Where is the Best Place to live in Oregon (Portland: houses, buying)

North Albany is pretty nice. It's actually in Benton county rather than Linn.

[maxpasha]

My family is moving to Oregon in early December. We are looking for a nice quiet area with very good high schools. the type of house we are looking for would be about 2250 sf on about 5+ acres for horses. looking for a town that is not too large but has a good hospital (mother is a nurse) and jobs for IT managers. Looking for a place where the summer is not too hot, very little humidity (preferably none), and sunny days. Winters with snow, don't mind rain. Corvallis Looks to be a good area to live in... but i was hoping for some more suggestions. also, what are the best high schools in Oregon, and is it better to go to University doing a law degree in a different state, or are the Oregon Universities good enough? Thankyou so much!

[Larry Caldwell]

Your only choices for law schools in Oregon are Lewis and Clark in Portland, Willamette in Salem, and the U of O in Eugene. Lewis and Clark and Willamette are private universities. Lewis and Clark probably has the best rep, but all three are "good enough." None of them are Ivy League.

All three cities are good for nursing and IT jobs. None of them have sunny days in the winter, plenty of sun in July, August and parts of other months. Winters are mostly rain, not much snow, and some years it doesn't snow at all. However, an hour's drive will put you into the Cascade Mountains, where winters are nothing but snow, snow, more snow, and, "Did it stop snowing yet?" If you want snow at your house, buy a place around 1000 feet, which seems to be the snow line many times during a winter. The Willamette Valley has lots of hills and foothills that reach that height.

BTW, you will get a lot more responses if you start a new thread rather than tagging on to one that has been dragging on for months.

[Dearja]

I am so sorry you had that experience. I too cringe at snobby burbies with no imagination outside of keeping up with the Joneses'. I assure you that smaller, less affluent areas like salem, corvalis, stayton are not this way at all. In fact they have a fun and easy going hippie vibe. Check out the rest of Oregon before throwing in the towel. I bet you will love it!!!
:0))
ps never been to lake oswego, prob cuz im sorta poorish lol

[4movin]

Hi,
Im new. I really am thinking of moving to Oregon. Im trying to pick a spot and would like some input.

Im 50ish. Will be living in a small trailer. I want to buy about a quarter to half an acre, build a straw bale type dwelling. I would like to be near a small city, on a bus line if possible.

I would like to go back to school, so would want a decent reasonably priced community college nearby.
I grew up on the west coast, mostly Wa.
Have spent a little while in Gresham.

Its been a long time since I have been back. I dont know what the area is like anymore.

Would like to find a place that is affordable to lower income people.

ETA: Would like to find where it doesnt rain constantly. Maybe a high desert type place, or towards a high desert place.
I would still like some green and I know that means rain.

TIA

[Larry Caldwell]

You won't be allowed to live in a trailer anywhere near a bus line, and certainly nowhere near a community college. You might get away with it if you are way out in the boonies, but it's not legal anywhere in the state for more than recreational use, maximum 3 months at a time. Check out RV parks. The old pre-certification ones sometimes will let you lease a space annually for a few hundred bucks a month. That's not a bad deal if it includes water, sewer, power and TV.

It's also unlikely you will find a quarter to half an acre that will accommodate both a well and a septic system. Not enough room. You will have to pass basic sanitary standards before you can get a building permit. Straw bale is possible, but will require an engineer's stamp on your plans and possibly special inspections. You can build straw bale houses anywhere in the state, subject to subdivision restrictions. A quarter acre is a typical subdivision lot size.

You need to be more specific about what you mean by "lower income." Median personal income in Oregon is about $36,000+ a year, and the official low income line is 60% of that, or $22,000 a year. At that income level, you can't afford much. There's no place in Oregon where you won't be poor, but there are a few places, mostly rural, where almost everyone else will be as poor as you are.

[4movin]

Thanks Larry,

I didnt know that about the straw bale requirements. I thought Oregon was green building friendly in that regard. Looks like I need to do some more homework.

Im on disability right now, so am definitely on the low end of lower income.

Are there any small town, that have bus services to the outskirts? I dont want to live in a town, just on the outskirts.

Im really looking for a small town, that has a predominantly back to the land, grow your own food, and build your own house type atmosphere. With artisans and schools and decent health care.

I know its a tall order.

Are prices for bare land pretty decent? I know in Wa state property prices are through the roof in most places.

Thank you

[Larry Caldwell]

Oregon is green building friendly, but you have to meet the same seismic and sanitary standards that any other structure has to meet. Typically a bale house will start with a steel frame, and the bales will be stacked between and around the framing, then stuccoed to seal them up. It ends up being a lot more expensive than just building a conventional structure, plus you have deep light wells around all your windows and possibly doors. If you are living in the poverty zone, there is no way you can consider building a bale house unless you have come into an inheritance or insurance settlement that has left you with six figures to fiddle with.

You are 40 years late for the back to the land movement. Oregon established a statewide building code in 1973 and statewide land use planning in 1986. Just buying bare land doesn't mean you will be able to build on it, and all the desirable lots have been bought by the 1.8 million people who have moved here since then. Buildable land costs an arm and a leg.

Several small towns have bus service, but you will find it geared to commuters. The buses will run morning and night, and won't run on weekends or holidays. If you miss your bus to a fringe area, you are out of luck, because there won't be another one for 8 hours.

If you live in Washington, you may as well stay where you are, because moving to Oregon won't improve things any.

[Darryl Anderson]

Lakeview is Nice place, with good schools. However teh 5 to 10 miles of national chain stores is an issue

[Reasonable2012]

Originally Posted by Larry Caldwell

You won't be allowed to live in a trailer anywhere near a bus line, and certainly nowhere near a community college. You might get away with it if you are way out in the boonies, but it's not legal anywhere in the state for more than recreational use, maximum 3 months at a time. Check out RV parks. The old pre-certification ones sometimes will let you lease a space annually for a few hundred bucks a month. That's not a bad deal if it includes water, sewer, power and TV.

It's also unlikely you will find a quarter to half an acre that will accommodate both a well and a septic system. Not enough room. You will have to pass basic sanitary standards before you can get a building permit. Straw bale is possible, but will require an engineer's stamp on your plans and possibly special inspections. You can build straw bale houses anywhere in the state, subject to subdivision restrictions. A quarter acre is a typical subdivision lot size.

You need to be more specific about what you mean by "lower income." Median personal income in Oregon is about $36,000+ a year, and the official low income line is 60% of that, or $22,000 a year. At that income level, you can't afford much. There's no place in Oregon where you won't be poor, but there are a few places, mostly rural, where almost everyone else will be as poor as you are.

Wow. I thought that folks in Oregon NOT wanting newcomers was just a stereotype. Guess not! Whew!