Thinking about moving to Oregon

[eriks.]

Hi all,
I'm at a crossroad in life and would like some input from people in the know. Two of my daughters are living in Portland, OR and my wife and I are missing them. I still have a boy who is in middle school that I need to consider for his education, but we have been talking about maybe moving closer to the girls. I don't want to live in the city and if I do move, I want there to be good elk hunting opportunities fairly near. I'm self-employed in residential/commercial construction (I know the economy hasn't been kind to this industry lately but I love what I do) so my job will move with me.

The crux of the question is this- If I move, can you give some areas for me to investigate that would provide 1. a decent education for my son, 2. decent opportunity for work, 3. decent opportunity for hunting?

I know there are a lot of variables that have been left out but all I'm looking for is some places to start looking at in my search. I have absolutely no knowledge of Oregon and any thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks in advance, erik

[JohnFitzgerald]

Hi Erik,

I lived in Eastern Oregon my entire life and wouldn't change it for anything. Econgomy is "ok" out here and the elk hunting is great. I don't like hunting the coastal rosies(west side) but love chasing the rocky toads(east side). Some major towns with promise are Hermstion, Pendleton, and LaGrande. From Hermiston I drive 2.5 hours to get to my fav elk hunting spot. The best units depend on if your a bow hunting or rifle hunter. Some units that have less physically demanding conditioning are Heppner, Ukiah, Starkey, and Northside. More physically demanding units are Desolation, Murders Creek, Minam, and the Snake River. The best units are Mt. Emily and Wenaha, but they are draw units and 9-15 years to get.

The only downfall, it's a 2-3 hour drive to Portland. Let me know if you need any more information!

jf

[ORelksniper]

Hi Erik.

I currently live on the wet side of the Cascades in a little town (Westfir) of 307 people. No job opportunities but it is beautiful and lots of elk in the mountains behind my house. I hunt eastern Oregon, though, because I truly love that country. I lived in Bend (central Oregon) for 7 years. Very nice fast growing town (75,000+) with a recovering economy. All areas of the construction business are getting stronger again. Good schools for your son. Very outdoor oriented town.

I think my favorite town is one John mentioned...LaGrande. I went to college there and killed my first bow elk just outside of town. Beautiful place, good schools, and of course, Eastern Oregon State University. Don't know about the economy, though.

Swede lives in the Portland area so if he's awake you can get some insight from him.

The coast is nice but if you like summer weather you may just want to visit and not live there. Just my opinion.

Final thoughts on something no Chamber of Commerce will tell you. Just my opinion, for everyone reading, so send the hate mail if you must. The west side of the Cascades (Willamette valley/I-5 corridor) is very left leaning green. If that's not how you roll it can drive you nuts. Eastern Oregon is more center/right with pockets of green. Nuff said.

[Swede]

I agree with what John said. I live north of Portland in a rural area (Warren). It is between Scappoose and Saint Helens. Many people commute daily in work in the metro area from this area. Elk come into the fields next door and we have too many deer in our yard. The housing market is picking back up around here, but has not returned to the days where everyone who could buy a claw hammer and a carpenters belt was able to sell his services.
I too hunt the east side of the Cascades. I would enjoy living in some of the east side areas John listed. Hermiston would be hard to beat as a gardening area and is close to the tri cities in Washington. Bend/Redmond has become very popular with many people moving there from California and the Portland metro area. That may be a good work location for you to consider. There has been a lot of comstruction there over the past 20 years. I don't know how much it has picked back up lately, but it will do good if the economy maintains.
Avoid the Medford area. There is always some construction taking place, but there are still a lot of homes in or near foreclosure. That area got over build before the recession, and people paid way too much for their homes.

[elkmtngear]

In years past, while driving through LaGrande, I have always told myself "I could live here" !

[eriks.]

Hey, thanks again guys for the insight. I'm most definitely a bowhunter at heart but own and use firearms for big game too. One of things that I am not impressed about OR is the "progressive thinking" . So I would like to live in an area that it is more conservative politically/socially. I don't have to live on the same block as the kids and don't mind even a few hours driving time since it beats flying or a hard 3 day trip by car that I have to do from here. I'm coming out in July to visit the girls and am looking forward to doing some backpacking (any suggestions for day trip out of Portland?) to experience the beauty there.

If I pull the trigger on this, I'll be looking for some land in the country to settle on. I lived in a small town way back when I was first married and while it was ok at the time, my wife and I were living in newly-wed-land and it wouldn't have mattered much where we were. Now, I just couldn't stand to live in town. I live on a 120 acre farm about 40 minutes east of Kansas City now.

I love where I'm at but don't love having the girls 2000 miles away (Stinkin kids)! I'm thinking about doing a one year lease on my place here and trying to find one out there to test the waters. If it doesn't work out, I'll always have my place here to come back to.

I'll for sure start looking at the suggestions provided. Who knows, I might just find the perfect place. I really like the people on this site! You are all so very helpful and friendly. Hope to meet you all some day and get to shake your hand!!

[FemoralArchery]

You could also look at the Boise area. That way you could live in a red state and only be half a days drive from your daughters.

Lots to hunt here. OTC tags for mule deer, whitetail deer, elk, bear, mountain lion, wolf, and some guaranteed draws for antelope. Plus you can also hunt moose, mountain goat, rocky mountain and desert bighorn sheep. You can hunt everything Idaho has to offer less than 3 hours from Boise. Lots of fishing and bird hunting as well. And its a red state, did I mention that?

[JohnFitzgerald]

I too went to school in LaGrande and would love to live there. More job oppertunities down in the Columbia basin though.

