Another family moving to Oregon... where? (Portland, Eugene: home, employment, living in)

[kbeefy]

Hiya all-

I lived in Alaska for 40 years (born and raised), several years ago my wife and I had decided the winters were too long and the summers too short. I had an oppourtunity to move to Hawaii for work so we did. Now it's been almost 2 years in Hawaii and I'm tired of it... got 'rock fever'. Alaska was the second most remote state to live in, Hawaii is the first.

For whatever reason I've got it stuck in my head that I'd like to live in Oregon. I work away from home and can live anywhere, employment isn't an issue.

We want to avoid incredibly hot summers, 80 is on the hot side for me but still bearable. Also want to avoid Alaskan winters, some snow is fine but -40 sucks. I'm not interested in living in the rain all the time, 0-2" of rain a month is what we're used to in Alaska.

Interested in a smaller town, I was originally looking around Corvalis, now I'm thinking about Bend but not absoloutly sure at this point. We wouldn't want to be in town but not to far away from shopping, dining etc.

Thanks for any suggestions or advice!

[Steve Pickering]

Try Dallas.

[Metlakatla]

Well, I've lived in both Alaska and Oregon for all of my life, much of that time working rotationally in Alaska and spending the rest of the time in Oregon. From your description of what you want, I don't know if that exists in Oregon. I don't think that summers are incredibly hot anywhere in the state, but it does get over 80 quite frequently everywhere but on the coast, and even that area gets some hot days.

Would you be flying out for work on a regular basis? When I did that, I personally found that using the Eugene airport was much more convenient than dealing with the long lines and other hassles of PDX.

[Steve Pickering]

The only issue being the 30% surcharge for flying out of Eugene to many locations. Although Allegiant can't be beat for basic flights to Oakland, Las Vegas, LA, Hawaii, and Phoenix (Mesa).

[hamellr]

A lot of Alaskans live down in Klamath Falls, in fact it's been joked that is one of the towns biggest imports. Summers are warm, it's semi-arid scrub forest. Winters have snow, but not really cold. Less rain then the left side of the state. Politics are about as Conservative.

Bend would be a slightly better choice, only because there is more money in town. Klamath Falls' best days are long gone and there is very little on the horizon to give one hope that they will ever come back.

[Steve Pickering]

Originally Posted by hamellr

... ... Klamath Falls' best days are long gone and there is very little on the horizon to give one hope that they will ever come back.

Sad isn't it.

[kbeefy]

I'd probably be flying out of Portland. I only have to travel every other month, so I don't mind the drive or a busy airport.

Having seen 90 degrees almost every day for the past 2 years, I guess I can handle 90 every now and then.

My wife has a cousin that lives in Bend, she's kinda biased towards there. Thanks for the input, I'll look into Dallas and Klamath. I spent a weekend in Klamath a while back, seemed like a nice place.

[gonpostal]

Originally Posted by hamellr

Klamath Falls' best days are long gone and there is very little on the horizon to give one hope that they will ever come back.

Originally Posted by Steve Pickering

Sad isn't it.

The State of Jefferson will fix that.

[BLAZER PROPHET]

Originally Posted by hamellr

A lot of Alaskans live down in Klamath Falls, in fact it's been joked that is one of the towns biggest imports. Summers are warm, it's semi-arid scrub forest. Winters have snow, but not really cold. Less rain then the left side of the state. Politics are about as Conservative.

Bend would be a slightly better choice, only because there is more money in town. Klamath Falls' best days are long gone and there is very little on the horizon to give one hope that they will ever come back.

I agree with this. Klamath Falls is a town of about 60-75,000 metro area and has remote feel to it. The Bend/Redmond area is about 250,000 metro population and has a distinctive California "I'm suing you if you **** me off" attitude. But it is beautiful. If you want a really small community, I suggest LaPine. It's about 30 miles south of Bend.

[PNW-type-gal]

What kind of shopping and dining? If you will be content with WalMart and buffet or large-portion restaurants, then KFalls might fit. Living in Hawaii, if you are accustomed to good Chinese/Asian food and fresh fish, you'll have to get that while traveling.