Portland, OR vs Southern OR (Medford, Ashland, etc) (Eugene, Springfield: rentals, houses)

[AlexisLea]

So my situation is odd considering I currently live in Portland. Been here for 7 years. In those 7 years the traffic, congestion, and overall cost of living has gone up exponentially.

So I'm looking to move on with my family and was thinking of Southern OR.

Can anyone from there give me an overview of good areas? What are the differences between Portland and Southern areas? People, traffic, rain fall??

Important things to me: Relatively good Public Schools.
Rentals under $1500, preferably 2 or 3 bdrms? 1/2+ acre? (is that even possible??)
Family activities close by, museums, nice playgrounds etc...
Less traffic than Portland!! Less Prius and Subaru drivers? Ha ha

Any help in narrowing down areas would be appreciated. (Job is not an issue. Kids father can work anywhere.)

[PNW-type-gal]

The Rogue Valley (Grants Pass, Medford, Ashland) is roughly 1/10 the population of the Portland metro area (200,000 vs 2,200,000). It's drier (18" of rain versus 40" of rain), although it still has the same overcast, damp winter, it's just shorter (Nov-Feb/March). It's much hotter in summer (July average high is 93° but it will climb into the 100s between 10-15 days a summer). This last summer had a very long, horrible fire smoke period.

It's generally poorer, with a much larger rural area. There are a couple good school districts, on par with some of the better Portland districts, but nothing like the best Portland schools. Doesn't have the job diversity/breadth of jobs that Portland has, but you mentioned that isn't an issue. Property crime, homelessness and drug addiction are problems here as well.

As an example of amenities - there are 3 movie theaters (plus one in Grants Pass) in the area. Your chance of seeing anything not major-market is about zero, unless Southern Oregon University is holding a special showing.

Traffic is measured here by intersections - "the Big Red X" where Crater Lake Highway and Hwy 99 cross near I-5 being the worst, but there are a couple intersections that gridlock. A lot of people find the Medford street "grid" confusing, because it isn't laid out in straight lines and has been converted to a mess of one-way streets and I-5 bisects the city with only a few streets that go over/under the highway.

Houses are less expensive than the Portland area (for the most part, Ashland and Jacksonville are just as expensive as the Portland median house price), but rentals are very tight. Your budget is low but possible, although probably not in the areas with better schools. A half acre is unlikely in the city areas, for the same reasons it is unlikely in Portland.

The area is more isolated than the Portland metro - Medford is the largest city for a couple hundred miles in any direction (well, it is 168 miles to Eugene, 158 miles to Redding, but you get the idea). We have an airport with direct flights to most large west coast cities, but the flights are significantly more expensive than the Portland Airport. There is no train service, public transportation is very limited.

[Nell Plotts]

You can always go to Ashland for stage productions but be sure to pack a lunch/dinner as dining is expensive. They tax restaurant meals to pay for their new sewer plant.

Museums? Nothing much as I recall.

No rail or Bolt Bus service.

If I were you I would look at Eugene/Springfield but well away from the college where students would be renting. Alternately consider mid-Willamette valley around Silverton, even Estacada. I have no idea what the school districts look like. Mid-priced homes in Eugene can be as expensive a Portland so focus on Springfield.

[PNW-type-gal]

Re: museums

Several for kids - the ScienceWorks Hands-on Museum in Ashland and the Children's Museum in Medford. Also Railroad Park, which has model trains and a ride-on small scale train, the Crater Rock and Gem Museum in Central Point and Hanley Farm, which puts on several "living history" events which show farm life in the late 1800s. Beekman House in Jacksonville also does history days. The Applegate Trail Museum, north of Grants Pass, has interpretive and hands-on exhibits.

There are also a couple puppet theater groups and most of the larger theater groups (and there are a ton associated with the Oregon Shakespeare Festival) put on plays for kids.

Southern Oregon University has the Schneider Art Museum.

All pretty small, but there, at least.