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Good eye, Happ and I was wondering if anybody would catch that. According to climatology, California does not have a true Mediterranean climate. Ith as a climate similar to Portugal (surprising, isn't it?). Southern Oregon has a climate paralleling Rome and Athens. I remember this from my classes but when I looked it online, here was one of many places that explained the situation: http://www.answers.com/topic/mediterranean-climate . Another good example is http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mediterranean_climate . Good discussion and before this class I would have agreed with you thinking California's was of that climate.
My parents moved to Klamath Falls back in 1988 from Arizona. I was 12 years old. The kids never accepted me because I was an outsider and it has taken years to get over things that were done to me. Much as my mother tried, she has never been able to make any lasting friendships over in Klamath Falls like the ones she had in AZ. The "natives" over there were pretty tightknit. Not all of the people over there are awful like that, but enough to make a lasting impression
A few years after high school I moved over to Medford and found the people to be much nicer. Probably because there were so many people that were not "natives". In fact, most of my coworkers and people I became freinds with were in fact from California. I didn't care too much for Medford so I ended up moving to Ashland. I really enjoyed it there. Its really expensive though and as free spirited as alot of the people there were, I found it difficult to make friends there. The place I was working at ended up closing, so I moved to Grants Pass to live with a friend.
The scenery around Grants Pass is nice, but the town is a pit. Unless you like SuperWalmart. The people here are rednecks and proud of it. Just ask them. And as far as minimum wage being high in Oregon, well that's about all you can expect to make here in GP and Southern Oregon for that matter. In general the employers don't pay anywhere near a living wage. Alot of the employers I have worked for didn't feel like they should have to follow any OSHA or health and safety rules of any kind. It is very depressing. Not many of the people around here buying homes are from the area and there is an exodus of working class families as they can not afford to live here. If it wasn't for my friend, I would not be able to afford to live here either.
I would say if you are retired and looking for a nice state to live in Oregon is probably for you. If you have some sort of college degree and are in the medical field or in a technology/computer related field, you will probably find a decent job, but still may not be able to afford to buy a house.
I really like Portland but would not be able to stand the gloomy winters. Oregon is a very beautiful state, but if is far from perfect and has it's share of problems. The major one being extremely low wages, crappy employers and high cost of living. Oregon has been my home for many years, but I look forward to the day when I am able to leave here for good.
Clear2Land, Im on the Southern Ore. Coast. ---
Sabrina. Wow. You sure are bitter. Kinda frightening. And why in the world would you stand behind 2 people for 20minutes to listen to their conversation?
BTW, we dont have cable here in my home. We rarely watch tv. We instead, prefer to spend time talking/playing games/reading with our family or friends. Theres an awful lot to do besides watch tv.
I have never done drugs, we drink on occasion, but not often, Im not a "hick" nor do am I a "southern california wannabe" and the same goes for the majority of the people I know. I think youre hanging around the wrong kind of people if you think everyone in Oregon is like that. Im also baffled on why you think that nothing stays open past 6.00pm. True, in many of the smaller towns, people with the specialty stores/family resturants do close up in the early evening, many of them are run by families that wish to go home and maybe eat dinner togeather, tuck their kids into bed, those sort of thing. Or possibly, run by a single person/couple who have been there since 6.00am and call it a day at 6.00pm. But, go to Eugene, Salem, Portland, Cottage Grove, Wilsonville, Woodburn, Tigard, Beaverton, or another of our many cities and you will find several different places open.
As for this comment
"I also found that many Native Oregonian Employers will not hire minorities, non-US Citizens, nor women. My sister in law was actually told, by a major employer (will not mention any names) that some higher male employees “refuse” to work with women. How disgusting is that!!!!"
I have NEVER seen that here. And just so you are aware, that would be ILLEGAL and HARRASSMENT and if that truly happened (which I highly doubt) you and/or your s-i-l should have gone immediatly to a lawyer and you could have won enough $$ to send you back to California.
Just a little note here too, my best friend, and the Godmother to my kids, is actually of hispanic decent and lived most her life in S.Cal. - she moved here 12yrs ago and started out as my neighbor. She was my friend within 30min. of pulling in to the driveway, and my bestfriend very shortly after. My mom-in-law is actually from Vietnam. As is my s-i-l. They are both highly respected and loved teachers (one public, one private) and have brought so much to our lives and everyone around them. With all the immigration issues, I asked if they have faced problems with discrimination and they said, no, not hardly at all. A rare instant here or there, but when it DID happen, they had so many others backing them up, it was shot down in an instant. So if your having all these issues with discrimination and people being hateful, I think you should look inward. I think it may very possibly have more to do with you and your attitude that the color of your skin/accent. Most people do make friends here fairly easily. You just have to be pleasant.
I love the comment someone else made about how when she was walking down a path and how much she enjoyed it when people smiled and waved at her. That is terrific. And you will get that most of the time. Walking down a sidewalk or a path in the woods, 99% of the people you pass will at least smile and nod to you. And many times, if your in a small community, people wave as you drive past. Its not that they think they know you, theyre just being friendly. Most people in Oregon (not ALL, just most) would rather be friendly then rude. But ya, we are defensive about ourselves, our fellow Oregonians, and our State. Personally, I like it that way. I like being proud and protective of where i live and those who are around me. Its great to have people move here and bring more variaty and whatnot. But man, if you dont like it here, just move somewhere else.Dont moan and complain and whine about everything and everyone here. I hear Florida has a beautiful coast line and beaches much like S. Cal. Just a thought.
Scaryshar16 , MariaTheresa, Organic Mama, Chaparral, I like you guys!! You all sound very friendly, down to earth, and happy here. Very cool that you all live here in Oregon!!! MariaTheresa, it sounds like you would enjoy Oregon. Please dont let the comments of certain negative people on this forum scare you away! dont picture Oregonians of standing along the States borders with pitchforks trying to stab people away from moving here! lol. If you can, try to come out and visit both in each season. But especially in the fall/winter. Make sure you dont mind all the rain/grey skies we do have quite often in those seasons. Typically, I try to encourage people to rent first too for a few months, not only to check out the state, but also the paticular city/town they are wanting to live in. Oregon has its poverty drug stricken towns just like everywhere else. There are definatly cities/towns I would NOT live in! Also, you'll get to chose, do you want to live in more dry deserty towns, or along the coast? In more urban or a sprawling farmland? Up along Mount Hood among trees that are big enough to camp in if hollowed out or along one of the many rivers/streams/creeks where you can catch all the crawdad/trout/salmon/whatever you want. We have secluded lake houses and ultramodern condos. - so much to choose from. And ya, the people around you should influence you greatly. I can tell you, most smaller towns have 'welcome wagons" where someone actually brings you a basket of samples/coupons/information packets when you move there. Or nosy neighbors who will come over and offer to help. My new neighbor here actually offered the use of her kitchen too since all our stuff was still packed away somewhere and the oven was on the fritz. Ya, you'll run into ignorant buttheads, but hopefully few and far between.
btw, i had to water my plants again today, been too long w/o rain!! lol
Tiffany
Tiffela, Thank you and you are right I do like it here.
I would love to move out of the snow belt as I get older, However my Husband and I have pretty good jobs here in Klamath Falls, He works at the hospital for 15 years and I as a supervior in a call center.
We are renting a nice 2 bedrom home with a lovely view and nice yard...only one bath though for $650.00 a month. Which is concidered high here.
My husband just got back from Conetticut (sp) where his brother passed away, he talk all the way home from Medford about how he did not realize what we had here compared to there, he was told not to look people in the eye (we are use to nodding and smiling to people) He got asked if he wanted to buy drugs everywhere he went.
We went to eat when he got home and a man walked past us and nodded to him( of another decent). And he said "See no ever did that the 7 days I was there).
The point I am trying to make it is bad and good everywhere you go, but there are worse places the Oregon. I call it GODS country because he is the only one that could have made so much beauty.
Anyone reading this, if you are looking for one of our crown jewels ( better on a week day if possible) Is Lake of the Wood, it is on HWY 140 between Klamath and Medford. I call it my Heaven on earth.
And honestly, I think there has to be more implants than Natives here, but that is not to rile anyone up, just a observation.
Good day to you all
Sherry
Just so you know it is no longer a sellers market. Prices of homes will be declining within the next year or possibly sooner. Californians have more homes on the market with less potential buyer's vieing for them. What that translates to is that the glut of Californians taking their monetary booty from their home sales and moving to other states to relocate is going to be less and less as it is harder for them to sell their home. Consequently the prices on your homes in Oregon will also decline as your homes will be on the market longer with less buyers available to buy them. So I would hazard to say that you may not be seeing the influx of relocators that you have seen in the past. We all want to better our lives, it is human nature. It is unfortunate that people don't do their due diligence before moving to another state and then regret their decisions. Wherever you live it is the people that make a neighborhood. No matter where you have lived before there is no excuse for rudeness, raciscm or judgement, but again we are dealing with reality and the reality is that unfortunately we probably all have our moments.
I just read most of the comments and I know I'm pretty entering this pretty far from the beginning. Sorry 'bout that! We're also living in SoCal, an hour away from San Diego. We're looking to move ASAP. The rest of my family just moved to Southwestern OR and now we're checkin' out the area too! We've lived in CA our whole lives and recently visited my grandparents this summer. We cannot believe how different it is there... it's sooo nice. The weather is the major draw (plus the beauty) and the people are so completely friendly it's refreshing!!! We like CA, but cannot wait to move somewhere different. Where you can actually drive down the street with minimal traffic. Any tips for the move? Any areas to consider? Could anyone give any info on Coos Bay, North Bend, Florence, basically Coos County? Please lemme know! Thanks all!
I think you said that perfectly Clear2Land. I agree with you on Southern CA and no one smiling, when my husband and I do smile around our town and say "please" and "thank you" they look at us like we're alien. Odd, right? I also agree with you strongly on turning lemons into lemonade!
I currently live in Escondido but WILL be moving back to my home state in the next 12 to 18 months to retire. I lived there 21 years and loved it. If you want to call me you are welcome to. I have driven and flown a small plane over most of the state so I have seen it from the air and from the ground.
Not having lived there, you are at somewhat of a disadvantage but I'll try to lend a helping hand. Oregonians call the coast The Air Conditioned Oregon Coast because it is always cool there. Even in the summer, temps rarely get much higher than in the low 70's, which is caused by cold ocean temperatures. The water cools the air all year long. In the wintertime, it is usually warmer than the near freezing temps inland. The only other thing I can tell you about is the winds. They tend to be steady off the ocean and 15 to 25 miles per hour so you have a bit of a wind chill going on there as well. Now, in exchange for all that, you have an incredible view of the beautiful Pacific Ocean. The shoreline is also ready to take your breath away. Towns tend to be small on the coast and the biggest industry is tourism. The best weather is at Brookings. Temps there can be higher in the summer and higher in the winter than the rest of the coast and a lot of storms pass to the north of Brookings. A lot of Californians are retiring in Brookings and Grants Pass, which is my number 1 choice because I like trees, mountains, and rivers. I grew up in Roseburg and lived in Salem and Portland.
There is always a little bit of a tradeoff no matter what area you choose. I will say this; you have picked the most beautiful state in the union. More people would move there if jobs were more plentiful. I looked it up. There are 600,000 more people living in the state of Oregon that the number of people living in San Diego county.
I do miss living in a small town where people are friendly. The move Doc Hollywood reminds me of my roots.
Hi Ssrafferty, I actually live in Coos County, and my inlaws live in Florence. (Florence is in Lane county btw. )If you want to pm me, Id be happy to answer any questions you might have and/or get you some links to our area.
We dont have any blistering hot days, weve had a few in the 80s this summer, thats been the warmest here. It does rain a lot, but it hasnt rained here in a couple of weeks, (and I live directly across the road from the bay/ocean. I can toss rocks in it) but boy, when winter hits, it rains A LOT!! Not too much flooding though, the sand soaks a lot of it up. Some flooding downtown on 101 and a few other roads though. If you decide to move here, check w/locals to find out exactly where the flood plains are. Then buy well away from them!! There are some very incredible homes here, lots of character and charm. IF you have the $$. To be honest, its hard to make a living here unless you have some specific skills and/or already come w/a job secured. Otherwise, there are plenty of min. wage jobs here. Our local paper is online, you can view it by looking up Theworldlink.com - that'll give you some ideas on homes/jobs/etc. around here. The fresh crab is WONDERFUL!! I love being able to go down to the docks, greet the people at the little local crab shack by name, and pick out my crabs, still live and kicking. They cook/clean if you want and will sit and chat w/you about the kids/pets/weather/whatever while it cooks. Life can be very good here.
You might want to check it out here during our more nasty months. Dec/Jan would be good. It rains most of the time, the wind can seem endless (ya, tie down the garbage can lids!!) and the sky is grey a lot. On the upside, some of the storms can toss some treasures on the beaches. And if you like to avoid crowds theres nothing like a romantic walk along the beach w/someone you love when its grey and drizzeling and its nothing but you two and the seabirds on the beach.Then pop into one of the little resturants/cafes to get a bite to eat/something hot to drink. --
I will say, theres not much shopping here around town. a lot of us go into Eugene to shop for much more than the staples.(school clothes, special occasion wear, etc) We do have a Superwalmart, a FredMeyers, BiMart, Safeway, Albertsons, McDs, that kinda thing, and FINALLY a Starbucks (yeah!!) Oh, and a small mall (pony village, you can look it up online and see what stores we have. ) I sorely miss Applebys, Olive Garden and BIG malls, but hey, a slower pace of life and fresh crab make it worth it. Good luck, and again, please feel free to pm me.
Tiffany
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Or nosy neighbors who will come over and offer to help. My new neighbor here actually offered the use of her kitchen too since all our stuff was still packed away somewhere and the oven was on the fritz. Ya, you'll run into ignorant buttheads, but hopefully few and far between. 
From SoCal to OR
