College student moving to Oregon, anyone knowledgeable?

Question

I'm currently 19 years old and attending the local community college in North East Texas. I’m on my 3rd semester here and I only have 2 more to go until I get my Associates Degree. I have two more semesters remaining. I plan on transferring Spring 08.

For some reason I’ve decided I would like to move to Oregon to work on my Bachelors Degree. I’ve been researching the following schools : (Psychology)

Oregon State University - Corvallis, OR
Southern Oregon University - Ashland, OR
University of Oregon - Eugene, OR
Western Oregon University - Monmouth, OR

I’m looking for someone knows much about the area/schools who could help me make a well informed decision of which school is best for me.

A few questions that would help with the decision :

Is the town/area gay Friendly?
Is there plenty to do? (Entertainment, food, ect)
Plenty of jobs for a college student?
Apartments a college student could afford?
Anything else you would like to add.

Thank you for all the help!

Answer 1

I will answer by answering each of your questions for each of the schools you asked about.

Oregon State University has definietly gotten more gay friendly over the years but still there are many people oppose it on moral grounds and make that opinion known. As for things to do, there are some but as time goes on cow-tipping gets old. There are around the same number of jobs for college students as people to fill them and the same is true for appartments. OSU is nice if you like a small town where the university is the main attraction.

Southern Oregon University is very much accord with gays. There is not a lot to do in Ashland unless you like plays and theater (in which case you'll be in Heaven). There are a great number of little theater companies and the such that make Ashland very unique. There are not a lot of jobs at the moment and unfortunately that doesn't look to be changing anytime soon. Housing is another concern. There is no affordable housing (for students or otherwise). Ashland has the most character of any of the towns but if you dislike it, it can get very old very quick.

The University of Oregon is in a very gay friendly area and many people on the campus are openly gay. Eugene is the biggest town of any of these and therefore there is the most to do. It has a little bit of everything. There are always jobs that go untaken by college students. Finding a reasonable appartment is not too hard with a little bit of work and perseverence. The University of Oregon is the biggest school in the state and also has the craziest fans for all of their sports games.

Finally, Western Oregon, the area is not very gay friendly, as it is extremely rural. There is probably the least to do of any of the schools you listed. There are a fair amount of jobs for college students but some are farmwork. The housing is very affordable. Western Oregon University is a nice university if your cup of tea is sitting inside and reading from November until March.

Well, I hope this helps, and if you need more information please e-mail me!

Answer 2

Bldenotes is right. University of Oregon is the one with the best reputation (both in terms of gay friendliness and academics). Eugene is not the most ethnically diverse of places, but there is a healthy diversity of ideas at any rate.

It's a bit further away from Portland than some of the other schools you're looking at. However, you can do the drive to Portland in 1 1/2 hours, if you avoid rush hour.

Also, Amtrak offers service to Seattle, Vancouver, Sacramento, Oakland (San Francisco Area), Santa Barbara, and Los Angeles. While little Eugene Airport is actually surprisingly well connected...with daily flights to Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Denver, Phoenix, and Las Vegas.

For the most part, you'll have to depend on private parties and campus connections for fun. Traditional nightlife is limited in Eugene, and gay nightlife is very limited (there's only like 1-2 gay bars in town at any given time). However, there are a number of festivals and one-off events that try to breathe some life into it.

The food in Eugene is about what you'd expect of a community that's predominantly White European. Although the ingredients are fresh. Generally, you can't go wrong with simple dishes like steak and potatoes. There are a couple of decent Mexican and Japanese restaurants, but if you're used to big city culinary skills...it's going to be dissapointing.

Eugene is affordable, and there are a number of odd jobs in retail, restaurants, and what not for college students looking for a little extra cash. There are also a number of technology companies. You'll have to go to Portland for most high-pay professional jobs, however.

Note that unlike in California and Washington State, discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation is NOT illegal in Oregon. You can be fired from a job for being gay. Discretion is advised when approaching more traditionally minded employers, particularly outside of the Willamette Valley.

Answer 3

the university of oregon would be you best bet especially if you want gay friendly there is alot of good entertainment and alot of culture. there is also alot of hippies every saturday there is a market downtown called the saturday market where people sell all different kinds of stuff that they have made there is also ussually live music and food vendors set up and it is free. but eugene is a great place to live it is very layed back. the university of oregon is also in the top 15 colleges in the U.S.the other colleges ae in very small towns but ashland is also about the most gay friendly place there is so I hope this helps you and good luck on your decision

Answer 4

U of O Deffantly it meets most of your criteria.