Need a place to help me move on... (Portland, Eugene: fit in, house)

[TouchtheShore]

Hey all,

Sorry for this description coming up in italics ... but in order to understand what I need I think it's pretty useful to know ... if you want you can just skip i though.

I've been in a "toxic" relationship for over 4 years. I still care for him, but he was very damaging to me and I don't feel like I was the right person for him. It was a constant struggle and it drained every ounce of energy out of me. During the relationship I became very very ill, bedridden and/or house bound for 13 months.
My family became very insistent that I stay in the relationship that was making me miserable, and so now that I'm out of it tensions are high. Time to break away for a good... long... while.

I've always known I belong somewhere by the ocean. I've been to Oregon twice and absolutely loved it. The ocean gives me goosebumps and I feel so alive an healthy on the beach. I'm considering Salem, I've never been there but I've done some research and it sounds really great.

I'm a 22, Female and I'd be thrilled to find a town that's full of parks. I want to be within 100 miles of the beach if possible and Pacific City is my favorite beach. I know Salem is only about 60 miles from there.
I also want access to shopping and some of the big city life like Portland has to offer, I've lived in a mediocre town all my life and have always enjoyed what the bigger cities have to offer (however that's not a necessity)

I love a clean town. I just want a place that feels "fresh" and ...zen-like. And maybe what would be considered a "healthy" town too...where people walk more, use vehicles less, recycle, have lots of outdoor recreation areas. I like a good mixture of poetry and chaos. I'm a very active person.
My main concern is the lack of sunlight. Some people run on coffee, I run on sunshine. Montana has long cold winters, but we had about 5 months of beautiful sunshine this year... I would be pretty happy with place that could offer me that, or more.

I would love a town that has plenty of things to do. Some night life would be cool... I enjoy the towns where the night life is outside and downtown.

So the long and short of it is;
Outdoor activities
Parks/Clean town
The Beach near by (within 100 miles)
An energetic/easy going town
And possibly shopping within 50 miles
And prices that aren't outrageous.

Oh wow... I tried to keep it short.

Thanks

[Shorty77]

NOT Salem if you are looking for parks, zen, healthy, active, recycling, etc. Doesn't fit that description at all. Corvallis fits all of those things exactly, except for the sunshine part. If you want sun, you have to live in Eastern OR, i.e. Bend, etc (but then you will be giving up the coast). Otherwise, keep a good supply of vitamin D handy.

[Silverfall]

I wouldn't call Salem zen...I wouldn't call Corvallis zen either. Maybe Eugene and Bend. Bend will give you the sunshine, but it is farther from the coast.

I would look at Eugene for the zen thing. Salem meets easy going, but not energetic. It does meet your other criteria though.

[malachai23]

Yes, I'm afraid all of your criterea are not going to be met in Oregon. Like the other posters noted, you can get sun + close to city but - ocean. You can get ocean + close to city but - sun. You can get ocean + sun but - close to city. Have you maybe looked at Northern California? I hate to refer you south of the border, but I know there are some zen-like communities there, and that area gets a lot more sun than the Oregon Coast does (with exception of the Southern Oregon Coast, where you will not be near any large cities and really not so much zen-like quality or nightlife to those communities either). I'm not sure about the COL of Northern California though - I know it's not near as expensive as SoCal, but not knowing what your budget is, it's hard to say if it would be in your range or not. It's just an idea. But seriously, good luck with whatever you do. I wish you the best.

[TouchtheShore]

Thank you for all your help guys. I was afraid I would be referred to Cali lol I'm going to look in to it, I've been all along the highway 1 from Washington to Los Angeles and I was somewhat put off by northern California just due to the fact that it seemed like it was all built on hills and more "close" together than I would like.. the weather was also worse there than it was in Oregon. But passing through during a road trip certainly doesn't make me an expert. The other thing that bothered me is I stopped off at probably 20 beaches along the coast and the best ones, in my opinion, were in Oregon. Damnit. The sunshine is really important for me so I'll have to keep searching.

What about St. Helens Oregon?

I'll look more in to Eugene too, I have family there and it's a great town.

As far as finances, I have about $10,000 saved up... I was sick and out of work for a year and just started improving so my savings is by no means near what I'd like it to be for a move. I'll be waiting tables or bartending when I get to wherever I'm going.

