What part of Oregon? Portland? (and if Portland, which region of Portland?) Southern? The Dalles? East Oregon? The coast? There are HUGE differences in the areas.

Hi! I live in Oregon (between Portland and Salem) and love it here. There ARE big differences price-wise in areas as far as "what you get for the $$$$". Where I live you could get the 3000 sq.ft. with all the amenities you mentioned for right around $400k. We just built a new home on a 10,000 sq.ft. lot (which is considered "roomy" by new-construction sub-division standards). Our home would go up on the market for about $330,000 but it is a 2,200 sq.ft. home. But it's not in a subdivision (which we like). It has a more private feel to it of course.

Basements are not the norm here, but our old house had one. They are much more common in the older homes (ours was built in 1941). We rent that home out now for $1100, but would sell for around $220-$230k. It has a full, unfinished basement. I've attached a few pics of both. We've moved into the new house but I haven't uploaded the new house pics yet. Been too busy settling in! Any more questions, ask away!

Why not look on the Craigslist and at the websites of local papers, like the Willamette Weekly, etc? There must be local real estate sites, as well.

We were thinking about Salem or Eugene.

mls- your house is beautiful and your older house is absolutely adorable. Your information helps. I have some calls in to realtors to see what is on market now. I love the craftsman style homes - we don't have those where I live.

Thanks for your help!

Btw, what do you do about your hair getting rained on all during the winter? If it's raining here, I will wait in my car for an hour to keep from getting my hair wet! I can't imagine! :)

I am curious-- how is it that you decide to move somewhere you haven't been? Does DH have a job offer? Do you have friends or family there? I would definitely recommend a visit before getting too far.

dprisock,

That's too funny! An hour! Well, TRUE Oregonians either have umbrellas in their cars, or they just dress for it. But on the lighter drizzly days you'll see people walking in it like it's not even happening. Me personally, I hate carrying an umbrella, so if it's really coming down I have a hooded coat on and I just book it from the car into the house. We're so used to it, and in fact I like the rain.

"True" Oregonians (or maybe it's just Portlanders) don't use umbrellas.

As far as hair is concerned, you just adjust your style and products so that a little dampness won't hurt it. Hooded jackets are a must.

I lived on the Oregon coast for 18 years. I never saw anybody with an umbrella. My brother lives in Salem. Good luck, Oregon is a beautiful place.

Okay, I was in the process of writing a mini novel on Portland and thought I'd check before posting it. Glad I did! As others mentioned, there is a huge difference in price between Portland metro and Eugene and Salem. If you want to talk Portland, I can help but I don't know much about our neighbors to the South! ;c)

I will say that I love Portland but yes, the winters can be very tough. So gray and gloomy and forget the hairstyle...you learn not to care what it looks like because you can't make it nice in the winter. All my coats have hoods but I rarely use an umbrella. I truely adore the Summers though and I've lived in several other parts of the country. Summer in Portland is my favorite!

p.s. Don't ever choose a realtor or even a house over the internet without visiting the area first.

funkyart- No job offer, never been there, no friends, no family. At first, I thought I would try to make it sound better but the truth is my husbands dad is dying and it has caused him to reevaluate his life. He has always taken the safe route in life. I'm very certain that he won't have any troubles finding a job so no worries there. We are talking to recruiters and once we narrow it down, we will go out and see the area.
I picked a college that way one time, I decided I wanted to live in the middle of the South and North because my family was scattered so I just looked on the map and picked it. I didn't know a soul! Some of my best friends I have ever had were met there. They would invite me to eat fish because they all thought people from the South loved fish for some reason. haha I do love it but I prefer the head not to be on it!

I live in Eugene. We love it here. I could go on for hours about the wonderful community we live in. I will try and be brief.

Very environmentally friendly, shall we say extreme green. University town, great restaurants, great local shopping etc. Miles of bike paths, rivers, lakes etc. We have cultural events , art galleries, boutiques. We just had olympic trials here ad many visitors said it was the friendliest place they had ever been to.

We have so much to offer , housing is probably a little more pricey here than other places. We have not had the huge downturn in the housing market as other areas (we have a nice house for sale here :) )

This is a beautiful area. We are an hour from the beach and an hour to skiing, truly the best of everything.

Eugene is a place you just need to visit to see. Housing styles vary from the very rich to the new urban communities.

Here is a pic of my house. Although not typical of other area homes. We are moving to the a the flatlands. We are up in the hills now.

Like others have said, there is a wide range of housing styles and prices available. You'll need a place to start, so I suggest making a list of criteria. That's what we did when we were ready to move out of the Seattle area.

