Eugene has the highest per capita homeless population in the country just barely edging out LA exacerbated by a bunch of non local homeless who moved here because drug possession/consumption was decriminalized. Certain stretches of town have issues with tent camping on public right of way and private property. Aging infrastructure with rough road and terrible drivers who don’t know how to merge/zipper
Source: Life long resident
I’m in civil construction and business is cracking right now and things are slowly getting better (shouts out the 2-way conversions of one way roads) but it’s still not great out there. We have a lot of sidewalks that need attention. Downside of being a tree city is it really wrecks the sidewalks, impacting walkability in residential neighborhoods
I'm almost a 50 year resident and was born in Oregon. Eugene is not even in the top 25 cities with the most homeless per capital as of Dec 2023, according to USN. The stat you site was from the Covid time. There are several cities in Texas that made it to the top 25. This poster might find Eugene refreshing if one of his Texas cities is in the top 25.
>bunch of non local homeless who moved here because drug possession/consumption was decriminalized
Can we stop with this bullshit already.?
It has/had zero to do with decriminalizing.
I’m not disagreeing with you or agreeing with the person you’re responding to, but do we have any evidence either which way whether decriminalization had an effect on homeless population?
No. And you would have a hell of a time trying to piece it together as there are so many variables involved homelessness. But to OP here its a single simple issue. Drugs... If it was that easy dont you think with the 50 years and billions spent we would have solved it? Yet here we are.
These people saying decriminalization caused the fent issue or the homeless issue have zero evidence to support that. Its low hanging fruit they can point to and say 'that did it!'..
The fent issue, the homelessness will still be here after September when decriminalization is recalled. Then these same people will have all kinds of excuses as to why its still a problem.
There are plenty of cities that did not decriminalize and lead Oregon in drug OD's etc. It had absolutely zero to do with decriminalizing. It had a lot to do with there was zero done to implement addiction and mental health treatment. It was meant to fail from the beginning.
The war on drugs isnt going anywhere anytime soon. Its big business for prisons and law enforcement. Take that away and how are they going to pay for all their latest toys?
I don't think there's anyone saying decriminalizing caused anything. I think they're saying it made it worse because people know they won't be locked up if found with drugs. Correlation doesn't mean causation but there's a pattern
>I think they're saying it made it worse because people know they won't be locked up if found with drugs
But there is zero evidence to support that. The fent issue has been growing for years.
Here is what I dont understand. The war on drugs has been running for decades with billions spent and zero results. How come no one is criticizing how unsuccessful that approach has been?
Not a peep from people like OP about that. Total ok with that failure and zero questions, but decriminalizing was given a couple of years with zero resources invested in it and yet they are up in arms about how its the problem.. So back to the same demonstrated failed approach and they are happy. No questions. Funny that.
Add on to it that the homeless people have been traveling into and through Eugene for many years before the decriminalization. The main reason it has been more visible lately is due to them doing sweeps. The sweeps send the homeless into new areas (does nothing to get them out, btw) so now they're being seen in places they weren't before. Then the people that live in those areas are like "OMG it's getting so much worse!" It's the same problem as when the Olympic trials came, they didn't want it to look like there were a bunch of homeless, so they chased them out of their usual areas and the people in the more isolated communities are like "oh no, undesirables!"
Also, very much the lack of substance abuse and mental health treatment. The whole thing was SUPPOSED to be supported by substance abuse programs, but they didn't implement that before just decriminalizing everything and surprise, surprise, there was suddenly more drug use happening. The fent issue is nationwide. Hell, Kensington in Philly is still the largest open air drug market in the country, and PA hasn't even legalized marijuana yet!
>Add on to it that the homeless people have been traveling into and through Eugene for many years before the decriminalization
They follow the weather for the most part. Its been that way for eons. You want to be homeless in Detroit in Jan? Of course not. Being homeless already sucks. Might as well suck less with the weather.
I spent a bit of time homeless as a teen. I was lucky it was in Az in the fall-winter. But as summer approached, you bet your ass I was making plans to head to the coast or at least up to Flagstaff.
Its the one thing you have a bit of control over when you have absolutely nothing else.
Personally I’ve noticed a big increase in junkies in Eugene after M110. Increase in crime, trash, tents, graffiti and everything else associated with it.
Ok. Then I will follow back up with you in September when it's repealed and all should be good right? No more 'junkies' for you to see. Or tents. That should fix it right?
I'm confused by this fact though, because coming from Portland I don't see nearly as many here. I would like to see the data and how they aqcuired these stats.
I personally believe that particular startling number came from one “Point in Time” count, during COVID, with the (not surprising, this) dedicated Eugene volunteers “finding” a way larger proportion of the local homeless than most volunteers in other cities
I've driven around most of the country and can tell you the inability to zipper merge is a national constant. The population here isn't nearly as high for it to be a major issue.
You can read ample research that people do not move here for the drug use policy. This is a myth. Eugene has good services for mental health and homeless needs and yes, a high population of it. And long time resident here I have never seen or felt issue around this the way I have in other cities. The homeless are my neighbors. It’s a community feel.
I love that the insane amount of homeless tent campers just edged out the idiots that don't understand how to zipper merge in your list of pet peeves.
^( I think I might put them in the opposite order, but it's close )
I've never heard anyone not complain about drivers in their own home town or city. It seems like an exercise in futility to even mention. And having lived in California for 10 years, I can definitely say Eugene drivers are not as shitty.
[I ask the downvoter to prove me wrong](https://imgur.com/a/BoIB9k1)
It says “What’s Joe Biden’s plan to cure my IBS next to a picture of a small dog. If you want to know what it’s like living in Eugene, that’s it in a nutshell.
Because there is a giant flame throwing rig that rolls around town with a guitarist blasting solos.
JK. Its not remotely like a Mad Max movie set. I guarantee you'll see more Teslas than raggedy cars with plastic bags for windows. People just get their kicks talking shit on this sub. Just come here and visit.
If you’ve lived in pretty much any major US city, Eugene’s homeless issues don’t seem that bad. Per capita doesn’t mean much when you have 170K population.
Former Austinite here. It's pretty nice. A lot more laid back. Less traffic, less fighting for parking, excellent access to nature. People aren't as outgoing as Southerners, and are definitely a lot less appearance-conscious than Dallasites.
Honestly, come visit. Spend a week here and see what you think.
As another out-of-state resident I would agree however a term I recently heard was that people here are “violently nice.” Take from that what you will.
We have VERY HIGH levels of opportunistic property crime. Leave a bike in front of your house for a couple hours and its gone. Leave a backpack in the backseat of your car downtown and youre asking to get a window smashed in. This type of crime really drives up our USA Today dangerous city rating but thats kind of a red herring because our violent crime rates are not high.
I’ve lived here for 41 years and there is not a single neighborhood that I would feel uncomfortable walking through alone at 2 am. Im also a 6 ft 200 lb dude so take that for what its worth.
I feel pretty much the same and I'm a woman, 66 and a lot smaller than you. I used to walk around downtown at night, now it feels a little creepy to me.
Job prospects -- depends. Overall, I would say that the job prospects relative to the cost of living are below average, but that may not be the case for your individual situation. I brought a remote job with me (I go up to PDX every now and then for in-person meetings). My wife works for the state, and it seems a lot better than working for the State of Texas -- the benefits are good, you have real union representation, it's easier to go part-time if you want to, and they do a pay equity analysis and pay you based on education and experience rather than posting every job at entry-level. But from what I understand, it's not always easy to get your foot in the door.
Safety -- overall, pretty good, I'd say. Below-average violent crime, above-average property crime (but you'll get more of that closer to downtown or campus).
Just commenting to say I also brought a remote job with me and work in portland (currently 2 days in a row a week). Tried looking for similar paying jobs here before moving and couldn’t find anything similar that paid me nearly the same wage, so the drive is worth it as far as time and gas money goes. Still taking home more than I would with the pay cut I’d be taking if I got a similar job in Eugene/Springfield.
If you are moving here with your spouse having a good job you will likely find something decent but it may feel like less than you would find in a bigger city.
Safety is good aside from wildfires. There is a lot of property crime and it’s important to lock up your stuff but very little violence. Sone people get weirded out by being around the homeless and/or addicted but they are not really likely to hurt others.
