I'm 23yrs old and planning on moving out to Oregon within a few months but I'm not sure what area would suit me best. I'm looking for a scenic area that has good whether - I don't mind cool whether and a little rain, but nothing too cold/hot or with too much rain. I'd also like an area that isn't too over populated but still allows me to bike to my job (which I'll look for once I have a place in mind). I'm introverted so I'm not concerned with parties or bars, bur rather I prefer good food, music, books, sports, and small company. Any suggestions would be great. Thanks.
Oregon is a great choice as a place to live. The state is divided into three general climates, the coast, the Wilamette Valley, and Eastern Oregon. The three regions are seperated by the coastal range, and the Cascades. In general, the coast has the narrowest range of temperature, with many days in both summer and winter in the 60's. The Wilamette Valley has moderate winters and warm summers. Eastern Oregon has cold winters and damned hot summers. It sounds like your best choice would be in the Wilamette Valley. It runs from Portland on the north, down past Salem, Corvallis and south past Eugene. The rain seems to increase as you head south, with Portland having an annual rainfall of 36 inches and Eugene just over 50 inches. You'll find it suprising that Portland actually has less rain than either Houston or Atlanta! Now for a place to stay, Salem is a pretty sleepy community and Corvallis and Eugene are both college towns. Portland is a lively place with great public transportation and is extremely bike friendly. Its such a great place that even Linus Torvalds decided to call it home. It has fantastic resturants, a host of sports activities both at the college and professional level. The views are fantastic with Mount Hood framing the eastern sky. The music scene is the area is robust with lots of live music on the weekends. If you like blues, check out the Candlelight Room on the weekend. I hope this helps. Ragnar |
