?? please help if you live in oregon??

Question

I am possibly moving in january when my husband is eligible for tranfer from sacramento, ca to the oregon area. i would like to know weather, housing, good or bad neighborhood, school, overall is it a nice town to raise a family...? we are considering the salem/portland area but havent taken a trip yet so i am at ends with leaving a town i know all about, any help would be great.

thank you for your very detailed answers, when you say housing market is not going to bottom out do you mean the price are rising dramatically. i see rental home for 800-1200 and older homes for about 150,000-250,000 are they consider good homes, neighborhood for these prices??housing market in sacramento is about the losest i can find 400,000 and is in bad neighborhoods. which is the reason i want to relocate!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!what should i look for in regards to homes

Answer 1

The response from the other person is very good. Also try checking out the relocation site called city-data. The website is www.city-data.com and it is for people who are moving to another state. The Oregon forum is very good because I am looking to relocate there as well. I have heard mostly negative things about Salem and not great with the schools in Oregon but overall it sounds like a really wonderful place to live. There is a forum on the site too where you can go ask questions like the one you've asked here to people who live there and they can give you specific replies. Also there is a search function in the upper right hand corner of the Forum where you can search for certain topics and threads for questions that have been answered in the past.

Here's a direct link to the Oregon information page with the stats and basic info and all the city information within Oregon:
http://www.city-data.com/city/Oregon.html

And here is a direct link to the Oregon Forum. There is also a separate forum for Portland:
http://www.city-data.com/forum/oregon/

There are a lot of little suburbs around Portland so be sure to check those out too. When you ask questions on the forum try to be more specific in what you are looking for and what you price range is etc.

Oregon is very wet and as such it has a lot of really beautiful green scenery and is very focused on the outdoor recreational activities. It rains quite a bit in the winter but has beautiful summers.

There are different climates depending on which part you live in as well. In Southern Oregon the climate is similar to Northern California, in Eastern Oregon it is a desert climate with cold snowy winters and hot dry summers and in North and West Oregon it is rainy and wet with really green scenery and mild temperatures. You really need to know what kind of weather you can tolerate and prefer before making the move. Portland is north west so it is gray a lot and rainy quite a bit.

Go on the forum and do a post about what you are looking for specifically. I've heard that Corvallis is one of the best places to raise a child and that isn't too far from Salem. Good luck to you.

Answer 2

Oregon is a rather large state, so it's hard to give you specifics. As far as Portland vs. Salem, these are two very different cities. Salem is the state capitol, but is not quite as cultured and urban as Portland.

Portland:

Weather - Summer: warm & dry. Fall: windy, occasionally wet, chilly. Winter: Grey, wet, cold. Some snow possible. Spring: A combination of rain, grey, chilly, clear, warm, etc. Free-for-all.

Housing - Portland area housing market is still fairly strong and is not expected to bottom out until 2009. There are still lots of developments being built and it's turning into a slightly buyer's market.

Neighborhoods - This is a personal preference. Contact a realtor and let them know what you are looking for.

Schools - Generall in Oregon, education is problematic. The schools are FAR better across the border in Clark County, WA.

The Portland area can be a great place to raise a family. There are lots of activities, lots of chances to be exposed to cultural things, and is just generally a polite and nice place.

Answer 3

The other two respondents have each given good information, but there's a little I feel I can add.

Oregon is the 13th largest state, but only has about 3 million people. The vast majority live in the Willamette Valley, set between the Coast Range to the west, and the Cascades to the east. Agriculture is still one of the largest industries in the Valley, and is one of the nation's leading producers of nursery stock, grass seed and fine pinot noirs. This is great if you like red wine, but bad if you have hay feaver.

Oregon does get a great deal of rain, but the majority falls on the coast, in the Coast Range, and in the foothills of the Cascades. The Willamette Valley generally has a mild climate - never too hot or too cold for too long. Central and Eastern Oregon (everything east of the Cascades) is technically considered desert with less than 9-inches of rain a year. These areas do experience hotter temperatures in the summer, and colder temperatures in the winter.

I live in Portland. It's big enough that it has most of the amenities that any big city should have, but not so large as to be overwhelming. Housing costs are beginning to drop, and the forecast calls for prices to continue to drop. As in most cities, look to the suburbs for the lower prices. Portland does have more fine restaurants per capita than any other city in the U.S., and also continues to lead the nation in micro-brewery production (Thankfully.). Portland is also nice because you are within about a hour of stunning locations along the Oregon Coast, incredible vistas along the Columbia River Gorge, or exceptional recreational opportunities within the Cascades.

Cons: The government and educational system are poor. There is no sales tax, so property and income taxes are high. Class sizes are fairly large.

In summation, I've lived in many locations along the West Coast from San Diego to Seattle, and I wouldn't live anywhere else but Portland.

Best of luck!

Answer 4

If you can deal with rain and cloudy days 75% of the time, you should be okay here. The weather is mild most of the time, and there are no real consistent threats of earthquakes, tornadoes, or hurricaines. Though it gets hot in certain years, the summers are beautiful and there is plenty of outdoor activities such as hiking and fishing. The scenery is beautiful with plenty of trees to be found. Fall is fall, leaves everywhere. The winters are just like the falls, with exception of the temp being 10-20 degrees lower. We are lucky to get more than 1 or 2 days of true snowfall, in the Portland area anyways. In my opinion, the suburbs of Porltand are a better area to raise a family than in the city itself. The pace is a bit slower and relaxed and the quality of education is significantly better. Most of the highly rated in Oregon academic and sports programs come from the suburbs, namely in Washington county cities such as Beaverton and the rapidly up-and-coming city of Hillsboro. Honestly, the Portland area is a great place to live, but just an o.k. place to visit. California is the other way around. Hope this helps some.

Answer 5

I didn't find Portland to be expensive compared to other large cities. You just have to invest time into finding the right apartment for the right price. Craigslist, I highly recommend for that.

I lived in SE Portland around the Belmont/Hawthorne area, which was quite nice . Lots of cute little shops and art etc. SW Portland is also a nice residential area. NW Portland is the area that are higher in apt. or house prices. Again, you just have to invest time in finding the right thing for you:).

I prefer Portland over Salem. Just much more to do in P-town and everything within reach, more exciting stuff to do. If you love art, good restaurants, and lots of live music, then you may just love Portland.

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Answer 6

Portland and Salem are both booming and expensive; especially Portland. Consider some of the smaller towns in the Willamette Valley between Portland and Salem. Nice communities you should look at: Silverton, Mt. Angel, St. Paul, Aurora, Canby, McMinnville, Amity, Sheridan, Sublimity.