Best places to live in Southwest Oregon?

[Steve97415]

You would definitely want to stick with the Rogue Valley if cycling is a major interest. On the coast there are very few roads because the mountains come right down to the ocean. There is a narrow bench where 101 goes through and then the foothills start. You can knock Curry County off your list.
There are quite a few good back roads in Jackson and Josephine Counties with reasonable shoulders that make for a number of good loops. In addition there is little wind in the RRV most of the year which makes for pleasant riding conditions.
I've never had any issues with uncooperative drivers, but be aware that all of these counties are in the mythical State of Jefferson and so redneck culture will be a force to be reckoned with both on and off the road (especially in Josephine Co.). At worst, drivers are no worse than in Boise. They are certainly better than most areas in California.
The Bear Creek bikeway is a wonderful feature, but unfortunately, pavement heave from tree roots has nearly destroyed much of the surface. It's unfortunate that root barriers were not installed when it was constructed.
Ashland is the only community to have an official rating (bronze) from the League of American Bicyclists. It has by far the best commuter infrastructure. That's something that's not always that important to recreational riders, but still nice to have. The most active cycling club is also headquartered in Ashland. Southern Oregon University is in Ashland and it operates a fiber-optic network in town (Jeffnet) for internet connection speeds up to 10mps.

One area that I would maybe look at if you want something semi-rural is SW Medford and the unincorporated area between the city limits of Medford and Jacksonville (W of Hull Rd., and between S. Stage Rd. and W. Main). Jacksonville itself is as expensive as Ashland, but there are some good buys right now in the S. Stage Rd. area of Medford and it's almost the same as living in J'ville. It's close to the foothills and very scenic out there. That's also one of the classic rides in the Rogue Valley -- the loop ride to Jacksonville via S. Stage Rd.

There's also a very active cycling club in Roseburg that sponsors a number of good rides (Umpqua Velo). Personally, I don't think that Douglas County offers as good a living experience as the RRV, but I'm sure there will be others who disagree.

[BLAZER PROPHET]

Originally Posted by backdrifter

Actually it's not at all muggy in the summer in Western Oregon, and it gets just as hot east of the Cascades as it does West, if not more in the summer.

But drivers in Medford and Grants Pass area aren't very bicycle friendly. Grants Pass is probably the better of the two as far as infrastructure specifically for bikes, and I believe there is a great bike path from Grants Pass to Ashland. Ashland would be the top pick for cycling, though it is comparatively very expensive. Klamath Falls is a dingy, awful little town, but few hills at all.

In East Oregon the weater is substantially dryer. The elevation is 3800-4800'.

[mdvaden]

Originally Posted by dsh1127

The Grants Pass/Rogue River area is great. ... All I can get without spending a fortune is dial up - not fun. But that can be solved if you choose to live in town.

Grants Pass is one of my favorites. We moved from Beaverton near Portland, to near Medford in 2005. We're back up here in Beaverton again because I decided to continue my design and tree care niche.

But we picked Applegate Vallley down there. I believe it's climate is even better than Grant's Pass. Applegate Valley puts both Medford and Grants Pass at your disposal. We were in Ruch which had a Jacksonville zip code. And I could be in Medford in 15 minutes from our Ruch home.

There is also Internet, Cable TV and cell phone in Ruch and other parts of Applegate Valley.

Highway 238 has a pretty decent shoulder for bicycles. And there is a really nice Upper Applegate Road leading up to Applegate Lake along the Applegate River. The lake makes a fine place to ride too. And of course there is Ashland, Jacksonville and Grants Pass with riding spots too.

Here is a view from a hilltop looking over the Ruch area.

[eazywind]

Thanks for all the info. I am a little torn on the "redneck" thing. Is it because those areas are logging or former logging area's? I am kind of a mix in 3 parts of Jock, Hippy and retro guy as I am into road cycling and swimming, Grateful dead/phish/Sci/widespread panic jam band lover and also into old bicycles and old cars. That gets me into quite a diversified tangle of friends at times so i am pretty versed on the differences that arise between people just in those 3 areas. I would like to live a little outside of a town if possible, but as mentioned before, good internet is needed for my business, and close proximity to a fedex location (although pickup maybe an option with fedex) is helpful also. I have a friend in ashville and I may visit soon to check out the area. Easy.

[cbill702]

Blazer:

Bluebird is giving it to you straight. With your business and interests Medford, either close in or satelite community sounds what you need. I live in a senior manufactued home community on the edge of Medford, and the guy across the street has an Ebay business. He can access UPS and other shippers year round in less than 10 minutes. Lots of neat places to cycle within 1 1/2 hours drive.

Good Luck

[cbill702]

Sorry, my previous post should have been directed to "Easy".

Cbill

[moose85]

me and my kids would to to rent a place for good .i need a job ,school for kids,

[simplygib]

I'm a little late on the uptake here but here's my 2 cents. Kinda long, sorry.

I moved to the Applegate Valley about 6 months ago and am about 10 miles from GP, near the town of Murphy. I'm also a road rider and ride Hwy 238 fairly regularly. Between Murphy and GP it's got bike lanes the whole way, but heading east out of Murphy the shoulders narrow down to a foot or less. Doesn't bother me as I'm used to that kind of riding. Depends on your comfort level. Also there are bike lanes in town (GP), and along Hwy 199 towards the coast for a good number of miles, but I don't know exactly how far yet. Lots of lightly-traveled rural roads to ride on around, and the Bear Creek Greenway mentioned by another poster (I haven't ridden that yet). FYI "Cycle Oregon" is coming through GP this year and will make a two-day stopover here.

As far as the drivers around here, in my opinion they are great. They are vastly better than where I moved here from (Sacramento area). Very few crazies or speed demons from what I've seen so far. In fact I haven't seen anything here that compares to what I saw on a daily basis in Sacramento.

When I'm on my bike drivers usually give me room when they can, and not a single harassment incident yet. Once I was riding along minding my own business when a big 4x4 truck pulls up slowly alongside of me. In Sacramento that almost certainly meant some kid was going to scream in my ear as they passed just for kicks. But as this truck passed, the passenger complimented me on my jacket.

Internet access - there are options even in at least some of the rural areas. Satellite (Hughes or Wild Blue) or, depending on the area, you may be able to get Clearwire. They don't seem to extend too far out of the metro areas though. Wouldn't work for us. We did find a local wireless service though - Outreach Internet. They transmit from cell towers to a modem installed on your property. Up front cost is rather steep ($300 for our installation - had to put the modem 75 feet up one of our trees) but monthly is reasonable ($29.99 for us - 1.5 mb up and down). It's not fiber but it's a whole lot better than dialup. DSL wouldn't work for us - phone lines wouldn't support it. Quite happy with Outreach though, and no landline required.

Rednecks - a total non issue from what I've seen. Might vary by area, but if there are rednecks around us they don't bother anybody that I've seen. Gunfire in the rural areas is fairly routine but I don't think that's unusual. Usually someone target practicing a few rounds is all. My impression of the area in general, in terms of people, is very favorable. Everyone's been friendly - to the point where it takes me by surprise since I'm not used to that. I keep telling myself to stop expecting people to act like they did in Sacramento, because it's totally different here. Maybe someday I will get used to it, but for now I find myself pleasantly surprised on a regular basis.

I have rental property in Nampa so I am somewhat familiar with the Boise area too - traffic is much better here, especially in GP - a little more congested in Medford. Nothing like Boise though, and a HUGE improvement over Sacramento. The gang problems of Caldwell and Nampa, and much of the Sacramento area seem to be almost non existent here. Certainly there is some crime here, but it is mostly petty in nature. Tire slashings, some burglaries, DUIs, some assaults. I only know that from reading the Police blotter in the paper. Never actually seen a crime myself.

Keep in mind though, I haven't been here long. But those are my impressions so far.

Best of luck.