OT: Anyone from Eugene Oregon??

My husband accepted a job in Eugene Oregon yesterday so we will me moving there in May! Very excited but not looking forward to moving with a 3 year old and the twins. We'll make do tho!

Mary
Lindsey 2-18-04
Grant and Kelsey 9-18-06

 

I hope you find some info!!!

 

I'm in Milwaukie, about 1.5 hours north of there.

I am not familiar with Eugene but think it is a very nice area.

 

We are in Beaverton but my BIL/SIL were looking at setting up an orthodontics practice in Eugene this spring. They decided on Salem instead, but they loved the college town feel of Eugene. I've only heard great things about it! Is your husband working for the University?

 

Welcome to Oregon! It is a great place. I grew up in Coos Bay and we often traveled to Eugene. It's a nice place. Plenty of things to do. Only an hour or so from the beach. We haven't been down there in a long time but I defenitly enjoyed visiting. Hope you enjoy our lovely state.

April

 

I visited Eugene as a teenager and visited the campus there. My cousin won the NCAA outdoor track and field champioships there! So my memories are good! I remember a short trip from there to the beach and it seemed to be a really "neat and clean" town a really nice place to visit.

 

Well Im in Beaverton too, and have driven through Eugene a few times. Everyone I know that has lived there LOVES it though!

 

I lived in a small town close to Eugene until I was 10 and went back to visit often. I LOVE it there, tons of things to do. Oregon is a beautiful state, I am so jealous!

 

Mary,

Just wanted to replay...one of our military moves was from CO to Seattle. So...I thought I would give you a few pointers from going from the WY climate to OR climate.

Get some really good rain coats and rain gear for the kiddos! Really!! Lots of rain!! Some of the really heavy winter stuff you might not need. The weather is pretty mild, but wet. You will be heading there in a great time of year!! The days will be getting longer. The first thing I had to get used to was the cloudy grey days! When we lived in CO when that weather would hit we would have hot chocolate days and watch movies...well...every day was turning out that way when we moved to Seattle!! I was a bit grumpy the first year with the weather...I was so excited for June to hit, thinking...ok summer the sun should come out!! Up in Seattle...it did not that much....it got better aroudn the end of the summer and the fall was great!! You will not have the "balmy" breeze (for someone who has never been to WY or CO or NE for that matter....the wind blows ALOT!!) that is always present in CO and WY!! That is nice. And get ready for long dark days in the winter. I did not think this would bother me...but is sure did....in the summer it was AWESOME in Seattle.....the sun came out aroudn 5 and did not go down till around 10!! So far north....BUT, in the winter....it would start getting dark around 3 and would not come up until 8ish....long dark days!!

My DH is from OR and his siter lives in Eugene, they love it. Cost of living is so expensive! Houses especially....good luck. Last year, they sold their 2 bedroom 1 bath home with hardly any yard for $225,000 I think...around there....YIKES!! That might be a change from WY.

You will actually see trees in OR compared to WY!! Lots and lots of beautiful trees!!! and lots of other green stuff to!! Lots of foliage. Plus, there is mountain stuff not too far away...skiing is awesome in OR...and you are so close to the ocean!! Now...the ocean is VERY COLD.....but....we went to Seaside last year and had the best time!!!

Oh...and when driving there....the state still only has a highway speed of 65...so..after driving through WY, UT and ID....you feel like you are crawling when you get to OR!! We always laugh about that...OR , being such a "liberal" state, they are so conservative in there highway speed!! I am sure it has to so with gas consumption though.

As for politics....it is very liberal there...same with WA. Eugene is where Ralph Nadar had the most votes when he was running for pres..... .

Univeristy of Oregon is there....so beware of the green and yellow!!

I hope you don't mind my opions here. We love to visit my SIL and her husband. It is very beautiful and that the pacific northwest is 3rd on our list of places to live when we retire. I must say...a distant 3rd...the weather does get to me a bit. I think that might be the biggest change for you.

Good luck....have a safe drive and count some antelope for me on the highway!!

 

Not sure what more I can add... (Portland, here). A couple of pointers when you get here -

- There is no self-serve gas. If you're driving here, once you cross into Oregon resist the urge the jump out and grab the gas pump.

- U-turns are generally prohibited unless there's a sign that says it's ok, so resist that urge, too.

I haven't been in Eugene for a while, but it's a nice town. While it's true that Eugene itself is pretty liberal (heavily influenced by the college community), the same is not true of the surrounding rural area - so depending on where you move to you can find yourself with very liberal or very conservative neighbors.

Weather does take some getting used to. We do get quite a bit of rain here, but we also have pretty mild winters (Snow is not very common in the Valley, maybe once or twice a year) and no summer prairie storms.

Good luck with the move!

--> Andy