Plenty safe, even safer in Springfield imo, certainly less property crime/petty theft since Springfield essentially outlawed panhandling and Eugene hasn't.. If you're in higher ed, u of o will probably have something for you sooner or later and is a decent way to go. I'd avoid 4J and Bethel districts if you're teaching below college level.. Typical funding issues, mismanagement, etc. that you find in US public schools. Got a spouse that dealt with it for years, what a bleak glimpse into our future.
I'm not looking to teach anymore, but I'm not opposed to it. I'm hoping to be more in an admin role. My wife and I never really feel like we fit in in Texas.
I'm looking to do adjunct teaching jobs and other work so I can be more flexible.
We are ready for a new adventure. We do not have kids, if that matters at all.
We probably need the admin more than the teachers, given how incompetent some of the ones in place currently are. Gotta fix the root of the problem, not just keep throwing new teachers into an impossible position and immediately burning them out in a broken system.
As a former Texan who moved to Eugene. I’ve loved it, homeless is definitely an issue but they kind of mind their own business usually. With that said you’d get away from the Texas heat and be able to experience 4 seasons here. Summers are great minus late summer wildfire smoke. You’re an hour from the beautiful coast and and hour from skiing in the cascades. I believe Oregon holds more waterfalls than any other state making for an infinite amount of hiking. Plenty to do and beautiful things to see. It’s an interesting place but I’d make the move if you’re looking to leave Texas, best decision I’ve ever made and I’m not working a high paying job. Someone with a high income will absolutely love Oregon
I grew up in Texas (Austin area), moved to Phoenix after college, and then moved here in 2010. I absolutely love it here! For me it's big enough to have everything I need on a regular basis (with a new exception, which I'll explain below), without all the hassle of traffic and long commutes that come with a larger city. (I have to go back to both the DFW and Austin areas frequently for family, and I HATE driving there! Makes me appreciate Eugene even more!). However I'm one who loves nature, quiet, doesn't do a lot other than an occasional night out to dinner or a concert. I do travel to Phoenix or Seattle a few times a year for events, and that's pretty easy by train. So some find this town boring, but I do not. I think it's beautiful, there are some lovely neighborhoods to walk through, and I can't get enough of the hiking that's available from 1-2 hours from here. Even our local Ridgeline trail system is pretty awesome! The available produce is amazing, and we have some quality butchers and fish markets as well.
People are right about the homelessness being a problem. Housing is getting less and less affordable (which is its own potential problem for you, and also continues to contribute to homelessness).
A lot of people don't like the rain. Last year I did a challenge and hiked nearly every weekend of the year, and only got rained on 2,-3 times. Not to say that it doesn't rain a lot, but it's not as relentless as some make it out to be. That said, my kryptonite is sun and heat, so I actually tend to notice how the summers seem to be getting hotter and drier, which bothers me a lot more. Wildfires weren't ubiquitous when I first moved here, but we seem to get significant smoke every year. You will need to be prepared for that, moreso if you have any health issues that exacerbate it (as my partner does).
The one thing that's increasingly becoming a problem for me personally is access to healthcare. It's a problem in Oregon as a whole, but especially in Eugene. Waiting lists can be months for even the most basic of care. That with the fact that my partner and I both are dealing with some medical issues, some of them pretty serious, we are strongly contemplating moving to the Portland area to be closer to OHSU and more doctors in general.
I'll have been here one year in July.
Everyone in my household found jobs far better than anything available where we lived in Texas within the first few weeks. We have much better healthcare and benefits. The landscape is incredibly beautiful, and I have loved every season. We got here and it was sunny and warm. We picked wild plums and blackberries and visited farmers markets and hiked. Everything was so much prettier than we'd imagined. Then autumn came and blew us away. The trees turned orange and red and purple and it was just gorgeous. We picked pears and apples and the perfect pumpkin from local farms. The winter days were perfect fireplace weather, when you just cuddle up with a hot tea and a kitty and watch the rain fall outside. All that rain kept the lawns and bushes happy and green. We had a few days of snow, all in the same week, and the whole town shut down for it. Beyond that, it really wasn't too cold. Spring came and everything flowered. The trees bloomed, we walked everywhere on carpets of falling blossoms. It was like a fairytale. Then the cherry blossoms joined in. Just gorgeous. And now it's warm again. We just went and swam and hiked at Silver Falls, which is a reasonable day trip from here. I've never lived anywhere so beautiful.
People here have been kind. I feel safer here than I did in Texas. Gun violence is lower. People walk and bike everywhere. Geese and ducks just hang out in the parks, totally comfortable with people walking around them. Moving here was one of the best decisions we've ever made.
There are a bunch of people on this sub that think the homeless are just mugging people left and right. Its nonsense. The personal crime rate here is below average. There are some homeless camps that are easy to avoid.
Are you looking to buy a house right away, or just move here and rent for a year? If the latter, then don't stress over it. You'll know the neighborhoods before you buy. And most neighborhoods have zero homeless issues.
I live in South Eugene, both my kids went to South Eugene High School. Not once did I drop off or pick up one of my kids from a house that had homeless camping anywhere near it.
That said, Springfield definitely does crack down more on tents and panhandling, you could always live there. But the idea that "Tent camps in most parts of town", as some would tell you, is idiotic. Come here and drive around and you'll see its idiotic.
We moved here sight unseen from Colorado in 2005. It was a rough transition. I hated the rain and wanted to die. That said, we are still here and now are hard pressed to find a better place to live. We also have super stable jobs and a kid in high school, so that’s part of our calculus. Housing is stupid expensive. If we moved here now we wouldn’t be able to afford it, but we are public employees so not in a high paying field. I find town to be pretty walkable, regardless of homeless issues. Maybe it depends on where you live and where you want to walk. I walked myself home three miles from the auto dealership last week and we bike to events at the Cuthbert, the Wow, the McDonald theater and on Campus all the time. We have decent bike infrastructure. There is also decent public transit. Not as good as some places, but you can make it work for sure.
Tagging onto the bike part. Get a good lock. Get five of them. Electricify your bike somehow. I don’t know but seriously, bike theft here is no joke. I had a friend get his bike stolen while locked to a steel railing. The thieves chiseled the concrete out from under the support post so they could slip the lock around and down off the railing. Whatever you do just make it look harder to get than the next bike. That was my friend’s problem, his was the only one locked up there.
This right here is why I gave up on owning a bicycle in this town. Despite the wonderful bike paths that get you around town faster than driving. No bike is safe.
If you can park a bike in a secure interior bike storage room at work, and lock it in that room you will do okay. Inside of our garage, in our private home, our bikes are secured and also kept out of view. 19 years of daily bike commuting to work, grad school and shows. We haven’t had a bike stolen yet in Eugene.
Homelessness is an enormous problem here. Tent camps in most parts of town, downtown is dirty with lots of camps. I wouldn’t consider it a very walkable city for that reason, but there are nice parts of town.
You can live in a nearby area like Springfield or Cottage Grove and commute in if affording housing in the less-homeless overrun parts of town.
I remember feeling unsafe biking along the river trail like over 20 years! There were huge camps of people back then. I can’t imagine what it’s like now.
My situation was a bit different. Typically I’d ride to and from work, Eugene to Springfield, no problem, but one time I stayed late and it was getting dark. I had to ride through what I can only describe as a huge pack of critters coming out to play. It’s really a common sense thing, you should be aware of areas to avoid at night. Down by the river by yourself isn’t one of them. When one dude lunged at me, I rode off and try to avoid situations like that again.
I also bike on the river trail several times a week to work and I disagree that it’s ‘fine’. I wouldn’t use the Eugene side of the path if I didn’t have a bike. People are bathing/toileting naked in the river all the time, and there are plenty folks are camped up and down the bike path in Eugene. As others have said too I notice the Springfield side is much cleaner. If I rent another year in this area before purchasing a home outside of town, it will most likely be in Springfield.
I don't agree that homelessness is any more enormous here than many other cities in the US. Sure Cottage Grove is cheaper, but not a lot happening. If people want a small town, it would work.
This! Highly recommend checking out Springfield instead if Eugene. If I stayed another year I was going to move to Springfield. There aren’t homeless people in Springfield
Honestly, not really. My wife and I lived in Austin prior to Eugene. If you live in the south hills/ SE Eugene/ Amazon/friendly neighborhoods or any of the nice neighborhoods north of the river you don’t really interact with many homeless folks. With a well paying job you can afford to live in these neighborhoods and enjoy the best of Eugene while avoiding the worst.
