Is the Medford area nice to live? (Portland, Eugene: fit in, homes)

[Tired of Chicagoland]

I have been looking at trying to move to the west coast now for several months. We even went out and visited the Sacramento, San Fran, and Napa areas in CA. I love the idea of so much sunshine and perfect weather and low humidity that CA has to offer but my wife still likes the idea of having fall color and more 'green' Oregon was our first choice when we first started looking west specifically the portland, eugene areas but after research it just looks way too gloomy and dreary for me. It is definitely a place I would like to visit in the summer but not sure it would be nice to live and settle down.

We are trying to find an area that is a suburb of a larger city that still offer a decent amount of things to do for entertainment as well as having a good outdoor recreational things to do as well such as hiking and biking. I am looking for something more dry and less humid, hot is not a problem but I dont do well with humidity. I am also trying to leave my snow shovel here in the Chicago area and look forward to not having to deal with that again. I am just wondering if the Medford/Ashland area would fit into that criteria and if it is a nice place to raise a family with ample things to do with a 3 and 5 yr old. Good schools are also important of course. My wife works in the health care field so if there is a good hospital system or network there too that would also be important. I have been able to find alot of info on the other bigger cities in OR but not much info on Medford. Any current residents from there that can chime in?

[Steve Pickering]

Medford isn't it.

[bler144]

I suspect Steve's response derives from the fact that Medford is 'the city' of the Metro, at a whopping 75k. The metro is 210k, but Medford/Ashland makes up the bulk of the 'density'. Medford has a decent hospital. Schools are mixed in Medford itself, but very good in Ashland. You might find the SE side by the golf course appealing, if still pretty sleepy.

It is a hotter, relatively arid climate - I haven't looked at the data closely but from experience I'd guess it's similar to Sacramento but a hair milder, and with better air quality.

Ample outdoors opportunity, but imo much of what their is to do for cultural activities is geared towards an older crowd (college, professional/retiree) than kids. Sacramento will have much more in the way of museums, etc., and has the Bay just 2 hours away. It's not like there won't be anything at all for kids to do, of course, but there's no OMSI (Portland) or Sacramento Children's Museum, much less a Field Museum/Shedd type of complex.

By comparison from Medford its 2.5 hours to the relative bustle of Eugene (north) or Redding (south). So you'd have to be content with driving a lot or enjoying what's nearby. But definitely, no shortage of outdoor opportunities.

[PNW-type-gal]

Neither Medford or Ashland are likely to be large enough to fit your needs, if you are looking for a suburb of a large city. Medford is the largest city in the region and it is about 78,000. It's also a bit isolated, compared to some of the other regions you've listed - 3 hours to Eugene, 5 hours to Portland, 6 hours to Sacramento/San Francisco.

The school districts in Ashland and Medford have at least one school which is GOOD but not GREAT by Oregon standards. Providence And Asante Hospitals have a good reputation.

I like the area so far, but then I did not want to live in or really near a large city. I find plenty to do, but then my kids are grown and I've always been the type to keep myself busy.

Medford does have the damp cloudy winter that the Willamette Valley has, but it is much shorter and much less than half the rain. While fall is gorgeous, I wouldn't say that we have, say, a New England style colorful fall - the main trees here are conifers and oak. The green hills here turn brown by about the end of June or early July and don't green up again until the real rains kick in around November. So it is a cross between the areas south of here (say Redding/Red Bluff) and the areas north of here (the Willamette Valley). Redding gets more sun because it doesn't get the winter rains, but it turns brown early and gets even hotter than we do. The Willamette Valley stays green but has a much longer, wetter winter.

[Nell Plotts]

Not knowing their budget but they may find the area between Santa Rosa and San Rafael, CA (north of San Francisco) appealing. Redding, CA is also an option. Look for specifics in CA Forums.

[Steve97415]

Originally Posted by Tired of Chicagoland

I love the idea of so much sunshine and perfect weather and low humidity that CA has to offer but my wife still likes the idea of having fall color and more 'green'

I think that's a false dichotomy. Even in warmer climates, areas that have lots of deciduous trees will exhibit fall color if autumn temperatures consistently fall below 45F at night. That's less likely to happen near the coast, where evergreens tend to predominate in both natural and planted landscapes, but becomes more reliable as you move inland. As long as you are in a river valley, you'll have plenty of summer greenery and fall color in the Sacramento Valley. Because of the milder climate, autumn arrives later than it does elsewhere -- October is pretty much a "summer month" in many areas. But come mid-November, there's lots of fall color. We often go to Chico in late Nov. to get out of the cold in the Rogue Valley, and the fall colors in Bidwell Park are beautiful. Along most of the lower-lying areas of the West Coast, fall color comes more from urban landscaping than from native plants.




Here's my take on the Rogue Valley. The character of the RRV is best viewed as a regional population center with varying neighborhoods rather than one where specific municipalities can be broadly typed. Even Ashland and Jacksonville have sketchy areas where you wouldn't find me walking after dark. Medford, Talent and Grants Pass have very desirable areas as well as crime-ridden ones. So EXACTLY where you live will affect your impression of the area.

If you take the view that a "mild climate" is one with a relatively low range of seasonal variation, then the RRV is not as mild as the Sacramento Valley. We typically run one or two degrees cooler for a daily high temperature in summer, but 15 degrees or more cooler for a daily high in winter. So the thermal profile of the Sacramento Valley is a little flatter, but if you are someone who finds heat much more stressful than cold, the tradeoff might not be worth it. Summers in the Sacramento Valley are both warm and LONG.
Once you get into the Siskiyou/Klamath mountain range north of Redding, there is much more persistant gray weather in winter. The same geology that formed the Sacramento Valley contributes to its dry, sunny character. The Rogue Valley's climate is intermediate between that of the Sacramento Valley and the cooler, greener Willamette Valley were Eugene and Portland are located. If abundance of sunshine in the non-summer months is an important consideration, set the 40th parallel as your northernmost boundary.

[kejele]

I recently moved from Medford after 2-1/2 years there. Economically wasn't able to afford living on my own and couldn't convince my daughter to join me there, so instead I joined her in Eugene. I enjoyed my Medford experience, had a great job at a local winery, loved visiting nearby Jacksonville and Ashland and the area wineries. Volunteered for Britt (great fun!) and the Ashland Film Fest. Weather was nice and warm after living in Alaska for 29 years. Medford itself is not that beautiful but being more affordable I just considered it my gateway to a lot of wonderful scenic road trips, including Crater Lake. Finding employment was definitely more difficult than it has been in Eugene but I would think the health field would be busy, lots of retired folks there.

[eaglefanor]

Originally Posted by kejele

I recently moved from Medford after 2-1/2 years there. Economically wasn't able to afford living on my own and couldn't convince my daughter to join me there, so instead I joined her in Eugene. I enjoyed my Medford experience, had a great job at a local winery, loved visiting nearby Jacksonville and Ashland and the area wineries. Volunteered for Britt (great fun!) and the Ashland Film Fest. Weather was nice and warm after living in Alaska for 29 years. Medford itself is not that beautiful but being more affordable I just considered it my gateway to a lot of wonderful scenic road trips, including Crater Lake. Finding employment was definitely more difficult than it has been in Eugene but I would think the health field would be busy, lots of retired folks there.

"Gateway" is the key word in my opinion, lots of great places nearby, my favorite is jed smith park, but medford itself is really pretty trashy with lots of grafiti and you're right that it is more affordable than many places in oregon, i'm actually considering moving to salem or eugene area, any opinions on those areas? thx