Junction “city” is kind of a dump- not a city by any stretch. Mostly just a small town outside of Eugene. Nothing to do, no shopping. I’m not even sure they have a target or Walmart. Someone will correct me if I’m mistaken, I’m sure.. Mainly a farming community from what I understand.
Western Oregon is generally defined by the string of medium sized cities along the I-5 corridor from Portland down south of Eugene. Any of those would probably fit most of your qualifications.
I can recommend McMinneville. It's west of Salem and south of Portland. About an hour's drive to either and maybe 90 minutes to the coast. The countryside around the city is mostly farms and vineyards. I will warn you, it has a huge UFO festival every year for reasons I've never understood.
Depending on which area you choose. The cascade mountains divides OR. West side is rain forestry, liberal leaning. East is high desert. Very conservative. If you're into snow sports, I'd suggest Bend/Prineville/Redmond/ Sisters. Snow tires are definitely a thing.
Bend has crime but not like CT, driving in CT sucks and here I usually bike or walk. The access to the outdoors is amazing, about a 10 minute drive and your in NF hiking along the river or 25 minutes your at the base of Mt. Bachelor. Sounds like you want to be on the west side of the cascades, but eastern Oregon is secretly full of outdoor wonder and beauty.
actually Oregon has a higher crime rate than Connecticut
The ten states with the lowest crime rate are Maine, New Hampshire, Puerto Rico, Vermont, Connecticut, New Jersey, Virginia, Rhode Island, Wyoming, and Idaho
violent crime Oregon rate at 358 23rd best Connecticut 162 lower is better 9th best
http://www.usa.com/rank/us--crime-index--state-rank.htm
If you check out Bend area, it's a pretty and snowy drive over the mountains. Also, I forgot Bend has Mt. Bachelor and a very impressive live music at the amphitheater
Moved from the New Haven area a decade ago, never going back, got offered a really good job back in CT right before Covid but even though the money was really good it’s not worth giving up what I love about living here.
Crime in CT was much worse, utilities were astronomical and taxes were insane. No thanks.
No, Oregon overall has a higher crime rate than CT
The ten states with the lowest crime rate are Maine, New Hampshire, Puerto Rico, Vermont, Connecticut, New Jersey, Virginia, Rhode Island, Wyoming, and Idaho
[http://www.usa.com/rank/us--crime-index--state-rank.htm](http://www.usa.com/rank/us--crime-index--state-rank.htm)
Oregon has a crime rated 23rd best, CT 9th best
OK compare New Haven with Portland.With a crime rate of 66 per one thousand residents, Portland has one of the highest crime rates in America compared to all communities of all sizes - from the smallest towns to the very largest cities.
Violent crime in Portland, Oregon, has drastically risen over the last three years, most precipitously in 2020, reports Foxnews. Can you witness how serious Portland is in violent crimes?
I wonder if your idea of a 10-20K town isn't guided by lovely small town New England. Oregon is not like that. Think—and it's a spectrum—of coal country, only not nearly as bad, mostly. There are bright spots, too. But—and I love these places—it ain't mostly like candle stores in Vermont.
Certainly. And some places—like Coos Bay which has long been a laughing stock for Portlanders—making something that looks like a comeback.
The idea is that back roads, small town Oregon is a beautiful place with a slow train coming: A tension twixt people making their fortune in resource industries which are in eclipse in most places vs. catering to tourists and visitors.
Wait, Coors Bay? Where’s that!
I lived in New England area for a year, lovely area in the fall.
Normally I jokingly recommend Klamath Falls but that area is smaller and has some beautiful outdoor areas. You might like that area.
KFalls reporting in. Climate similar to Bend. Sunny sunny sunny. Way fewer people, less shopping. We do have Walmart. Growing entertainment scene but nothing like Bend. Hospital, yes. Oregon Institute of Technology is here too. A few breweries, Some good eats. Much more agricultural than Bend. People who are tired of living in the bustle that Bend has become sometimes move here as refugees. Much much cheaper living. More crime and drugs per capita, but not prevalent everywhere in the town- hot spots easy to avoid.