[malachai23]

Originally Posted by TouchtheShore

Thank you for all your help guys. I was afraid I would be referred to Cali lol I'm going to look in to it, I've been all along the highway 1 from Washington to Los Angeles and I was somewhat put off by northern California just due to the fact that it seemed like it was all built on hills and more "close" together than I would like.. the weather was also worse there than it was in Oregon. But passing through during a road trip certainly doesn't make me an expert. The other thing that bothered me is I stopped off at probably 20 beaches along the coast and the best ones, in my opinion, were in Oregon. Damnit. The sunshine is really important for me so I'll have to keep searching.

What about St. Helens Oregon?

I'll look more in to Eugene too, I have family there and it's a great town.

As far as finances, I have about $10,000 saved up... I was sick and out of work for a year and just started improving so my savings is by no means near what I'd like it to be for a move. I'll be waiting tables or bartending when I get to wherever I'm going.

LOL, yah, Northern California is not my thing either. But I thought I would mention it - seemed like it might fit into your sunny plans a bit better than the Beaver State.

St. Helens is on the river, as opposed to the ocean. It gets the same weather as Portland... so, lots of overcast skies and rain. That's not to say there aren't sunny days in the Portland area, but you aren't going to see them very often in the Late Fall/Winter/Spring. I was actually asking previously about St. Helens on this board, but didn't get much of a reply. I haven't been there in a LONG time. It used to be a typical rugged Northwestern small town, and I'm thinking it probably hasn't changed much. I wish they would get the whole thing up on Google Maps Street View!! I'm actually going to take a drive up there in person next month when I'm in Oregon. I do know that St. Helens is much less expensive than the Portland Metro, and not too far outside of it. That's one of the reasons I'm considering it.

I don't know what the restaurant/bar situation there is... hopefully you and I can both get some feedback on that! I Googled restaurants and bars there - there are a few but it doesn't look like very many. But you could always commute into Portland, where there are a ton and a half.

As for sun, this may sound silly - but have you considered a SAD lamp? I do know people that use them and benefit from them in Oregon. I don't have any personal experience with them because I am the exact opposite - the sun gets on my nerves and I love the rainy foggy dreary weather

[Silverfall]

Well Bend would give you the sun, but it is farther from the coast. It is a great city, but employment will be a problem.

St. Helens doesn't meet your criteria. Small energetic town would be Silverton.

[Steve97415]

Originally Posted by TouchtheShore

So the long and short of it is;
Outdoor activities
Parks/Clean town
The Beach near by (within 100 miles)
An energetic/easy going town
And possibly shopping within 50 miles
And prices that aren't outrageous.

Oh wow... I tried to keep it short.

Thanks

I've said it many times before, but it is so fundamental a principle in find the place of one's heart that it bears repeating:

If you want what everybody else wants, it's going to cost you...a lot.

The law of supply and demand guarantees that. You'll either have to have personal assets in the seven-figure range and squeeze yourself into an already crowded region of the country, or you'll have to decide what kind of climatic and social deficits you can most easily live with and just accept that it falls short of the perfect "movie in your mind."

[Minervah]

I'll be waiting tables or bar tending when I get to wherever I'm going.

But probably not in Oregon. Those are pretty hard to come by. Still if you find a town that suits your needs, you can inquire before you move as to job openings. $10,000 won't last long with no job. Right now the coastal areas are as hard hit as any other areas in Oregon.

I can't think of anyplace in Oregon that will meet your criteria. It depends upon whether or not you are willing to sacrifice some things for others. If you like Eugene that's a good place to start looking but again check into the job situation before moving there or any other place.

[TouchtheShore]

I see my expectations were set unreasonably high, but you have to start somewhere, and it's best not to start at the bottom.

So what would be your suggestions for towns anywhere in Oregon? I'm guessing southern Oregon. Somewhere that's warm ish/sunny-ish. Anywhere in Oregon, scratch the beach, I can drive there a few times per month even if it's a few hundred miles away.
Some place semi-affordable with a decent employment rate and access to a bigger city. I come from a town of 30,000 so... a bigger city to me is anything bigger than that lol
A nice town, with parks and lots of places to walk or sit and read or do yoga.

I'm looking in to the SAD lamp ASAP... is it like Prozac in a light bulb?? Thanks Malachai you've been so helpful!

You guys have already given me quite a few suggestions like Eugene and Corvallis, I'll be looking in to those more. St.Helens is still kinda on my list.