Move to Oregon? (Portland, Eugene, Salem: for sale, real estate, rent)

[bensp60]

My wife and I are considering a move to Oregon in 2-3 years. We currently live in Winston-Salem, NC and are enjoying aspects of it. North Carolina's weather is pretty good, but the summers are just too hot for our taste. We are both originally from New England, (ME & MA) and just aren't big fans of the heat. Growing up in New England we both spent a lot of time at the ocean, something that's hard to do here being as we are 5 hours away from the coast. We are both vegetarian, something here that makes people turn their heads sideways. We are in search of somewhere that better embraces our "green" ideals. We also enjoy hiking and camping. We would like to like in a small town commutable to a medium city, (Winston-Salem is around 170k) so the same or smaller than that. My wife is a Radiation Therapist so we are limited to areas where there is a hospital/center she can work at. Those areas include; Eugene, Portland, Salem, McMinnville, Florence, Coos Bay and Medford. I will be teaching high school, so I am pretty flexible on location. I am 22, she 24 and we currently make around 100k/year. I understand the cost of living and housing are considerably higher in Oregon than NC, but we would like to live somewhere where it would be possible to get in to a modest 3 bedroom house for 250k-ish.

So again, what were looking for is:

• Ocean
• Hiking/Camping
• Close to one of the mentioned cities.
• Reasonable housing.

Thanks for all your help, any information or comments would be greatly appreciated.

~ Ben & Nicole

P.S. We have no kids but are thinking about it in 3-5 years. Also, we will be in OR from 8/1 to 8/13 of this year, if there are any particular places to see (sites, restaurants etc.) let us know. We will be arriving in Portland, heading down to Medford than up the coast and back to Portland.

[tiffela74]

id be more than happy to help you with any questions about coos bay. Weve been here 6yrs now and love it. Housing can be found getting cheaper and cheaper as time goes by. Theres a modest ranch house near me that just went for sale, 3bdrm, newer roof, decent sized yard 1300sqft i think in a good area for 139x You can keep up on things via the local paper theworldlink.com or id also go to some of the local real estate places, we do have century 21 and all state who have quite a few for sale around here. it'd give you an idea of whats for sale and how much.
Now jobs are pretty hard to come by right now. another reason the housing is so cheap. And i know our schools are having some issues. There was a recent article about cutbacks again in the paper just the other day (in fact, i believe a followup article today too) Theres a lot of people struggling....but thats true for too many places today. Id contact the schools and the hospital and see what their opinion is.

you shouldve made your trip now. we're having some awesome weather!!!!! I hate the hot weather, and im happy here most of the time. its gotten to warm for me a few times, but not many. And very rarely, too cold. From my count, we had a total of 9 snowflakes this year. sigh...but last year, it snowed enough for my kids to go out and play in it for a few hours..then it was gone. lol
my husbands cousin is vegan and she doesnt get any grief for it. And i have a friend who will only eat fish, no other meat and she too, just fine. no issues.
McMinnville is a great area IMO. If I had to move away from the coast, that would definatly be somewhere I would check into.
My inlaws live just out of Florence in Dune City. I know they love it dearly, but its also been rated the #1best place to retire to in America....of course, there are young people there, but i dont think the schools are too big.
if youre into hiking/camping, just about anywhere in Oregon will make you happy. theres nowhere you can be that you wont have that within under an hour. Tops.

[Silverfall]

Salem is about 150,000 people and we have the Salem hospital here which is constantly expanding and there is a wonderful small town called Silverton that has an excellent hospital as well. Silverton is only 9,000 people but it s a great community.

Salem and McMinnville have less expensive housing than Portland or Eugene. $250,000 for 3 bedroom is very doable out here.

Hiking is everywhere in Oregon. In the Salem area definitely take a stop at Silver Falls State Park. It's gorgeous. 10 waterfalls in the park.

While up in Portland you can head to Mt Hood and do the hike to Paradise, or Trillium lake. You can also hike around Multnomah Falls. Lots of great trails back there.

If you are so inclined I would stop in Florence and rent some dune buggies and hit the dunes.

If you plan to go back for your Master's in Teaching, Western Oregon University (WOU) and Willamette University both have programs.