Here's the list we made:

GENERAL LOCATION
Pacific Northwest
20 to 100 inches of rain per year
0 to 50 inches of snow per year
foothills
not in an expensive school district
>30 miles to paper mill, mine, military facility, airport, industrial plant, dam
>10 miles to clearcut
PROPERTY
1 to 2 acres open (pasture, meadow, lawn)
3 to 100 acres wooded
year-round creek, stream, or pond
not in a floodplain
long driveway
not on a busy street

HOUSE
not near the road
2 story
less than 20 years old
wood, brick, stone, or stucco exterior
gas heat
large rooms, especially kitchen
3 car attached garage
3 to 4 bedrooms
at least 2 full baths
deck or porch
hot tub or room for one
large closets or other storage
no popcorn ceilings or textured walls
no long hallways to bedrooms
mud room or breezeway

We looked at houses from Eugene to the Canadian border (all within an hour or so of I-5), and we eventually bought a home near Vancouver, WA, which is just north of Portland.

By the way, it rains only twice a week in the winter--once for three days and once for four days. :)

I'm so sorry about your father in law. I can imagine that would get me thinking about my life too...but what about Eugene that first directed you there? Did someone you know mention it or did you literally grab a map and point like your story about college??

Sending prayers to you and your hubby's family! ((Hugs))

I live in southern Oregon. Where we have actual sunshine :)
Most homes don't have basements, except those (like mine) on a hillside with a walk-out. 3000 sq. ft. for $400k is not likely, but prices have come down a lot. The brand new house behind me is a little bigger than that and just sold for $450K, but it sat for a long time before it sold, because basically it was the wrong floor plan for the lot.
If you want to look at this area I know several very good Realtors.
And I don't use an umbrella.

I'm from the South also.....born and raised there..........and love living in Oregon. It did take awhile for me to get used to the overcast winters but I adjust easily!

In my area (between Portland and Salem), you may find a 3000 sq ft house for that price with top of the line materials in a subdivision, but if you're wanting any land with it expect to pay a lot more. Also, you'll definitely find a difference in what you'll get for your money when compared to Miss. prices, no matter where you're located.

lindybarts summed up the weather very well. The rain here is a mist compared to the heavy downpours you get in Miss. Believe me, you'll come to love hooded jackets especially since an umbrella is useless once the wind starts!

I highly recommend spending time out here since each area is so different.

Below is the multiple listing site that may be of help. Start with the Quick Search.

Here is a link that might be useful: rmls

I live in Salem and love it here. Depending on what you want in the Salem area, you can get a few acres and an older home, acreage and a manufactured home, no land and new construction with the ammenities you've mentioned, city lot with a vintage victorian or craftsman (both with basements). There are also lots of older subdivisions with lovely homes on large lots. Housing is coming down in Salem, median prices are around $250K, but wages are comparable. Salem is a government town, the Capital is here, so you have a large contingent of State Workers.

Check the Oregon Blue Book for more info on Oregon. Includes economics, census info, and a wealth of info. Also check the City of Salem website.

Salem doesn't have a lot of cultural diversity, and is definitely not known for it's night life. However, Portland is an hours drive away. There is a lot of gorgeous scenery in Salem. And it's a very dog friendly town. Public transportation is virtually non-existant, and I have to say, the public schools aren't that great. (But if you're middle age, and kidless, it's AWESOME.)

Winter is not what most think..mild (rarely snows in Salem), most days are gray, but not always raining. We get a wet fall, so don't expect crunchy fall leaves. Spring can be iffy, and we get about a week of +100 degree days, other than that, summer is usually in the low 80's...and we have very little humidity.

Northwest Oregon (called the Willamette Valley, Eugene and all points north) is definitely more left leaning than the rest of the State. And eco-conscious. Recycling is a way of life here. Also, the Willamette Valley is the grass seed capital of the world, so if you have allergies, plan on them acting up. If you don't have them, you'll get 'em!

Here is a link that might be useful: City of Salem, Oregon

If the people we meet are anything like you guys, I'm ready to go today. You are all so helpful and kind.

Lindy - We stopped at Barnes & Noble on the way back from the beach and got a book on Oregon since my husband said he had talked to so many people that loved it. We didn't want to move to a big city so we narrowed it down to Salem, Eugene and I believe he mentioned Beaverton. We are SO tired of 110 degrees and the humidity so the first thing we looked at were temps.
My husband is in IT Managment and there looks to be a lot of opportunity out there. I am a paralegal in family law. I'm pretty sure divorces are happening everywhere unfortunately. But one of the main reasons we decided to act so quickly is that my child is young enough that it won't break his heart to leave his friends. He just wants to know if we can have a swimming pool wherever we go. :)
A realtor sent us some pics of the cutest two story houses with wood shingles on the front and lots of stonework.
acountryfarm- your place is amazing! Totally amazing! I would just love for you to be my neighbor so that I could see your house daily! :)
Next step is to go out there and see what it's like - I'm sure we are going to love it!!!!
I'm still not sure what I'm going to do about my hair though. (I have a feeling hairspray and misty rain won't work well.)