Edit: spelling.
Mentally prepare yourself if you move to the oregon coast. It's insanely wet and grey. Beautiful, but the communities all have a sort of depressing vibe which varies depending on how much of a tourist destination the town is.
I’m a former Coos Bay-North Bend native & decades-long resident who left for Portland because of the Bay Area’s stagnation, political leanings, lack of shopping & high-quality medical care. I kind of keep up with friends there who tell me it’s a lot of retirees now.
Hey so I have a unique perspective as I moved from Oregon to CT for 10 years and back again (long story) I can answer direct questions. I have lived in Coos Bay and Eugene.
The little towns you’re looking at are NOT at all equivalent to places like the smaller towns around larger cities. Ie, Comparing Junction City near Eugene and other smaller towns to the shoreline towns of Norwalk, Shelton, Trumbull etc. those towns were a lot more developed and these are a lot less and won’t be for awhile in general. You will often times find yourself driving into Eugene for stuff.
There’s also with the smaller areas surrounding the larger towns like Eugene and Portland with towns not being fully incorporated and lots of other issues, thus not having full services. So, while we get less snow, there’s other issues that you could equate to not getting plowed out while each surrounding city says it’s not their problem.
Parts of the coast ie Coos County, Coastal Lane county, employment can be difficult. There’s a wave of younger people attempting to change things both in general and in government. I’d say that Roseburg, Coos Bay is more equal to say West Haven, Waterbury and other towns. They have shops, and stuff but there’s limitations on jobs, resources and etc and the drive to get to those resources is MUCH longer in Oregon.
One thing to keep in mind is driving time too. Our cities are more spread out in OR vs dense like CT. In CT because everything was as the cows traveled road planning wise so you could drive for 5-10 minutes and depending on traffic you would maybe be in the next town (though getting where you wanted to go would take longer due to density of cities).
Here you’re often just across town or in a small city to your destination. To reach another city/town (unless it’s Springfield kind of deal) it’s 20 minutes to hours at a time. Portland, Coos Bay and Medford are all about 2-3 hours away from Eugene for example and that’s not leaving the state.
There’s also a train but it’s far more limited, and while there’s 3 airports it’s more expensive.
The job market here is pretty brutal and unless you find something paying significantly more I’d be cautious. Oregon has a massive homeless population.
Our cost of living is actually slowly getting out of control with many of our cities becoming very expensive, which will slowly burden the smaller towns over time as our cities expand.
Just some things to keep in mind.
Thank you so much. The comparisons to CT cities really helped me. This entire post was reliant on the assumption that I’d get a decent job, which I’m relatively confident I would. Thank you for all the good info!
Absolutely no problem! I can also kinda compare certain areas of major/minor metro areas if you're ever interested between the two once you know where you're looking.
If OP wants a small town, Prineville would be a good place. Lots of recreational activities. On the same day, we can go kayaking on the reservoir and come back to town to hike 3 miles in the Barnes Butte Recreational Area behind the elementary school. The folks are fairly conservative, but there are a few of us progressives out here, holding our own.
Portlander here. To me, I had a chance to move to Prineville and turned it down. Kind of regret it. Love me some Prineville. I kind of get along with everybody and grew up in a small midwestern town.
Cottage Grove is pretty slept on. There's a nearby lake plus lots of other outdoor activities. Not as methy as other smaller towns as well. And you're 10 mins from Eugene if you want to see music and what not. Has a little downtown with a few restaurants and such.
Well, you’re certainly entitled to try and even that out, but we’re not required to welcome you in. This mass migration into Oregon is ruining the Oregon that people are so keen to move into in the first place.
I don’t blame you; in your shoes, I’d probably make the same choice. But from the perspectives of the folks who were born here, we really wish you’d stay home.
