Relocating to Oregon

[Ed_The_Gypsy]

Take note that Portland (and other NW towns and cities) have hills (not everywhere, so choose your area). Houses on hills may have a daylight basement, as all of ours did.

Use Google maps with the little man to see the streets of Portland. You can wander for days. Or, take a trip and look around for a week or two.

 

[Ed_The_Gypsy]

Portlandia! Far out! Where you never have to grow up. Buy the bumpersticker: "Keep Portland Weird".

The suburbs and their streets are getting crowded. The old eastside (of the Willamette--pronounced wil-AAH-met, not will-a-met-ee) River is still pretty much at the old population density and is pretty groovy these days.

If you have time to explore, consider settling across the Columbia River in Vancouver, Washington, where there is no income tax. Then you can shop in Portland easy where there is no sales tax.

There are some cool little towns up and down both rivers.

 

[Corporate ORphan]

Take note that Portland (and other NW towns and cities) have hills (not everywhere, so choose your area). Houses on hills may have a daylight basement, as all of ours did.

What is a "daylight" basement?

 

[Brat]

Basement - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[Ed_The_Gypsy]

Thank you, Brat!

 

[Linney]

Today, I drove 1/2 hour to Multnomah Falls and hiked 14 miles with a 4,000 ft. elevation gain.

Larch Mountain Trail, by any chance? It is one of my most favorite trails in the Columbia Gorge. I have an incredibly huge 'bucket list' of hikes yet to do in this area. With the Columbia Gorge, Gifford-Pinchot forest, Mount Adams wilderness, Mount Hood and Mount St. Helens all within a couple hours drive of the Portland area, there are so many great hikes I have yet to experience. This area is a hill / mountain hiker's dream come true.

In Sept., I have a permit to climb Mt. St. Helens, which is probably about a 2.5 hour drive from here.

I did that a couple years ago and boy was that a tough one. But so worth it. Amazing view from the rim. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. I plan to do it again now that I've forgotten how much work it was

I love this part of the country. I can not wait to retire so I have more time to try new things like salmon fishing and kayaking. If you are into the outdoors, you will never have enough time to explore and enjoy.

+1! I am chained to my desk Monday through Friday. Too often by Saturday I am so exhausted I can't rouse the energy to get outside like I did when I was younger

I really enjoyed reading about your weekend. And I can't wait to RE so I can do more of what I love and not be so tired from work stress all the time.

 

[Helen]

Larch Mountain Trail, by any chance? It is one of my most favorite trails in the Columbia Gorge. .

Ding! Ding! Ding! We have a winner!!! Yes, it was Multnohma to Larch Mountain. That was the first time I've hiked it. The view at the top is the best view I've seen from a gorge hike! I will be doing that hike a lot more often.

So far this year, I've hiked Wakeena to Multnohma (beautiful!), Opal Creek (we hit snow), Dog Mountain (peak wild flowers), Indian Point, Nesmith Point, Mt. Defiance, Wakeena to Devil's Peak to Multnomah and Larch Mountain. Plus a two night backpacking trip to the Wallowas.

I have an incredibly huge 'bucket list' of hikes yet to do in this area. With the Columbia Gorge, Gifford-Pinchot forest, Mount Adams wilderness, Mount Hood and Mount St. Helens all within a couple hours drive of the Portland area, there are so many great hikes I have yet to experience. This area is a hill / mountain hiker's dream come true.

I agree, there are so many places I have yet to explore. Mt. Adams and Mt. St. Helens are two areas I've barely been to. Also, central, eastern and southern Oregon. I haven't been to the Strawberry mtns or the Steens, have you?

I did that a couple years ago and boy was that a tough one. But so worth it. Amazing view from the rim. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. I plan to do it again now that I've forgotten how much work it was

How much conditioning did you do before the St. Helens climb? I'm hoping the five day backpacking trip to the Wallowas and the South Sister's climb will have me in shape.

Thanks for your post!

-helen

 

[TromboneAl]

Not trying to hijack the thread, but another part of Oregon I have heard has a good quality of life is Medford.
Anyone know that area?

My sister lives near Medford. When we visit, I see it as too hot and way too crowded.

 

[Linney]

I agree, there are so many places I have yet to explore. Mt. Adams and Mt. St. Helens are two areas I've barely been to. Also, central, eastern and southern Oregon. I haven't been to the Strawberry mtns or the Steens, have you?

How much conditioning did you do before the St. Helens climb? I'm hoping the five day backpacking trip to the Wallowas and the South Sister's climb will have me in shape.

To get ready for the St. Helens climb we hiked Dog Mountain, Mount Hamilton then Larch Mountain in three consecutive weekends. You have already done the equivalent hikes with Nesmith / Defiance / Larch Mountain all of which have some serious elevation gain. Add the backpacking trip and South Sister climb and you should be more than ready. Quite frankly, though, all of the people we saw turn back during the St. Helens climb were thwarted by altitude sickness, not by lack of conditioning.

I haven't been to the Strawberry Mountain or the Steens. I should check them out for my hiking bucket list! Right now I am doing the planning for our first ever camping/hiking trip to Mt. Rainier. Just waiting for the snow to melt . . . .

--Linney

 

[TromboneAl]

Here is a traffic cam picture from Medford, OR:

Here's a picture of Portland traffic:

 

[travelover]

Here is a traffic cam picture from Medford, OR:

Where do you guys buy such narrow cars?

