Why Is Boring Oregon Currently Without Power?

I lived in Corvallis for 15 years before moving to the Bend area. It’s like moving to another state completely, and it isn’t just the landscape. I think you could almost do an entire article on Bend/Central O vs western Oregon. You keep pointing out how expensive Portland has become, but never mention that that average home price in Bend has almost eclipsed $800k with outlying residences deep into the millions. I’m currently working on a $21 million house on the outskirts of town that is going up in an entire neighborhood of $10 mil+ houses. The Californians are here, and they are flexing HARD. The service industry is dying because the workers can’t afford to live within 20 miles of Bend, etc.

Oregon is a beautiful US state. I had a chance to make a long road trip there during one of my business trips (the work was done and the flight back to Europe was planned in a week.. Perfect opportunity for a trip 😁). There’s everything there – mountains, deserts, lakes, sea, just beautiful. I will definitely come back one day with my family. Greetings from Slovakia!

I lived in Tualatin Oregon, a suburb of Portland for 3 years. Being from the Central Valley of California I will tell you that in order to enjoy that part of Oregon you MUST love gray skies and rain ALL the time. Do NOT underestimate the dreariness of it. My experience of moving from one of the sunniest cities in the US to one of the cloudiest was not an enjoyable one. It’s funny because I live in a city this guy rips on but I’m less than an hour from the Sierra Nevada mountains, Yosemite, and the Sequoia national forest, all of which have more natural beauty than anything the Portland aka Stumptown area has to offer. Oh and the beaches that are a couple of hours away aren’t rainy and cold 9 months of the year.

I’ve lived in OR since 2002, did not grow up here but moved here for a guy and loved it. Just a little tired of the 7-8 months of rain but it makes us appreciate the sunny days more. I agree with you, I especially love that it takes 20 minutes to get to a hike it. You literally can drive 1 hr to Mt hood for a ski and 2 ish hrs west to the beach. The coast is calm and not over crowded although it gets pretty windy in most coastal towns. I love all the lushy greens and fresh air that since moving up her from CA I can say I dont get those seasonal allergies as often anymore. If I ever move out of OR it would have to be a state similar to OR.

My husband has an grandma from his mom side. She moved to Oregon a few years ago. She said it more peaceful and a lot of nature. In the area she lives. I grew up in Lodi CA. Most of my life. I did live in acampo, Lockeford, and Stockton. For a short while. Though now that I have 2 kids. My hometown doesn’t feel like my home town anymore. It’s small and everyone knows everyone. Yes my whole family lives here. But for awhile it’s not been the same. I find myself looking at articles like this and think what would it would be like to live there. I have a friend that moved to Placerville recently and took me to her new home. Surrounded by mountains and trees I actually felt peace and free. It’s was a 2 hour drive from my hometown. I was there with my husband and kids too. Thanks to my friend I was able to experience something I didn’t know I needed. I feel that feeling it’s hard to explain

I visited Oregon several years ago with my ex, just to see Crater Lake. I have to say, Crater Lake is just about the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen…photos do NOT do it justice! We stood on the rim next to the lodge when we first got there, along with several other people. As we all gazed upon the lake, we found ourselves whispering, like you would in church. Breathtaking.

Though “Portland ain’t Oregon” (so true!), the Eugene area and the Salem area come the closest politically & culturally to Portland than the remainder of the state’s towns and smaller communities do. But crime, drugs and homelessness is a worsening problem statewide. Oregon currently is undergoing a net migration loss, according to an early 2023 article.

My family migrated from Walnut Creek, California to Bend Oregon back in the mid 70’s. Bend, imo is becoming over developed and I moved to Corvallis. It’s such a beautiful little town with a beautiful university a stones throw away! Plus college football is pretty awesome 😎 I ride a bike around town in the spring and summer (and fall) winters here are pretty wet & stormy but I like it too!! Basically OREGON is a really great place to live ❤

Southern Oregon gets plenty of snow (try going over the Siskyous in January). The Rogue Valley has a 1000+ft higher elevation than Eugene & north. I’m a life long Oregonian (60+)& the State taxes are outrageously high. At least there’s a choice with sales taxes. Southern Oregon wine producers have switched to growing pot. Areas actually stink (unless you like the scent).

