Moving from Australia to Oregon ~ Grants Pass, Medford area (Ashland: motels, homes)

[mike_down_under]

thanks for that, we are moving to OK to spend some time with my wife's family for about a yr or so (she hasn't been home in 7 years) & during that time will be making a few trips to OR to suss it all out. We chose OR for the climate, more so, the scenery. I've never been unemployed since I was 15 & have always found some sort of work & the town we live in now would be worse off financially than GP (smaller & higher unemployment), but like all things you have to be there to get the "real picture". I've read nearly every thread about OR/GP/Med & we're not naive about the move, have spoken to local governments, business people & locals about the area as well. As long as we have 4 walls & a roof, we are content. Sometimes you have to be an outsider to see the real beauty of your backyard.

[freedom]

Originally Posted by mike_down_under

thanks for that, we are moving to OK to spend some time with my wife's family for about a yr or so (she hasn't been home in 7 years) & during that time will be making a few trips to OR to suss it all out. We chose OR for the climate, more so, the scenery. I've never been unemployed since I was 15 & have always found some sort of work & the town we live in now would be worse off financially than GP (smaller & higher unemployment), but like all things you have to be there to get the "real picture". I've read nearly every thread about OR/GP/Med & we're not naive about the move, have spoken to local governments, business people & locals about the area as well. As long as we have 4 walls & a roof, we are content. Sometimes you have to be an outsider to see the real beauty of your backyard.

You'll fit right in. I'm glad you can see the full picture. As a 15 yr. outsider this is the place, and the backyard is awesome.

freedom

[popswatch]

one fact of life in Oregon,must have own business to make money.good luck.

[John P Colltrane]

Originally Posted by mike_down_under

G'day,

We have decided to move to Oregon, picking on the southern area around Grants Pass ~ Medford areas. I have never been there but love the scenery, I guess like any other tourist. It will still be a year or so away before we land but I'm looking for general good bad comments about the area. I'm a house builder here in oz & my wife has an accounting background but with no formal qualifications. I wouldn't mind a totally different change & have never been unemployed so I'm not too worried about getting work. Housing prices are about the same, but land is slightly higher. Overall southern Oregon seems to have a little better climate? We both don't like cities & prefer an acre or so out of town. We have 3 kids, 17,12 & 5. I lived in the US for about a year & never had a problem being aussie. Grants Pass is around the same size town we're we are at now, like any country there are the good & bad people but is it a friendly open town thinking we might end up around Grants Pass? Is there any obvious questions I missed?

cheers

Mike

Skip G.P. go to the Oregon coast for peace of mind and ultimate beauty, if you are making that big of a commitment move to the most beautful part of Oregon, from Grants pass head south on the redwood highway 199 to Brookings and travel that wonderful coast north, you will be amazed at all the beauty and the friendliest people in the world, please do it for your children!!!!

[John P Colltrane]

Originally Posted by mike_down_under

G'day,

We have decided to move to Oregon, picking on the southern area around Grants Pass ~ Medford areas. I have never been there but love the scenery, I guess like any other tourist. It will still be a year or so away before we land but I'm looking for general good bad comments about the area. I'm a house builder here in oz & my wife has an accounting background but with no formal qualifications. I wouldn't mind a totally different change & have never been unemployed so I'm not too worried about getting work. Housing prices are about the same, but land is slightly higher. Overall southern Oregon seems to have a little better climate? We both don't like cities & prefer an acre or so out of town. We have 3 kids, 17,12 & 5. I lived in the US for about a year & never had a problem being aussie. Grants Pass is around the same size town we're we are at now, like any country there are the good & bad people but is it a friendly open town thinking we might end up around Grants Pass? Is there any obvious questions I missed?

cheers

Mike

Mike don't settle for just G.P. take some time and checkout other cities like Ashland, Brookings, the coast is much more beautiful than G.P./ Medford, those places have a lot of meth heads causing all kinds of problems.....

[cyanrainbow]

Hi,

Is smog really a problem in Grants Pass/Meford area? Are there any towns at the coast that any one can recommend? We were going to move to Bend but decided on Medford/GP area but now we are not sure about the smog or meth problems.

I have read this thread and there is some wonderful information going back a couple of years. I am wondering if the Aussie gentleman Mike down under, ever made it to GP or Medford and if he did what he thinks!

Thank you for your time.

