Moving to La Grande (Pendleton, Hermiston: extended stay, apartments, rental market)

[birdseyeview62]

My husband recently accepted a position with Union Pacific and we are going to be relocating from Syracuse New York to La Grande next month. I will be in town in a couple weeks, along with my daughter who lives in Idaho, to check out our new town and try to find a place to live.

We received the news of my husband's transfer in early October and ever since then me and my daughter have been trying to find places to live in your area, and we just keep coming up empty. All of the local realtors I talked to kept emphasizing that it's a "college town" and so I thought there would be plenty of housing availability. The only things we can find are either studio apartments or basement apartments, and we need a little more room than that. Also, we are having one heck of a time trying to find any place that allows pets! We have 2 small dogs and 1 cat. We have recently found some nice places, a townhouse and a house for rent that would be perfect for us, but their ad clearly states no pets! Don't these landlords realize that 98% of people these days have pets? I don't even know if talking to them would help; we would be willing to pay extra deposits and whatnot. We also have letters from our past apartments stating how well-behaved and clean our animals were.

We have mainly been searching on Craigslist, Zillow, and some online paper that was called Eastern Oregon Classifieds, I believe. Honestly I am just starting to get really nervous and upset that we are having the worst luck trying to find a place for us. I'm trying to be excited about this move and your town but it's not winning me over right now it also doesn't help that one local realtor told us "Now is the worst time for you to be moving here, honestly" (Well, what else are we supposed to do?)

Is there any other place I should be looking online? We have someone from my husband's company trying to help with our relocation too, and she is striking out as well. We are running out of options, and quick. If we cannot find a place, is there any extended stay hotel in town for the time being? We have tried looking in other cities like Baker City and Island City, but my husband doesn't want a long commute in the winter. Would we be better off in Pendleton?

Thank you all for your help, and I really hope to be won over by your city soon

[Metlakatla]

What I would do would to look on Air B and B. Some of the people who own these places are willing to rent them on a monthly basis for quite a bit less than the listed daily price, especially during the off-season. I do this a lot because I get bored staying in one place too long, and I've never had a problem finding a place for several months, although I've never tried in the La Grande area.

Pendleton is too far for a comfortable commute.

Hope this helps.

[karlsch]

I agree that Pendleton would be too far.

Island city is right next to La Grande.

If you had to live in Baker City, it's about a 40 minute drive. Every now and then, in the winter, the Interstate is closed for a short time because of the weather. It's not often. Otherwise it's an easy drive.

If there is nothing in La Grande, you could drive over to Union, Oregon to look for "For Rent" signs. It wouldn't take long.

[birdseyeview62]

Thank you for the tip. So far only one listing that isn't in the immediate area and it's quite out of our budget for a monthly rental

And we haven't had any luck finding anything, at least online, for Island City. Perhaps when we visit there we will find something

[Metlakatla]

Can't hurt to send them a short message asking if they've got an off-season monthly rate. That's how I got the place I'm in, and it's only $850 per month -- and it's really nice. During the summer, it goes for four times as much. You have to ask, though -- they aren't going to advertise lower monthly rates.

Union -- that might work. You could call the Union Hotel -- I heard they were converting at least part of the property into actual apartments rather than hotel rooms.

The Union Hotel

You could also put an ad up on Eastern Oregon classifieds.

[oregonwoodsmoke]

As for the pets, go ahead and call the ads that say "no pets". Maybe the landlord really means "no pets", but maybe the landlord really means "no trouble". If it is an area with lots of student tenants, students can be irresponsible about their pets and students cause enough damage without adding pet damage to the issue. That makes the no pets rule automatic.

If your family has good references, good credit, and a provable income; if neither of those dogs is a pitbull, and if nobody in the family smokes or dopes, some landlord might be willing to bend the "no pets" rule in order to get some responsible tenants.

It really doesn't hurt to ask.

If a landlord makes an exception for your pets, be super careful that the pets don't cause trouble or do damage. Then maybe, he will accept pets from the next tenant to come along.

If you can't find anything to rent, you might have to buy. On the outskirts of just about any town in Oregon, you can find an older manufactured home on it's own land that will be pretty reasonable in price. It's not a great idea to buy before you know the area, but if there is no other housing option, that might be what you have to do.

[karlsch]

Small dog ok maybe will accept 2 with your references:
https://eastoregon.craigslist.org/apa/5356470202.html

[Smitty211]

La Grande...a college town? Give me a break. Its one college, Eastern Oregon U, has steadily declining enrollment. That does not a "college town" make.

But don't get me wrong: if your husband has employment lined up, you should like La Grande. Small, quiet, family-friendly and surrounded by beautiful scenery.

From 2010-14, I drove multiple times to and from my hometown (Walla Walla, WA) to my university (Boise, ID area). A four-hour drive. I always used to wonder about life in the towns I passed each time, and at least from my (outsider's) perspective, there's no question that of the towns between Walla Walla and Boise, La Grande would be my first choice to settle down in. Most everything else in between is very dry and barren.

Wish I could help with your housing conundrum. I'm afraid I'm not quite that knowledgeable on La Grande. But I wish you the best of luck.

[boulder2015]

"La Grande...a college town? Give me a break. Its one college, Eastern Oregon U, has steadily declining enrollment. That does not a "college town" make."

I'll be polite, as it's possible English is your second language.

General definition of college town: town that has a college in it that is a large part of its identity. Status is not based on town having more than one college or related to current status of enrollment levels.

Your apparent concept of college town: large town with multiple large colleges, like say Boston.

No, LaGrande is not THAT type of college town. But it is a college town similar to literally hundreds around the U.S. Many college towns, in fact most, have only one college in them.

La Grande has around 13000 people, with an enrollment at EOU around 3500. The precise reason for this entire thread, whether the OP knows it or not, is that the rental market in LaGrande is constricted by students. If this wasn't a "college town", she would not be encountering the difficulties she is having in getting a place.

Also, perhaps you visited in summer, when all the students are gone? Come through La Grande near midterms and tell us "it's not a college town". And in the end, the first reason I ever heard of La Grande was because of EOU, something I suspect is true for many people outside of the Eastern Oregon region. Check out any large map of Oregon, and the only feature that even gets a "red dot" in La Grande is the University.

Sorry, OP, don't mean to distract the the thread, but "La Grande is not a college town" is a 2+2=5 type statement that I just couldn't ignore...

[AndyAMG]

Syracuse, New York to La Grande. Geeze... that's going to be an adjustment. I honestly think you will hate it.

Ooooh.... the dog and cat dilemma. That's tough. You may have to rehome kitty. I have noticed that many landlords either hate cats and allow dogs or hate dogs and allow cats but rarely do they allow both. Most people are attached to their dogs more than their cat so kitty finds a new home and the doggies stay.

Are you really into this move? Or are you just going through the motions? Seems drastic to go from a larger city to an isolated hamlet in eastern Oregon.

Northeast Oregon classifieds is the best place to look. So if you can't find something there....

Can your husband go to the Hinkle yard in Hermiston instead of La Grande? Hermiston would be much better in my opinion. More options, growing city, close to the Tri Cities, not as isolated. And yes, Pendleton would be better.