Ok Were thinking about a possible move to Oregon for many reasons large and small. What can any of you Oregoneons tell me about pros and cons of moving from Texas to Salem or Portland Area. Or anyone else with knowledge of the state. I know some people that have moved there in the last yr. And of course build it up big.
Thanks for any input.
Well, my son moved there a couple of years ago to the Grant’s Pass area. He loves it. Then again he’s the outdoor type and does a lot of hiking and camping. The scenery is terrific. I don’t what the job market is like, but that may not be an issue for you.
Then there’s this terrific little town on the coast called Port Orford which is the home of one of the best outdoor railroads in the country. And a little further north in the Seattle area is another great outdoor RR, the Colorado Consolidated. Both are owned and operated by some really talented guys…and there’s are a host of others in the area…but that’s only if your into train stuff…
Gotta be better than Ft Worthless.
Sorry thats what a friend of mine who moved there always called it after he moved back to here
Job market is the only thing I would be concerned about, recession and all that. Housing prices are likely to be similar to Texas, maybe less depending on the region, better than California thats for sure.
Victor Smith said:
Gotta be better than Ft Worthless. ;)Sorry thats what a friend of mine who moved there always called it after he moved back to here
Job market is the only thing I would be concerned about, recession and all that. Housing prices are likely to be similar to Texas, maybe less depending on the region, better than California thats for sure.
Us poor furriners are looking deeply into it - Oregon has everything WE want, apart from a passle of relatives up in Ontario. Still, that’s why the Good Lord invented the train in the fust place, eh?
tac
I believe the coastal region, including Portland, will have more rain than you are used to.
But it ain’t flatland!
Central is mountainous, a little bit of everything and Eastern is high desert.
There’s a nice little burg just south of the Portland area called Wilsonville. More out in the country, with little farms and such.
I also believe at the present time, there isn’t any sales tax, but there is a personal income tax on top of Bush’s.
Also, you can’t pump yer own gas.
And there’s a deposit on all containers.
jb
John Bouck said:Gee John,
I believe the coastal region, including Portland, will have more rain than you are used to. But it ain't flatland! Central is mountainous, a little bit of everything and Eastern is high desert. There's a nice little burg just south of the Portland area called Wilsonville. More out in the country, with little farms and such. I also believe at the present time, there isn't any sales tax, but there is a personal income tax on top of Bush's. Also, you can't pump yer own gas. And there's a deposit on all containers. jb
It sounds like ya got to get permission to fart. You’d be one hell of a salesman. I know for a fat lady she don’t swet much.
We moved to Port Orford in 1996 and love it here on the coast. We’re just behind a small ridge and behind trees which shelters us from most of the wind.
Portland is not on the coast but is just across the Columbia River from Washington state. The whole I-5 corridor is much like California except less crowded and has cleaner air. Generally I-5 is 50 miles from the coast unlike the impression you get from the Weather Channel where they seem to think the Pacific Ocean laps up on I-5’s shoulder. Grants Pass is one of the nicer “inland” towns. The more southern portions are less crowded and to my eye nicer than farther north. If you like malls with plenty of shopping and services handy then anywhere along I-5 might be for you. It does get hotter in summer than the coastal areas and can snow a bit in the winter, usually nothing serious.
The area farther east such as Bend, Oregon can get some serious snow in the passes isolating you unless you like chaining up. Most services and shopping are available there however and it is pretty around the area.
The coastal area has a climate moderated by the ocean and thus has a more constant temperature although it can get chilly at night and during the winter. The area I’m in which is between Coos Bay and Brookings is called the banana belt by locals because the temps are usually between 40-70F daytime and only occassionally below 32 at night even in winter. Coldest we had this year was a 28F for a couple of nights. All this doesn’t mean we don’t get storms of course but they don’t seem to be anywhere as severe as in the gulf states and not as common.
Rain is a fact of life but not as plentiful as a bit farther north. When we have rain it might be 2-3" at a whack and then there’s usually a respite for a couple days. This year was especially wet and rainy all winter but last winter I ran trains in December in sunlight. We had snow only one day and that was about 1/4".
I prefer the coast because of much less traffic, slower pace of life and consistent temperatures. Port Orford is the last area to see development because of a lack of any direct lateral roads between here and I-5. Best shopping for us is Coos Bay (big city :D). We can get whatever we need there. It’s only 50 miles north along a two lane Hwy 101. Eugene on I-5 is a nice city and is about 3 hours drive away.
It is more practical to not buy a house right on the beach unless you have lots of money for maintenance. While nice the weather and salt air quickly deteriorate paint and siding. Note too that just a couple of miles inland can mean a temperature difference of as much as 10 degrees higher in summer and colder in winter.
A lot of variety here, something for everybody I think. Do your homework and set your priorities and you’ll do no better than Oregon in my estimation and I’ve been in practically every state in the union at one time or another.
<<Gee John,
It sounds like ya got to get permission to fart. You’d be one hell of a salesman. I know for a fat lady she don’t swet much.>>
Huh?
Whut yuh talkin about?
jb
Thanks for the input Fellas ! I grew up in Ohio and Jersey and Delaware. So I know all about snow and rain. I miss the change of seasons.I could not handle living in TOC’s territory with my lung problems cold weather and rain put me down every time. My wife is concerned here with my childrens allergy problems and heard they would be lessoned up there. Plus our pollution is getting worse here adding to the health problems. I just don’t want to live around alot of tree huggers. I love nature and gardening but people come before owls and such. I almost don’t really care about making big bucks, getting too old to get those jobs anyhow. I definitely need a yard for the trains though. And were getting disgusted with the schools here as well, we did home schooling before. So I can move to the woods and buy more Guns ! It does sound very nice up there, how does the personal Income Tax work ?