[dreams44]

Hi,
I live in Ashland, Or. I have lived in the Rogue River Valley all my life. Each town or area has its own unique beauty and its own set of problems.
Grants Pass, Or has the claim of the best climate in the country. It is in Josephine County.
Population is 26,000.
It is beautiful. Living just outside of Grants Pass would probably be the best at that end of the valley.
Schools are good. County sheriff has limited funds and manpower.
Its reputation is pretty conservative.
Medford, Or is the largest city. 75,000 population now. It has lots of shopping, lots of traffic, and can be smoggy in the winter.
Again, if you live ten minutes outside of Medford, toward the Applegate Valley, outside of Jacksonville, Or, it is beautiful. Same if you go north, Eagle Point, Shady Cove, Or.
Medford has two high schools. I do not know which is the best.
Libraries are open.
Ashland, Or has a population of 20,000. It has Southern Oregon University. It has the Oregon Shakespearean Festival. Mt Ashland is 20 miles away for skiing. It has a 100 acre park, designed by the same person who designed Golden Gate Park.
Schools are great. It is a tourist town.
Its reputation in the valley is liberal, hippy. That is kind of a leftover from the 1960's, but you cannot convice someone from White City of that.
This valley has its own drug problems, just as most of the United States. The I-5 freeway corridor runs from Ashland to Portland. There are meth labs, pot growers, cocaine sales. But on the positive side, the valley has an aggressive police presence just for that reason, JACNET, DEA.
They combine forces with Northern Ca police because we are in the same mountains and valleys, where the pot growers set up shop.
Libraries are now open, at reduced hours.
Weather can be three weeks of hot, 100 degrees in the sumer and three weeks of ice and snow in the winter. Other than that, it is pleasant, lots of rain.
Housing prices were some of the highest in the country. Now, housing is in a major slump, just like the rest of the U.S.
As for smog, Medford area and Portland area are the only places in Oregon who have a mandatory car smog evaluation when car has to have new tags, every two years. If your car is not smog ready, you don't get your new tags. The area is MUCH better than it was when the valley had so many lumber mills.
As for the Oregon coast, so many people love it there. You have to really like the ocean and the small towns. They range from Brookings and Gold Beach and North Bend and Florence and Newport and on up to Astoria, in the very northwestern part of Oregon.
Again, anywhere you live, you have the best and the worst of many other towns. You just have to fall in love with one of the towns.
You can get an online subcription on local newspapers. Check out the stories and get a feel for each place.
Good Luck.

[dsh1127]

The Grants Pass area is awesome! It sounds like you would fit right in! I live about 15 minutes from town on 20 acres and love it! We have bonfires, ride our quads, all from home - without bothering anyone! We wanted our kids to have that kind of childhood, rather than what the city provides. If you talk to many people from Grants Pass, I am sure you will hear about the whole "city school, county school" thing. My kids go to county schools and I can only speak from the elementary and middle schools that they attend, but I am very happy with them! That was one of the things that really surprised me when we moved here was how unbelievably proud the city people are of their schools! I am certainly not cutting them down, but when you go out into the big world, I don't think alot of colleges or employers will even know Grants Pass exists, let alone their schools!

Anyways, the best of luck in your search

[backdrifter]

Originally Posted by cyanrainbow

Hi,

Is smog really a problem in Grants Pass/Meford area? Are there any towns at the coast that any one can recommend? We were going to move to Bend but decided on Medford/GP area but now we are not sure about the smog or meth problems.

I have read this thread and there is some wonderful information going back a couple of years. I am wondering if the Aussie gentleman Mike down under, ever made it to GP or Medford and if he did what he thinks!

Thank you for your time.

You should go to Bend. That's where all the Californians are. But I suppose there are plenty to be found here in Southern Oregon though too. Sigh.

You see, smog isn't a big problem most of the time. Smoke from forest fires can be as it gets trapped in the valleys of Southern Oregon in the summer and can make it absolutely hellish. This last summer the smoke from the California wildfires got caught for months in Grants Pass's valley. The sky was a depressing white-ish color all the time, visibility was awful, and the air quality was something like 7 times over the limit.

Meth is really only going to be a potential threat if you live out in the rural areas. Law enforcement inside the cities is very good, so if you're wanting to settle in the city, then you'll be just fine.

The weather will definitely be more familiar to you, coming from Cali, in Medford/GP area than other parts of Oregon (particularly the coast). It's Mediterranean just like most of California. On the coast, I'd recommend Newport, Brookings, Bandon, Cannon Beach, Florence... Really there are a lot of great communities on the coast, but they're all very, very small and rather isolated.

Good luck!

[cyanrainbow]

Thank you so much for your replies! And don't you worry Drifter, we have only been temporarily in California! Just passing through and didn't find it to our liking! You also gave me some really good insight into life in Medford.

Dreams44, Thank you for your feedback! And for breaking down the areas so well. I am printing out all your info, and yours too DSH1127, thank you as well for the school information. My son is grown, (I homeschooled and highly recommend it to anyone). And from that I have learned DSH that success comes from confidence and the right inner motivation not degrees or where they are from!

Your life in Grants Pass sounds just what I want for my family. We are moving to Medford in 7 weeks. Do any of you think my adult son and I have any chance of finding employment if we are willing to do most anything/?

Thanks again to you all!

Cyan

You have all been very helpful!