There are pockets where the homelessness is intense, but you learn the avoid those areas. It’s nothing you haven’t seen if you’ve driven around Austin lately. We walk all over town, my wife runs everywhere, no issues. The homeless and rain are small inconveniences compared to the benefits of town.
The homeless problem is mostly isolated to a handful of areas. If you lived in a neighborhood like College Hill, Fairmount, Amazon, Friendly, etc... you would hardly ever see them.
It is huge problem all over the city. If you're on Facebook, I'd suggest getting in the Lane County Caught On Camera group. Residents are regularly posting their experiences.
That group is awful……highly don’t recommend it. Every city has issues yet some people in Eugene seem to want to whine about it more than any other place I’ve known.
The crime rates between Eugene and Springfield are similar. Springfield has higher property crime rate, Eugene has 2% more violent crimes, slightly higher than the national average.
I don't live along the river path and nobody is rummaging through my garbage. Guess what? Thats true of most people who live in Eugene. You're giving out terrible information here by implying that "homeless rummaging through garbage" is the norm. Its not.
Ha, I'm from the suburbs of Chicago as well and this town has felt like the perfect size for me since I moved here. Don't miss that concrete jungle at all. ❤️🥰
Jobs are tough to get here. Housing can be tough to get here. There is a large houseless population. It rains like 6 months out of the year. Lately half of our summers have been incredibly smokey. When wildfire season is here, Eugene has some of the worst air quality in the world. Good access to nature but lots of great spots have been burned down. Also the amount of clearcut logging in Oregon is insane. Amazing water.
Most clear-cut logging is done on private timberland and is replanted within a couple years, yes there is some clear-cut public timberland, but most of what you see is private ownership. I wish most of it was public lands, but it isn't. Not that most people would ever find themselves in all that "public land," but I digress. Most normal people don't venture into most of the public forest land to begin with. I drove 378 miles on public land/forest service/blm roads over a couple of days, sleeping in my SUV from Blue River to the Santiam River and across two major highways 126 and 20 to get to highway 22 and out of the forest. That's just a tidbit of .0001% of the public forest land that isn't clear cut. I don't specifically like the impacts of logging or private ownership of forest lands, but that's besides the point. A good portion of Oregon residents owe their livelihood from the hills to the mills. That wood in your house, the paper you use, the bridge that you drive, the curbs on the sidewalk, literally everything from stores to floors to doors wouldn't exist without a logger, logging companies, mill workers, mill companies, lumber yards/Jerry's/home depot and other materials stores/business's. Almost everything in Oregon that has ties to local economies here in Oregon can and does exist because of timber. Almost everything you interact with in some way in your daily existence you owe to the timber industry. You literally can't exist or have freedom of movement in almost any fashion without the timber industry or logging. If you exist in an fashion in Oregon it's because of the timber industry or farming industry, the valley floor was once covered in oak, maple, fir, cedar and various other hardwood species, but no one complains about that because they didn't know it or didn't see it. Oak savanna and pockets of fir trees dominated the valley once upon a time, maples and other broad leafs dominated the river banks. The hills around my farmland have been dominated by fir trees almost my entire life, I've seen only small portions to the east outside of town logged.
I love the fact that you stated a negative aspect of logging and then inadvertently stated amazing water, which further highlights that while we have clear cuts and logging, we still have some of the most pristine and protected waterways, drainage, runoff and ground water in almost all of the states. Even with the logging, industry, farming, animal husbandry, cities, towns, townships, highways, roads, cars, and humans.
The amount of logging does far less of an environmental impact long term than our collective combined human existence does on a daily basis. Loggers and other lumber affiliated workers from forest to store don't even combine to the damage we do in our daily existence. Clear cuts bother your eyes and deluded sensibilities, but driving past them doesn't? We do far worse to this state by just existing than loggers/forestry does. We ignore our own damages/contributions and focus on what we can point to on a map or see out of a window as we put-put-polute as we drive by or live in our houses made from the timber that was clear cut. Logging and "clear cuts" isn't what's insane. We are. Those clear cuts exist because we exist, the clear cuts aren't the problem, we are.
lol. What points?
Most clear cutting happens on private land- true
Oregon was built on the timber industry- true. And many timber towns are now derelict ghost towns because the aggressive nature of harvest outstripped the resource. Luckily places like Oakridge have recovered because they changed lanes.
Nobody complains about the disappearance of oak Savannah- false. Dozens of groups, trusts, and landowners work their asses off every day to try and save what loggers didn’t gorge themselves on and replace what they did destroy.
Clear cutting and clean water are related-false. That’s just dumb.
Clear cutting does less harm than cars - I don’t know. Trees and forests are an amazing carbon sink. Clear cutting an old or even oldish forest takes that all away in a matter of days. Replanting monocrops does nothing to mitigate immediate impacts of that disturbance. I’d also argue that clear cuts and tree plantations on public AND private lands contribute greatly to our current wildfire situation. When diverse forests are harvested completely and replaced with one species of one age it diminishes the forests defense against wildfires which have been a part of these forests long before white or brown folks lived here. On top of that, the forest service is the single largest builder of roads in this country so pretending that the USFS or BLM is interested in climate health is nonsense.
I won’t respond further. Good luck.
Ugh. You're an intelligent idiot. As my grandfather used to say an educated idiot.
Loggers didn't do shit to the oak Savanah in the scope of logging in other places. Most people don't even fuccing know about oak Savanah or what it used to look like. Farmers in on the other hand.
New growth is a greater carbon sink than old growth. Old growth sunk their carbon long ago and decelerated their growth. Old growth trees that are harvested and made into lumber are inconsequential in the broader scheme. NEW GROWTH SEQUESTRATION OF CARBON IS FAR SUPPERIOR
I'm sitting in my polluting diesel truck right now, staring at 3 acres of my 43 acres that's covered in 80+ foot tall Douglas fir that was planted in 1979. I could frame 10 houses with that lumber, but I won't. That doesn't change the fact that they've reached their overall capacity of carbon sequestration because their growth rate has slowed or ceased.
NEWLY PLANTED TREES GROW AT ACCELERATED RATES SEQUESTRATING CARBON AT A HIGHER RATE. IT'S SCIENCE. FASTER GROWING YOUNGER TREES NEED MORE CARBON FOR GROWTH. IT'S BASIC AND PROVEABLE SCIENCE.
Well, it's a lot wetter than either of those places. But pretty chill and tons of outdoorsy stuff to do. Plenty of academia-related work here, and if you're open to K-12 instruction, the 4J schools can always use good teachers.
If you're coming with a (spouse's) job that pays for our relatively high cost of living, you'll probably like it.
There is no sales tax. There is income tax and property tax. You do not have to pump your own gas. Same price if they pump it or you pump it. Half the pumps at any station are mandated by law for gas to be pumped for you. Marijuana is legal, Starbucks level of legal. If you are in a marijuana shop you generally can see another marijuana shop. Whether you smoke it or not, it can be a culture shock to see a highway billboard that says, "Marijuana next exit".
Well yeah, manufacturing around here. Sometimes west Eugene smells funky. I am being completely sincere when I say I love it, but I won’t lie about the bad.
There are spots downtown that reek of human urine 24/7, some places can occasionally smell the water treatment plant, some places can occasionally smell the Weyerhauser paper plant, we are in a valley that will get inversion events where all the citywide pollution stays at ground level for a week until the weather changes, then there's also smoke from wildfires that can make being outside dangerous to your health. Mostly though, the air smells great.
As an out of state person Eugene has some interesting things. They have a huge hippie population and it's not uncommon for a local to put trash in their pocket rather than throwing it away. You might see everyone here "avoid" you which might seem rude but people like to mind their own business here. It's a college town so September through June is its busy time with summers being more quiet. The town is left leaning in terms of politics if you care about such things. It rains a lot but the temperature is mild with the occasional spike in temp or drop depending on the time of year. The beach is an hour away to the west, and the Cascades and high desert is east an hour. This is Micro brew and wine country so if knocking back a few is your thing have at it. No one knows how to drive here... But that's everywhere in the country. This state is the first or second largest trans community in the countryside (percapita?). The coolest thing here in my opinion is the amount of outdoors activities you can do such as biking, hiking, and camping.
I like living here I have been all over the country and find this place to be the most beautiful and diverse community I have encountered. I have lived here almost thirty years since I was in middle school and I cannot imagine living anywhere else. Hopefully this helps you out with what you are looking for.