Bryan,
Unless you look like a tree there’s little chance that you get to meet the tree huggers. :lol: :lol: For those allergy problems, find out what the pollen load factor is, but my guess would be the high plateau is way down on that.
Well before I lost weight ,I was sometimes refered to as a small Sequoia Tree !
Hans-Joerg Mueller said:
Bryan,Unless you look like a tree there’s little chance that you get to meet the tree huggers. :lol: :lol: For those allergy problems, find out what the pollen load factor is, but my guess would be the high plateau is way down on that.
‘I believe the coastal region, including Portland, will have more rain than you are used to.’
Bin going there for years, that’s why we love it. We LIKE rain.
‘But it ain’t flatland!’
That’s why we love it.
‘Central is mountainous, a little bit of everything and Eastern is high desert.’
Sorry, the central is not mountainous - it’s the frilly bits at the edge and the top right hand corner that are mountainous - the Coastal Range and the Casades with the 40-60 mile wide Willamette Valley between them. Much of the rest is hilly, for sure, but not really mountainous. The NE corner counties, Umatilla, Union and Wallowa - are are very much like the Swiss Alps, but without all those pedantic and serious inhabitants that make going to Switzerland like visiting a lawyers’ convention. No bloody cuckoo clocks there, either.
‘There’s a nice little burg just south of the Portland area called Wilsonville. More out in the country, with little farms and such.’
The Willamette Valley is a true paradise for little farms, and home to the unique-to-Oregon Marionberry - a small froot designed to fit perfectly into a pie. In large amounts, of course 
‘I also believe at the present time, there isn’t any sales tax, but there is a personal income tax on top of Bush’s.’
That’s why saturday morning in the Portland Costco looks like all it’s Washington for the day.
‘Also, you can’t pump yer own gas.’
Fine, that lets somebody ELSE get wet in all that rain.
‘And there’s a deposit on all containers.’
AND you get the money back - the main point is that the beaches and parks are not full of other folks’ discarded pop bottles…
…and talking about beaches - the entire Oregon coastline, top to bottom, belongs to the lucky folks of Oregon. There is not an inch of it that is not open to the public.
At nine o’clock on New Year’s Day morning, mrs tac and I were the only folks on Cannon Beach - over nine miles of solitude…bliss!!!
See you there?
<That’s why saturday morning in the Portland Costco looks like all it’s Washington for the day.>
Absolutely!
There was a deal on the news about the Washington town of Vancouver. (Just across the Columbia River from Portland)
Nobody shops there for medium to big ticket items.
Portland’s population doubles every weekend!
Pumping own gas—
I cannot stand it, driving thru Oregon.
There’s one attendant, who is pumping 15 cars at the major off ramps. (Out in the middle of nowhere).
It will take you 1/2 hour to get back on the road.
Maybe it’s me…I’d rather get to where I’m going than sit in my car at a gas station.
Income tax…Ain’t we freakin taxed enough!
Bottles and cans…Good idea. Wish Washington had it!.
And yes, My wife and I have beachcomed after a storm in October. No one there but us and the seagulls for miles! That’s the best time to visit the coast. Late fall. Schools back in session, no crowds, and the traffic on 101 isn’t bumper to bumper for miles.
jb
Quote by John Bouck - ‘Portland’s population doubles every weekend!’
Well, not really, most with any sense are heading for the coast…
Recommend a visit to Fort Clatsop, too. The docents there are great fun and very knowledgeable.
Or fly a paper airplane off the Astoria Column.
Or visit the Shallon Winery in downtown Astoria…a one-man band who makes froot wines.
Or the Columbia River Maritime Museum…
ride the water-front street car…
or about ten-thousand other things…
tac
There’s certainly some nice scenery there!
(http://www.jbrr.com/Pics/Events/TOC_POC_2008/P1010210.JPG)
It seemed that people were in much less of a hurry than around here. Quite pleasant for the few days we spent there.
Ok, Iv’e been baited, hooked and now your reeling me in ! I at least need to make a trip there this summer. How far of a drive is it to Dave’s from there Bruce ?
Bryan,
It’s probably a day’s drive from Dave’s to Richards. We did it in two days as we stopped for hiking and birding along the way. First day was from Seattle to Newport, but we went via Astoria, down Highway 101, along the coast. That was 320 miles. Next day from Newport down to Port Orford was 150 miles.
If you wanted to do it quicker, you could just take I-5; there’s a lot of little towns on 101, but it was a very nice drive.
10-Day Forecast NEW: Portland, Oregon
High /
Low (°F) Precip. %
Tonight
Apr 12 Mostly Clear 48° 10 %
Sun
Apr 13 PM Showers 64°/44° 30 %
Mon
Apr 14 Showers 50°/41° 70 %
Tue
Apr 15 Showers 52°/42° 40 %
Wed
Apr 16 Showers 55°/44° 40 %
Thu
Apr 17 Partly Cloudy 60°/41° 10 %
Fri
Apr 18 Showers 57°/40° 40 %
Sat
Apr 19 Showers 52°/39° 60 %
Sun
Apr 20 Showers 57°/43° 60 %
Mon
Apr 21 Showers 55°/43° 60 %
Last Updated Apr 12 07:08 p.m. PT
JB
And what’s the forecast for Spokane??
Well maybe I should wait awhile ! saw this article today.