 

[Brat]

Are you sure the first photo is Medford? Looks like Seattle to me. I-5 four lanes each direction through Medford? I wish. It is two lanes each direction except at exits.

The jam up one direction in Portland? If that was taken today the cause would have been the problem the State is having with a repaving on a freeway bridge south bound on I-405, it was entirely closed well into rush hour and last I looked there were cones, trucks and workers still in middle lane. Asphault was peeling(??) - guess the contractor can't handle temps as high as 80! Helicopters woke me as King TV had one of their helicopters watching the fun.

 

[calmloki]

Don't bite on T-Al's bait Brat. He's just setting up for a sales pitch for the druggy & doggy infested neighboring house down in the cold foggy area he lives in in NoCal. Think the idea is to get more neighbors so there will be more than 7 people attending his gigs and he'll maybe have someone to bike with. His area is remote and Medford is only the closest airport - of course it looks like the big city to him.

No need to come here folks - nothing to see, move along now...

Eureka to Crescent city California is a very very pretty area with a good Costco and a great discount liquor store just before the Oregon border. Also has some great trees and I suspect good access to medicinal herbs if that is your pleasure. Not bad home prices either.

I feel like Medford is pretty right wing as opposed to the more liberal northern Oregon..

 

[Brat]

I think they feel the need to balance out Ashland and the Willamette Valley politics.

 

[Ed_The_Gypsy]

Well, here is the traffic in Bellingham.

It is mostly Canadians going to COSTCO for cheap gas.

 

[TromboneAl]

Are you sure the first photo is Medford? Looks like Seattle to me. I-5 four lanes each direction through Medford? I wish.

Well, maybe not. The image is labeled: medford-or-traffic-cameras-10-2.jpg and the web site is

Medford OR Traffic Cameras (Android) - Screenshots

But they might be generic traffic pictures.

He's just setting up for a sales pitch for the druggy & doggy infested neighboring house down in the cold foggy area he lives in in NoCal.

Oops, got me.

Actually, every time I mention our cool temperatures or lack of crowds, I think "Hey, what are you doing? Do you want more people here?" But I gotta tell it how it is.

That house next door is still vacant, and I expect/hope it will be vacant for a few years at least.

 

[calmloki]

....
Actually, every time I mention our cool temperatures or lack of crowds, I think "Hey, what are you doing? Do you want more people here?" But I gotta tell it how it is.

That house next door is still vacant, and I expect/hope it will be vacant for a few years at least.

Pretty area Al - if it wasn't a similar area to Independence Oregon weather-wise I'd still be thinking of it..

 

[haha]

Pretty area Al - if it wasn't a similar area to Independence Oregon weather-wise I'd still be thinking of it..

Looking at the terrible weather in the rest of the nation, I think the best course for a Northwesterner is to come to grips with clouds and rain. Learn to enjoy standing in a river with rain pouring down while you try ot figure out how to tell if that slight bump on your line is a Steelhead or a rock. You ca always take apint of something to help.

It sure beats sliding around on the ice half the year in the midwest, and trying to avoid heatstroke the other half. "When was spring?" "I think it was last Tuesday."

Ha

 

[Ed_The_Gypsy]

Looking at the terrible weather in the rest of the nation, I think the best course for a Northwesterner is to come to grips with clouds and rain. Learn to enjoy standing in a river with rain pouring down while you try ot figure out how to tell if that slight bump on your line is a Steelhead or a rock. You ca always take apint of something to help.

It sure beats sliding around on the ice half the year in the midwest, and trying to avoid heatstroke the other half. "When was spring?" "I think it was last Tuesday."

Ha

+1

Ed
Tired of -40 in the frozen north.

 

[Ed_The_Gypsy]

I feel like Medford is pretty right wing as opposed to the more liberal northern Oregon..

My close relative in Ashland days it is pretty liberal--too liberal for them.

 

[calmloki]

My close relative in Ashland days it is pretty liberal--too liberal for them.

yeah, but Ashland is le arsty-fartsy. "oooo - we're auf to play the grawnd pee-ahno". Shakespeare Festival fer gosh sakes. Not like the Eugene hippy-dippy Oregon Country Fair Oregon Country Fair or Corvallis' kinetic Da Vinci Days Races & Revelry :: da Vinci Days

Feel like Medford is more akin to the Sublimity Harvest Fest and tractor pull Sublimity Harvest Festival

 

[Ed_The_Gypsy]

They never go to Shakespeare in Ashland! We love it, though. We could live in Ashland happily.

T-Al is right about Medford. Too hot.

 

[Corporate ORphan]

We have definitely decided to look at Portland when we go to OR (it probably will be our first stop since we found a campground that looks really nice right outside it). Are there neighborhoods that are better for FIRE that we should look at? We definitely want a house with a basement so from what I have read, an older neighborhood would be in order?

 

[Brat]

That really depends on your budget. I will PM you with the name of the realtor we used, she came recommended by another buyer. We knew the neighborhoods but we had never really house shopped before so her help in valuations and negotiation was needed. She lives in close-in SE and knows the neighborhoods on the east side very well.

 

[braumeister]

Googling "Portland neighborhoods" brings up a remarkable list of references.