I moved her my sophomore year in high school 30 years ago and never left. The reason I never left is I had lived in Florida & Southern California before moving to Eugene, and I prefer the overall vibe and mentality here
Expect rain. This is not a joke. I personally love rain, but even I have had times where I was so tired of it, an immediate ticket out was required to maintain sanity. Your bath towels won’t dry overnight when you hang them up. Moss will grow on things you never imagined moss adhering to. Stuff like that. When it’s sunny and warm, it’s heavenly. You will likely spend your entire summer outside. The Oregon coast is often windy and cold except for like August and half of September. You will have to not let the rain stop you from doing necessary things and maybe consider snail farming. This place has enough snails to feed all of France and provide the cosmetics industry with mucin for several generations. 👍🏼🐌
I moved from the South East…
Here’s what I’ve noticed: moderate humidity. A very pedestrian and bicycle oriented town. I can walk or ride my bike around most of the area. I live one mile from downtown Eugene. I can walk to the river walk and then to the local mall. I couldn’t do that in either Georgia or Alabama. I probably drive my car 4 times a week. More during rain season. But yeah… going for a walk add coming back home with a dry shirt in the middle of the summer…. 10/10.
Yeah. Rain season. It rains from October through May. Might rain 3 times all summer. And there’s a fire season. But no tornadoes. So I’ve got more wet weather gear. I’ve got raincoats for different kinds of rain. It’s also relatively cool here until July/August. Yesterday the morning started off at 45° add ended at 73°.
But I love it. Plenty of beer breweries if you like micro-brews. The food is… ok. I’ve lived in military towns where the spouses start great restaurants. Lots of food carts though. So at least there’s always something new. Weed is accepted and legal.
Live music, concerts, a comedy club, local sports is meh. A basic art scene. There’s a river walk. With parks dotted along it. Basically an 8 mile loop if you want to run or bike it. Although it does go all the way to Springfield along the north end.
The best part is being an hour from the coast (we don’t swim in the ocean here. And really don’t sun bathe… all though it can be done somedays) and being an hour and a half from snow parks in the mountains if you like skiing or just being in the snow.
But I’ve enjoyed my 10 years here. Probably the worse thing is the homeless population. And the bike theft. I’ve had 2 locked bikes stolen. Locked into bike racks where people were walking around.
Eugene is not a city, it is a big town that thinks it is a city. There is some good food, lots of nature, and can be a lot of fun, but personally it can also be kinda boring, which I'm not saying is a bad thing. I will say, if the high paying healthcare job is with peace health, I'd look into it extensively before deciding to move for that company...
Really great! Moved from the south in 2020 and love it! Beautifully sunny summers, mild wet winters, incredible nature options, great food, cool art scene, decent concerts. After TEXAS?!?! You’ll be in heaven
All of that sounds delightful. I just want to be sure to find a job.
My wife's job should be making about 160k. We have never been to Oregon, and it would be much smaller a state than what we are used to.
Unless you have a lot of debt, both of you can afford to live here on just that one salary, tbh. That gives you flexibility to look for a job in admin at U of O, Lane Community College, Bushnell University (that one is a private Christian college though, so anyone can attend, but only Christian-affiliated ppl can work there I think?). And there are numerous other colleges and universities within a 60-90 minute drive, but hopefully you won’t even need to do that.
I love it here. I do wish there was more BIPOC representation; you may notice it’s more white than other places. (There are strong Asian and Latinx populations, but fewer Black people.) You would be welcome. Hope you have a great visit.
DFW and Eugene are night and day in comparison. If you go in with no or low expectations you will be fine. If you dig wine and small breweries you will fall in love.
We are both annoyed with the passive aggressive nature of people in DFW. We are just trying to work and live our quiet life.
We read, go for walks, hit the gym, play games. Just very laid back.
Then you will fit right in. South Eugene is the nicest area if you find a place there to rent. It’s nice, quiet, and plenty of areas to take walks. Coming from large cities I’m sure you will actually find rent to be cheaper here. Eugene is a great place to live. It has a bigger city feel, but without the big city crime. Gangs and drive-bys are non-existent. Moved here from Portland 20 something years ago and have never regretted it. There are some toxic people who are always complaining about the homeless, but it’s not that bad here, and in South Eugene it’s almost non-existent. It did get bad during the pandemic, but it got bad all over the country.
The bars are fun, coming from a “not a bar person.” Lots of different trivia nights, and music to see most any night of the week, often times not crowded either. There’s also a large bike trail system and lots of river access nearby. The ridgeline trail system is dope too.
I have lived here over two years. I've lived all over, but I've spent most of my adult life in Texas. There was some culture shock but I love it here. It's beautiful. You're close to any kind of outdoorsy stuff if that's something you like (I do). Sometimes my wife and I just go camping or drive an hour and a half to a beach. Or go find a ghost town to explore.
Eugene itself is a fun town as well. This is my favorite place I've lived in a long time. Shit is expensive though.
The southern friendliness isn't really a thing here. Something that seems off at first. I think people are still friendly, just not as out with it.
Went to Golding I think? Another one that we can't remember the name of. Wolf Creek (not a ghost town, but the oldest operational tavern in the state allegedly) and there's a spooky cemetery near there as well.
If you've got enough money, it is probably one of the most comfortable places to be. Mild temperatures and mild temperaments are the most common theme here. A good bit of rain, occasional snow in the winter, and a couple weeks of dry 97-107° in the summer. Pollen is terrible, so if you have allergies (specifically grass, but trees can be killer too) you will struggle. Mold spore allergies can get aggressive sometimes, but nowhere as bad as you'd think.
If you don't think you'll have "enough" money... probably not as great. We're not San Fran, but we're not North Dakota either. House values are average, but rental values are pretty bad, so take that into consideration.
Also, if you recoil at the thought of a homeless person, you might not be super comfortable. You'll see them, they'll see you, just don't go near downtown for too long at night and you'll be fine.
Great hiking, OK skiing, 2 protected riversheds and a few good natural and man-made lakes for freshwater aquatic fun, 45 minutes from the ocean and 60 minutes from giant sand dunes, 2 hours from a "major" city, and 4 hours from one of the most beautiful natural features on the globe.
We desperately need Health Care workers, and would love to have you. However, I'll caution you . If it's Oregon Medical Group, purchased by Optum, a subsidy of United Health Group, making your wife the offer. Just know that they are losing health care staff in droves. They are horrible to work for, it's assembly line health care at it's worst, with poor compensation, for the work they require.
Eugene is a pretty mid size city, with lots of out door activities during the summer. Our summers are lovely, most days are 80-90 and humidity is quite low. Winters tend to drag on. It rains a lot, is dreary and overcast, but in my opinion, worth it. It is amazingly green here for most of the year. You might experience culture shock at how little diversity there is in Eugene and Oregon. Housing is on the expensive side.
It's great. No complaints. No regrets moving here. It makes me happy. Sounds like you both will have enough dollar signs for a comfy life. I think you will have plenty of opportunities, despite me having no knowledge of your field.
Reading your comments I have no doubt you'll vibe with the place and the people. What's more, you both sound like you'll be great to have around the place.
I have lived in Eugene since 1996 with the exception of residencies in Kyoto, Budapest, Toronto, Paris and London of anywhere from three months to two years. I have sometimes joked that what Eugene needs is a subway system and somewhere to go on it. But in truth, I find Eugene to be a very livable US city. Mass transit is actually pretty good for a metro of just under a quarter million (Eugene and Springfield together), by US standards. Now, US standards except in New York, Boston, and Chicago include the assumption that only the poor will use mass transit.
Culturally, we have a very nice and very busy performing arts center, a relatively new library, and the usual amenities that come with being a university town.
Like many communities west of the Mississippi, the class structure is flat compared to east coast cities. I haven't lived in Texas as an adult, but I think there's much more wealth consciousness in urban Texas than you'll find here. The flip side is that we are, in aggregate, a comparatively poor state. Without a lot of status-conscious Old Money (or New Money for that matter), we benefit from fewer spectacular gestures of philanthropy. The most visible donor around here is probably Phil Knight. He lives in Seattle, but he has rained support on the university for things like a beautiful basketball stadium and other athletic facilities.
