What areas around Medford are nice/affordable? What areas to avoid? Is White City trashy? (Ashland: to rent, crime rate)

[lauravdn]

moving to Medford this summer. Looking to rent a 3 bd for under $1,000 so looking for affordable, yet nice/safe neighborhoods. There are some nice newer homes available in White City, but I've been told by someone who lived in the area 15 yrs ago to avoid White City b/c it is trashy. Is it still this way? Has it had a turn around? I have 2 young children and we're quite picky where we live... as picky as we can be on a student's small income... Any ideas of places to look at, neighborhoods to avoid would be welcome... Also any ideas on elementary schools as well??

[lesharona]

I am looking too, and was given the same advise regarding White City. I was told it is a mostly industrial area, and crime rate is higher there. I have been focusing on Central Point and Medford

[Terryj]

White City at one time was known by the locals in the area as "Felony Flats", in all fairness, it has changed allot in the last few years. Most of the housing is manufactured homes but don't let that scare you off, it's not a trailer trash town. It does still look like a "company town" housing on one side of the highway and industry on the other.
As far as Medford goes, you can find some nice homes to rent for $1000 a month in a nice neighborhood. Medford has its run down areas both west and east side. SW Medford is an older area of town that has retained its charm. Take a drive down Stewart Ave heading west and you see allot of older nieghborhoods that has been well taken care of.
As with all neighborhoods is all about the people and how you interact with your neighbors. Where I live, we all know each other, I know every family that lives on our street. During the summer we will have a neighborhood get together and bar-b-q, the 4th of July on our street is awesome. Everyone gets together and it's a block party, walk from house to house with plate in hand and enjoy the evening.

[mdvaden]

Central Point or Medford would be my choice. If you go into Ruch, in Applegate Valley, that's a Jacksonville address and the school bus comes out there for high school, too.

Note the hills. They are golden and more barren on the east side. And if you drive into the valley, note the hills on the west are greener with more trees.

If you get into a neighborhood on the west side of Medford or Central Point, the mountains put you in shade about 1 hour earlier in that warm climate.

If you go on the east side, you will be in the sun for an extra hour. Likewise, the westside sees sunrise one hour earlier, but its a cooler light.

[GoBeavs!]

If you want less expensive, decent schools, and safe, go for Cental Point. There are some values to be found in Medford as well. Avoid White City. Seriously. It's improved, but only a little bit. It's still unincorporated and has high crime.

[lesharona]

I am coming to Oregon this next week, and will be looking over the areas mentioned above. Great advise, I love this board for learning little tidbits of information such as the shade from the mountains. I can't wait to move to Oregon!

[Brenda-by-the-sea]

Originally Posted by lauravdn

What areas around Medford are nice/affordable?

Those are two different questions. Which are you most interested in: areas that are nice, or areas that are affordable?

[Brenda-by-the-sea]

Originally Posted by mdvaden

If you get into a neighborhood on the west side of Medford or Central Point, the mountains put you in shade about 1 hour earlier in that warm climate.

If you go on the east side, you will be in the sun for an extra hour. Likewise, the westside sees sunrise one hour earlier, but its a cooler light.

I know a lot of people who actually prefer the east side for the sunlight dynamics. While it's true that Medford gets hot in the afternoon for 3-5 weeks a year, it's quite cold for 30+ weeks a year. Whether or not you view the sun as your enemy comes down to how your personal thermal preferences sit with the Law of Averages. If you are exceptionally sensitive to heat, the west hills would be a better choice. But you also lose the sun much earlier there during the short days of winter, a trade-off not everyone finds advantageous. Even though there is much more cloud cover during winter, damp shady exposures still feel colder when the sun is behind the mountains.

[WolfBoy914]

We wound up in the Twin Creeks development in Central Point. LOVE it... Affordable and very nice. Love living in Southern Oregon.

[Fiddlehead]

Originally Posted by lauravdn

moving to Medford this summer. Looking to rent a 3 bd for under $1,000 so looking for affordable, yet nice/safe neighborhoods. There are some nice newer homes available in White City, but I've been told by someone who lived in the area 15 yrs ago to avoid White City b/c it is trashy. Is it still this way? Has it had a turn around? I have 2 young children and we're quite picky where we live... as picky as we can be on a student's small income... Any ideas of places to look at, neighborhoods to avoid would be welcome... Also any ideas on elementary schools as well??

White City and parts of West Medford are lower income areas. White City is the mill town, West Medford seems to have more welfare. Plenty of ex-cons in both places. I should clarify and say a good chunk of the Rogue Valley is on public assistance these days. The economy stinks badly still. If affordability is critical, I would probably go with Central Point. E. Medford, Jacksonville, and Ashland are the nicest areas, but expensive. E. Medford is by far the most affordable of the last three, but still quite nice IMO.