Hello,
If you had a chance to move to Oregon where would you live?
My main criteria:
Cost of living
Quality of Live
Availability of trails, rock , snow, good roads
What do you think?
I have only ever been to bend and someplace about a half hour out from there…Sun River or something like. This is where I would live.
Hi! I live in Corvallis, OR and it works very well for me: good riding, highly educated community, low crime, 45 minute drive to Coast, 1.5 hrs to mtns, not bad as far as cost of living, and plenty of good people in town to socialize with. Corvallis is a small (pop 50,000) college town and we have an HP research facility so lots of smarty pants types live here. We also have the MacDonald forest at our doorstep where you can trail run or mtn bike. Its excellent. People live here because they WANT to be here and that makes it good.
If you are really hard core you should check out Bend, that is where they uber athletes with bank accounts hang out, although you have to like snow to live there. Only bad thing about Bend is there isn’t a great airport there so if you have to fly a lot it will be a pain to drive to Portland. PM me if you want any more info.
Based off your criteria Bend would be ideal. It is becoming to be known as the next hotspot for endurance athletes. Cost of living might be a little suspect, but quality of life and the multi-terrain is top notch. I live in Eugene, also known as “Track Town”, and I couldn’t be happier. We have everything you get with a big city, but in a small town atmosphere. I’m fortunate, my family has a house in the Sun River area, so I have the best of both worlds. IF you make the jump all I can say is “WELCOME”!
*Hey corbinb *
*Well I’m a born and raised in Oregon guy. *
*Trailbait suggested Corvallis witch is a very good chose, it’s a bit wet for my blood now but a very nice town and all she talked about is very true and I like the town a lot it’s just to wet for me. *
*I’m over the mountains in Bend witch is also all trailbait talked about. The home prices are kind of high (I don’t know where you’re coming from) but it’s easy to find a home but a nice one is going to run you from 375,000.00 to 450,000.00. But we do have snow for skiing a good bit of road riding and the best MTB trails you will find! If it’s not single track we don’t ride it. Oh and lets not forget Smith Rock start park one of the premier rock climbing spots in the US and the world. And all of that is at your door step! We have a ton of triathalets and even more cyclists. *
*The Portland area is the major metropolitan area of the state and a very bike friendly town, but it’s a big city with all the good and bad that cities have, more good then bad for a big city. And if you race Cross we have the biggest series in the US and the world (yes that’s right the world) *
*Ashland is a very nice town, it has a small feel to it but it is also kind of pricey place to find a home. Weather is better then up in the Valley IE Portland/Salem and Eugene not as wet. But you are a bit far from any of the big city stuff and again not a big airport to fly out of. *
*So there you go is you want to live in a sporting town then Bend is the one you just have to find a gig and pony up for a home. *
*But man it rocks! *
*Dan… *
I live in Portland and love it without end, and there are still plenty of areas where housing costs aren’t getting out of hand. An hour to the coast, an hour to the mountains, and plenty of good rides twenty minutes out of town. Forest Park is on the outskirts of town and provides thirty miles of dense forest trails for running. The Columbia Gorge is close for rock. Plenty of tris from June through Sept.
Bend is at the top of the list when it comes to great weather, good snow, endless outdoors, and a very cool and athletic scene. Too bad housing prices are through the roof. The only downside I see to Bend is that aside from Pacific Crest, most races will be three hours away in Portland, and a lot of good races are in the Seattle area.
Also look at Ashland in the south…growing into a very unique town with lots of good terrain.
Anywhere along I-5 between Ashland and Roseburg.
As others have posted, Bend probably meets your criteria best, with the possible exception of cost of living. You could look at other Central Oregon communities for less expensive housing, but still have access to the recreation amenities and dry weather that Bend is noted for. By dry, there’s very little rain, but lots of snow. Arid high-desert (~4k feet).
I live in Portland and really enjoy it. I grew up, went to college, and started my adult life in small east coast towns, and had a desire to live in a more urban atmosphere. Portland has fit the bill for me. It’s not too big, the coast is within 2 hours drive as is Mt. Hood. The city is bike friendly, and you can be clear of congestion pretty quickly for training rides. Lots of trails within the city (home to the largest city park in the US). The weather is moderate: rarely below freezing and mild humidity in the summer. The winters can be long and dark though. Not as much rain as people think, but a lot of overcast damp days. Well actually after the past couple of weeks I might edit that and say it rains every freaking day.
The state is home to some of the best new golf courses in the country, the coast and cascade mtn ranges are gorgeous, and the Columbia gorge is home to the best wind surfing in the country. Kayaking and rafting opportunities are aplenty.
scott
I grew up in central Oregon between Redmond and Bend.
Tell us more what you mean about “quality of life.” I laughed when I read that because really, pretty much all of Oregon has good quality of life. Everyone who lives there seems to have that as an important value. It is not a rushed kind of state. Lots of people are into good health and not into the rat race.
