Where to live in Oregon? If any...

[delta07]

When my husband and I were deciding to move from Colorado, we had it narrowed down to two choices: Bend, Oregon or Missoula, MT. My sister lives in Missoula and so I've been visiting her on and off for 15 years. I absolutely love Missoula, but for us it came down to living wages. My husband was offered a job in both locations, but the pay in Missoula was $11/hour less. That was just too much for us, so we chose to go to Oregon. Of course, the economy crashed, and Missoula's economy is actually much better now (I'm sure that has to do with UM). Anyways.... my question for you would be what about Missoula is making you want to move? If it's the weather, you might want to reconsider Oregon. It may not be what you are looking for. Missoula's winters are definitely colder, but I would say in general, you still have a PNW based weather pattern. Even on the "sunny" side of Oregon, here in Bend, we still don't have endless sunny days in the winter like we did in Colorado where I'm originally from. I would say the amount of sunshine we have in the winter in Bend is very similar to Missoula.

In regards to Eugene, it's a very cool, liberal city (way more liberal than Bend). However, it's in the Willamette Valley, and the rain and overcast skies certainly seem endless during the winter. I have friends who live there, and anytime we visit them from about Nov-May, it's usually cloudy, rainy, and generally gloomy. It's rare to have snow, but in my opinion, the constant dampness feels colder to me than a below freezing day when it's sunny too.

I would try to plan a visit to Oregon sometime this winter to get a feel for our state.

[kapetrich]

Originally Posted by delta07

When my husband and I were deciding to move from Colorado, we had it narrowed down to two choices: Bend, Oregon or Missoula, MT. My sister lives in Missoula and so I've been visiting her on and off for 15 years. I absolutely love Missoula, but for us it came down to living wages. My husband was offered a job in both locations, but the pay in Missoula was $11/hour less. That was just too much for us, so we chose to go to Oregon. Of course, the economy crashed, and Missoula's economy is actually much better now (I'm sure that has to do with UM). Anyways.... my question for you would be what about Missoula is making you want to move? If it's the weather, you might want to reconsider Oregon. It may not be what you are looking for. Missoula's winters are definitely colder, but I would say in general, you still have a PNW based weather pattern. Even on the "sunny" side of Oregon, here in Bend, we still don't have endless sunny days in the winter like we did in Colorado where I'm originally from. I would say the amount of sunshine we have in the winter in Bend is very similar to Missoula.

In regards to Eugene, it's a very cool, liberal city (way more liberal than Bend). However, it's in the Willamette Valley, and the rain and overcast skies certainly seem endless during the winter. I have friends who live there, and anytime we visit them from about Nov-May, it's usually cloudy, rainy, and generally gloomy. It's rare to have snow, but in my opinion, the constant dampness feels colder to me than a below freezing day when it's sunny too.

I would try to plan a visit to Oregon sometime this winter to get a feel for our state.

This is all great advice!

I may be reading into the OP's original statements a bit, but I got the impression they are a bit tired of the relative isolation living in Missoula gives them. He/she mentioned wanting to be closer to the coast. Any of the population centers in Oregon, even Bend, give you access to the Pacific coast within a few hours. Same with three major cities - Portland within the state and both Seattle and San Francisco are doable in days drive if you're feeling frisky. Living in Missoula, while giving you access to many other greatly varied 'things' and beauty, it just isn't very feasible to get away to a coast quickly or even be in a major city within a reasonable days drive...let alone two, in many cases.