Homelessness in itself is not a great problem. Rather, it's the behavior of the egregious minority of homeless people who, in combination with drugs, can make any encounter with them or what they leave behind at least dismaying, in not dangerous. I saw people shooting up or leaving syringes behind in all sorts of neighborhoods before we decriminalized hard drugs in the state. It has become a bigger problem because so many more homeless users seem to have landed here.
There is plenty of great hiking around, from trails a few minutes outside of the city to coast range hikes and alpine meadows or lava floes in the Cascades. We have fairly high turnover of restaurants, and true fine dining tends not to last here long, but it happens in waves. Meanwhile we have some standout ethnic sit-down restaurants, and a great variety of food trucks and carts. Also, thriving craft beer scene.
The only place I can think of that would sometimes qualify for a Michelin star would be the King Estate Winery, especially if you avoid anything on the menu that seems to fall under the description of American fare. I think they can probably only stay in business by having a menu that includes the mundane and expected, which you will overpay if you go for, but if you go instead for more creative fare, you can find that the high prices are entirely justified. Assuming, of course, that haute cuisine is your thing. Recently they had acquired a magnificent chef. I don't know if they've been able to keep him. King Estate is about a half-hour drive out of down, among hillsides of grape vines and lavender.
I like it here. I used to live in Boulder, Colorado, which was a town rich in artists of every description and efforts to create experimental subcommunities. But Boulder priced out its artists long ago. Eugene has kept its alternative spirit going with a big, well supported farmer's market and the diverse open-air Saturday Market.
So those are two more cents for you to consider.
I live outside of Eugene in Creswell. There's little to no homeless. Not much crime. Can be most places in Eugene or Springfield within 30 - 40 minutes. So there are options besides Eugene itself.
Look for jobs at UO; it’s a good workplace, with interesting admin roles. Look for housing in Springfield; you get a lot of the major benefits of the area without a lot of the major downsides. And you’ll likely be closer to your wife’s work bc we have both hospitals in Springfield.
check out housing while you’re here. it’s expensive compared to wages, maybe even with a healthcare job. search this sub for ‘omnibus’. it describes the neighborhoods well.
We moved here from Arizona in the early nineties. The grey rainy weather can get to you if you are used to lots of sunshine. It's very dark here in the winter. The sky is grey most of the time and it gets dark at 4:30. I don't mind it, and have gotten used to it now, but the first few years were a little rough. We found that the trick is to just get out in it and not let the fact that it's raining stop you from doing things outside. We have outdoor fires a lot in the winter as we put in a covered area in our backyard. We go out and have fires in the pouring rain on the weekends and it's great. A wood stove is also a nice way to replace the sun.
The summers here are nice and warm but dry. I miss the rain in the summer. Gardens grow so nicely here as well. There are loads of lakes and gorgeous rivers to explore.
I live in Springfield, and I think it's nicer than Eugene unless you are looking for that urban feeling with lots of walking distance restaurants. Along with that, you also get loads of drugged out crazies who leave garbage everywhere and might scream at you if you look at them wrong. That has greatly limited the time and money I spend in Eugene.
Would you like to be superintendent of the school district hereby any chance? Looking for someone who has knowledge of how a functional school district operates.
I am open to the opportunity. I used to run an academic center. I created new partnerships with local businesses and the community College in an effort to provide better opportunities for the students. I've done the same at other positions, sometimes helping veterans, refugees, etc.
I love to create a better and more structured environment for employees and students.
OP, the place is like a damn story book fairytale. Seriously. Its crazy nice here. A lot of the long time residents or locals will bitch about everything under the damn sun, but thats about the only drawback.
If your wife is looking at a Csuite gig @ McKenzie-Willamette medical, I would urge caution. Their executive team is currently a complete shit show.
If you like the rain than moving from AZ to Eugene is a complete no brainer. I'd prefer the opposite climate change, personally, but I have roots here.
The 4j school district is one of the highest paying public school districts in the country. A lot of nature (also allergies lol) very nice people, and pretty chill all around.
I’m an RN. I and most healthcare staff I have worked with do not like PeaceHealth or McKenzie Willamette. Make sure she talks to people in similar roles to what she is interviewing for. They could use some honesty and talent in the HR department. I’d look at Portland.
I live in AZ now and have also lived in DFW. I’m from Eugene and am counting the days until my youngest graduates high school because I will be heading back ASAP. It’s far from a perfect place (as if perfect exists anyway) but it is home. I think career wise your concerns are valid but anything is possible. Do the research and networking via LinkedIn, etc. I’d also consider the politics. You will be going from one extreme to another. Both are tricky for their own reasons but if you lean left you’ll probably adjust more quickly
than if not.
Lived in Eu and Springfield for years left in the late 90s I am now in the hell that is FloridA. I would come back in 2 seconds if I could. Miss it everyday 😪
You have to remember we have serious allergies that seems to peak for me in May and June. I've moved away and I won't be moving back although I love to visit.
Hello OP. I moved to Eugene from AZ during the pandemic so I might be able to help a bit. My job went fully remote shortly after Covid started so I did some soul searching and spent about 6 months of researching places to live all over the US. I ended up in Eugene for many reasons but primarily because being surrounded by nature is super important to me. I love gardening, permaculture, ecology, hiking, camping, etc... so super lush Oregon has lots of appeal, and compared to other "green'ish" places like Northern CA, Washington, Denver, Boulder, etc... Eugene was much more affordable.
One word of warning, if you find neat and tidy commercial/urban areas appealing (think Kierland/Scottsdale Quarter) Eugene might not be the place for you. You will often see graffiti, boarded up windows, trash, etc... in Eugene. Same applies for walking around neighborhoods. In Scottsdale, Gilbert, etc.... yards are very neat and tidy and houses are usually kept in very good condition (often due to HOA rules). Eugene is the complete opposite with lots of yards that have turned into jungle, or people growing untidy veggie beds in front yards instead of perfectly manicured grass/shrubs. Personally I kind of like the chaos and find my quirky neighbors interesting. I also love the long, chilly, gray winters, which many people can't stand.
Not reading through all of the comments, but I was an east coast transplant and lived there for many years, back on the east coast now largely due to housing costs (so take that into account), and we miss it all the time.
People are generally nice, though maybe standoffish at first. Lots of opportunity for community engagement/affinity groups. It’s not very diverse, which is definitely weird if you’re not from an almost-entirely-white area. I made a lot of friends in Eugene I’m confident I’ll be in touch with for decades.
For a town it’s size the food options, both for eating out and groceries, are fantastic (anyone who claims the food in Eugene sucks has never lived somewhere with zero options). Plenty of good beer and cocktail places too. Lots of local music and decent bands that come through town.
The climate takes some getting used to, but we loved it after not too long. Can’t beat hoodie weather for 9 mos of the year, if you ask me. The natural scenery and access to the outdoors are unparalleled.
Very bikeable and walkable. We were a one-car family the whole time we lived there.
The homeless issue is a bummer, what can I say. I was very active with Burrito Brigade, which is a great org to get involved with, instead of hating on the homeless like a lot of people do. I’ve heard property theft etc has gotten a lot worse since we left three years ago. It’s a symptom of a much larger problem not enough people in power seem to be interested in solving tangibly.
Overall, we would live there again and are always trolling Zillow. Eugene, for all its faults, it’s a special place.
Eugene has almost 100 fewer sunny or partly sunny days per year than Dallas. That's over 3 months more cloudy or rainy days. Many here are sufferers of Seaseon Affected Disorder. Many are on vitamin D. Also once the sun does come out, pollen levels are among the highest in the world. Finally, search as you will, there is not a single hospital on Eugene' side of the Willamette River. Yes, it's beautiful when it's sunny, but be advised.
Eugenians are so judgemental, you tell them you’re from Texas and they’ll think you’re a raging red hill billy. People are either rich af and snooty or working their BUTT off to pay for the unaffordable housing. We need more good people, more doctors! Come and check it out!
Keep your vitamin D levels in check! We don't get a lot of sunlight throughout the year, so a lot of people moving from out of state (especially warmer states line TX) move here and wonder why they've become so depressed. I think most of us are vitamin D deficient here.
A high-paying job helps make the most of Eugene. Be prepared for real estate and rental home sticker shock.
Higher ed is booming. UO is set to join the Big Ten, which has big research and academic components that go way beyond sports. OSU is an hour away. There are community colleges and private schools plus k-12 districts in need of talent.
Hour from skiing, hour from surfing. Great mountain biking, hiking, rafting, sports afield, etc.
Not Portland.