I take umbrage with your tone of voice when describing the eastern part of the state. It is a different climate than west of the cascade mountain range: high desert. It offers some of the best rock climbing anywhere. Camping is unbelievable because there is no light pollution to destroy your view of the stars. Fossil hunting. Hiking. Mountain biking. (on second thought… it’s terrible. stay away. don’t come here. 😉

Just got back from Bend today. TRAFFIC WAS INSANE!! CROWDS everywhere – on a MONDAY! 20-30 minute waits most restaurants. We went to Shari’s this morning, McKay’s Cottage Restaurant was packed! Shari’s had one server! They put a sign on the door. Yes, It took an hour to get served. Re-thinking moving there. Everyone we talked to said it has really gotten worse this past year. Condos going up all over town. Our hotel maid told us it takes her sometimes over an hour to get to Redmond from north Bend and rents are horrible.

One minor correction on the amount of sunshine. It is true on the coast and Willamette Valley. On the other hand if you are east of the Cascades especially south of the Willamette Pass we get over 300 days of sunshine a year. Politically I believe it’s a law that you are not allowed to make a Left turn.

Third generation Oregonian here. You hit the highlights pretty well, so thanks. The one thing you didn’t mention was housing; at least, the rest of the housing in the state. If you’re looking to rent for awhile before you buy, you might want to think again. Housing is at a premium on most of the state. The Rogue Valley/Medford area had a 3% vacancy rate a decade ago and it’s much tighter now after the Labor Day wildfires that burned through 3 towns down here and several up in the Santiam Pass area. I know of at least one professional who tried to relocate here on a $70,000/annual salary and couldn’t find anything for his family (him, wife, 2 children) that they could afford on his wages. 😢 That’s part of why there is such a big homeless population across the entire state. 😮 I’m a Gen-Xer and have lived here all but 2 years of my life and this housing issue is bad.

I live in Salem and also feel that Portland has too much sway in elections. Multnomah County votes so extremely blue, even over other blue counties like Lane and Washington, that it decides statewide elections. Measure 114 was passed because of Portland. The 2022 governor’s race mostly likely went to the Democratic candidate because of Portland. Oregon should really be more of a purple state, but Portland keeps things blue.

28-year resident here. One thing that you kind of missed is that it doesn’t rain as much as people think. We’re not even in the top 30. NYC gets more than 1/3 more rain than Portland every year (and isn’t known for rain). We are only #30 in days with rain. What we DO have a lot of are cloudy days in the winter – plus, winter days are an hour shorter than they are in the southern US. In the winter, we drive to work in the dark and drive home in the dark. This is what drives many newcomers away – seasonal affective disorder. On the bright side, summer days are an hour longer than they are in the south, and a lot more pleasant!

As a native Portlander born and raised I found this article to be entertaining, but certainly sprinkled with large doses of propaganda. Let’s walk through some of the more egregious items that were too disingenuous to ignore and highlight actual information: — “Portland is known for its progressive and environmentally conscious culture.” That is so yesterday. First, progressive is too conservative a word for Portland’s culture. Second, Portland has completely lost its environmental self-awareness. Walk anywhere in Portland, most especially downtown, and what do you see? Trash everywhere, feces on sidewalks, spent needles. I even had to call the Mayor’s office to complain about tents covering the sidewalk in front of the Oregon Commission for the Blind at SE 12th Avenue and Washington Street, and what did he do about it? You guessed it: nothing. Ideology is so rampant that even blind people get no empathy (thank goodness for the recent ADA lawsuit). The good old days of being “environmentally conscious” are long gone. — “Oregon state income tax is pretty high.” Ya think? Last I checked Oregon had the fifth-highest income tax rate in the country at 9.9%. But it’s even worse than that because other states use a highly graduated income tax scale so that poorer people pay generally lower rates than richer, but Oregon kicks its poor people quite hard indeed. For a single filer, Oregon’s income tax rate skyrockets to 8.75% after a mere $10,200 in income. You also suggest Oregon is in the “middle of the pack” when it comes to tax burden, but you are not separating what RESIDENTS pay in tax from what BUSINESSES pay in tax.

