East Coasters - what surprised you about moving to Oregon? (Grants Pass: living, zoning)

[ExNooYawk]

Originally Posted by frogcreekwoods

Thank you so much for all the comments. Everything you wrote says "ME" and my family and makes me want to move there.

The part about the schools concerns me slightly, although we're looking at the Corvallis (perhaps Philomath) area so I think we may have better luck than other areas. But I'm not looking for stellar, just really decent science, math, and social studies programs.

Thanks again! Time to go apply for that job!

Frog, my family moved to Southern Oregon via SoCal five years ago. I grew up in NY but lived in Fairfield County, CT for fourteen years prior to heading west. (DH's new job).
We love Oregon. The pace is slower, the people less pretentious and the scenery is breathtaking.
What we didn't love were the schools. Our last daughter living with us went to a private school.
The area of Oregon you are talking about has winter but nothing like New England. There is also heat in the summer but not like the humid summers back east.
Our coastline is vast and beautiful. But. It is too cold for swimming and can be foggy in the summer. Still, we spend a lot of time there in summer.
If you have a job lined up and can pay for private school, go for it. You won't regret it. I visit my family back in NY every year and always smile when returning 'home'.

[Minervah]

Pedestrians have inordinate fear of getting hit. In my new neighborhood it looks like either a clown convention or a fire truck race with all the little blinking lights and neon orange vests that hikers, walkers, dogwalkers etc. are wearing.

Originally Posted by JasonF

This actually does make some sense. Visibility can be extremely poor on those dark, gloomy, rainy winter days (especially when the fog sets in). It probably is overkill during bright summer days though.

Dailymotion - Oregon pedestrian vs. car accidents on the rise - a News & Politics video
This is one reason for the attention-getting clothes and lights. Wearing bright clothes and carrying flashing lights is a good idea.

[PNWdrifter]

LOL I meant to say ashland and maybe salem. my bad

[Ebrehm]

My Dad, when he first moved out here back in 1989 or 1990, referred to "Tigard" as "Tiggard."

[Minervah]

Originally Posted by Ebrehm

My Dad, when he first moved out here back in 1989 or 1990, referred to "Tigard" as "Tiggard."

LOL! Back in the 80's my sister came out to visit me. I was living in Tigard at the time. She called it "Tigger" like in "Winnie The Pooh." She really thought that was the correct name.

[frogcreekwoods]

Originally Posted by PNWdrifter

I've grown up in oregon my whole life and my friends dad moved here from boston a couple of years ago. He always joked around about oregon being hick country (not necessarily a bad thing) and I'm sorta curious, do all East coasters think of oregon this way?

In my experience all East Coasters know about the PNW is from the movie Sleepless in Seattle and if they are old enough to remember the Spotted Owl controversy. Other than that they don't even think of the PNW at all.

[ccjarider]

Frogcreekwoods,
I am a newcomer here from midwest and I think you are correct. This part of country just does not have the population or economic clout to make the rest of USA think about what happens here too much. Plus is is just pretty darn far away.

I was surprised to read that there will be a Presidential debate (republican) in Oregon.
I came from a swing state (Wisconsin) and presidential elections are a pain there. Ton's and ton's of money and attention is spent to convince people how to vote. Literally; for the final 3 seeks you cannot get away from it.
Most people are reeeealllly glad when it's over, regardless of outcome.

I think a Presidential election here should be much quieter. For one, I think Oregon is pretty reliable for Democrat party and further it does not have that many electoral votes anyway. I doubt either party spends that much here. I could be wrong but that is my intial thought.

Of course this comment is geared towards national elections only, not state issues. I am sure they garner plenty of attention and $.

[pdxMIKEpdx]

I have a distant cousin who lives in Poughkeepsie NY.

To hear her talk you would think that Oregon is all rain, pine trees, mountain men and bigfoot.

I really think she believes that we still get along in covered wagons on muddy rutted dirt roads and have to hunt deer and fish for salmon and barter with the local Indian tribes to survive.

(that's an exaggeration, but really close)

[jamurphy]

thank you so much for all that great info! Very useful, indeed. Appreciate you taking the time!

[Larry Caldwell]

Originally Posted by Minervah

Dailymotion - Oregon pedestrian vs. car accidents on the rise - a News & Politics video
This is one reason for the attention-getting clothes and lights. Wearing bright clothes and carrying flashing lights is a good idea.

Thank you for this. It didn't sink in right away, but last night I was driving and realized I was wearing all dark clothing. If I had broken down and been forced to walk somewhere, I would have been invisible to other drivers. A light weight reflective traffic safety vest goes into my emergency road kit.

We had several pedestrian fatalities in Douglas County last winter. They were all wearing dark clothing at night, with no reflector strips.