ANYTHING About Oregon (low crime, live, move)

[broker2]

I think it depends on whom you ask!!

I have never had anything bad happen to me, and I lived in Ashland for four years, Medford for three years and now Grants Pass for six years. My husband, however, whom only deals with crime everyday.. he thinks it's a bit higher! By county, Josephine/Jackson county have a high rate of stolen cars, so as a rule of thumb don't leave your car unlocked. We also have a high amount a meth in this area, although I have never seen it. (My husband tells me to walk the streets at 3 am and I will see it.)

You are always welcome to take a ride along with the police to experience the 'under belly' of the cities!!

There are definitely areas in Medford, Grants Pass that I would not buy a home in or rent in. If you need to know exact areas let me know!

We moved from Northern Oregon for the SUN!! We LOVE Southern Oregon!! You will find the best weather here, plus so much to do. Lakes, skiing, rivers, the coast. It cannot be beat!

Good Luck!

[onthefence]

[quote=montanagirl;430171]hello..read this last post of yours..can you tell me or (or can anyone), how bad is the crime in the southern oregon area?
Any areas to watch out for and NOT move to?
I am interested in areas from around Ashland

One would think bucolic Ashland would be crime free. Don't be fooled. Just this past week, my ex, who is living in a yurt on a rural road just outside of Ashland had all his things stolen out of the yurt. And they didn't just slice the fabric, they sawed the dang thing open! Like thiefs on crack.

I live outside of Medford. In some respects I felt safer living in Los Angeles. Seriously what they say about meth around here is true. On the other hand, the meth addicts just more or less keep to themselves and the crime committed is usually petty, non-violent. At least there aren't murders down the street occurring and when you hear a gun shot, it's usually a farm animal being killed, not a human being.

Also, in terms of fog, there are real belts of serious winter fog here that settle in the valleys. Rise up a bit in elevation, say in Ashland, or in Jacksonville, and the fog completely lifts. This is something many of us are unaware of until we move here and unfortunately discover.

Hope this helps.

[lvsnow]

Grew up in Grants Pass, good place to visit but wouldn't live there again. Lacks culture and open minds, pretty conservative. The downtown area is better, farmers market, new trails, local shops. Good for families. Great outdoor areas.
Went to college in Ashland, cool town! Spendy but worth it if you can find work. Avoid Medford, White City etc.
Went to college in Eugene, cool town! Culture, open minds, organic lifestyle, some real hippies still.
Lived in Portland for about 6 years, great city, beautiful........green, well maintained, lots of rain, progressive, pretty affordable, very cool laid back people, have many friends that still live there. I would say the economy is ok
just my .02 (but didn't leave the state until i was 28)

[Brett Ronk]

Oregon is beautifull and in terms of natural disasters, we don't have to many to worry about. Let me know what specific information that you are seeking and I will be happy to provide you with all that I can. I think that your husband probably would find it very easy to find employment here and if you would like I can send you some different web page addresses that are currently seeking applicants for his line of work.

[Ala]

I saw somewhere upthread that on the coast, like Portland, it is so cool, you don't tend to need air conditioning.

Since Portland is one place I am thinking of moving to, that scares me. I used to live in Alaska and they considered it so cool in the summer that almost NOWHERE had air conditioning except businesses or very expensive places.

The summer wasn't overly hot, true. But, it still got so hot, that I nearly fried. Sleeping at night was difficult for me. The summer may have been short, but it was miserable for me in my home.

Is air conditioning as hard to come by in Portland?

Oh, I would be renting an apartment.

[kalamos23]

Yes, a/c is hard to come by in Portland, most everyone has a window a/c unit or a fan. If you buy a house, you have a better chance of it coming with central a/c but if you rent, you sweat. We rented a duplex in Beaverton that was 4 years old with no a/c for example.

