moving out of bay area to oregon. (Eugene, Jefferson: low income, real estate)

[jason289]

so i'll keep it short as possible and to the point. My fianc'e and i are looking north to put down some roots buy a house, and raise some kids.Growing up in the bay has been a great experience,although i don't appreciate the drunks,occasional gunshots and bum poop anymore.we are bolth 30 and looking to settle down and buy something in eugene or portland.The bay area is virtually impossible to afford and she is a high school english teacher and i work for ups.Needless to say the jobs here don't really apply to me,as i am more of a labor oriented worker not dealing with computers.We bolth have decent jobs and home ownership is possible up north.My brother recently left and bought a house in inland impire down south,not for me i need air.I would just like to get some info on eugene in general,went there once and i really liked it im thinking im more into eugene,from what i have experienced in bolth towns so far,eugene seems more laid back,less dumb hipster kids than portland.There is a lake nearby i see how is that?She wants to eventually get her masters so we need to be by a college,i want to be by a lake.Looking at homes around the area im sure we can afford a nice home instead of renting here forever because a Moderator cut: inappropriate language condo is $500,000.I want to know what areas are best and what to expect from the area. thanx.

[Larry Caldwell]

What areas are best for what? If you want a lake, that puts you out by Fern Ridge Reservoir somewhere, which is used for irrigation and recreation. That's not too far from Eugene. The only areas to avoid are the areas near the U of O and the older areas just west of downtown. A two income family should do fine anywhere in the Eugene area.

[jason289]

it seems alot of the homes in our price range are in the bethel neighborhood vacinity,are there other areas that are more disireable? How long does it take to drive from one side of town to another?

[Mr Eugenified]

What is your price range? Also what sort of concerns/hopes/dreams do you have about your specific home location?

Bethel is not good. After I hear your answer to my above questions, I can give you some better suggestions.

20 minutes at most to drive from one side to the other. Traffic in the California sense of the word is non-existent in Eugene.

[Minervah]

Check out as to whether or not Eugene has an UPS there and see if you can get a transfer. That will be a tremendous break for you. It isn't likely your finance will be able to get a high school teaching job without a Masters. Teaching jobs are extremely difficult to come all throughout Oregon due to cutbacks and layoffs. She should check into the criteria for obtaining her teachers certification in Oregon and then see what the Eugene schools have to offer.

If you can succeed in becoming a two-income family in Eugene, you will be able to live pretty well.

[jason289]

We are looking for somewhere safe near good schools--somewhere desirable for young families. We are thinking in the 200,000 to 250,000 range right now.

[Mr Eugenified]

OK, Bethel is out. I would suggest you focus on three possible areas.

One is the Ferry St Bridge area. It's a mix of houses, ranging from fairly pricey down to affordable. The political climate is definitely more "Orange County", i.e. conservative yuppies. Here are some current listings and sold houses within the last 6 months in that area. Be sure to stay on the east side of Delta Hwy. Eugene is on the west side of Hwy 5, and Sprangfield is on the east side of Hwy 5: Real Estate Search | Redfin

The next two areas are south of 18th st. The southwest/southeast dividing line is Jefferson St.

The southwest is suburban with a mixture of older residents, early retirees from California, younger families, with a smattering of conservative 4WD trucking-driving accountants (this species is closely related to the Orange County types in the Ferry St Bridge area). The political climate is a mixed bag but, in general, people are not very active politically. It's hilly in most of this area, so people are mainly driving cars which means there is less of a super friendly neighborhood feeling (although there are exceptions such as the aptly named Friendly Neighborhood in the flat area). Almost no serious or even semi-serious crime in most of this area.

The southeast is the part of Eugene that Eugene is famous for, i.e. liberals...young, middle-aged, and old...lots of them. The houses are older in this area, and the area tends to be slightly rundownish in spots. (On the other hand, College Hill has some nice older homes, but probably not in your price range). The widely-recognized best high school, South Eugene High School, is located in this area, so houses tend to have an extra 10% tacked onto the price (in an apples-apples comparison with other areas). Crime in this area is low, but there can be break-ins and car theft/vandalism in some of the sub-neighborhoods. In general, it seems as if hills reduce crime, i.e. the more hilly your area, the less crime (Maybe we should just arrest anyone with weak legs!). So keep that in mind if it is an issue for you.

Here's a map of current listings and sold homes in the last six months in that area for your reference. I limited the search to homes built in 1960 or later, but if you are relatively handy/brave, you can redo the search and include even older homes as well: Real Estate Search | Redfin

If you want to also add schools to the mix, you can check out Eugene Schools - Eugene Oregon School Ratings - Public and Private where they rate schools on a simple scoring basis. Seems overly simplified to me, so I would be a bit skeptical of these numbers, but I guess it's a place to start at least.

Good Luck!

[Larry Caldwell]

Originally Posted by Minervah

Check out as to whether or not Eugene has an UPS there and see if you can get a transfer. That will be a tremendous break for you. It isn't likely your finance will be able to get a high school teaching job without a Masters. Teaching jobs are extremely difficult to come all throughout Oregon due to cutbacks and layoffs. She should check into the criteria for obtaining her teachers certification in Oregon and then see what the Eugene schools have to offer.

If you can succeed in becoming a two-income family in Eugene, you will be able to live pretty well.

A full time teaching contract can be hard to come by, but many teachers get by substitute teaching. That means no pension or medical insurance, but it's a living for someone young enough.

Unfortunately, there is a lot of competition in Eugene because of recent U of O graduates who hang around town instead of going somewhere else.

[jason289]

thanks for all the info mr eugenefeild it was really helpfull.After reading up on the situation for teachers there,i gotta say my dreams are starting to get crushed.The wife has a great job here,union with all the perks.She even made tennure last year so it's hard to leave that behind for an uncertain,over saturated job market.We will never be able to afford a decent home in san jose,i am originally from here and she went to college here to get her teaching credentials,that is the only reason we live in this super overpriced city.It ironic that the job you need and the house you can afford can't intersect.I am still going to try and make it work but the more reading i do on the subject the sadder i get.

[dogflower]

Jason289-

I don't know if your wife would be open to it, but the U of O in Eugene has the third best rated program in the nation (according to US News and World Report for the past 12 years) in special ed. They have a master's program and the graduates find employment very easily. I'm a graduate and have found employment readily around the state--and found the program to be good and comprehensive, as well. Special ed. teachers who work in low income schools for five years following graduation can get their student loans forgiven; I --and my cohort--had a grant that paid our tuition and a stipend (not sure if this is still in place) so I didn't need to use this avenue. (Speech pathology, another program at the U of O, focuses extensively on language development and may pique an English major's interest. This profession is in INCREDIBLE demand and also qualifies for loan forgiveness.)