Thinking about moving to Ashland/Medford area (Portland, Salem: real estate, crime)

[imatreemonkey]

Im coming to visit in the Spring. Im a 25/m, graduated with a hotel/resort management degree. Do people like it there? Im trying to find some cool people that I can meet and connect with so I can see what its all about there. I have a dog that loves to run so I would want to live outside the city a little so she could get out. Thanks for any input!!!

[Fiddlehead]

Hi Treemonkey,

Yes, we like it here! It is a very beautiful part of the world. Ashland is lovely, but a bit overpriced, and does not have very many people in the "post-college" age bracket. They usually leave to find more affordable housing when they start their working lives. However, there are also a number of artists and hipsters around. Great trails all around the area for going out with your dog. Medford is much more down to Earth, larger, and less expensive. If I were 25, I think I would probably shoot to move to Talent. It is a small town about 5 miles from Ashland. A lot of young people settle there. Depends a little on your political leanings. Ashland is pretty left, Medford a bit right.

[Yoni777]

I lived in Ashland many years, first town I lived in ORegon. Beautiful scenery in those Siskiyous. IMO, Medford, is a great place not to live, unless you enjoy being in a place overrun by meth labs, increasing property and gang crime and in general, ugly and with no personality. If you don't mind a liberal, pagan, yuppie , weirdo atmosphere, Ashland is for you. Ashland and Medford for me are two opposite extremes.

I found Grants Pass to be a real beautiful area and not so whacky as Ashland. You can find some more real, less superficial people in towns like that and not sacrifice beautiful scenery.

I, myself am just growing tired of most small towns in Oregon though. If you want some diversity and not to just be in a liberal hippy/yuppie mecca, perhaps you can consider Salem, Corvallis or Portland. I just moved to Bend and the scenery is unbeatable and not as dreary weather as Ashland. Plenty of free range. Although, there seems to be a yuppie elitist circle in this town, like Ashland. I am going to explore the surrounding towns like Redmond, Prineville for perhaps a more down home , small town indigenous Oregon feel.


If you want to buy a house, houses crashed in Ashland and this may be a good time. $1,000,000 house 8 years ago is now like $700,000. Although, who can trust buying any real estate with the economy?

[tito]

I have been living in Ashland for the last few months, and I have to be here until September 2010 because, I'm attending school; but I'm not interested in settling here. I'm from Chicago and other than the beautiful surrounding mountains, there is nothing here that interests me. Eating out is a disaster, there is no shopping or cultural life other than the over-rated Shakespeare festival.

[Yoni777]

+1 to tito

[backdrifter]

I don't mean to turn this into a Bash-land fest, but Ashland is highly, highly overrated IMHO. The town itself is very pretty and quaint, and the surrounding scenery is just okay (better than nothing). It's small and there is not much to do there for younger folks. The people there are relatively homogeneous these days too.

Medford is flat and sprawling, but the scenery is slightly better than Ashland IMO. You should know though that all of Southern Oregon is a real retirement destination For an ambitious, single, sociable 20-something I would not recommend Southern Oregon as the first choice they should be looking at to relocate to. Also economy is in the dumpster. Some of the worst unemployment rates in the state, which itself is not good. If you get outside of Meddy/Atown though, it's absolutely beautiful in these parts.