[ashleycates]

So my husband and I want to get out of California after I graduate college and we're looking at Oregon- We are pretty conservative people and neither of us want to live in large cities like Portland. We were thinking of Grants Pass, but I'm not sure we want to live in an area dominated by older people, considering we'll be having children once we settle down. I'd like to have some moderate weather, and we aren't looking to spend a lot on a mortgage. It would be nice to have some sort of land to grow things ourselves. Even a small town would be great, and I'm trying to find info on particular areas, but the information is patchy.

Any advice for a young couple?

[ElphinKnight]

I am in Michigan and have also posted previously on this board about the possibility of moving to Oregon. My fiance' loves rain and overcast skies, but we have them here in Michigan for 5 months straight and it really gets to me. However, with those grey skies come piles of snow and bitter cold. So I may be able to handle grey skies if I'm not freezing to death. Nonetheless, I'm hoping to find a slightly sunnier area in the Willamette Valley.

From the stats it looks like Salem is in a "sweet spot" and gets a bit more sun and warmth than Portland or even Eugene. Is this true? Eugene does, however, seem like a great place to live that has many of the same "plusses" as where I am in Michigan (Ann Arbor). Eugene/Springfield even lays out on a map almost exactly the way Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti do here - it's scary! What is the weather like in Eugene as compared to Portland? Even a 5% or 10% gain in sunlight would thrill me.....

Thank you!
- Brandon

[zilfondel]

Hmm.. read the other threads, there is some useful info.

Portland neighborhoods:
//www.city-data.com/forum/portl...es-live-2.html

Anything else? Hmm, there are TONS of farmer's markets in Oregon. All over the place - you'll probably run into a bunch of them just driving around the state as they are hard to avoid. They are weekly during much of the year, and are present in 64 different communities, apparently. Here's their website:
http://www.oregonfarmersmarkets.org/

Not to mention you can actually go to the farm yourself and to the whole U-pick thing with fruit, berries, and other yummy stuff!

As far as culture? Portland beats everything, hands down. There's just no comparison - although Eugene does have a very small & burgeoning arts & cultural vibe to it, including a small gallery section of downtown and the Oregon Country Fair - yup, the hippie festival! Ken Kesey is from the area, one of the founders of the hippie movement (died a few years back). Actually, the fair has gotten quite family friendly in the past few years.

Oregon is a great state to live in if you like the outdoors! You can do practically anything here.

[Jojim]

Dear All,

Wow. There's a lot of great information here for me to sift through. Thanks! My husband's biggest concern for anywhere we go is the job thing---and getting one with good health insurance. He's getting older---he'll be FIFTY in May. Oregon seems like a pretty progressive kind of state, but I wonder how it is for someone older to get in on the workforce there. I also wonder how the cold and dampness in Oregon might affect someone with 'touchy' joints. My husband claims that it is the constant changing of barometric pressure that Florida seems to be subjected to. It wouldn't bother me. I like cold. I'm part Irish---always seems to get the upper hand in me.

But. . .

There is now a good chance that we may stay on the East coast. You see, my oldest son and his wife are expecting a baby---our first grandchild. With this news, we may NOT make it to Oregon as I had hoped. I don't think that I want to be so far away from our first grandchild. It is sort of a unique situation as he is going back to Iraq. He will miss the birth of his first child.

I don't know, now we will have to think about it all a bit harder. Still, Oregon sounds absolutely perfect for us. I love mountains, forests, the ocean, rain. . .I'm not giving up on it yet, and no matter what, we need to get out of this heat. I kidd you not---it can be unbearable during the summer with the high humidity. You walk out your front door and it feels like someone threw a wet, hot towel on you . No matter how coiffed and fresh you feel while inside, it all goes to pot on the outside. Nowadays, the heat just does something to me and my husband.

What about mosquitoes? How are the mosquitoes up in Oregon? Here, mosquitoe repellant is an essential item---or else you can NOT sit outside. Mosquitoes are incredibly aggressive here. One county to our east has JUST passed a bill that calls for hefty fines to people who do not get rid of any standing water that accumulates in children's wading pools, old buckets. . .

Peace and Thanks All,
the DragonLady