Grants Pass Oregon/ similar places (Portland, Medford: house, living in, moving)

[Tlehman21]

Hello, I've lived my whole life in Tillamook Or. Im finally had enough rain in my life time to where im planning on moving once my house sells. Ive done a lot of research on area's in Oregon that get a lot of sunny days , Grants Pass stood out the most and we visited there twice so far and love the area. Its important for me that the area is filled with mountains/ outdoor activities and still green and not a dried up dessert.

I know there some cons in GP like bums,crime, drugs ext. but i live a secluded lifestyle so i don't think it be a killer for me and it seems to be a problem everywhere else you go in Or. Tillamook is full of druggies. Maybe you can chime in if the problems GP has effects your everyday life?

GP is the perfect size of city for me, i could never live somewhere like Portland area. The main question i had was is there any other area's you recommend that i might like to move to? even possible area's in Washington?

Looking for places similar to GP - Mountains ,green, around 200 sunny days, less then 40in rain yr, outdoor activities.



Thanks,

-Travis

[gray horse]

Do you need employment? It's a somewhat economically depressed area.

Very pretty, good weather and some relatively good RE deals for the west coast. It's an up and coming area, and Josephine County seems to slowly be getting more funding for police in rural areas.

[Cloudy Dayz]

Originally Posted by Tlehman21

Hello, I've lived my whole life in Tillamook Or. Im finally had enough rain in my life time to where im planning on moving once my house sells. Ive done a lot of research on area's in Oregon that get a lot of sunny days , Grants Pass stood out the most and we visited there twice so far and love the area. Its important for me that the area is filled with mountains/ outdoor activities and still green and not a dried up dessert.

I know there some cons in GP like bums,crime, drugs ext. but i live a secluded lifestyle so i don't think it be a killer for me and it seems to be a problem everywhere else you go in Or. Tillamook is full of druggies. Maybe you can chime in if the problems GP has effects your everyday life?

GP is the perfect size of city for me, i could never live somewhere like Portland area. The main question i had was is there any other area's you recommend that i might like to move to? even possible area's in Washington?

Looking for places similar to GP - Mountains ,green, around 200 sunny days, less then 40in rain yr, outdoor activities.

Bend. Because Grants Pass has less than 200 sunny days. Bend has more sun and less rain than Grants Pass. If sun and lack of rain is your requirement, then do it right, and choose a location that is more remarkable in that area. Bend should suite your needs.

[Silverfall]

For those smaller sized cities similar to Grants Pass, I'd look at Pendleton, Cottage Grove, maybe Forest Grove. In Washington maybe look closer to Spokane, like Spokane Valley?

Also, you aren't going to get green (well my definition of green) on less than 40" of rain a year. You can get high desert green but not Tillamook green. Anything less than 50" a year will be high desert like Bend.

[PNW-type-gal]

Originally Posted by Cloudy Dayz

Bend. Because Grants Pass has less than 200 sunny days. Bend has more sun and less rain than Grants Pass. If sun and lack of rain is your requirement, then do it right, and choose a location that is more remarkable in that area. Bend should suite your needs.

Nope, Grants Pass and Medford have more sunny days than Bend (despite the Bend Chamber of Commerce claiming 300 days of sun, which is not true). City-wise, small Lakeview has the most sunny days in Oregon (areas to the east have more sun but there aren't many cities east of Lakeview).

From the Western Regional Climate Center, sun/part sun
Astoria: 105
Portland: 142
Bend: 168
Medford: 196
Klamath Falls: 210 (for the 8 summers we lived near there, my weather station averaged 218, so it was pretty close)
Lakeview: 225

they define sun/part sun as more than 30% of the sky clear for daylight hours.

[Cloudy Dayz]

Originally Posted by PNW-type-gal

Nope, Grants Pass and Medford have more sunny days than Bend (despite the Bend Chamber of Commerce claiming 300 days of sun, which is not true). City-wise, small Lakeview has the most sunny days in Oregon (areas to the east have more sun but there aren't many cities east of Lakeview).

From the Western Regional Climate Center, sun/part sun
Astoria: 105
Portland: 142
Bend: 168
Medford: 196
Klamath Falls: 210 (for the 8 summers we lived near there, my weather station averaged 218, so it was pretty close)
Lakeview: 225

they define sun/part sun as more than 30% of the sky clear for daylight hours.

Solar Maps _ Geospatial Data Science _ NREL

[PNW-type-gal]

The fine print for that model is that it is over 8 years during some of our driest weather ever. The WRCC data is from 1920 to present. Also, Bend is more than twice Medford's elevation and solar irradiance goes up strongly with altitude. So the NREL chart is more a map of how effective solar panels can be at your location than a measure of actual amount of sunny days.

The solar panels at our house over by Agency Lake, at 4,500', could get more "sun power" on a cool sunny day as a location at the equator - all because of elevation.

[Tlehman21]

Originally Posted by Cloudy Dayz

Bend. Because Grants Pass has less than 200 sunny days. Bend has more sun and less rain than Grants Pass. If sun and lack of rain is your requirement, then do it right, and choose a location that is more remarkable in that area. Bend should suite your needs.

I actually lived in redmond which is right by Bend for a short while. I didn't like it because its way to dry, no mountains, no grass, just dessert. If it was more green and beautiful id consider it but thats just my opinion on beauty. Prob, because i grew up in Tillamook, which is covered with mountains and tree's.

[Tlehman21]

Originally Posted by Silverfall

For those smaller sized cities similar to Grants Pass, I'd look at Pendleton, Cottage Grove, maybe Forest Grove. In Washington maybe look closer to Spokane, like Spokane Valley?

Also, you aren't going to get green (well my definition of green) on less than 40" of rain a year. You can get high desert green but not Tillamook green. Anything less than 50" a year will be high desert like Bend.

well thats why i liked GP because you still get the sunny days but still pretty green besides in the summer months the grass will die. Gp is a lot greener then bend. Forest grove is pretty nice area but gets the doom and gloom. Cottage Grove is a little to small for me but beautiful area.

Thanks for your suggestions.

[Tlehman21]

Originally Posted by gray horse

Do you need employment? It's a somewhat economically depressed area.

Very pretty, good weather and some relatively good RE deals for the west coast. It's an up and coming area, and Josephine County seems to slowly be getting more funding for police in rural areas.

no i work from home, my wife will but she will have no problem getting a job she's already had multiple job offers. Yeah hopefully it continues to get better. Both times we visited we barley seen any cops around. Those bums at night are creepy , living in Tillamook we have a few but seems to be an issue down their.