Ideal place to relocate to (Portland, Bend: real estate, live, design)

[trontrader]

Hey Freedom,

Your information is very insightful and much appreciated. I now have areas to research and I am all smiles.
Thank you so much for your time and input,

Mike

[trontrader]

Hi BRB,

Thank you for the feedback. Knowing where to avoid is in many respects, as important as knowing where to look. I am sure Portland is a fine city, but as you mentioned, it is not what my family seeks.
I greatly appreciate your recommendations, time and input.

Thank you,

Mike

[oldsrfr]

suggest you look at Bend Oregon as well - 300 days of sunshine a year, population of around 75,000, St. Charles medical center which is the primary fro all of eastern Oregon. Great town, great folks, the town itself has some really fun gigs such as free music in the park, lots of fun fairs, great mountain to ski at just a half hour from Bend. housing prices have dropped with a very large inventory - 300K will buy a decent place.

[imagenie]

Hey Tron,

A fellow Hermosan in here !!!! I have read alot of posts about the unfriendly attitude towards Californians. We recently vacationed in the NW all the way to Vancouver Island B.C. then took our time going home. We spent some time in Jackson County and fell in love with it. We especially loved Jacksonville and Grants Pass, and the Applegate Valley. I must comment that most of the rude Californians are not from California, but have moved here from other states. I'm a native born and raised here, a native hermosan. Things have changed radically and although I have always loved it here, we're ready to get out. My husband is a native of Santa Monica and feels the same. We are recently retired, (fire dept 911 operator ) so we won't be taking jobs from the Oregonians. We are friendly to a fault and found the people in Oregon to be wonderful. Right now we're having terrible fires, which IMHO are caused by building houses where houses shouldn't be. I hate tract houses, Gated communities. My ex brother-in-law, originally from Redondo Beach lives in Ruch and loves it there. I can't wait to get away from the wierdo's, shopping malls, crime, and plastic botox loving people and live in a town with real people, which is what I found in Jacksonville. Can't wait to pack our bags !!!

[^Numi^]

Ooh, ooh, Lake County is REALLY open, and everyone is NICE!

[lovewhereyoulive]

Portland has a strong medical community....There are many communities surrounding Portland that have great schools, great parks and lots of space. The weather can be hard to get used to but the air is clean, the water is clean and there are lots of trees! I live in West Linn and there is a strong "small town" feel here. The schools are excellent with many well qualified teachers, most with Masters Degrees. West Linn has a well funded and well supported Parks and Rec. Dept so there are many neighborhood parks around town. Great place to raise kids. Several public boat ramps, wonderful library with kids programs, sports fields and lots of green. Suprisingly there are many artists and writers that live in West Linn!

[trontrader]

Hi Lovewhereyou live,

Thanks for the info on Bend. Been looking into it and have requesting info from the area.

Thanks,

Mike

[trontrader]

Hey imagenie,

Nice to know I'm not alone, in wanting to get out. I like Hermosa too, but it seems like to goto a local mall or anywhere outside the beach cities everyone is nutts!
We are moving in about a year to a year and one half. But in that time, we will goto Oregon and check out the places that we narrow our search down to. I truely appreciate your suggestions on areas too. My wife and I work in Beverly Hills, so we know exactly what you mean by botox people..hahaha. I am fearful that being from California will be held against us when it comes to working in Oregon. I can remember interviewing in Nevada, and they were so anti California it was positively amazing. Being health care professionals, you'd think that would be kept to a minimum or not even be there. I guess we will find out soon enough. We are in our late 30's, but I don't want my son to grow up in LA. Our son is 3 and has Autism, so I need to do my home work on the schools and hospitals, wherever we decide to relocate. Hermosa provides our son with all of the therapy that he needs and has been wonderful to us.
Feel like I'm rambling, but hope to chat with you again and thanks for the tips on the places that you visited.

Mike.

[trontrader]

Thanks Lovewhere you live. I think I replied to you previously with the intent for oldsrfr.

I have heard many good things about West linn. Schools, the whole package.
Indeed, this is one of the areas that we may visit when we come out to Oregon.
Thank you for you insight and advice.

Mike

[DavePautsch]

Check out Albany / Corvallis areas...

Plus side:
Good schools
Great access to everything the state has to offer (1 1/2 hours to the coast OR the mountains); quick drive to Salem or Portland (less than 1 1/2 hours) or to Euguene
Weather is pretty temperate (not much snow to speak of, sometimes none at all). It rains part of the year, but the rest of the year is spectacular!
Friendly people and a nice small community
OSU is right here and LBCC is another great resource for educational pursuits
Generally affordable housing (median sale price in Albany last month - less than $200K)
Historic neighborhoods, new construction, some rural opportunities - small acreage, older established areas...depending on your tastes you'll likely find it here.

Cons:
It rains
Some drug problems (although I personally haven't had to deal with it, it is a fact)

Personally, we've been here 6 years and I wouldn't move! We've found a home after 23 years of military moving around, this is a community where we've been able to put down some roots and we feel like we belong here now.

good luck in your search; there's lots of good out there!

Dave