How "Hippie" Is Sweet Home? (Eugene, Springfield: homes, buy)

[Cherryleaf]

Hi guys I'm looking to move out to Oregon and see some good prices on homes in Sweet Home. With it being so close to Eugene has some of the hippie spill over found a home here? Am I going to see tye-dye and dreadlocks in Sweet Home? Any drum circles in the area? How would the people there react to marijuana growing?

Thanks to anyone that might have some answers

~Cherryleaf~

[Silverfall]

Originally Posted by Cherryleaf

Hi guys I'm looking to move out to Oregon and see some good prices on homes in Sweet Home. With it being so close to Eugene has some of the hippie spill over found a home here? Am I going to see tye-dye and dreadlocks in Sweet Home? Any drum circles in the area? How would the people there react to marijuana growing?

Thanks to anyone that might have some answers

~Cherryleaf~

Um...Sweet Home does not equal hippie. More of a Don't Tread on Me crowd there.

[Metlakatla]

I don't think you'll find Sweet Home to be much of a hippie haven. Just move to Eugene.

[Larry Caldwell]

Ah, you did know that pot is legal in Oregon? Only tourists buy it in the store. Everyone else grows their own.

[oregonwoodsmoke]

Sweet Home doesn't look very hippy. It looks like a timber town that had its feet kicked out from underneath it. Although there is some new building going on and some businesses moving in, so it is starting to look a little more prosperous.

I suspect that there was marijuana growing long before it was legal.

It's actually a cute town and very heavy on recreation opportunities.

I do not consider Sweet Home to be anywhere near Eugene. There are cute little towns near Eugene all up the McKenzie River Highway, although they are not cheap. I think they are worth the money, though, for gorgeous scenery and relatively easy access to Eugene. They aren't hippy though.

Brownsville is rumored to have a lot of old hippies living there. Maybe check out Brownsville.

[Cherryleaf]

Thanks everyone for responding this helps out a lot. And than you Oregonwoodsmoke for suggesting Brownsville I'll check into that for sure

But for another question, what do you guys think about Springfield? Since its basically just on the other side of the freeway they must have some hip folks there right? From what I read it is more conservative than Eugene but there must be some spill over there right? If I were to go to a park in Springfield would I see some crunchy folks? I just see the prices a bit cheaper in Springfield and I have no problems riding my bike on over to Eugene for the farmer markets and events.

I always thought it was funny that hippie folks always seemed to be congregated in the most expensive places. How do they afford to live there! This reminds me of a bumper sticker that read More Hippies Less Hipsters You'd have to think the real down to earth hippies would be in the cheaper areas but it never seems to be that way as my search continues...

But maybe we'll give Springfield a look. I hope to find something with a big enough yard that I can grow a lot of Heirloom veggies and fruits. 9000+ sf lot would be nice but most seem to be around 5000sf. (well for the cheaper homes anyways)

Thanks again for the quick responses everyone, I really appreciate your replies

~Cherryleaf~

[Larry Caldwell]

Is there a reason you are sticking close to the freeway? You could check out Hwy 58, like Pleasant Hill, Lowell and Oakridge. Cresswell is close to Eugene and right on the freeway. There are plenty of places on the other side of Eugene to look at. Veneta. Lorane. Crow.

There is a good collection of "crunchy woo" people around Eugene in all directions, but they may not be what you are imagining. The old hippies who made it work are well established, mostly home owners, who have found a way to subsidize their lifestyle. Many of them are professionals and small business owners. A lot of the younger crowd are into drug dealing, and frankly are not nice people. Their aura got kind of tarnished by their self-indulgence, and they tend to be a bit predatory. That crowd tends to cluster in the W. 13th area of Eugene, but there is some spill-over. That's not universal though. The Oregon Country Fair gets thousands of young people as volunteers every year, so motivated, creative young hippies are not hard to find.

[Cherryleaf]

Hello Larry, I just figured if I can't afford Eugene I might as well get something close enough to Eugene so I can ride my bike to the markets. But if there are other smaller communities that are "hippie" and affordable I'd love to hear about them

~Cherryleaf~

[Metlakatla]

Maybe Talent? You won't be able to ride your bike to Eugene from there, but Ashland is less than 6 miles away...and, although Eugene has a certain reputation as a hippie haven, I think that it's past its prime in that respect.

[jjpop]

You'll find a hippie vibe among the residents of Corvallis, although it's pretty expensive.