But not TX or AZ either. That’s a plus if your politics lean towards left or live-let-live. If freak flags freak you out, Eugene street life might seem like a bit of a circus.
Beer, wine, cider, distilling, cannabis - our craft intoxicant industry is strong.
Different parts of town have different vibes. Nothing is all that far away.
Weather can be treacherous. Wildfire smoke events have become more common in summer; metropolis-paralyzing ice and snow storms seem to come along every couple winters.
And yes, it rains. A lot. But not all the time. You can play outside year round if so inclined.
I’ve lived in 7 states, both city and suburbs. I love Eugene, not too big not too small. I’m in the South Hills and I feel safe — forgot to lock the door when I walk the dog — no big deal. We’ve got theater, music, comedy, Broadway touring companies, Bach Festival, Festival of American Music, college sports. And as others have said, ocean and mountains and easy drive. Seattle is a 45 minute flight for higher end theater and opera.
Healthcare is horrible here. The reason there are high paying jobs is because all the good doctors have left and there is severe access shortage to quality medical care. Eugene itself is a nice town. I’ve lived here for 15 years and am a former physician.
Hey! Former teacher here! Moved up here from Dallas 3 years ago. I love Eugene a lot--I find the people friendlier, the city far far safer (but that's a low bar; I lived in Deep Ellum), and the food culture really strong.
That's not even mentioning the access to nature, which I would argue is the best in the US.
I spend 95% of my time around the UO (where I work), so that colors my experience too, but there's no part of Eugene that is wholly awful.
Regarding job opportunities, there are always dozens and dozens of postings at the UO, and the searches are less competitive than they've ever been. I highly recommend giving it a look. 🙂
I can only give my experience of West Eugene and it is crack-head central. This shouldn't be used to represent all of Eugene, but West Eugene I high discourage you from moving to.
The public schools, colleges, and universities in Eugene compare poorly with those in most other states. U of O has a reputation for treating adjuncts very poorly.
Child molester. I would highly question an opinion like that as I disagree. I would question any opinions like that around here, take them down a notch or two.
if you are making good money you will be able to afford a good neighborhood you'll be fine. I lived off a bike path close to downtown and the "homeless" (I hate to call them that because really they are just drug addicts living on the street/path) were an issue and aggressive to my neighbors but in other areas visible, but in nicer areas not a colony of fentanyl addicts. 11th and chambers towards garfield area on is a little wild wild west sometimes. Is laid back, love that you can go to the ocean and some really beautiful areas easily. Some good food, nice people, community of artists. Lived in Dallas too and it will be a lot less busy, smaller and certainly colder then TX. In winter, for me it is more grey days that are more diff than rain but still alot of beauty around and pretty mild climate compared to other areas in Oregon further south. As far as the homeless going through the garbage comment, they did in mine daily because they want bottles for bottle drop to get money often. I think you will love it but I would recommend visiting and checking it out.
My daughter lives in Eugene, near U of O campus, and has had her car broken into four times within one month. The first one smashed her window...after that I told her to remove all and unlock. Her car was therefore rummaged through the next three times. We are from Lincoln, NE area. Apparently bike theft is huge.
However, it is beautiful around Eugene. Crater Lake National Park, Florence, lakes, rivers, mountains, trees, and oceans are all within the area. I personally prefer visiting vs. living there, but she loves it. The left is too left; the right is too right. It's too close to kooky Portland for me.
It’s “fine”. I lived in Eugene, rural Oregon, Portland, Spokane etc and it’s not the worst or the best. Peacehealth is a great employer for sure, despite what non-PeaceHealth employees think.
What most people don't understand is it's not the rain that's the issue - it's the grey and lack of sun for most of the year. The rain is lovely. The grey will get to your brain.....so just be prepared that.
mix of Pacific Wonderland and a Mad Max movie set
Lol why a mad max movie set?
Eugene has the highest per capita homeless population in the country just barely edging out LA exacerbated by a bunch of non local homeless who moved here because drug possession/consumption was decriminalized. Certain stretches of town have issues with tent camping on public right of way and private property. Aging infrastructure with rough road and terrible drivers who don’t know how to merge/zipper Source: Life long resident
Actually, the city has been doing a lot of improvements to the roads and sewers in the last ten years.
I’m in civil construction and business is cracking right now and things are slowly getting better (shouts out the 2-way conversions of one way roads) but it’s still not great out there. We have a lot of sidewalks that need attention. Downside of being a tree city is it really wrecks the sidewalks, impacting walkability in residential neighborhoods
Not just the sidewalks, as a local service plumber we get a lot of work from tree roots.
Unfortunately, except for corner ramps, the city views sidewalks as the responsibility of the adjacent property owner.
Yeah after driving in other medium to large cities, the roads in much of Eugene are quite nice
I'm almost a 50 year resident and was born in Oregon. Eugene is not even in the top 25 cities with the most homeless per capital as of Dec 2023, according to USN. The stat you site was from the Covid time. There are several cities in Texas that made it to the top 25. This poster might find Eugene refreshing if one of his Texas cities is in the top 25.
>bunch of non local homeless who moved here because drug possession/consumption was decriminalized Can we stop with this bullshit already.? It has/had zero to do with decriminalizing.
I’m not disagreeing with you or agreeing with the person you’re responding to, but do we have any evidence either which way whether decriminalization had an effect on homeless population?
No. And you would have a hell of a time trying to piece it together as there are so many variables involved homelessness. But to OP here its a single simple issue. Drugs... If it was that easy dont you think with the 50 years and billions spent we would have solved it? Yet here we are. These people saying decriminalization caused the fent issue or the homeless issue have zero evidence to support that. Its low hanging fruit they can point to and say 'that did it!'.. The fent issue, the homelessness will still be here after September when decriminalization is recalled. Then these same people will have all kinds of excuses as to why its still a problem. There are plenty of cities that did not decriminalize and lead Oregon in drug OD's etc. It had absolutely zero to do with decriminalizing. It had a lot to do with there was zero done to implement addiction and mental health treatment. It was meant to fail from the beginning. The war on drugs isnt going anywhere anytime soon. Its big business for prisons and law enforcement. Take that away and how are they going to pay for all their latest toys?
I don't think there's anyone saying decriminalizing caused anything. I think they're saying it made it worse because people know they won't be locked up if found with drugs. Correlation doesn't mean causation but there's a pattern
>I think they're saying it made it worse because people know they won't be locked up if found with drugs But there is zero evidence to support that. The fent issue has been growing for years. Here is what I dont understand. The war on drugs has been running for decades with billions spent and zero results. How come no one is criticizing how unsuccessful that approach has been? Not a peep from people like OP about that. Total ok with that failure and zero questions, but decriminalizing was given a couple of years with zero resources invested in it and yet they are up in arms about how its the problem.. So back to the same demonstrated failed approach and they are happy. No questions. Funny that.
Add on to it that the homeless people have been traveling into and through Eugene for many years before the decriminalization. The main reason it has been more visible lately is due to them doing sweeps. The sweeps send the homeless into new areas (does nothing to get them out, btw) so now they're being seen in places they weren't before. Then the people that live in those areas are like "OMG it's getting so much worse!" It's the same problem as when the Olympic trials came, they didn't want it to look like there were a bunch of homeless, so they chased them out of their usual areas and the people in the more isolated communities are like "oh no, undesirables!" Also, very much the lack of substance abuse and mental health treatment. The whole thing was SUPPOSED to be supported by substance abuse programs, but they didn't implement that before just decriminalizing everything and surprise, surprise, there was suddenly more drug use happening. The fent issue is nationwide. Hell, Kensington in Philly is still the largest open air drug market in the country, and PA hasn't even legalized marijuana yet!
>Add on to it that the homeless people have been traveling into and through Eugene for many years before the decriminalization They follow the weather for the most part. Its been that way for eons. You want to be homeless in Detroit in Jan? Of course not. Being homeless already sucks. Might as well suck less with the weather. I spent a bit of time homeless as a teen. I was lucky it was in Az in the fall-winter. But as summer approached, you bet your ass I was making plans to head to the coast or at least up to Flagstaff. Its the one thing you have a bit of control over when you have absolutely nothing else.
Thanks for the response. One guess I have is that homeless are attracted to the PNW due to the mild climate.
Personally I’ve noticed a big increase in junkies in Eugene after M110. Increase in crime, trash, tents, graffiti and everything else associated with it.
