Moving to Oregon- Medford vs Ashland vs Grants Pass (Central Point: for sale, apartments)

[ajf77820]

Hi all,

I recently accepted a job with Asante in Medford (I'm an RN). The hubby is currently still job hunting. We are looking to rent for at least the first year being in the area.

My question is, as I don't mind a drive, where should we settle down? We are from the Midwest and both grew up in, as we call it, the country. Haha. We have done the city life and we are both done with that. That being said, I know Medford is not a big huge city by any means.

Ashland seems to have the college town/hippy vibe from what I've read. Medford seems to be like a typical city with some good and bad areas. It does seem that Ashland is more expensive. I know Grants Pass is more out of the way, but it seems more reasonably priced than Ashland.

We like being outside and I would love to have a yard. We like to garden and we have a Boston Terrier coming with us. Oregon landlords seems to hate pets for some strange reason?!

I'm basically just looking for opinion on where we should settle down. We are in our 30's and don't typically spend a lot of time partying anymore. We love beer, which isn't hard to find in Oregon, so I'm not worried about that. We are laid back and enjoy the outdoors and peace and quiet is always good. Like I said, we don't mind a bit of a drive to get to work. I hope this helps and I appreciate any and all input!

[CAjerseychick]

In the areas you mentioned finding a yard for gardening and doggie, wont be difficult (had friends over the Medford way years ago and still stop through Ashland alot) -
Grants pass is definitely rural-
other Posters will give you plenty of into on that- in fact there was a similar thread with almost the exact title that can give you info...

Oh and I did want to reply that its not that Oregon landlords hate pets but that in ANY tight housing market, having pets takes you down the rung of acceptability
given a tenant with a pet and one without, in an extremely competitive market, the pet owning tenant loses out(not sure what the rental market was like where you are moving from)..

When I had to live out of state a couple summers ago, my dog had to stay behind in Oregon with my friend, cause I could not find a rental that would let me take her (it was a 3 month rental)...

It may in fact be easier to buy a home than rent with pets.... (if you can get a good mortgage rate and low down payment program)...

[PNW-type-gal]

If you are renting, it can be difficult to find apartments or houses that accept animals and when you do there is frequently a very large, often non-refundable deposit. One dog or one cat might be a bit easier than multiple animals.

I know a couple people who commute from Medford to Grants Pass and they absolutely hate the commute, particularly in winter. For the industry they worked in, however, there really wasn't another choice of job. There really isn't any reliable mass transit between cities here, so that isn't an option.

There are good and bad parts of the valley and rents differ quite a bit. You say you'd like a garden, but that can be had on a smaller city lot as well as a larger lot out of town. It depends on how far you want to drive for services and what kind of service/amenities you want to have locally. Also depends on your budget and how urban, suburban, rural you really want.

East Medford is generally a pretty good area, South Medford (say south of the high school) isn't bad, most of Talent and Phoenix isn't too bad. Further out you might look at Eagle Point (not White City - it has a few okay areas, but a lot of marginal ones), parts of Central Point (again, by area), Rogue River.

Ashland is very expensive, Jacksonville can be expensive.

[Harpaint]

Hi! I worked at that hospital for a few years as an RN! I would strongly suggest finding a rental in Medford if possible. Grants pass is too far and can be rough driving in the winter with snow, ice, and LOTS of huge semi trucks. Sometimes the fog is bad too. Some of the trucks actually stop on the side of the road if there is too much ice, which I hated. South Medford may be the most affordable, and most of the older houses have room for at least a small garden. BTW gardening is GREAT in the area. You can grow almost all vegies and pear, peach, plum, apple trees did well for us. Grapes too. Good luck with your search!

[oregonwoodsmoke]

A Boston is small and if the dog is well trained and quiet, you have a better chance than most dog owners. You aren't in the same dilemma as the thousands of pit bull owner/ tenants in Oregon.

If you have time before you move, take the dog through a basic obedience course. Landlords like to see a dog that is well behaved on a leash and will sit come stay-- basic commands that every dog should know but many don't.

It will be easier to find a house that takes dogs, but at least yours is below the size limit for the apartments that take dogs

[NoMoreSnowForMe]

Yeah, commuting would be a pain. That said, I bought a truck from a family in Central Point, OR, and it looked like a really nice area (just north of Medford). Maybe someone here can chime in with more information about that area.

I was living in Crescent City, CA, and drove there a couple of times to look at a truck for sale, then to go back and buy it. I really liked the Central Point area, and mentioned it, and they said they really like it. The couple both worked in Medford, so I'd assume the commute wasn't horrible.

[ajf77820]

Hi all,

It looks like we are going to rent a house in Central Point. Close to Medford in what seems to be a nice area and the house is only a few years old. Thanks so much to everyone for the input.

Any ideas on a good local bank to use? I bank locally in Missouri so I'm having to start over.

And one more question, I'm buying a new vehicle. My dilemma is whether to wait to get to Oregon to purchase, due to Oregon not having a sales tax, as Missouri does have sales tax. I've never car shopped in Oregon, so I can't say if the price of a vehicle makes up for the lack of a sales tax or if Oregon prices are comparable to Missouri prices. First time buying a new car, so forgive me if I'm sounding naive on this. Ha! And if this matters, I'm looking at a Toyota.

[oregonwoodsmoke]

I've never bought a car in Missouri so I couldn't tell how prices compare however my family found a good deal on a brand new pickup in Idaho and had the car delivered across the border to Oregon to take delivery and then there was no sales tax.

No sales tax on a big figure like the price of a new car is a pretty substantial savings.

At least two Chevy dealers have an online sales person who will give you a decent price on a car, so you might try getting some price quotes to compare. If two dealerships do it, then there have to be other dealerships that do it.

[Tulippsy]

I would definitely wait and buy your car in Oregon. If you are looking at a $20,000 car and the sales tax in Missouri is 6% for example, you are saving $1200.00 right off the bat, not to mention the wear and tear on your new car by driving it halfway across the country.

We bank at Umpqua Bank and have been very happy with them. The larger banking institutions are here also - Chase, Wells Fargo, etc.

Congratulations on your new adventure. The Rogue Valley is a lovely place to land!

[Larry Caldwell]

Northwest Community Credit Union has more branches and a good rep. There is also Rogue Credit Union. If you want a branch in Central Point, you are pretty much stuck with the megabanks. Umpqua may have a branch there.