I understand but I believe I’d bring more to Oregon in tax dollars than take from it in social services. Not coming to freeload, would be going mainly for work
There's also Scappoose, St. Helens, and Rainer, all along Hwy 30 heading to Astoria. 30-90 minutes into Portland. Make sure you line up work first and housing, especially housing it is hard to find.
I've lived in Oregon my entire life (60+yrs), I see no reason to live elsewhere. Yes, the valley is grey and wet 8-9 months out of the year, but those other 3-4 months are absolutely amazing. The eastside ( beyond Pendleton) wants to become Idaho, so I would steer clear of there.
>would like to move to a medium sized town (10-20k ppl You think 10k is a medium sized town? I think you're gonna fit right in.
Lmaoo how it is here in ct when not in the cities
Junction “city” is kind of a dump- not a city by any stretch. Mostly just a small town outside of Eugene. Nothing to do, no shopping. I’m not even sure they have a target or Walmart. Someone will correct me if I’m mistaken, I’m sure.. Mainly a farming community from what I understand.
Junction City sucks. There is nothing there except for a great Dairy Queen.
Arby’s??
Thanks. I’ll have to look around some more. If you have any suggestions I’d love to hear it!
Western Oregon is generally defined by the string of medium sized cities along the I-5 corridor from Portland down south of Eugene. Any of those would probably fit most of your qualifications.
I can recommend McMinneville. It's west of Salem and south of Portland. About an hour's drive to either and maybe 90 minutes to the coast. The countryside around the city is mostly farms and vineyards. I will warn you, it has a huge UFO festival every year for reasons I've never understood.
We also have the Spruce Goose in town!
A famous UFO photograph was taken there in the 50's.
It’s like moving from one expensive state to another expensive state w less snow.
But far better natural beauty. No contest.
Less snow..depending on which side of the cascades. East has brutal winters
True. But since the vast majority of the people who want to come here, move to the western part of the state, I decided to keep my comment vague.
Gotcha.
Grew up outside New Haven and now live in Bend, last 10+ years. Would only go back for the pizza and lobster.
Hows the crime situation? anything like CT? Ik New haven doesn't speak for all of CT but is bend similar?
That's a thing you can look up on the internet. Reddit is best when you're getting subjective opinions.
Depending on which area you choose. The cascade mountains divides OR. West side is rain forestry, liberal leaning. East is high desert. Very conservative. If you're into snow sports, I'd suggest Bend/Prineville/Redmond/ Sisters. Snow tires are definitely a thing.
Bend has crime but not like CT, driving in CT sucks and here I usually bike or walk. The access to the outdoors is amazing, about a 10 minute drive and your in NF hiking along the river or 25 minutes your at the base of Mt. Bachelor. Sounds like you want to be on the west side of the cascades, but eastern Oregon is secretly full of outdoor wonder and beauty.
actually Oregon has a higher crime rate than Connecticut The ten states with the lowest crime rate are Maine, New Hampshire, Puerto Rico, Vermont, Connecticut, New Jersey, Virginia, Rhode Island, Wyoming, and Idaho violent crime Oregon rate at 358 23rd best Connecticut 162 lower is better 9th best http://www.usa.com/rank/us--crime-index--state-rank.htm
Most of the crime in Oregon tends to be petty stuff. And small towns not much of anything at all.
I was going to suggest Bend or Prineville er... Prinetucky. Sisters is cool too.
Thank you! I was definitely looking more west but was looking at all my options.
If you check out Bend area, it's a pretty and snowy drive over the mountains. Also, I forgot Bend has Mt. Bachelor and a very impressive live music at the amphitheater
We live in Bend. It’s a great town. Has everything you need and it’s absolutely gorgeous!
Moved from the New Haven area a decade ago, never going back, got offered a really good job back in CT right before Covid but even though the money was really good it’s not worth giving up what I love about living here. Crime in CT was much worse, utilities were astronomical and taxes were insane. No thanks.
