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Jennifer&Bob: Yes, Coburg is in the 4J (Eugene area) school district. That's one of the reasons I thought it might be good for you. I'm not sure that you'd be keen on the idea of a smaller school district if you understood Oregon's budget crisis in school funding like I do. While you may be thinking that a student in a smaller district will receive more personal attention and a learning environment with a higher student-to-teacher ratio, the reality is more along the lines of no music, art, accelerated reader or PE program because the small districts don't have enough money to fund them. 4J is considered a pretty good district. If you really want to prioritize having a superior school district among your criteria, though, think about locating in 509J (Corvallis) just about 45 miles north of Eugene. It has many of the best schools in the state and the whole city is very family-friendly and progressive. Many former Eugeneans now live in Corvallis -- that says alot.
Thanks for the perspective, Steve. My husband grew up in a tiny school district where the community was always very involved (by necessity) in fundraising activities for the schools and there were some programs eliminated at times but his education in the basics was unbelievably better than mine in a relatively large school district, but in California, so maybe this isn't a fair comparison. That's where our interest in the smaller district comes from and it seems like a plus to have a more cohesive, and less constantly changing, student body from K-12. I'd hate to subject our little boy to a high school like mine with over 2,000 students and have to send him to a private junior high to avoid him getting harassed by junior gang brats every day. Not that that's actually what Eugene schools are like, I'm sure, but I think there's more potential for such problems in a bigger school district where people never get to know each other as well. So again the interest in smaller school districts.
If it is music you want and Zydeco in particular you will find a whole lot of that in Portland and not so very much in Eugene. The folk to contact on that score are the WOW Hall booking agents or office person. If you consider a half hour to be a fairly short commute, you can live in any of the Cascade foothill towns and environs. Marcola comes to mind to the east and Alsea and Noti - Triangle Lake and Low Pass to the west in the coastal range.
Whichever you choose, please allow yourselves time enough to listen to the land. I have found that the real homes are those that call us toward them.
Pax tecum,
kevin Frye
I have a 10-year-old, 9-year-old, and 4-year-old. We moved to Junction City from Salem, Oregon two years ago and love the location! We're small town folks at heart and like the friendly neighborhood that we live in. There are several parks within walking distance of anywhere in town because the town is small. My pre-schooler has attended Building Blocks childcare and the rates are reasonable and she LOVES going to school.
The schools in Junction City are adequate: I don't have to worry about their safety, my middle-schooler loves the lockers and friendly teachers, and the coursework is basic. I have no worries of gangs or drugs with the elementary and middle school. My kids were more challenged at the private school (where we used to live) but that's typical of the "meet state standards" requirements we've found in general in Oregon.
If you're interested in private schools, there are several in the Eugene area and a couple in Junction City. The Eugene private schools have records of academic excellence, and the commute isn't bad. Junction City is located 5 miles from the Eugene airport and it takes about 10 minutes to reach Beltline Highway (the major roadway in Eugene).
True, there is the RV manufacturer in town which is located on the opposite side of the train tracks (the bulk of town is located west of the trains and Country Coach is located on the east side) but I haven't found the traffic, noise, or manufacturer/"industrial" features distracting in the least.
Anyhow, hope that helps whoever might be looking. Good luck!
Hi Jennifer & Bob!
We moved to Junction city three years ago and love it here. We have five acres 5 miles form town and it is beautiful here. The dominant sounds you hear here is song birds, very little traffac. Huge beautiful oak trees and beautiful scenes in any direction you turn.
We have a three year old so we have no experience with the schools yet but have heard nothing but good things about it.
Around here if you need to merge into traffic, cars actually slow down and let you in ahead of them, this still surprises me every time. The people are very friendly, I'm not a very outgoing person but anywhere I go in town, people want to stop and chat with me.
It is about a 20-25 minute drive into Eugene, with no rush hour traffic to deal with at all.
I had hoped to live here the rest of my life, it is so peaceful and beautiful.
Unfortuantely due to my husbands work, we will be moving back to the Vancouver WA area.
We will be putting our house and acrage on the market in the next few weeks.
Sorry, I don't know anything about the music scene. But I know Eugene is a very ecclectic mix of people.
they are in the 4J and your students will feed into some of the best schools in the city. First your kids can either go to Coburg Elementery school or you can send them to Gilham which has the best Funding in the cities and its the best K-5 school in Eugene. The PTA there is huge and alot of parents donate alot of money so the school can have both a full time Music and a full time PE teacher. Having just one at Full time is rare in Eugene. They also have good sized classes. Then your kids will go to Cal Young Middle school which has been torn down and then built back up and is totally state of the art. Great teachers and staff and its still only a 10 minute car ride from Coburg as its just down the street from Gilham. Lastly you have the choice of sending your child to Sheldon high school which is great at every area from academics to sports. They have a great Drama program and their Football and girls and boys basketball teams are the best in the city. Or you could send your kid(s) to the biggest Private HS in the city, Marist which is in the Sheldon area, near the mall. Marist is most likely your best choice for getting your child ready for college.