I was born in Montana, but relocated with my family to the state of Washington at the age of seven and have lived here ever since. I have an uncle in Astoria and really enjoy visiting him. Me and my family used to make regular trips to Warrenton, OR which is about 80 miles from my hometown Aberdeen, WA and do some serious tax free shopping. However, the last two years, even with the tax free shopping, it’s actually less expensive for us to do our shopping right here in Washington.:face-orange-raised-eyebrow:In my opinion, Oregon has become a very expensive state to live in.

Portland still rules, the city’s officials are slowly getting it back together and finally doing something about the issues that have gone from nuisance to crisis over the last three years but just because there’s a bad homeless problem doesn’t mean the city is in ruins. You must live in Beaverton/Hillsborough lol.

I mean, Im an Oregon evangelist, I will preach about Oregon until the day I die, I LOVE this state…. but it is just so sad that I cant even defend Portland anymore. the suburbs are good, Hillsboro, Beaverton…but just not downtown. and it has to be pointed out that the drug and homeless problem is state wide, its just far far more prevalent and in-you-face downtown. BUT, its one of the best coast lines in the world, world class mountains, just the best of everything. Still worth a visit, maybe a move to a small town

I’ve lived in Oregon nearly my entire life and it’s really a beautiful state, it’s just a shame all the criminals-elect in office, the criminal enabling populace, and the criminals committing the crimes in Portland have ruined it for almost everyone. All the drugs, crime, and homeless camps makes it really unsafe and dangerous. Hell, it’s so bad Walmart pulled out of Portland, a company known for catering to the lowest common denominator bailed on Portland because it so bad. I mean if half your state wants to leave and join Idaho you know it’s not being managed well. Oregon is a great place just stay away from Portland, it’s a dump, especially compared to how it was just a scant few years ago.

I think Portland is a lovely city but please keep spreading the fear. We have high enough home prices. And yes Portland ain’t Oregon. When you get too far from the Portland and Eugene Metro areas, you can run into some very racist and LGBTQ phobic people. People who want to say bigoted stuff and not be criticized for it or they will claim it’s censorship as they are saying it. That kind of dumb logic. FYI, if eastern OR became part of ID, we would all save a bunch of money as the suburban areas pay the largest in taxes and the east takes most of the subsidies.

Lived in southern Oregon for 25 years, moved to Washington and plan to either move to Idaho or boot hill. Visited Oregon this last spring, what a change having the liberals every where with their little tea cups and lack of intelligence about society. It is pretty, the east side anyway, the west side is too crowded for me, even on the coast. When the big one hits we won’t have to worry to much about the survivors west of the Cascades, the whole west coast of the country will have some devastation. Best place to move if you are into getting out of California, try the gulf states it is more like the climate you are moving from only better.

Been in Oregon since 82. Lots of wonderful things keep me here. However, It is not the Oregon of my younger days when sustainability and self sufficiency were ways of life; not meaningless words. Like many places throughout the USA, urban renewal, even in small towns like Astoria, has made them nicer places to visit and live. However, they have lost their unique identities in their sameness. Eastern Oregon towns not on the I-84 corridor mostly have to date retained their charms. But many of the larger ones are on their way to being Astoria’s. What Oregon and many Western States have over their eastern sisters is wide open spaces. In many parts of Eastern Oregon, especially SE Oregon you can still drive long distances without seeing many other autos. You have countless miles of Federal and State public lands to roam on foot or other conveyances. Oregon is not just the Valley or North Coast. For most newconers it is. Good, keep the other areas unspoiled. Or better yet, leave.

Seaside resident here. Primary ed here isn’t really great. My daughter took her daughter out of school in sixth grade.She enrolled in Oregon Virtual Academy (ORVA), and got straight A’s until she graduated from Eastern Oregon, Suma Cum Laude, last June. Oregon public schools may be sub-par, but there are excellent “other” schools here.

