Hate rain. Should I go to Oregon?

smk1, LPN · Oct 2, 2006

Well western oregon and washington is pretty rainy. We have beautiful summers but you get past October and you literally can have rain for 2 straight months everyday. When you head east of the cascade mountain range, then the weather gets a bit more dry and arid. Though it does get hotter in the summer and colder in the winter. Also if you get south enough you will have less rain and it is cheaper as well. Klamath falls, medford aren't so rainy and are cheaper than the Portland metro area or Eugene area. Bend maybe as well, but you will have quite a bit of snow there in the winters. (at least compared to other areas of Oregon). Have you thought about moving out to the tricities area of Washington state? Right across the river from Oregon and has job opportunities and very affordable housing. (you can easily buy a home for 100k-125k and they are pretty nice too. We have friends that moved there for the affordability and the slower pace for raising kids. The actual town names are Kennewick, Pasco and Richland. (there are also some commutable tiny towns that are even cheaper like granview and sunnyside). As far a daycare Kindercare may be open late and early enough for you. Good luck with your decision.

ankendia · Oct 18, 2006

How about looking at the east side of the Cascades? Bend, Oregon and Redmond, Oregon are rapidly growing communities. We have georgous seasons here, it can get very cold in the winter as it is the high desert, but the summers are georgeous! I moved from the west side of the Cascades here about 15 years, and love it!

weetziebat · Dec 7, 2006

..... Right across the river from Oregon and has job opportunities and very affordable housing. (you can easily buy a home for 100k-125k and they are pretty nice too. We have friends that moved there for the affordability and the slower pace for raising kids. The actual town names are Kennewick, Pasco and Richland. (there are also some commutable tiny towns that are even cheaper like granview and sunnyside).

Holy Moly SMK!!!! The more I hear about it, the more I think about possibly looking into the area of Washington state you mention. So I just Googled it. Now, I admit to hating cold weather and only disliking the constant rain, so perhaps west of the Cascades should stay my home.

It's 18 degrees in Granger right now, which is just west of the Kennewick area - in one of those 'small' towns that sounded nice. Population is 13,000. But 18 degrees??!!?? Brrrrrrrrrrrrr...................:penguin:

Probably more like 40 here. Thanks for the ideas though. If you run across any northwest area with temps that don't go below freezing and have very little rain and no snow, please let me know, O.K? :rotfl:

GardenDove · Dec 7, 2006

Granger is very sunny and isn't 18 all winter. Klamath Falls would be perfect I think. Eastern Oregon and Washington are actually arid, with very little rainfall. Eastern Oregon is really beautiful. Real Estate is probably half the price of Western Washington. Yes, go to Oregon!

PACNWNURSING · Dec 8, 2006

If you dont like rain I would say dont move, but the spring summer and falls and beautiful environment more than make up for it...

smk1, LPN · Dec 9, 2006

Holy Moly SMK!!!! The more I hear about it, the more I think about possibly looking into the area of Washington state you mention. So I just Googled it. Now, I admit to hating cold weather and only disliking the constant rain, so perhaps west of the Cascades should stay my home.
It's 18 degrees in Granger right now, which is just west of the Kennewick area - in one of those 'small' towns that sounded nice. Population is 13,000. But 18 degrees??!!?? Brrrrrrrrrrrrr...................:penguin:
Probably more like 40 here. Thanks for the ideas though. If you run across any northwest area with temps that don't go below freezing and have very little rain and no snow, please let me know, O.K? :rotfl:

Yep, definitely colder over there, but usually only about 8-10 degrees colder during the day then we are over in the west. See if you can look up some specific cities on the yahoo weather service and look at their monthly average daily and nightly temperatures. I just looked up Kennewick and their coldest month on average is January with a daily average of 40 degrees and a nightly average of 28 degrees. That same month lists January as the coldest month as well for Vancouver, Wa (west washington just about 10 miles north of Portland, OR) and the average daily temp is 46 degrees and nightly temp is 34 degrees. So about a 6 degree difference. Here is a fun site to check out. Sperling's Best Places. Lots of cost of living "wizards" and comments from those living in the area etc...

smk1, LPN · Dec 9, 2006

Holy Moly SMK!!!! The more I hear about it, the more I think about possibly looking into the area of Washington state you mention. So I just Googled it. Now, I admit to hating cold weather and only disliking the constant rain, so perhaps west of the Cascades should stay my home.
It's 18 degrees in Granger right now, which is just west of the Kennewick area - in one of those 'small' towns that sounded nice. Population is 13,000. But 18 degrees??!!?? Brrrrrrrrrrrrr...................:penguin:
Probably more like 40 here. Thanks for the ideas though. If you run across any northwest area with temps that don't go below freezing and have very little rain and no snow, please let me know, O.K? :rotfl:

Yep, definitely colder over there, but usually only about 8-10 degrees colder during the day then we are over in the west. See if you can look up some specific cities on the yahoo weather service and look at their monthly average daily and nightly temperatures. I just looked up Kennewick and their coldest month on average is January with a daily average of 40 degrees and a nightly average of 28 degrees. That same month lists January as the coldest month as well for Vancouver, Wa (west washington just about 10 miles north of Portland, OR) and the average daily temp is 46 degrees and nightly temp is 34 degrees. So about a 6 degree difference. Here is a fun site to check out. Sperling's Best Places. Lots of cost of living "wizards" and comments from those living in the area etc...

sandys · Jan 21, 2007

Eastern Oregon is beautiful and I love it here, but if cold is not your thing, forget it! Also, jobs are difficult to find here. OHSU has a campus here and turns out a lot of new grads into the community. The nurses that work at the small hospital here typically hold on to their jobs and there is not a lot of turn over. Bend is great, cold too in the winter, but definitely not doable for a single mother who wants to buy a house.... super spendy. I think for the most part in Oregon you have to either be able to deal with the cold or with the rain. I don't think there's anywhere (at least that I know of) where you don't have to deal with either.

Long Term Care Columnist / Guide · Jan 21, 2007

You probably wouldn't like it here during the fall and winter, it does rain a lot and is chilly much of the time. But our summers are absolute perfection---they're long, dry, sunny, and the temps rarely get much above 95 degrees. They are definitely worth waiting for!:wink2: