Small, quaint, affordable, progressive, family friendly towns? (Medford, Bend: appointed, vacation home)

[Fiddlehead]

Originally Posted by Liz-Bri

Thanks Fiddlehead.

Do you have any info / opinions on health care and its cost in Oregon?

Don't know anything comparative about health care. Sorry.

[bluebird39]

We moved to NE Oregon via Michigan. DH works for Forest Service, and they move around a lot. We left S Oregon for job promotion, lower cost of living so that I could afford to be a SAHM, and to be closer to DH's family, in Illinois.

But this new job came up in an area that DH has hunted elk in for many many years, and it's also a promotion, plus we missed Oregon a lot, so we moved back. It was a good decision, but trying to sell a house in Michigan has taken all the fun out of it...

I love North Carolina too... used to camp there a few weeks every year, growing up. The mountains are incredible! I tried many times to talk DH into finding work there, but never could convince him. I hear it's changed a lot though.

Another thing you should keep in mind if you have family in FL is that you'll be shelling out a huge chunk of change on airfare to see family if you move to Oregon. And if you've flown recently, you know how difficult it's become. Flying with kids is even more of a challenge...

[cd1212]

Originally Posted by Fiddlehead

It [Ashland] reminds me more of a New England town than a western town, for some reason. Scenic, compact, and people are smart and active. A bit too much of the foo foo, hot stone massage, yoga, vegan, fen shui, upscale real estate hype for me at times,

Very interesting observation. To give us an idea, what Western towns and New England towns are you thinking of?

Also, who is doing the alternative medicine and vegan activities that you list - the college students, young singles, parents of young families, the retirees, or everyone?

Is Ashland just destination town, or perhaps even a place of emigration, for people into these activities?

[cd1212]

Originally Posted by bluebird39

Healthcare in Oregon, especially rural Oregon is $$$$$. I can not stress this enough. Call up an Oregon doctor and ask them what they charge for a visit before you decide to move. Many doctors don't even take new patients. As with any rural areas, there is a big shortage of doctors.

And as to Ashland, the schools seem to be very good, but the families who live there are... let me see how to say this nicely... very well off financially, don't have enough limits as far as discipline goes, very homogeneous racially, culturally and "class-wise", and otherwise. Of course that's a blanket statement.

Good luck!!

1.Do most docs take Medicaire? Many rural rich small towns like Ashland docs don't take medicare, or only take the leading insurance carrier in the state.

2.Could you expand on family life in Ashland? What is it that you can't say nicely? We're all waiting. Oh dear, we might even change our minds! LOL

[Fiddlehead]

Originally Posted by cd1212

Very interesting observation. To give us an idea, what Western towns and New England towns are you thinking of?

Also, who is doing the alternative medicine and vegan activities that you list - the college students, young singles, parents of young families, the retirees, or everyone?

Is Ashland just destination town, or perhaps even a place of emigration, for people into these activities?

Well, I cannot name any New England towns from experience. I am working from the admittedly very dated views of Alexis De Tocqueville, in his classic Democracy in America. He was awed by the civic engagement and autonomy of the New England township. I put Ashland in that category, because it is buzzing with energy, with people setting up farmer's markets, concerts in the park, reading groups, public lectures, trail clearing civic groups, etc.,etc. It is a small town, but the people are impressively energetic. The only shortcoming is that since people are often from much larger cities, they try to set up things in Ashland that the population cannot support. For instance we have a failed 10 million dollar natural history museum. We never had enough people to visit it in winter, but the visionaries never thought that far ahead!

[bluebird39]

Sorry. I hear over and over again that there's plenty of kids in Ashland schools that are from financially well-off families, frequently only children, kids whose parents had them at a much older age than most of the Rogues Valley, are frequently transplants from California (not that there's anything wrong with that), drugs are pretty common. But that is true for plenty of schools in Oregon.

HTH

[Fiddlehead]

Originally Posted by bluebird39

Sorry. I hear over and over again that there's plenty of kids in Ashland schools that are from financially well-off families, frequently only children, kids whose parents had them at a much older age than most of the Rogues Valley, are frequently transplants from California (not that there's anything wrong with that), drugs are pretty common. But that is true for plenty of schools in Oregon.

HTH

Had a single kid, late in life, too much college, left of center, transplant...yea...I fit all the Ashland stereotypes, except well-to-do! Drat! Now if my parents had just been some of those good ol' rich liberals (or conservatives, I'm not picky!) and left me a couple hundred grand trust fund I'd be set! Public school teacher, divorce... six kids..I guess they didn't get the memo!

[Liz-Bri]

LOL Fiddlehead!

That all sounds vaguely familiar! If you are somewhat representative of the area, we will really need to check it out as we may fit in just fine!

[Fiddlehead]

Originally Posted by aroseinrain

means (I think) that most of Oregon is filled with Oregonians, Ashland is filled with ex-Californians. like they live in a little California bubble right there in Oregon.

When I was referring to Jacksonville, it was housing bubble. But referring to Ashland, this statement is exactly right! I didn't intend it, but I second it! Yes, Ashland is much more "California" in terms of the stereotypes, than Yreka, Redding, Red Bluff, Alturas, Weed, and Crescent City put together. Kind of funny. People don't realize California has plenty of rural conservative places too. But Ashland attracts the coastal liberal types. It is closer to Santa Cruz than Medford, in a cultural sense at least. I suppose that would mean a bubble that dislodged from somewhere south, drifted north, and got stuck. However, the notion that Oregonians are so different from Californians is a myth too. Both states have liberal and conservative enclaves, and the same food fights. They just throw more arugula in California and goat yogurt in Oregon.

[rurallife]

I completely forgot that I'd posted on here! Oops!

Anyway, I really enjoyed growing up in a small town. My parent's moved us from Salem to Halsey, which is the tiny, ugly sister town to Brownsville.

In the summer we would ride our bikes all over town and down the country roads, go swimming at the park in Brownsville or in Foster Lake, and when I was older, we would ride our horses in the great big grass fields that make up most of Linn County. Sometimes we went on the logging trails that are all over the Brownsville hills. I've heard that there is a trail that you can take from Brownsville to Lebanon, but I don't know which one that is.

In the winter it rains a lot, and if you can make it through your first winter, than you can make it in Oregon. Halsey is kind of a flood plain, so it would get quite soggy in the winter. Brownsville is in the foothills, so it does a lot better except around the river.

Our schools went to a 4-day school week when I was in 7th grade, which all the students greatly enjoyed. The high school and middle school are in the same building, but they run on slightly different schedules so their contact is limited.

A lot of kids get summer jobs driving farm equipment. I did one year and hated it. There's nothing fun about driving a combine at 2.5 mph for 12 hours. The $1500 I got was nice though.

Brownsville has been getting pretty busy lately. It attracts a lot of people on Saturdays that are coming to look at antiques, eat at the cafes, or shop.

I believe the towns are mostly conservative, but Brownsville has quite a few liberals as well.

Brownsville is still a small town, less than 2000 people, but it is growing and still maintaining it's historic feel.