I live in louisiana and just got back from a family trip to oregon and man it was so beautiful. We stayed in mt. hood. There is an abundance of variety to the nature and it is breath taking. All the mountains, rivers and different colored moss covering everything. The couple of hiking trails we went on were amazing and felt completely unique. I’ve only really been there and tennessee. Does anyone recommend any other states that are equal or even more beautiful than oregon in regards to nature? I feel like elevation adds a lot to the beauty of a landscape as well. Louisiana is just so flat.

I been thinking of moving there but I know nothing about the state. I like the general area of where I live now (Shasta County, CA) such as population size & the ability to live in a smaller community not to far from a city with like 100k people. I read though that Oregon is pretty expensive to even buy a home in Oregon.

Please don’t say the Trump thing. I’m referencing wind turbines. Wind turbines generate electricity. Wind mills are named for their properties of milling grain. Big difference! I haven’t seen any windmills in Oregon but we do have quite a few wind turbines, especially south of the Columbia River and east of the Cascades.

You should have talked about the OR state income tax ‘kicker’ refund whenever there’s a budget surplus. Every other year, if there’s been a budget surplus over the past two years, that surplus is returned to state taxpayers via their state income tax refunds. While it’s not guaranteed, it does seem that there’s usually a kicker refund. The kicker takes some of the bite out of OR’s high state income tax (even though, as you stated, OR is right in the middle of the pack when it comes to total tax burden). In fact, 2023’s kicker is projected to be the largest ever by 3 times. Personally, I’d be willing to give up my kicker refund if the budget surpluses were used to improve the k-12 education system. As a long time resident of OR, I see our K-12 educational ranking as the biggest problem. I believe that improving our K-12 education will lead to solutions to our other problems.

Also in Oregon, not every gas station allows self serve. Just a heads up. You mentioned that Eastern Oregon doesn’t have the Mountains that the West side has. On the Contrary! The eastern side of Oregon is considered the east side of the Cascades because thats where the weather drastically changes. Its drier with a mixture of forests, MOUNTAINS (more than the west side), plains, buttes, valleys, more Mountains and beautiful landscapes. Our Altitude is much higher too. Despite some of the region being a high desert, (mostly in Central Oregon) it’s covered with pine and juniper forests as well as Fir, many other species of trees, including fruits trees.. Most of our forests are seen in the mountainous areas. I live right at the base of Strawberry Mountain, of the Blue Mountains of Eastern Oregon. Eastern Oregon is often thought of as the last part of the Wild West. And the people here are very conservative. Its cattle country, where people hunt, fish and Pray. I was born and raised in the Willamette Valley, Oregon. I have lived around all 4 directions and in between. I wanted to let you know that the people on the East side of the cascades are here not because they made the mistake of moving here as you implied, but because they were born and raised here and have ancestry here. They love it here and wouldn’t have it any other way. And no, not everyone here wants to cut it in two and make it part of Idaho.

Oregon is an amazing place to live. Moved here from Utah and Oregon’s quality of life is about 1000x better. In fact, no red state can compete, especially right-to-work for less states. I do the same job I did in Utah here, but thanks to my union I make 30k more per year. The cost of living is roughly the same, but since I make more money, I can actually aford to live like a middle class citizen and own a home. I will never move back to a red state.

Yamhill is getting pretty expensive trapping wine tours that just are now happening in the waves they want. I just spent two weeks at my mom’s in Mac and all the cool local spots are pushed out for affordable food and non-wine activities. Okta is run by a 2 star Michelin chef. My sister in law teaches at Linfield, that is VERY expensive. It was very dry there too.

Portland is not like any city in the U.S. either. Traffic can be bad. It, however, is never the dog eat dog competitive thing that it is in other places. People try to work together to get where they are going. Sometimes they are a bit slow, but you don’t see people aggressively cutting each other off or anything. In fact, people will let you in.

I love how he says “portland is not Oregon” NYC is not NY state and so on. If you look at that silly red vs blue political map, you can exactly what hes taking about. The blue areas aren’t representative of those bothersome red areas. Not to make it a political argument thing… but if you take a good look at that map you can see almost exactly where those lines are drawn between statistically nice places to visit, and wouldnt want to live there…. Great article again Briggs!

You left out the fact that Portland has one of the worst street systems for visitors. You would think you were in NYC. Luckily my uncle lived on the east side of the Wilamette River so it wasn’t complicated to visit him. I have been to his museum just east of the river…have you? I wonder if it is still there, it has been 10yrs since I was there. It was a display of the architecture of old Portland. He was into antiques.

As an admitted Californian i’m afraid you still don’t understand the state and the east or rural region problems very well. It’s a very dramatic difference, socially and politically all of your commentary to the positive is on the western side. There’s a lot of positive on the east too. Changing the border is still quite viable.

My relatives have lived in Salem since the mid 60s. I spent many summers there and lived there for a short time. It’s beautiful. I love the Oregon coast. I love the fresh fruit and vegetable markets and miss that where I live. It’s really a shame about Portland. It used to be a nice city. Sadly the rural areas around Salem have a lot of drugs and crime. I never found Oregon to be a particularly friendly state.

I grew up in Hood river oregon. Portland was cool until the late 90s, now it’s just a shit show. Why risk going into Portland and get attacked and you go to jail and the communist doesn’t. Thank God Reagan signed the Columbia gorge national scenic act. That means no Portland creeping into my home town. Which is doing great from the tourist, kite boarding, adventure sports and the Portland refugees on the weekend. Downtown restaurants and brew pubs are packed. I’d love to be a Idaho resident without moving. Cascadia will get rid of most of the communist infiltrators out of western oregon.

Oregon is better to visit than to move to. The beauty will make you think you should move there, but don’t. The winter sucks. It rains all the time, and not like good rain, light little bullshit rain, I never heard thunder on the coast. Every single day. Maybe not all day, but every day. You will be taking vitamin D supplements because of lack of sunlight. In the summer, at least on the coast, it doesn’t get warm enough. You will be wearing hoodies at night in the summer. Sounds good when you are from a hot midwest state, but it got old quick. The ocean is too damn cold to swim or do anything in. You HAVE to wear a wetsuit if you wanna play in the water, and it was never hot enough that I WANTED to get in the water. Everyone will treat you like shit for moving there. Very xenophobic. Especially if you are from California. We moved there from Kansas and we might as well have been from India. It’s not very diverse in Oregon, it’s like 90 some percent white with the minorities being Native American and Asian mostly. They beat black people for moving there clear up into the 1920s. The roads are really shitty. Not sure if it’s because of the no sales tax thing, but roads get used as long as freaking possible. There are some good things about Oregon that I kinda miss. No sales tax. That is huge. OHP. If you make under like 50 grand you will be covered medically. Legal weed. I think it was fucking dumb to decriminalize everything, but states with illegal marijuana are fucking dumber.

As a lesbian living in Oregon, just know that it’s more conservative than some other states you could live in. I often see Trump flags or big trucks with anti LGBTQ stickers on them. And by often, I mean every time I go outside, I see at least four. Conservatives are everywhere in this state despite it being widely democratic, and if you’re not a minority, that’s fine. But if you are, just consider the area you’re moving to. A lot of the small towns I’ve visited in Oregon I did not feel safe in. I’m also looking to move to a different state because of often feeling unsafe here. Again, I’m not trying to say absolutely don’t move. Just think about it before you do it.

Central Oregon Coast is one of the least populated areas in the country. And for good reasons. Do your homework before you move here. To get here you have to want to be here. It’s not easy. To live here is an entirely different Life Style choice than you are prepared or willing to adopt. Yes it’s beautiful. Yes come visit. Yes go home when you’re done. Just saying

As others have said, most people in those small rural towns are natives. When people move to Oregon, they move to the blue liberal cities. Most of Oregon is “red-ish” and they DO NOT have representation with the liberal super-majority. And the total of counties onboard with the Greater Idaho project accounts for half of the state. So, I wouldn’t dismiss it out of hand. People are FED UP with progressive elites running their lives. Things are going to change, one way or another.