No, Oregon overall has a higher crime rate than CT The ten states with the lowest crime rate are Maine, New Hampshire, Puerto Rico, Vermont, Connecticut, New Jersey, Virginia, Rhode Island, Wyoming, and Idaho [http://www.usa.com/rank/us--crime-index--state-rank.htm](http://www.usa.com/rank/us--crime-index--state-rank.htm) Oregon has a crime rated 23rd best, CT 9th best
Reread what I wrote…”the New Haven area” New Haven has been on a few top ten lists of violent crime per population for some time now.
OK compare New Haven with Portland.With a crime rate of 66 per one thousand residents, Portland has one of the highest crime rates in America compared to all communities of all sizes - from the smallest towns to the very largest cities. Violent crime in Portland, Oregon, has drastically risen over the last three years, most precipitously in 2020, reports Foxnews. Can you witness how serious Portland is in violent crimes?
I'd look at bigger towns, to be honest. CT is a lot more densely populated than Oregon. The places you mentioned are very remote by CT standards.
Thank you, didn’t think of that
I wonder if your idea of a 10-20K town isn't guided by lovely small town New England. Oregon is not like that. Think—and it's a spectrum—of coal country, only not nearly as bad, mostly. There are bright spots, too. But—and I love these places—it ain't mostly like candle stores in Vermont.
Depends where you are in NE. Where I live it’s a old factory town that lost all of the factories, but I definitely understand what ya mean.
Certainly. And some places—like Coos Bay which has long been a laughing stock for Portlanders—making something that looks like a comeback. The idea is that back roads, small town Oregon is a beautiful place with a slow train coming: A tension twixt people making their fortune in resource industries which are in eclipse in most places vs. catering to tourists and visitors.
Wait, Coors Bay? Where’s that! I lived in New England area for a year, lovely area in the fall. Normally I jokingly recommend Klamath Falls but that area is smaller and has some beautiful outdoor areas. You might like that area.
I’d have to take a look. It was a town I saw Zillow when looking around. I’ll have to check out klamath. Thanks!
Coors Bay is known for terrible beer.
Never met a beer I couldn’t drink
Known locally as "meth"
KFalls reporting in. Climate similar to Bend. Sunny sunny sunny. Way fewer people, less shopping. We do have Walmart. Growing entertainment scene but nothing like Bend. Hospital, yes. Oregon Institute of Technology is here too. A few breweries, Some good eats. Much more agricultural than Bend. People who are tired of living in the bustle that Bend has become sometimes move here as refugees. Much much cheaper living. More crime and drugs per capita, but not prevalent everywhere in the town- hot spots easy to avoid. Edit: spelling.
Wondering how the new KF Common Block is going....
Mentally prepare yourself if you move to the oregon coast. It's insanely wet and grey. Beautiful, but the communities all have a sort of depressing vibe which varies depending on how much of a tourist destination the town is.
So far my part of CT has been only wet and grey the past few years. I’m ready lol
I would look at Coors Bay. Not Coors Light though.... Glad to see you are diversified in your Klamath Falls recs.
I’m a former Coos Bay-North Bend native & decades-long resident who left for Portland because of the Bay Area’s stagnation, political leanings, lack of shopping & high-quality medical care. I kind of keep up with friends there who tell me it’s a lot of retirees now.
Hey, that Coors Bay now. There should be some proclamation.
