Moving to Oregon

[gobecke]

My husband and I are planning to move to Oregon summer or fall 2009, and are flying out for a week in August 2008 for research (and R&R).  We currently live in Pennslyvania, so this is a big move for us.  We're still dabbling in research of which towns to definitely visit in August to help decide where we should move to in Oregon.

For anyone

Comments

I'm an Oregonian born and raised.

[wivie]

I currently live in Dallas, but have lived in Salem & Keizer. I have traveled through out the whole state and can tell you alot about it. If you want to specifically direct some questions, just shoot, and I'll let do my best to give you my educated opinion.

Olivia

Re: I'm an Oregonian born and raised.

[gobecke]

Hi, Olivia! Thanks I'll have to take you up on this. I talked to my husband after making the post, and we talked more and we'd actually like to live closer to the beach, 30 minute drive (1 hour tops) and closer to the southern part of the state. Any towns in that area that you thought were nice?

Thanks,
Becky
:)

[vampiricpeacock]

What type of town are you looking for? Do you want something more secluded or do you prefer larger towns?

hi

[gobecke]

We're leaning toward smaller towns now. Want to live in the country and looking for a smaller town. My husband and I talked more and we're now leaning toward southern part of the state, and around 30min - 1hr tops driving distance from the beach. Any suggestions?

Appreciated,
Becky

[spaceyphysicist]

I hail from Brookings, but I know everything from Florence on down pretty well (parents and grandparents are from the area too). I freaking LOVE the small coastal towns, but I know they're not for everyone. You may want to consider Coos Bay, Newport, or Astoria if the idea of living in a town of 5,000 or less doesn't appeal to you.

[lovehugsave_me]

Hey Olivia! =P

Anyways,
I also hail from Brookings, but moved up the coast to Coos Bay/North Bend for college. It's a decent enough town - not too big, not too small. Employment opportunities are few and far between unless you have a degree in a particular field or whatnot.

hi

[gobecke]

Hi thanks! We talked more and we're actually looking more toward the southern part of Oregon, about 30min - 1hr driving distance from the beach tops. Looking for smaller towns, and want to live in the country. Is Brookings considered small or larger? Small is better for us, medium OK.

Thanks for all your help,
Becky

Re: hi

[lovehugsave_me]

Brookings has a population of about 5-6 thousand. So a pretty small town. Right on the border with CA, and with beautiful river and beach access. Crime rate is low, and the town is mostly retired folks. It's a quaint fishing town, with job opportunities mostly in nursing, fishing, and millwork.

[clipdude]

My favorite place in Oregon is Portland, but that’s probably a bit too far from the ocean for you. I also like Eugene, where I currently live, which appears barely close enough to the ocean for your taste. (But then again, I’m your typical Willamette Valley liberal.)

The coastal towns are substantially smaller than the large cities (by Oregon standards) in the Willamette Valley. I don’t know very much about most of them, except that many of them are close to very pretty views.

hi

[gobecke]

Hi, thanks for your help! I talked with my husband and we're leaning now toward southern part of Oregon, within 30min (1hr tops) from the beach. Smaller towns appeal to us, and looking to live in the country. Thanks again for the help you've given. We'll definitely have to check out Portland (we're flying into/out of Portland), and Eugene. I here a lot of good things about Eugene.

Becky

Re: hi

[clipdude]

No problem. Glad to help.

I can’t help you out much with Southern Oregon, because I’m not that familiar with it. (I grew up in the Portland area, the opposite side of the state.)

Good luck!

I'm a PA transplant.

[porcelinapunk]

Where in PA are you moving from?

OR is kind of like a giant version of PA (all the trees/mountains/bugs are bigger) and the people are generally nicer. The Pacific Ocean is WAAAAAAAAY different than the Atlantic and living at the beach here can be a lot different than living at the beach on the East Coast. Most of the major cities are within 1-1.5 hours of the coast. The exceptions are all on the east side of the Cascades.

I guarantee that you'll love it here. (Although I'm sure you're already positive)

OH! And... The weather in August will be nothing like the weather the rest of the year. So if you're in love with a certain city in the summer, make sure you also imagine it cold and rainy--because that's what you'll experience for majority of the year.

If you have any questions about the differences between PA and OR, shoot. I've lived in OR for six years or so, and before that it was PA all the way. :)