Help, I'm sick of Wisconsin! (Eugene, Albany: house, buy, utilities)

[Frostbit-biker]

I'm looking for a recommendation for a city in Oregon with a mild/warm climate without much snow. Great biking trails and a moderate to low cost of living would be a huge plus.

I've lived in northern Wisconsin my entire life and I'm getting really sick of the -20 below 0 weather and extreme snow and ice for 6 months of the year. :[

Thanks.

[Nell Plotts]

Eugene fits your weather and cycling desires perfectly. Here is a map (although I find it hard to read) https://www.ltd.org/pdf/EugeneMap.pdf ; other examples Eugene Bike Trails - Maps of Bike Routes in Eugene, OR , https://www.eugene-or.gov/index.aspx?NID=489


I wouldn't call the cost of living there low (particularly because I don't know your frame of reference), moderate is a better description.

[bler144]

Originally Posted by Nell Plotts

I wouldn't call the cost of living there low (particularly because I don't know your frame of reference), moderate is a better description.

Agree. If you're from Appleton, Eugene will feel somewhat familiar but still a bit higher (say 10-15% overall?) It will vary depending on your circumstances. In general housing will still be more (rent or esp. purchase), but you'll save on utilities.

If you're coming from Wausau or Point, the cost of Eugene will probably be shocking. There are places in the valley cheaper than Eugene (say, Albany) that will be more in the range of what you'd be looking at with Appleton, but generally less desirable.

Though certainly you can find advocates on these forums who think Albany is on an upswing, albeit a long, slow one.

[kennykennybopenny]

You mean you didn't like the 30 below we had last night. What the hey?

Eugene is basically Madison without the snow and freezing temperatures.

Albany is more, I dunno, Janesville after GM abandoned it?

[oregonwoodsmoke]

Originally Posted by Frostbit-biker

........ a moderate to low cost of living ........

Your requirement for a moderate cost of living is going to keep you out of the warmer areas of Oregon and away from anything even approaching being a moderately sized city any where in the state. Oregon is no longer an inexpensive place to live.

Reedsport on the coast has some relatively inexpensive housing. You can buy a cute little house for under $100,000. It never gets too cold, it never gets warm, and there are no jobs and no public transportation.

There are several really small towns that have inexpensive housing but they freeze down really hard in the winter and there are no jobs, no medical, no public transportation, and I suspect, no high speed internet.

[bler144]

Originally Posted by JasonF

Albany is more, I dunno, Janesville after GM abandoned it?

Eh, that might be a bit harsh. I'd take Albany over Janesville any day of the week.

Also, Albany doesn't have a lingering bad taste from hosting the KKK the way Janesville does

[Nell Plotts]

When did Albany host the KKK? That is news to me.

[bler144]

Originally Posted by Nell Plotts

When did Albany host the KKK? That is news to me.

Sorry, perhaps that could have been clearer - Janesville has a reputation for kkk affiliation (public events hosted there, plus at least for a while was rumored to host a kkk HQ), but Albany does not.

My point was that, as much as we give Albany a bad rap locally, I thought it was a bit mean to compare it to Janesville

[ccjarider]

Originally Posted by bler144

Sorry, perhaps that could have been clearer - Janesville has a reputation for kkk affiliation (public events hosted there, plus at least for a while was rumored to host a kkk HQ), but Albany does not.

My point was that, as much as we give Albany a bad rap locally, I thought it was a bit mean to compare it to Janesville

Geez - not that it matters on the Oregon forum but holy cow man, the Janesville/KKK thing was like 1990 or thereabouts. I do not think it is a lingering stigma.