Hey so I have a unique perspective as I moved from Oregon to CT for 10 years and back again (long story) I can answer direct questions. I have lived in Coos Bay and Eugene. The little towns you’re looking at are NOT at all equivalent to places like the smaller towns around larger cities. Ie, Comparing Junction City near Eugene and other smaller towns to the shoreline towns of Norwalk, Shelton, Trumbull etc. those towns were a lot more developed and these are a lot less and won’t be for awhile in general. You will often times find yourself driving into Eugene for stuff. There’s also with the smaller areas surrounding the larger towns like Eugene and Portland with towns not being fully incorporated and lots of other issues, thus not having full services. So, while we get less snow, there’s other issues that you could equate to not getting plowed out while each surrounding city says it’s not their problem. Parts of the coast ie Coos County, Coastal Lane county, employment can be difficult. There’s a wave of younger people attempting to change things both in general and in government. I’d say that Roseburg, Coos Bay is more equal to say West Haven, Waterbury and other towns. They have shops, and stuff but there’s limitations on jobs, resources and etc and the drive to get to those resources is MUCH longer in Oregon. One thing to keep in mind is driving time too. Our cities are more spread out in OR vs dense like CT. In CT because everything was as the cows traveled road planning wise so you could drive for 5-10 minutes and depending on traffic you would maybe be in the next town (though getting where you wanted to go would take longer due to density of cities). Here you’re often just across town or in a small city to your destination. To reach another city/town (unless it’s Springfield kind of deal) it’s 20 minutes to hours at a time. Portland, Coos Bay and Medford are all about 2-3 hours away from Eugene for example and that’s not leaving the state. There’s also a train but it’s far more limited, and while there’s 3 airports it’s more expensive. The job market here is pretty brutal and unless you find something paying significantly more I’d be cautious. Oregon has a massive homeless population. Our cost of living is actually slowly getting out of control with many of our cities becoming very expensive, which will slowly burden the smaller towns over time as our cities expand. Just some things to keep in mind.
Thank you so much. The comparisons to CT cities really helped me. This entire post was reliant on the assumption that I’d get a decent job, which I’m relatively confident I would. Thank you for all the good info!
Absolutely no problem! I can also kinda compare certain areas of major/minor metro areas if you're ever interested between the two once you know where you're looking.
Depending on your politics, those places may or may not feel very welcoming.
Is it just me or are a lot of people moving to Oregon from Connecticut for some reason lol.
Bc CT sucks. Just a massive pain in every aspect of life lmao
Also, Bend has a lot of tech jobs. Prineville has fbook/oracle data centers
If OP wants a small town, Prineville would be a good place. Lots of recreational activities. On the same day, we can go kayaking on the reservoir and come back to town to hike 3 miles in the Barnes Butte Recreational Area behind the elementary school. The folks are fairly conservative, but there are a few of us progressives out here, holding our own.
Portlander here. To me, I had a chance to move to Prineville and turned it down. Kind of regret it. Love me some Prineville. I kind of get along with everybody and grew up in a small midwestern town.
Thank you so much. A lot of good knowledge!
McMinnville
Silverton, Hood River, Corvallis, Bend
Cottage Grove is pretty slept on. There's a nearby lake plus lots of other outdoor activities. Not as methy as other smaller towns as well. And you're 10 mins from Eugene if you want to see music and what not. Has a little downtown with a few restaurants and such.
Ah yes, "Coors" Bay - Where The Pacific meets The Rockies
I’m moving from Fargo ND to Sandy OR rn I’d recommend checking out Sandy if you like outdoors plus close proximity to the PDX metro area
NO. WE‘RE FULL. STAY HOME.
Dude OR is one of the least dense places in the country. Compared to where I’m at rn y’all got a lot of space lol
Well, you’re certainly entitled to try and even that out, but we’re not required to welcome you in. This mass migration into Oregon is ruining the Oregon that people are so keen to move into in the first place. I don’t blame you; in your shoes, I’d probably make the same choice. But from the perspectives of the folks who were born here, we really wish you’d stay home.
I understand but I believe I’d bring more to Oregon in tax dollars than take from it in social services. Not coming to freeload, would be going mainly for work
https://music.apple.com/us/album/assholes/1525183539?i=1525183543
Damn man fine I’ll just not move to OR
Colorado enters the chat
There's also Scappoose, St. Helens, and Rainer, all along Hwy 30 heading to Astoria. 30-90 minutes into Portland. Make sure you line up work first and housing, especially housing it is hard to find. I've lived in Oregon my entire life (60+yrs), I see no reason to live elsewhere. Yes, the valley is grey and wet 8-9 months out of the year, but those other 3-4 months are absolutely amazing. The eastside ( beyond Pendleton) wants to become Idaho, so I would steer clear of there.