Living in Coburg will also come to be a very postive thing down the road. Eugene is growing and since coberg is near by you will start to see the growth get out there. However it wont be too much due to the city of Coburg blocking all major developments. Land value in Coburg is going up every year. Your right off I5 and you have two ways of getting into the "city". Get on I5 from town and head south for 5 minutes or go the back country road and get to the outskirts of Eugene in 10 minutes. You are also close to one of the rivers in the area.
Coburg is a nice small town thats got that current day feel to it yet keeps the country feel too. Your still closer then alot of people in Eugene to Valley River Mall, Oakway shopping center, Old Navy, Home Depot, and many many more shopping locations. Your also close to Autzen Stadium where the Oregon Ducks football team plays.
I have lived in Junction city all most all my life and I love it. People really care here and if someone has cancer or something major all the town comes together and helps out! Not many places do that.
People are very dedicated to the schools,sports programs ,and supporting the local buisnesses. It's a great community!
Hi Jennifer & Bob!
We moved to Junction city three years ago and love it here. We have five acres 5 miles form town and it is beautiful here. The dominant sounds you hear here is song birds, very little traffac. Huge beautiful oak trees and beautiful scenes in any direction you turn.
We have a three year old so we have no experience with the schools yet but have heard nothing but good things about it.
Around here if you need to merge into traffic, cars actually slow down and let you in ahead of them, this still surprises me every time. The people are very friendly, I'm not a very outgoing person but anywhere I go in town, people want to stop and chat with me.
It is about a 20-25 minute drive into Eugene, with no rush hour traffic to deal with at all.
I had hoped to live here the rest of my life, it is so peaceful and beautiful.
Unfortuantely due to my husbands work, we will be moving back to the Vancouver WA area.
We will be putting our house and acrage on the market in the next few weeks.
Sorry, I don't know anything about the music scene. But I know Eugene is a very ecclectic mix of people.
ilief - How did you find your 5 acres? I am getting ready to retire in 3 years and want to run a small hobby farm. Vegetables and fruit. Is the soil good around Junction City? How is Lane County?
Coburg is really great. If you are considering public schools I would go with Coburg simply because Coburg feeds into Eugene schools. Coburg Elementary is a sweet little school, we checked it out for our boys when we were looking around for schools. Our kids have both attended Gilham, which is an awesome school. We absolutely love it. Both Gilham and Coburg Elem. feed into the same middle school - Cal Young. Cal Young is a really great school as well. Very positive environment there. Our 7th grader is very happy there.
There are still places in Eugene where you would have an acre or more to yourself. Some of the places I've seen are sweet little organic farms in the north river road area - Santa Clara neighborhood near the River Loops. That area is unincorporated, meaning it's served by Lane County not the City of Eugene, but it's very close-in so you can access everything in Eugene very easily.
Lorane, Crow and possibly even Oakridge might interest you as well. We love Lorane... we went to a beautiful lavendar farm there and the husband and wife couple who owned it spoke very highly of their experience raising their daughter there. They were from a large city, both with high-income jobs - and left it all so that they could raise their daughter in a more idyllic setting.
Anyway... good luck with your home-hunting. Nothing here is like the SF Bay area, everything is quaint and small-town feeling, albeit with a modern, progressive, artsy sort of organic "slow-food movement" bent. You have to love and appreciate the little things, and also enjoy learning new things. It's also a good thing if you are capable of entertaining yourself, like reading books or stomping in puddles, having stick races, making mud pies, finding joy in nature and spending time with friends and family. This is a great place to develop hobbies and try new recipes and get to bed at a decent time every night. It's a good place to dream. If none of that appeals to you, then you might get a little bored here.
I have lived on Ft Riley, Grand View Plaza and Junction City for the last 5 years. It as anywhere else is what you choose it to be. There are some areas that are better than others and some to avoid.
My suggestion is to google it. If you like a busy way of life then JC isn't the best suggestion. More the Manhatten area that is 13 miles to the east.
I liked JC and I would suggest it if you like a slower pace but to be honest the schools are not that good. USD 475 sucks. I was a Para, a Sub teacher and my children attended the schools. There is only 1 high school but various elementary schools and also a new middle school and freshman success academy. The high school has way too many students and the drugs are pretty bad.
If you like to relax then Milford Damn is great! Its there in town and is very pretty! Also there Tuttle Creek in Manhatten but overall comming from San Diego myself as a teenager I would say it would be a smooth transition for you to live in Manhatten or Topeka.
Not sure if this helped but I hope so! If you don't have children and like the slower pace JC is great! You need to be supportive of the base and thats the majority of the town is Ft Riley. The housing market is sky high I think being that a 5 bedroom, 2.5 bath home 5 years ago would rent for $6 per month and now is better than $1300, but then again if you like history its FANTASTIC! I would live there voluntarily! Also, a good church is in Manhatten KS and its Harvest Baptist.
Happy New Year! Carrie
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The entire upper valley is great!
Mother of three likes Junction City