I don't live in Oregon, but I live on an island in Puget Sound. We moved here from near San Diego and everyday for more than 2 years now my inner voice cries to go back home. Honestly, it is beautiful and most people that live here (many of them former Californians) say they would never live anywhere else. But for me, I feel like I've been dropped on another planet. The summers are nice but the wet, gloomy winters are way too much for me. Since you have a choice where to live, find a place where the sun shines!

Oh that makes sense since he talked to people who have lived here. I honestly don't know a whole lot of people who don't like it. Many of us complain about the winter gray but I still love it here. I'm right on the border of Beaverton and Portland. For me, it's the best of everything since we are only 10 mintues from downtown but yet still in the burbs. I have to be near retail and I love having close neighbors. Land is very scarce here though as Beaverton is inside the urban growth boundary. You have to go out a little to get more space. New houses in Beaverton are also hard to find but there are some pockets of new ones going up. You will probably have little to no yard on a new home. If you search for homes that are at least 5 years old, you'll get a tad more land. Good Luck and if you have more questions, let us know!

I would be happy to show you Eugene if you do indeed get this way. I have lived here all my life except college. We own restaurants here and I do know this place very well. Just let me know if you need anything. Good Luck.

I don't know anything about Oregon, but I DO know about packing it all up(or in our case, selling it all) and just going! In our case, we moved from San Antonio, Texas to Fairbanks Alaska in Dec. 2006. We had been here before when DH was in the military, but it had been almost 13 years and it might as well have been a brand new city, it was so different (and probably being a civilian and not spending most of our time on base made it seem very different as well). We ended up renting for a while before we bought our house and it really helped us get acclimated to the area so we could understand where we wanted to live and how we wanted to live. If we would have bought when we first moved here, we would have been in a much different house than the one we ended up in, and probably wouldn't have been as happy. If you are buying right away, I'd definitely see if I could take a trip (or two) out ahead to really get a feel for the places you are considering.

Our big adventure has been totally worth it and we're very happy, I hope you all have as much fun as we've had starting over and reinventing our lifestyle!

~~Veronica

Since you have a choice where to live, find a place where the sun shines!

That's why the OP should look at southern Oregon. We lived in Eugene when we first moved to Oregon, but after 5 years my husband was offered a job in Medford. I was surprised to see so many swimming pools in Oregon! It is indeed much sunnier here than the rest of the state. It does get bit hotter in the summer, but the nights cool down and it's not humid - plus we don't have a lot of bugs! I can't remember the last time I saw a mosquito.

We're in Beaverton currently and I have to say, if my DH's employer moved to southern Oregon, I'd relocate happily in a heartbeat :) It's probably the only other place in the country I'd want to live. Seriously.

But if you're interested in skinny on Beaverton, just let me know. I don't have e-mail activated on my acc't [still some creepiness left over from a while ago], so just say "flyleft, could you e-mail me" and I'll e-mail you first. :)

(**also waving to lindybarts :) -- are we still getting together on the 21st with all the kitchen folks?**)

Thank you, It is SO nice of you to offer!!!! I really would love to take you up on it. As soon as we can work out our schedules to come, I will let you know.

I got an email re: a job today in Eugene so maybe it's meant to be. :) Of course, it's my husbands job that will make the final decision in where we live but it's good to know there is opportunity.

I'm forwarding everyones responses to my husband and he is amazed at what great info you are providing! Also, we really appreciate and need to hear the stories about those of you that took chances and are so glad you did. Thanks from the bottom of our hearts for everything!

Hey fly...seems like that subject about getting together just kind of dropped off. I assume we still are doing it. Maybe we should revive that thread over on kitchens and make sure. It was the 21st right??

dprisock, if you can get a trip planned quickly we are all meeting in NW Portland on August 21st.

...at a *delicious* pastry restaurant :)

(if it's still happening -- yes, let's revive it to make sure folks are still interested)

As a recent transplant to the PNW, I have to agree with nan53. I'm a native Californian (LA), and moved to the Seattle area from NY about two years ago. It's not the rain that gets to me; it's the gloom. Think of months and months of gray chilly days. If you can find a sunnier locale in Oregon, go there.