[bensp60]

thanks for your reply,
Coos Bay seems like an interesting place to live. We don't mind the retirees, Maine's population doubles in the summer from all the people coming up from Florida. Right on the ocean would be great. I'll defiantly look into housing and jobs in the area. It seems the education cutbacks are a nation wide issue I'm guessing finding a job won't be easy, but I don't mind a mild commute. It's nice to hear that housing is reasonable there, that is our main concern about moving to OR. The house we are in now is a 1920's craftsman in one of the better neighborhoods and on an acre of land and only appraises at around 130k. Housing in this part of the country is just ridiculously cheap. The weather here is a little cold for our tastes right now 20s-30s, were actually looking at some snow tonight, first of the season. We both really like the idea of a mild climate, hot every once and a while is fine, but almost 2 weeks of 100ish temps is a little much. Also, good to hear about the vegan/veg culture, it is almost non existent here. McMinnville seemed like a possible option, small but near a good size city.

Anything you would recommend in Coos Bay? We will be there for about a day the 2nd week in August.

~ Ben & Nicole

[bensp60]

Silverfall, thanks for your reply,

Salem seems like a good place to live near, Capitals always seem nice for some reason. Silverton seems to fit the bill perfectly, great size but easily commutable to the "big" city. The town I grew up in was right around 9k and it was a perfect size, exactly what we have in mind. I am glad to hear some reasonable number in regards to housing. That is our main concern when looking at moving to OR. We are already planning a night at Silver Falls SP, seems like a wonderful place, the same for Mt. Hood and Trillium lake and Multnomah Falls, all of which are on our list. I do plan on completing my masters, and I hoped to have a college near by to expand my options for teaching, good to hear there's some near by. Though as tiffela74 stated budgeting is an issue, we have heard great things about Oregon's educational system. If there's anywhere in or around Salem you think is worth checking out please let us know.

~ Ben & Nicole

[2Z4]

In 2 or 3 years, you will likely be able to find the house you're looking for anywhere in Oregon for under 250K. Job prospects for you and your wife will likely be stronger in the Portland metro area, as there are quite a few hospitals and always new schools in the works. Education is something that isn't subject to recession in Oregon.

[bensp60]

2Z4, thanks for your reply. We were hoping housing would be heading in that direction. There definitely are a lot more places she might be able to work around Portland. Sadly, her line of work (cancer treatment) seems to be fairly recession proof too. Any ideas of places to visit, things to do, or places to eat in the Portland area?

Thanks,
Ben & Nicole

[Silverfall]

In Salem...Rudy's at Salem Golf Course has great crab cakes. We have Bentley's downtown which has a good atmosphere. If you want to try our Mexican food, La Hacienda Real, which is jalisco (sp??) style food is really good. I also like Morton's and DaVinci's.

You could also consider renting a canoe or raft and head down the Santiam river.

Also, if you have time and are so inclined...Tori Mor in Dundee makes killer Pinor Noir (wine). Evesham Wood is also stellar, but they are only open a couple of times a year.

While in Portland stop at Powell's bookstore. It is the largest independent bookstore in the country. It is pretty amazing in there. I like Wildwood restaurant downtown. They also make great crab cakes...

We have great dungeness crab out here. What can I say, I love crab!

[tiffela74]

google Shore Acres. Its here in the Coos Bay area and well worth a trip out!!!!
For seafood, go over the bridge into Charleston, take the first right, go down to the docks, and you'll see a little shack on the water, Fishermans Warf. Go see them for crab/tuna/any local seafood. They will treat you right and you'll get a great deal AND the BEST seafood around. Love them!
You could do like I did and get totally lost at Empire Lakes for a day. I took the kids there yesterday and what started out as a short brisk walk (i was thinkin, oh, about an hour) turned into THREE HOURS before we found our way back! lol We were on paths the whole time, totally safe and it was a beautful day, but theres so many paths to chose from, we ended up going around BOTH lakes and then some! lol It was fun though, and I'll post some pics late in the week when I get my film back. You'll see first hand why its not an issue to spend a day there.
Mingus park is cute, and has a very nice Japanese garden. Ducks/geese are fat and lazy though and ive literally bounced food off of them as they glide off w/o any interest. But hey, at least they dont chase you!! lol
I would recommend calling/mailing the areas you are interested in to their Chambers of Commerce and ask for any/all brocures/travel guides/real estate guides/etc. they will send you. Just let em know your looking for a visit and possible relocate. They should all send you some good stuff that will be fun to browse through.
Honestly, Im such a sucker for anything Oregon. I dearly love my state and have to say, pretty much every area here, every town and city, or stretch of land has something wonderful about/around it. We have our probs here, but if you can make it, IMO theres no better place to be.

[2Z4]

Depending on when you come, Waterfront Park downtown, or the east bank Esplanade on the other side of the river might be kind of fun. Also, Forest Park in NW Portland is very pretty - kind of a wilderness in the middle of developed areas. There are a ton of restaurants also - you would have a hard time going wrong in the downtown or close-in core areas.