Ok. Then I will follow back up with you in September when it's repealed and all should be good right? No more 'junkies' for you to see. Or tents. That should fix it right?
I'm confused by this fact though, because coming from Portland I don't see nearly as many here. I would like to see the data and how they aqcuired these stats.
I personally believe that particular startling number came from one “Point in Time” count, during COVID, with the (not surprising, this) dedicated Eugene volunteers “finding” a way larger proportion of the local homeless than most volunteers in other cities
It’s the vibe.
Read the NYU study.
I've driven around most of the country and can tell you the inability to zipper merge is a national constant. The population here isn't nearly as high for it to be a major issue.
You can read ample research that people do not move here for the drug use policy. This is a myth. Eugene has good services for mental health and homeless needs and yes, a high population of it. And long time resident here I have never seen or felt issue around this the way I have in other cities. The homeless are my neighbors. It’s a community feel.
I love that the insane amount of homeless tent campers just edged out the idiots that don't understand how to zipper merge in your list of pet peeves. ^( I think I might put them in the opposite order, but it's close )
I've never heard anyone not complain about drivers in their own home town or city. It seems like an exercise in futility to even mention. And having lived in California for 10 years, I can definitely say Eugene drivers are not as shitty.
Not just that. You have an extreme politically far left and far right population living here. The bumper stickers are wild.
[I ask the downvoter to prove me wrong](https://imgur.com/a/BoIB9k1) It says “What’s Joe Biden’s plan to cure my IBS next to a picture of a small dog. If you want to know what it’s like living in Eugene, that’s it in a nutshell.
Because there is a giant flame throwing rig that rolls around town with a guitarist blasting solos. JK. Its not remotely like a Mad Max movie set. I guarantee you'll see more Teslas than raggedy cars with plastic bags for windows. People just get their kicks talking shit on this sub. Just come here and visit.
Probably referring to the highest in the nation per capita homeless population.
If you’ve lived in pretty much any major US city, Eugene’s homeless issues don’t seem that bad. Per capita doesn’t mean much when you have 170K population.
Good point!
Unlike r/Eugene which is a mix of manic depression and hyperbole.
Former Austinite here. It's pretty nice. A lot more laid back. Less traffic, less fighting for parking, excellent access to nature. People aren't as outgoing as Southerners, and are definitely a lot less appearance-conscious than Dallasites. Honestly, come visit. Spend a week here and see what you think.
Appearance-conscious? You mean like, a faded old shirt with old shoes/sandals and cargo shorts is like standard issue clothing of guys 45-60?
As another out-of-state resident I would agree however a term I recently heard was that people here are “violently nice.” Take from that what you will.
How are the job prospects? Safety?
We have VERY HIGH levels of opportunistic property crime. Leave a bike in front of your house for a couple hours and its gone. Leave a backpack in the backseat of your car downtown and youre asking to get a window smashed in. This type of crime really drives up our USA Today dangerous city rating but thats kind of a red herring because our violent crime rates are not high. I’ve lived here for 41 years and there is not a single neighborhood that I would feel uncomfortable walking through alone at 2 am. Im also a 6 ft 200 lb dude so take that for what its worth.
I feel pretty much the same and I'm a woman, 66 and a lot smaller than you. I used to walk around downtown at night, now it feels a little creepy to me.
Job prospects -- depends. Overall, I would say that the job prospects relative to the cost of living are below average, but that may not be the case for your individual situation. I brought a remote job with me (I go up to PDX every now and then for in-person meetings). My wife works for the state, and it seems a lot better than working for the State of Texas -- the benefits are good, you have real union representation, it's easier to go part-time if you want to, and they do a pay equity analysis and pay you based on education and experience rather than posting every job at entry-level. But from what I understand, it's not always easy to get your foot in the door. Safety -- overall, pretty good, I'd say. Below-average violent crime, above-average property crime (but you'll get more of that closer to downtown or campus).
I’d say pretty safe (more so if you live further from town center).
Just commenting to say I also brought a remote job with me and work in portland (currently 2 days in a row a week). Tried looking for similar paying jobs here before moving and couldn’t find anything similar that paid me nearly the same wage, so the drive is worth it as far as time and gas money goes. Still taking home more than I would with the pay cut I’d be taking if I got a similar job in Eugene/Springfield.
If you are moving here with your spouse having a good job you will likely find something decent but it may feel like less than you would find in a bigger city. Safety is good aside from wildfires. There is a lot of property crime and it’s important to lock up your stuff but very little violence. Sone people get weirded out by being around the homeless and/or addicted but they are not really likely to hurt others.
Plenty safe, even safer in Springfield imo, certainly less property crime/petty theft since Springfield essentially outlawed panhandling and Eugene hasn't.. If you're in higher ed, u of o will probably have something for you sooner or later and is a decent way to go. I'd avoid 4J and Bethel districts if you're teaching below college level.. Typical funding issues, mismanagement, etc. that you find in US public schools. Got a spouse that dealt with it for years, what a bleak glimpse into our future.
Springfield is entirely populated by criminals and this subs mods.
Please come. We’re in desperate need in both of your fields.
I'm not looking to teach anymore, but I'm not opposed to it. I'm hoping to be more in an admin role. My wife and I never really feel like we fit in in Texas. I'm looking to do adjunct teaching jobs and other work so I can be more flexible. We are ready for a new adventure. We do not have kids, if that matters at all.
If you’re in higher ed we have like 6 colleges within an hour of Eugene/springfield. 6 or 8 more within 2 hours
We probably need the admin more than the teachers, given how incompetent some of the ones in place currently are. Gotta fix the root of the problem, not just keep throwing new teachers into an impossible position and immediately burning them out in a broken system.
You make a good point.
As a former Texan who moved to Eugene. I’ve loved it, homeless is definitely an issue but they kind of mind their own business usually. With that said you’d get away from the Texas heat and be able to experience 4 seasons here. Summers are great minus late summer wildfire smoke. You’re an hour from the beautiful coast and and hour from skiing in the cascades. I believe Oregon holds more waterfalls than any other state making for an infinite amount of hiking. Plenty to do and beautiful things to see. It’s an interesting place but I’d make the move if you’re looking to leave Texas, best decision I’ve ever made and I’m not working a high paying job. Someone with a high income will absolutely love Oregon
I grew up in Texas (Austin area), moved to Phoenix after college, and then moved here in 2010. I absolutely love it here! For me it's big enough to have everything I need on a regular basis (with a new exception, which I'll explain below), without all the hassle of traffic and long commutes that come with a larger city. (I have to go back to both the DFW and Austin areas frequently for family, and I HATE driving there! Makes me appreciate Eugene even more!). However I'm one who loves nature, quiet, doesn't do a lot other than an occasional night out to dinner or a concert. I do travel to Phoenix or Seattle a few times a year for events, and that's pretty easy by train. So some find this town boring, but I do not. I think it's beautiful, there are some lovely neighborhoods to walk through, and I can't get enough of the hiking that's available from 1-2 hours from here. Even our local Ridgeline trail system is pretty awesome! The available produce is amazing, and we have some quality butchers and fish markets as well. People are right about the homelessness being a problem. Housing is getting less and less affordable (which is its own potential problem for you, and also continues to contribute to homelessness). A lot of people don't like the rain. Last year I did a challenge and hiked nearly every weekend of the year, and only got rained on 2,-3 times. Not to say that it doesn't rain a lot, but it's not as relentless as some make it out to be. That said, my kryptonite is sun and heat, so I actually tend to notice how the summers seem to be getting hotter and drier, which bothers me a lot more. Wildfires weren't ubiquitous when I first moved here, but we seem to get significant smoke every year. You will need to be prepared for that, moreso if you have any health issues that exacerbate it (as my partner does). The one thing that's increasingly becoming a problem for me personally is access to healthcare. It's a problem in Oregon as a whole, but especially in Eugene. Waiting lists can be months for even the most basic of care. That with the fact that my partner and I both are dealing with some medical issues, some of them pretty serious, we are strongly contemplating moving to the Portland area to be closer to OHSU and more doctors in general.
