, but not be a dump either. There are a couple in the Bethel-Danebo area that I've picked out as I've checked bus routes to stores, etc. The most accessible stores we like to shop are along the 41/43 buses, which serves several MHP along Terry, including Daneland which is 55+ located on Terry at Royal. There's another large park on Terry at Barger called Woodland Park but that is a family park, which we would consider but prefer the quiet of a senior park. One 55+ MHP (Briarwood) is on Barger about a half mile from Winco on the other side of the beltway. We aren't familiar with that area and hope to get some info about the demographics like crime, etc. as well as the quality of health care in the area. (Peacehealth hospital is just down Barger; anyone have input about it? The only exposure I've had to PH is from an employee of the Longview, WA hospital and her endorsement wasn't exactly stellar. )

From poking around on Google maps, it looks like our preferred parks would be (in order):

1. Daneland (Terry at Royal)
2. Briarwood (Barger at Devos)
3. Woodland (Terry at Barger)
4. Royal Oaks (Royal across from Candlelight Park)

I've looked at the street views around there and most of the housing areas between the beltway to Terry, from Barger to Royal look like average middle and working class neighborhoods with scattered pockets of 70s homes interspersed with newer homes; mostly single story ranch with some areas of two-story neo-craftsman style millenials and even a gated community. The industrial area of Danebo looks to be between Roosevelt Blvd and the south side of 11th Ave and extends north along the OR-99/Northwest Expwy corridor (with some run down mid-century homes there). In between the 99 corridor and the beltway looks to be mostly mid-century to 90s homes.

I did a search of the forums for "Danebo" and found several people advising to "avoid" the area, without giving specifics (it's a big area to avoid ). Can someone tell me why? Also, any other input would be helpful. The plan is to make it our last move, so we want to make sure we are in the right place.

Thanks in advance,
~Grae

PS: One more thing. We had looked at parks in the Beaverton area (before the bubble burst), only to find out there have been several parks there that were purchased by developers, who evicted the tenants, then built McMansions (because of the growth boundary). With the housing bubble burst, I don't anticipate this happening, but want to avoid it. Has anything like that happened in Eugene in the past?

[skypros]

I lived at Terry and Barger.....and it is a nice area.

The area you want to avoid is hwy 99 by the rail road tracks...... I think anything west of the Beltline is ok

[Ostracon]

Thanks Skypros!

You wouldn't happen to live in one of those parks?

[haggardhouseelf]

How is the area by Echo Hollow Pool? There are quite a few homes for sale over in that area (Dove Ln., Taney St., Waite St.; Very affordable - $119K - $150K. When I drive through that area and spend time at Echo Hollow, it feels OK.... but I know the surrounding outer area isn't very nice at all, and there are crime issues.

Also - I wonder about the traffic noise?

[Steve Pickering]

You picked some of the worst streets outside of the Whittiker area in Eugene. Well except for up off Trainsong.

[skypros]

I only lived in Eugene for 1 year...... I lived in a tract home there @ Terry and Barger, The street I lived on was "cosmoledo".
I Live in Bend, OR now

[Ostracon]

Originally Posted by Steve Pickering

You picked some of the worst streets outside of the Whittiker area in Eugene. Well except for up off Trainsong.

Steve,

Which streets are you referring to, the ones I mentioned or the ones Haggard mentioned?

Thanks,
~Grae

[Steve Pickering]

Haggard. My Ex has a couple of nice homes on Robin and my Uncle built the first homes on Barger in a tract. Most are gone now as they used undersized lumber to save money. There are a couple of hundred tract homess and even some customs in Eugene (Some off City View) that have 1.5 by 3.0 studs, still around. They didn't catch them all, and the builder is still around and paid some heavy fines..

[haggardhouseelf]

I'm totally lost... so do you mean the area is bad because of crime/ safety or are you talking about how the homes were built? Or both?

I have always been skeptical of that area because of crime/safety... but the streets right around the Echo Hollow community center don't seem too terribly bad. Definitely not as nice as the area we're currently in (VRC mall/Goodpasture area) but not as bad as what you see around Skinner's Butte/Whiteaker area.

[Steve Pickering]

Old new homes and the crime in the area, much of it from the older Royle ave and Trainsong spillover.