I've packed the Eagle Caps, Strawberry Range, and Snake River unit. But those are all 3 - 4 hours east of Portland. If you ever make it out this way, look me up and I'll give you a good trail to hike. Also, if you hunt Eastern Oregon look me up again. I'll give you some good pointers and spots to hunt. Heck, might even have a base camp beer with you!

[Swede]

Has this thread gone weird, or is it just me?

"I don't think Oregon is a bad place to live........If you stay on the east side of the Cascade mountain range. To many Granola eaters on the other side!"
This quote is from an individual who lives in K. Falls, "Buttcrack of Oregon", on the east side, to answer a person in the construction business, who is wanting to move to Oregon and work in construction, but wants to avoid the areas of the State where the vast majority of the construction business is taking place.

[Swede]

Theelkhunter: Wierd or not at least I liked your post. I enjoyed thinking about the irony of the conversation.
BTW: I have always liked K. Falls, and would be most happy to be a neighbor.

[wideangle]

Yep Oregon is a good place to live. I do not think too highly of Portland Public Schools.
Something like 45-50% of their students do not graduate HS.
I live south of Portland in a mixed community of conservatives and liberals!
We get along well and have a few laughs along the way.
OBTW my neighbor is a general contractor who says business has been getting better.

[Swede]

In the early 1800s a pioneer had crossed the country, when he came upon a farmer out working his land. He stopped his oxen and covered wagon and got down to talk with the local farmer. He said, "this is some great looking farm land around here. I am thinking about starting another farm nearby, myself. What are the neighbors like around these parts?" The old farmer looked back at him and asked, "what were they like where you came from?" "Well", replied the pioneer, "they were great people, the salt of the earth......" The farmed then replied, "that is just the kind of folks you will find here."
Sometime later another pioneer came along and saw that same farmer out working on his land. Like the pioneer before him, he stopped and shared his thought about settling in the area and starting another farm. He even asked the old farmer about the neighbors, just like the first pioneer. As he had done with the first pioneer who questioned him, the old farmer asked this newer settler, "what were the folks like where you came from?" Well replied this second pioneer, "they where some of the most miserable rascals and scallywags you could ever be around." The old farmer looked back at him and replied, "that is just he kind of folks you will find around here." Welcome to Oregon.

[eriks.]

Here around KC, we have them all (extreme left-extreme right and those somewhere between). When my kids went away from home to go to college, my wife was concerned about what kind of friends they would make. I told her they would find exactly what they were looking for. So I appreciate your post Swede! I can get along with most anyone.

I have kept my company small so that I don't have a lot of overhead and I've also used the same philosophy in my personal life. I don't require a lot of jobs to keep going. I never have to advertise here for work because I have a great customers who refer me to other great customers. That's one of the big concerns for me though in moving. I will have to build a reputation once again and that takes time. If I can stay away from the major metro areas I would like to but there is for sure a balance that has to be struck in order to have enough chances to at least bid work.

I don't mind the post getting a little strange- heck, I'm a little strange myself! lol

[cnelk]

I visited Oregon last year when I went to see my sister in Portland.
That was the only time I have been there.

All I know is if I was moving to a different state, it wouldn't be Colorado....

[Swede]

I have seen several bumper stickers that say, "Keep Portland Weird". I am not sure what caused it to be weird, but no doubt a lot of us have been effected or infected. LOL

[JohnFitzgerald]

Ha, the entire State of Oregon is weird. That's why Swede and I fit in so well!

[Sean_TeamNWHunting]

John may think he is weird, but he is actually a great guy...I can personally attest to this since he and I have put in multiple hours of hunting together. Oregon is a very diverse state, it gives a family lots of options in terms of what they are wanting to benefit from. If you are not a metropolitan 'Connor sure', then there a great number of rural communities that provide an excellent education for your children, a wonderful level of livability for your family, but the only challenge is economics....finding a job that brings in a decent wage. Since the 1960's, rural Oregon has had minimal increases in job availability, the main growth has been metropolitan areas. Thus middle class families either make the sacrifice to live in rural areas making much less than metropolitan counterparts, or move to metropolitan areas to complete their careers then move to rural areas to retire. A great way to start determining the school effectiveness of a community is the visit the Oregon Department of Education website and start to gather state report card information:

http://www.ode.state.or.us/data/annrepo ... rd2012.pdf

http://www.ode.state.or.us/data/reportcard/reports.aspx

The second link allows the user to select the specific school district and community to determine how that school system is rated. Keep in mind that rural school districts generally score higher than metropolitan school districts due to lower class sizes and school populations which allow the staff to develop professional relationships with the students where they simply do not fall through the cracks. Lake County School District #7 is an excellent example with a 0% drop out rate and a graduation rate in the top 5% throughout the state, but there are also many others that produce similar results.

Hunting in Eastern & Central Oregon is excellent if you like hunting open terrain. Those that prefer hunting within a ecosystem with high plant density will thoroughly enjoy Western Oregon. One can take four varieties of deer (Whitetail, Muley, Blacktail, Columbian-Whitetail), two varieties of Elk (Rocky Mountain, Roosevelt), all phase colors of black bear (black, chocolate, cinammon, blond), and various other game animals such as pheasants, quail, ducks, geese, etc.... The diverisity of this state will challenge any hunter and provide a solid economic foundation if promoted and supported correctly.

The diversity of game and terrain throughout Oregon is dynamic. Hunting environments ranging from rain forest like conditions to desert pursuits exist. Trophy records are there to be met if you do your homework and draw the correct tag. I would suggest consulting B&C, P&Y, and Oregon Record Book publications if you are genuinely in pursuit of a trophy animal, they do exist,

[eriks.]

Geez Sean, you should be working for Oregon recruiting people to move there! lol

Thanks for the info and the links. I'll give them a look for sure as we try to decide what we should do.

It certainly sounds like a very diverse state and I'm looking forward to getting out there to visit.

Nice bull btw!