Self employed artists seeking refuge from the sun (Portland, Eugene: for sale, real estate)

[La Valentina]

Hello,
There are probably a lot of similar topics here, but I'd like to throw mine out there.
My family is currently living in Tucson AZ. My husband and I are both self employed artists, and we own a few rental properties to supplement our art earnings.
Our kids are still pretty young, and we want to put down roots in a place that's still going to be livable by the time our grandchildren come along in 25-30 years. Tucson is already unbearably hot and it's only getting worse.
We are looking for a town of 60,000 to 100,000 people, where we can buy a home on 1-5 acres for 250,000
With creative people, good schools, etc.
Bend looks interesting but it seems more expensive than we can afford. Hipsters are ok, but artists are more of a reclusive bunch than the hipsters. I just want a comfortable hone with beautiful views, a place I can grow fruit trees and a veggie garden, and have a safe good place to raise a family.
Any suggestions? Work opportunities are not important because we are self employed, but opportunity to buy a few cheap fix up properties or apartment complexes would be good.
Thank you in advance for your advice.

[PNW-type-gal]

The only place cities are that large would be the Willamette Valley corridor from Portland south to Eugene. Using one realty site to get averages*, I see that the average Tucson house price is currently $140,000 - the same site lists Eugene at $238,000, Salem at $185,000, Portland at $310,000. So, in general, real estate here is going to be slightly more expensive to quite a bit more expensive, which might halt your plans for real estate investments here.

The urban growth boundaries keep cities from sprawling here, but they also drive land prices up - finding several acres IN town isn't very likely and several acres right outside town is likely to be expensive.

The smaller cities that surround larger cities are (generally) cheaper, but your main criteria is likely to be schools followed by whatever city or country amenities you need - it'd be helpful to list them. Otherwise, think about Silverton, McMinville, Canby, Dundee.


*(why one site? Well, the numbers might be wrong in the absolute sense, but at least they are likely to be consistently wrong and useful as a rule of thumb for comparison. Our poster Silverfall probably has access to better, more accurate numbers.)

[La Valentina]

Thank you for your input. One of the few benefits of Tucson is cost of living. And it's great in winter.

[La Valentina]

The town size is negotiable. I'd revise that to say 40,000-100,000. Since we are self employed a commute time is irrelevant, but we need to be near reasonable medical care because I am disabled and need to see doctors at least once a month. Primarily I would like to buy a nice home and land for I guess a pretty low price, educate the kids and not feel like I am surrounded by rednecks.
We are coming to tour the state this summer, so suggested towns are a help in planning the grand tour.

A second question...with the rapid growth of the population in OR, is there considerable hostility to all the newcomers? I remember growing up in San Diego, everyone ridiculed the "zoners" who were all moving to San diego. Now I AM a Zoner.

[Hemlock140]

I would suggest dropping down a little farther south, what you are looking for you may find in Eureka, CA. The median home price is only $229k, and they get a lot of fog and clouds. You could also look at Longview, WA which is still in your price range and the right size/climate, and less than an hour to Portland for shopping with no sales tax. Cities that size in Oregon have had their home prices shoot up almost as much as here in the Seattle area.

[Silverfall]

Well for Salem the median price of 1-5 acres with a stick built house is $352,500. Now there are a few homes (12%) under $250, but if you want the "good schools" factor you are looking at south and west Salem which takes you down to 6% of homes that meet your price criteria. You won't get a beautiful view for that, and they would be fixers but it is possible. They were all between 1-2 acres.

Salem is the cheapest of the larger cities. Corvallis had three acreage properties that sold last year at $250,000 or below. I don't cover Eugene so I'm not sure about their prices, but they are generally more expensive than Salem.

There are creative people all over Oregon. There are plenty of photographers, artists, etc all over Oregon.

[Silverfall]

Originally Posted by La Valentina

Primarily I would like to buy a nice home and land for I guess a pretty low price,

Oregon has urban growth boundaries. This is a line that goes around each and every city in Oregon regardless of size. This has been mandated by the state since the mid-1970's. Cities can't expand the boundary until certain land requirements are met and there is very strict zoning regarding the division of land. The purpose is to preserve our farms and forests. Smaller parcels of land (ie hobby farms) are fewer than you would expect because of our strict zoning laws. As such, they go for a premium.

If you want to be around a larger city to avoid the redneck contingent and have good schools then you can't have a low price. They are mutually exclusive.

[Harpaint]

Originally Posted by La Valentina

The town size is negotiable. I'd revise that to say 40,000-100,000. Since we are self employed a commute time is irrelevant, but we need to be near reasonable medical care because I am disabled and need to see doctors at least once a month. Primarily I would like to buy a nice home and land for I guess a pretty low price, educate the kids and not feel like I am surrounded by rednecks.
We are coming to tour the state this summer, so suggested towns are a help in planning the grand tour.

A second question...with the rapid growth of the population in OR, is there considerable hostility to all the newcomers? I remember growing up in San Diego, everyone ridiculed the "zoners" who were all moving to San diego. Now I AM a Zoner.

Oregon has a lot of rednecks too.

[sorupaa]

pick any city along i 5 from olympia washington to redding california. except portland, bend is cool but its not much of a artist kinda city.

[oregonwoodsmoke]

If you like Bend you can buy a pretty decent place on 5 acres in Crooked River Ranch and probably get one with a mountain view and a barn. Bend is close enough for shopping and hospital. Weather is better and pace of life is more Oregonian than in Bend.

The hospitals in Bend and Redmond are run by the same company and both are good.