Good/Bad areas around Grants Pass? (Medford, Ashland: for sale, real estate, violent crime)

[simplygib]

I am going up to Grants Pass later this week to look at real estate with a friend. We will be looking at property with acreage and utilities in (probably with an old mobile on it that we could renovate).

What are considered to be the good and/or bad areas around GP? We have seen listings in the following areas that we will be checking out, as well as others:

Hugo
Merlin
Selma
Wilderville
Cave Junction
Rogue River

I've been up there several times and have driven through these areas but I don't have a good sense for their reputations. My gut feeling is that Cave Junction is questionable, but that's just a guess. Are there any areas to be avoided at all costs? Any specific areas known for meth labs, etc.?

Any input greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

[backdrifter]

Those are all really beautiful areas. Cave Junction is more weird than scary. Wolf Creek area is actually a little scary, but I wouldn't worry too much about any of those areas too much.

If anything I'd recommend looking in and around Rogue River simply because it's in Jackson County and the county law enforcement has more stable funding.

[ConeyIsBabe]

Agreeing with backdrifter.......... consider this:

There is very little (if any) police protection in Cave Junction and Wolf Creek and probably the other areas (they are all rural) - with the exception of the City of Rogue River
(Jackson County).

If you don't mind protecting your own property - there are many good bargains out there in real estate.

Take you time to look at the vast amount of offerings!

[simplygib]

Thanks for the info. Good to know.
I had heard that Wolf Creek was not good previously and have been actively avoiding that area in my searches.

How about Sunny Valley?

[ConeyIsBabe]

I have heard nice things about Sunny Valley..... BUT... to me, it is a very long drive to get to all services like supermarket, stores, medical, entertainment, etc. etc. etc. I don't know exactly how many miles Sunny Valley is to Grants Pass, but it is just too long for me. Just last weekend I went to the Wolf Creek Oktoberfest at exit 76, and I did NOT enjoy the drive. It was very, uphill, then downhill, with huge trucks in front & behind me, and I was stressed-out all the way there and back!

I'm very lazy! Where I live, out in the country, I'm only ONE MILE to the small town I live in - all services there. Then it's only 8 more miles to Grants Pass, 20 miles to larger Medford. I don't want to spend so much time and gas money driving. Then in the winter - it is totally DARK outside at 4:30 PM. I don't want to be driving on country roads at night.

A very real threat is hitting Bambi!!!!

[backdrifter]

Sunny Valley is pretty close to Wolf Creek. And also the drive on the 5 is pretty scary for some people. I grew up driving on it so it doesn't faze me, but it's not something anyone would want to drive on a regular basis. There are 3 mountain passes you have to go through to get to Grants Pass from Sunny Valley on I-5. Not fun in the rainy, and at times snowy winters.

[ConeyIsBabe]

backdrifter.......... LOL ....... I thought it was just me being scared of the uphill/downhill aspect of the drive from GP to Wolf Creek. I plan on NEVER driving that route again

[simplygib]

Ok - thanks. I remember looking Sunny Valley up on a map before and thinking the same thing - too far out from GP.

Driving in rain doesn't bother me but I wouldn't want to drive in snow a lot. I don't plan to spend much of the winters around GP anyway, but I'm sure there'll be times when I'll have to.

Question about the law enforcement thing - is it that they're understaffed so only respond to emergencies? Does the underfunding make the rural areas less safe, in your opinion?

Despite the budget concerns there seems to be a pretty low rate of crime there, MUCH lower than where I'm coming from.

[backdrifter]

Originally Posted by simplygib

Ok - thanks. I remember looking Sunny Valley up on a map before and thinking the same thing - too far out from GP.

Driving in rain doesn't bother me but I wouldn't want to drive in snow a lot. I don't plan to spend much of the winters around GP anyway, but I'm sure there'll be times when I'll have to.

Question about the law enforcement thing - is it that they're understaffed so only respond to emergencies? Does the underfunding make the rural areas less safe, in your opinion?

Despite the budget concerns there seems to be a pretty low rate of crime there, MUCH lower than where I'm coming from.

The few days it snows in Southern Oregon it doesn't stick, except in the mountains, such as the mountain passes that you go over from Sunny Valley.

As for law enforcement, they are lacking funding and are understaffed. There are times of day when there is one or two Sheriff's deputies patrolling all of Josephine County outside the city of Grants Pass (they have a good, well-funded city police department). That means a deputy might have to make a 50 mile trip from Wolf Creek to Cave Junction in order to respond to an emergency. By then it might be too late. Good news is that violent crime in the area is limited. Though some people have shot and killed their neighbors over driveway disputes in the past couple years... That was out in Wolf Creek if I recall. Cave Junction has had a spree of violent crime the past year or so that has been a little scary, but it's somewhat atypical.

Rogue River is just over the county line in Jackson County which generally votes in favor of more taxes to fund things like law enforcement and schools due to the higher urban population in Jackson County (Medford, Ashland, Central Point). JoCo is much more libertarian and more dependent on federal funding for its government operations. Hence why there are no public libraries in JoCo. JackCo has privately run public libraries now.

Originally Posted by ConeyIsBabe

backdrifter.......... LOL ....... I thought it was just me being scared of the uphill/downhill aspect of the drive from GP to Wolf Creek. I plan on NEVER driving that route again

Haha, I don't blame you for not wanting to... Semi-trucks and curves and huge hills and people like me going 73 through all of this... It can be pretty scary!

[simplygib]

Thanks for all the info. I do appreciate it.

Been here a couple of days now and have been all over the place. Sunny Valley isn't as far as I had thought so that may be a possibility. Saw something near Wimer today that we really liked so that's in the running as well.

A few places spooked us. Saw one almost new stick-built place in Selma that had been totally vandalized (broken windows, kicked in doors, all appliances missing, well hardware pulled out of the shaft, graffiti on house, toilets and shower doors shattered, but price reflected that) and another in Cave Junction that had been burglarized and we were obviously the first people to set foot in the place since the crime occurred. That was a little spooky as we had no idea if the burglar was still there when we entered. Thankfully he wasn't, but the place was in total disarray. Felt sorry for the owners.

At one place we saw in Selma the next door neighbor had placed a BIG sign facing the property that was for sale saying "I AM THE NEIGHBOR FROM HELL - PIT BULLS, METH HEADS, OR KIDS TRESPASSING ON MY PROPERTY WILL BE SHOT").

For those reasons we decided to stay away from Cave Junction and Selma. A real shame as the area is very pretty, but what area isn't around here?