Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Planning on moving to western oregon ?

Hello all ,

I'm planinng on moving to western oregon -boise is too cold,dry and windy for me.
I've did hordes of reading/research but still don't know where would be the best place for me.
Which town/city would you oregonians point a construction guy towards ?
Any help would sure be appreciated -Mike

Dont know where exactly to recommend for you in Western Oregon, but I can just about guarantee it wont be too dry for you!!

well, i live in Grants Pass. its real nice here.

if you want construction work though, you should look towards Eugene, or Corvalis.

not much work in this little town of 35,000.

just my opinion.

jnyork i'll bet your right -i gotta slicker suit though..

Ironeagle84 -thanks maybe some folks from there will chime in.

You might think about going to Oregon then turning right one state. No state income tax here in Washington. Still good places to live, about the same cost of living and more $$$ in your pocket at the end of the year. But, you will not like the politics of either state after living in Idaho.

Well Portland being a big city, that would be the best choice as far as work goes but Portland also is a bunch of freaks. Anywhere in the valley on the I5 corridor is a bunch of liberal freaks for the most part. Salem isn't to bad. Maybe look at Bend in central oregon but I think they're getting hit pretty hard with the economy. Albany/Corvalis is pretty nice too. It also depends on what you're into personally as well and what kind of construction you do. Fill in a couple blanks and a few of us oregonians might be able to point you in a good directions. As said before, the politics in this state are a whole different world than Idaho so keep that in mind.

Mike is right.

I'm in real estate, and so periphially connected with construction and remodeling. These are not easy times for builders or contractors right now, and we have plenty of them. Plus, the Mexican cheaper labor has really taken over the framing and roofing side of things unless you are willing to work as cheap (and hard) as those guys.

That said, there's ALWAYS room for success for someone who works hard.

Eugene is a nice town if you are into liberal college towns. I am, but you might not be. Portland is a GREAT city and I have good friends who run a construction company there; I might be able to hook you up. If you come to Eugene I can help you with some fairly minor stuff that contractors hate to do- P&D repairs that have to be done NOW so that home sales can close, etc.

PM me if you want more info, or my phone number!

It's raining right now out there... it gets oppressive, don't say you weren't warned...

Geez! You're in a banana belt. Don't stop in Burns on your way across. Probably Salem or Portland, but the entire state is in the doldrums right now. Given present events, I'd not burn any bridges until you had something firmly locked down on this end. We do have income tax but no sales taxes.

With energy booming the Casper Wyoming area is busting loose right now, but that is even colder and windier. Good luck, 1Minute

1Minute, are you getting in on any of the windfarm stuff out your way?

Medford was building to beat the band. But, I have now info on the particulars, or the current situation.

Brookings i s small town on the Southern COast that was also doing a lot of building, for its size. I don't know much about the towns any further north.

But I second the opinion that you wont find it too dry out here.
It wont be cold on the coast, but Boise has nothing on us for wind. It isn't called "the world's worst lee coast" for nothing.

Just come live in Idaho Falls for a couple of years, and Boise will look like a tropical paradise....... LOL! Dutch.

KDK: Sort of a sore subject, and I don't see much to really get it on. The county though is sooooo money starved, I think our political folks would invite Osama Ben in if he could funnel a $20K a year into our economy. To date it looks like the farm will go in on some residual private property on the Steens. I've seen some viewscapes generated on GIS software and given to the BLM, and it looks like one will have 4 to 6 turbines on the near horizon as seen from the Fish Lake Campground. I've not seen a rendering of exactly where the other units will be placed.

Given that the campground sits in a valley with a limited view, the towers will probably be a dominant component of the landscape from anywhere higher on the mountain. While we are blessed with a ton of space here, we are a bit lacking on spectacular spots with a potential to attract tourists. The Steens were our one bright spot, and in my book their appeal will been degraded by about 90%.

In the near past, the enviros put up a great battle to block up holdings and secure a at least a wilderness or park designation for almost the entire mountain. The wilderness would have halted any potential development, and a park might have precluded hunting and fishing. A compromise was reached with sort of a natural area designation. I was against that whole process, as access would have been a little more restricted with a few road closures. In hindsight, I'm thinking I should have given them some rabid support. I've not heard of the enviro sector chiming in the issue yet. Given the economic cruch though, resistence might be a waste of time.

Road construction and pad layout have started, but no one had yet had even thought about how/where the power would go. I've not seen definitive plans, but rumor has it they will run a highline off the mountain and right up the middle of the Malheur refuge.

I'm all for dependable sources of alternative (non fossil fuel) power, but know that wind is short on that dependable part. One will still have to be connected to the grid to cover our ass when the wind doesn't blow. I would hate to be the companies that are forced to purchase that power. It's sort of like, I'll sell you something. I don't do know much I'll make or when I'll deliver, but you have to buy it whether you need it or not. Bluntly, I'd be happier if a nuclear plant was going in a half mile behind my house.

I doubt too that we will see a great economic boost for the local economy. Locals do not have the engineering skills or equipment for tower setup, so all of that will come from outside. Access roads will be needed, but that's pretty much a one shot deal too with just small change needed for maintenance. Two or three tenders are probably all that are needed for tower/turbine maintenance a year, so if they draw 100K each, that's not much of a boost either. I've heard that landowners that lease pads can draw about $6 to $7k a year per unit. If one had space for 50 towers, that would be some tidy retirement income without having to put in much effort,so I'm sure those folks are giving full support. With an economic roll over of 7X, we could maybe see a $3.5 mill per year lift in county income. I don't see taxes on that small amount building much in the way of schools, highways, water systems etc.

To date, there is a wonderful quality of life here, and we would probably whine even more if Boeing rolled in with 50,000 high paying jobs. Things would surly go to sh-t, and I'd sell out and head to Alaska. I'm considering retirement, so I might just do that anyway. One simply can't have it both ways

In closing, I guess it may be a good thing, but I've crossed off that piece of the landscape as a wilderness experience. Too bad, as it was a great fishing and hunting spot. Just my rant. Have a good one, 1Minute

Thanks for the info. guys !

Scott F ,i'm sure washington state is beautiful but i have to narrow things down pretty quickly.
---------------------------------------------------------
Mike in or86 ,i plan on building a raingutter business but right out of the gate i'll need a job.
I built houses as a general contractor for ten years 92' til 02' -too much stress -couldn't deal w/ the women who do all the talking/bitching.
Then went to work in commercial construction as an assistant superintendent -laid off when the company lost three contacts totalling $170million.
I've did about everything in residential construction but that doesn't mean i'm a plumber -framer -electrician.Jack of all trades master of none i guess.
-------------------------------------------------------------

Jeff O , i started to PM you before i posted this thread b/c i read you were a realtor in wetter oregon.
Eugene/springfield is an area i've looked at -i can tolerate a few liberals i guess -believe me there's plenty of them anywhere you go.
What is P&D ? -punchlist stuff i'm thinking.I've did that kind of stuff for years -sheetrock repair -adjust doors -change lights -you name it.Been through the closing process about fifty plus times so i know what you mean by -have to be done -NOW-.
I'll PM you..
---------------------------------------------------------------
I ain't tough enough to live in wyoming or western idaho .
--------------------------------------------------------------
Siskiyous6 -Medford was and is my favorite "looking" place to relocate to but i'm worried that it might be too small to offer enough chances at a job.That's mainly where i've read up on.
The wind is oftentimes -calm- and considerably less rain than many other areas in western oregon -i just have to keep an open mind and try to pick the best place where i can get a start in these tough economic times.

If anybody has any info on medford i'd like to hear it.Thanks again for the help guys !