Young Family w/Kids Moving to Bend or Southern Coast Oregon (Ashland: crimes, schools)

[KaliK]

Hello everyone, We are a young family 26 & 32 with young children. We are looking into a move to either Bend, or the Southern Coast of Oregon(Brookings)area..
Our priorities are Clean, Safe, Small-ish, Family communities, Nice Schools, decent weather(not gloomy or gray tooo much) a little cold is fine and expected.
We are simply trying to settle down and raise our family...I welcome all suggestions of those who know these areas. Thank you!

[ColoNative]

I've found both of those areas to be family friendly. The coastal towns are all pretty small and I've gotten the feeling that the locals all know each other and look out for each other (pop about 6000). Bend is a bit bigger (pop about 74000), but I've never gotten anything but positive feelings from there. Both are clean, Brookings is probably cleaner and more quaint.

I don't know anything about the schools, sorry.

Safety, you may want to check websites for crimes in the areas. Natural safety, on the Oregon coast, the tides can be treacherous. I've personally known experienced swimmers who have been pulled out hundreds of yards. If you settle on that area, teach your children to respect the ocean. Sudden rains in central Oregon can be dangerous; one would want to make sure they aren't out in the wilderness during a storm. That's easy enough if you pay attention to the weather.

Speaking of weather. You mention you don't want too gloomy. Bend would be your bet on that front. The southern Oregon coast gets on average about 80-100 inches of precipitation a year (per Brookings website (http://www.brookings.or.us/About%20Brookings/weather.htm - broken link)), Bend gets about 10. Coastal fog is another thing you'll need to consider, it's there most days except summer I think. The Cascades catch most of the clouds so it'll be a lot clearer in Bend. The temperatures on the coast are generally cooler than in Bend in the Summer, and a bit warmer in the Winter. Snow is rare on the coast, not in Central Oregon, though it's not a problem like say in Ashland. We used to go to the Oregon coast when I was a kid a lot, I can't remember seeing the sun there until I got older. It was always cold, wet and gloomy. That's not to say that it's always that way, but I would bet gloomy days out-number the sunny days.

Both places are beautiful to me. I like the deserty feel of Bend, it's a lot like where I'm from in Colorado, so I would personally pick there and feel safe with children. Brookings is an absolutely beautiful area, though, and if you grow a garden you wouldn't have to water it, let mother nature do it for you. I don't mind gloominess, but it does cause depression in some people.

[Or3g0n]

Originally Posted by KaliK

Hello everyone, We are a young family 26 & 32 with young children. We are looking into a move to either Bend, or the Southern Coast of Oregon(Brookings)area..
Our priorities are Clean, Safe, Small-ish, Family communities, Nice Schools, decent weather(not gloomy or gray tooo much) a little cold is fine and expected.
We are simply trying to settle down and raise our family...I welcome all suggestions of those who know these areas. Thank you!

I don't know much about other things you ask for but I know about the weather in these locations. Bend gets lots of sunshine even in winter. Bend sits at 4000ft elevation so sun is quite bright and nighttime is very cool even in summer due to elevation. It is extremely dry there including a low humidity. Wintertime temps is 20s for low and highs is 40s. Very dry. Summertime temps is upper 30s-low 50s for lows and highs is upper 70s to mid 80s. Heatwaves can occur, pushing highs into 90s. Not to mention winter cold snaps where it can be teens, low as minus single digits. Again it would be no wind and sunshine. Snow is not unusual, it can snow few inches up to several feet annually with foothills upwards to 10feet and mountains receive 50-70 feet of snow. LOTS of outdoor activities.

Now for the southern Oregon coast. At the coast it receive about 40-50 inches of drizzle over about 150 days of the year while higher elecations receive over 70 inches of rain. Snow is extremely, extremely rare except for over 3000ft in elevations in nearby coastal/siskiyou mountains. It is very mild, year-round outdoor activities. Lots of clouds in winter, and lots of sunshine in summer. It can be warmer in winter than summer sometimes. 70 degrees is not unusual in winter. Winter lows is in 40s and highs is in mid 50s. Summer lows is in mid 50s and highs is 65-70. Coldest record lows ever recorded in the southern Oregon coast is only 25-30. It is humid with 90% on average in winter but its less noticeable due to cool temps. Summer is much drier, nearly no rain few several months with humidity in 40% in afternoon and 80% in nighttime/mornings.

[hamellr]

Personally with Children, I wouldn't move to either place. Or at least get out before they hit early teen years. They're going to be bored on the Southern Oregon Coast and it's really easy to turn to drugs out of boredom and peer pressure.

Bend might be a bit better for young teens, but I still wouldn't count on it.

[delta07]

Originally Posted by Or3g0n

I don't know much about other things you ask for but I know about the weather in these locations. Bend gets lots of sunshine even in winter. Bend sits at 4000ft elevation so sun is quite bright and nighttime is very cool even in summer due to elevation. It is extremely dry there including a low humidity. Wintertime temps is 20s for low and highs is 40s. Very dry. Summertime temps is upper 30s-low 50s for lows and highs is upper 70s to mid 80s. Heatwaves can occur, pushing highs into 90s. Not to mention winter cold snaps where it can be teens, low as minus single digits. Again it would be no wind and sunshine. Snow is not unusual, it can snow few inches up to several feet annually with foothills upwards to 10feet and mountains receive 50-70 feet of snow. LOTS of outdoor activities.

Now for the southern Oregon coast. At the coast it receive about 40-50 inches of drizzle over about 150 days of the year while higher elecations receive over 70 inches of rain. Snow is extremely, extremely rare except for over 3000ft in elevations in nearby coastal/siskiyou mountains. It is very mild, year-round outdoor activities. Lots of clouds in winter, and lots of sunshine in summer. It can be warmer in winter than summer sometimes. 70 degrees is not unusual in winter. Winter lows is in 40s and highs is in mid 50s. Summer lows is in mid 50s and highs is 65-70. Coldest record lows ever recorded in the southern Oregon coast is only 25-30. It is humid with 90% on average in winter but its less noticeable due to cool temps. Summer is much drier, nearly no rain few several months with humidity in 40% in afternoon and 80% in nighttime/mornings.

The amount of sunshine in Bend during the winter is going to depend on where you're coming from. For me, Bend is pretty overcast in the winter. I'm originally from Colorado. Winter is typically when Colorado gets the most sun. While Bend does get more sunshine than the western side of the Cascades, it's not all sun as Or3g0n claims. Just take a look at the city-data graphs for both cities you are considering. There's actually more sun in the Brookings area then Bend. We definitely do not get 300 days of sunshine here in Bend. That's a flat out lie!

However, in terms of raising kids, Bend is probably the better choice. Brookings is a retirement community for the most part. Kids will definitely get bored. There are lots of things for kids to do in Bend. The schools and parks all have great programs for kids of all ages to get involved in. There's also lots of festivals and other things for kids in the summer.

[Smiled]

Both places you have listed are tough places to make a living unless you bring that with you. Otherwise, if you are all right with few material goods, you will be OK.
I would not raise my kids in Brookings - they will grow up surrounded by low expectations. Bend would be better in that regard.

[BLAZER PROPHET]

I would strongly turn towards Bend.

The coast is great, but the rain is a major drag and keeps kids inside too much. When I lived there is was a constant complaint among parents. When kids have little to do, they often start getting in trouble. Also, people in general usually take the beach for granted after 6 months or so (although I never did).

Bend is the great outdoors. Lots of sun and activities galore every month of the year. For kids, it's a great place to be.

[KaliK]

Thank you all VERY much for your help, Bend it is!