For me personally, quality of life includes varied cultural opportunities - good music, visiting lecturers, you know, the kind of thing that usually comes with a university town. And ethnic/racial diversity. For those reason I’d have a hard time living anywhere in central/eastern Oregon. Bend is much better that way than it was 20 years ago, but is still lacking.
The other really disappointing thing about Bend is how poor the city planning is. It USED to be a more charming town. Now it is growing completely without controls, with the more “affordable” homes mostly located in suburbia type developments surrounded by endless big box stores. I now live in Oakland, CA, pop. 700,000 and Bend seriously has more big box stores and malls than we do! There is a major “shopping culture” in Bend that drives me nuts.
On the other hand, the places that have greater cultural opportunities and diversity, like Portland and Eugene, are too rainy for me.
Central & Eastern Oregon have really nice weather. Snow, GREAT skiing of all types, but most winter days are sunny and mild. Summers, perfect. No rain. Near Bend, a ridiculously large selection of trails/roads for year round trail running & mountain biking, winter skiing and summer road bike riding. HOWEVER, it is true that winter roads can be bad. You want nice roads? There are lots of two-lane highways out there that turn into pure black ice in the winter. Lots of head-on collisions. From that perspective the (winter) roads are way better in rainy western Oregon.
“Rock” - you mean rock climbing? Smith Rock (near Redmond) is the famous place, but there are others. I find Redmond really boring, but then I went to high school there and therefore am inclined dislike it for life. You need to check it out for yourself, some people are seeing it as a good (and more affordable) alternative to Bend now.
Ashland might be worth a look? Nice small town, reasonably nice winter, cultural stuff. My guess is that housing prices have gone up a lot.
Medford/Grants Pass/Roseburg, as well as Klamath Falls, are too redneck for me.
Hope that helps.
I’d second Ashland if you can afford it.
Well,
For my work I would travel and spend most of my time in Eugene, Portland, and Seattle. It would also be nice if there was a airport with good service within about an hour. Ideally I would love to get a place in the country with a bit of land to play with.
corbinb
So move to the Corvallis area - next door to Trailbait. It is easy to find a place with “land” there.
Well,
For my work I would travel and spend most of my time in Eugene, Portland, and Seattle. It would also be nice if there was a airport with good service within about an hour. Ideally I would love to get a place in the country with a bit of land to play with.
corbinb
I lived in Ashland for a few years and can recommend it. It is not cheap, however. Go 20 minutes away to Medford and neighboring towns and house prices drop by about 50%. You don’t get quite the same
Great Mtn biking all-around the area and some fantastic road biking:
http://www.somba.org/
http://www.siskiyouvelo.org/
– jens
I’m from Ashland: Its about the best town for running and riding, but about the most expensive town in the state now and there are fewer and fewer young people (because its so expensive) … Medford is not as lame as it used to be and is more affordable, as are the bedroom communities all around Medford. The road and mountain biking all over Southern Oregon is unbeatable (unless you are looking to go 20 miles in your aerobars: The cycling ranges from hilly to hellish) … Running is great, too, weather is better than up north, but the tri. community is tiny, despite 200,000 people living there.
Bend is booming, trendy and very nice, and now very expensive. More fitness freaks live there, that’s for sure.
My dream would Joseph or Enterprise, but I’m single so that place would be a little lonely …
I went to school in Eugene and find it dreadful. Portland is a great city and has it all but its expensive.
Oregon just might be the coolest state of them all. I would live anywhere between Grants Pass and Astoria, Durkey to Garabaldi. Although I understand that there is a civil war brewing.
Medford - hands down.
Well,
For my work I would travel and spend most of my time in Eugene, Portland, and Seattle. It would also be nice if there was a airport with good service within about an hour. Ideally I would love to get a place in the country with a bit of land to play with.
corbinb
I lived in Eugene and have never felt so at home in a city. They have an airport with flights to major cities, like Portland and Seattle. Having grown up in California, I can say that the housing is almost free. The library was finished while I was still there, and it’s awesome, if you are into that. You can find parcels of land at affordable prices on the outskirts of the city. I will have a house in Eugene again at some point in the future. I had to leave because it was too dificult to make money there, but like most native Californians, I’ll go back when I have money
I grew up in Bend, and in my opinion… it doesn’t get better than Bend! I just got into town for Thanksgiving from Montana… and I wish I still lived here. I would say the high housing prices would be worth the awesome weather, great skiing, tons of talented athletes, great masters swim program, tons of biking, and the list goes on and on.
Hello,
If you had a chance to move to Oregon where would you live?
My main criteria:
Cost of living
Quality of Live
Availability of trails, rock , snow, good roads
What do you think?
Hood River. But your fitness will decrease there as you’ll always be windsurfing.
Frank
Oregon is on my short list as I plan to emigrate to USA from South Africa within the next year so I have found the thread most interesting.
Pharmacist 47 have managed my own retail store last 10 years.
Ironman PB 9:57 this year. Qualified Hawaii twice.
Who wants me? Any job offers?
Did not mean to hijack the thread!