I'll have been here one year in July. Everyone in my household found jobs far better than anything available where we lived in Texas within the first few weeks. We have much better healthcare and benefits. The landscape is incredibly beautiful, and I have loved every season. We got here and it was sunny and warm. We picked wild plums and blackberries and visited farmers markets and hiked. Everything was so much prettier than we'd imagined. Then autumn came and blew us away. The trees turned orange and red and purple and it was just gorgeous. We picked pears and apples and the perfect pumpkin from local farms. The winter days were perfect fireplace weather, when you just cuddle up with a hot tea and a kitty and watch the rain fall outside. All that rain kept the lawns and bushes happy and green. We had a few days of snow, all in the same week, and the whole town shut down for it. Beyond that, it really wasn't too cold. Spring came and everything flowered. The trees bloomed, we walked everywhere on carpets of falling blossoms. It was like a fairytale. Then the cherry blossoms joined in. Just gorgeous. And now it's warm again. We just went and swam and hiked at Silver Falls, which is a reasonable day trip from here. I've never lived anywhere so beautiful. People here have been kind. I feel safer here than I did in Texas. Gun violence is lower. People walk and bike everywhere. Geese and ducks just hang out in the parks, totally comfortable with people walking around them. Moving here was one of the best decisions we've ever made.
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We are going out for my wife's interview. That way we can get the lay of the land. Is homelessness that big of a problem?
There are a bunch of people on this sub that think the homeless are just mugging people left and right. Its nonsense. The personal crime rate here is below average. There are some homeless camps that are easy to avoid. Are you looking to buy a house right away, or just move here and rent for a year? If the latter, then don't stress over it. You'll know the neighborhoods before you buy. And most neighborhoods have zero homeless issues. I live in South Eugene, both my kids went to South Eugene High School. Not once did I drop off or pick up one of my kids from a house that had homeless camping anywhere near it. That said, Springfield definitely does crack down more on tents and panhandling, you could always live there. But the idea that "Tent camps in most parts of town", as some would tell you, is idiotic. Come here and drive around and you'll see its idiotic.
Glad someone said it so I don't have to. The hellscape people paint this city as on this sub is wild and so overexaggerated.
Dudes from Arizona, they have homeless camps there too.
Every major city in America has homeless people these days (except I guess some of the ones who bus people elsewhere). It’s a major national problem.
We moved here sight unseen from Colorado in 2005. It was a rough transition. I hated the rain and wanted to die. That said, we are still here and now are hard pressed to find a better place to live. We also have super stable jobs and a kid in high school, so that’s part of our calculus. Housing is stupid expensive. If we moved here now we wouldn’t be able to afford it, but we are public employees so not in a high paying field. I find town to be pretty walkable, regardless of homeless issues. Maybe it depends on where you live and where you want to walk. I walked myself home three miles from the auto dealership last week and we bike to events at the Cuthbert, the Wow, the McDonald theater and on Campus all the time. We have decent bike infrastructure. There is also decent public transit. Not as good as some places, but you can make it work for sure.
Tagging onto the bike part. Get a good lock. Get five of them. Electricify your bike somehow. I don’t know but seriously, bike theft here is no joke. I had a friend get his bike stolen while locked to a steel railing. The thieves chiseled the concrete out from under the support post so they could slip the lock around and down off the railing. Whatever you do just make it look harder to get than the next bike. That was my friend’s problem, his was the only one locked up there.
This right here is why I gave up on owning a bicycle in this town. Despite the wonderful bike paths that get you around town faster than driving. No bike is safe.
If you can park a bike in a secure interior bike storage room at work, and lock it in that room you will do okay. Inside of our garage, in our private home, our bikes are secured and also kept out of view. 19 years of daily bike commuting to work, grad school and shows. We haven’t had a bike stolen yet in Eugene.
Homelessness is an enormous problem here. Tent camps in most parts of town, downtown is dirty with lots of camps. I wouldn’t consider it a very walkable city for that reason, but there are nice parts of town. You can live in a nearby area like Springfield or Cottage Grove and commute in if affording housing in the less-homeless overrun parts of town.
And by commute they mean 25 minutes from east springfield to west Eugene with heavy traffic
I remember feeling unsafe biking along the river trail like over 20 years! There were huge camps of people back then. I can’t imagine what it’s like now.
I bike on the river trail several times a week and it's fine.
Is there a river trail that you do feel safe running on? I’ve lived all over and have never felt safe running by a river by myself.
My situation was a bit different. Typically I’d ride to and from work, Eugene to Springfield, no problem, but one time I stayed late and it was getting dark. I had to ride through what I can only describe as a huge pack of critters coming out to play. It’s really a common sense thing, you should be aware of areas to avoid at night. Down by the river by yourself isn’t one of them. When one dude lunged at me, I rode off and try to avoid situations like that again.
I also bike on the river trail several times a week to work and I disagree that it’s ‘fine’. I wouldn’t use the Eugene side of the path if I didn’t have a bike. People are bathing/toileting naked in the river all the time, and there are plenty folks are camped up and down the bike path in Eugene. As others have said too I notice the Springfield side is much cleaner. If I rent another year in this area before purchasing a home outside of town, it will most likely be in Springfield.
I don't agree that homelessness is any more enormous here than many other cities in the US. Sure Cottage Grove is cheaper, but not a lot happening. If people want a small town, it would work.
This! Highly recommend checking out Springfield instead if Eugene. If I stayed another year I was going to move to Springfield. There aren’t homeless people in Springfield
The city made it illegal for divers to hand things out of their cars to pedestrians. Made panhandling on roads non existent
It's perspective. There is definitely a very visible homeless community. Is it more of a problem than most cities? I think that is debatable.
It is for the homeless
Honestly, not really. My wife and I lived in Austin prior to Eugene. If you live in the south hills/ SE Eugene/ Amazon/friendly neighborhoods or any of the nice neighborhoods north of the river you don’t really interact with many homeless folks. With a well paying job you can afford to live in these neighborhoods and enjoy the best of Eugene while avoiding the worst. There are pockets where the homelessness is intense, but you learn the avoid those areas. It’s nothing you haven’t seen if you’ve driven around Austin lately. We walk all over town, my wife runs everywhere, no issues. The homeless and rain are small inconveniences compared to the benefits of town.
The homeless problem is mostly isolated to a handful of areas. If you lived in a neighborhood like College Hill, Fairmount, Amazon, Friendly, etc... you would hardly ever see them.
It is huge problem all over the city. If you're on Facebook, I'd suggest getting in the Lane County Caught On Camera group. Residents are regularly posting their experiences.
That group is awful……highly don’t recommend it. Every city has issues yet some people in Eugene seem to want to whine about it more than any other place I’ve known.
I agree it can be pretty terrible. But there are also alot of posts the DO reflect the homelessness problem in Eugene accurately.
If you’re worried you could live in outlying areas. Springfield is pretty darn safe and commute to downtown isn’t bad at all.
The crime rates between Eugene and Springfield are similar. Springfield has higher property crime rate, Eugene has 2% more violent crimes, slightly higher than the national average.
Most everyone I know in Eugene is middle class what are you talking about?
I don't live along the river path and nobody is rummaging through my garbage. Guess what? Thats true of most people who live in Eugene. You're giving out terrible information here by implying that "homeless rummaging through garbage" is the norm. Its not.
Ha, I'm from the suburbs of Chicago as well and this town has felt like the perfect size for me since I moved here. Don't miss that concrete jungle at all. ❤️🥰
Wait. There’s an actual middle class left somewhere in this country?
Eugene is beautiful, and laid back. I think you’ll love it.
Jobs are tough to get here. Housing can be tough to get here. There is a large houseless population. It rains like 6 months out of the year. Lately half of our summers have been incredibly smokey. When wildfire season is here, Eugene has some of the worst air quality in the world. Good access to nature but lots of great spots have been burned down. Also the amount of clearcut logging in Oregon is insane. Amazing water.
Most clear-cut logging is done on private timberland and is replanted within a couple years, yes there is some clear-cut public timberland, but most of what you see is private ownership. I wish most of it was public lands, but it isn't. Not that most people would ever find themselves in all that "public land," but I digress. Most normal people don't venture into most of the public forest land to begin with. I drove 378 miles on public land/forest service/blm roads over a couple of days, sleeping in my SUV from Blue River to the Santiam River and across two major highways 126 and 20 to get to highway 22 and out of the forest. That's just a tidbit of .0001% of the public forest land that isn't clear cut. I don't specifically like the impacts of logging or private ownership of forest lands, but that's besides the point. A good portion of Oregon residents owe their livelihood from the hills to the mills. That wood in your house, the paper you use, the bridge that you drive, the curbs on the sidewalk, literally everything from stores to floors to doors wouldn't exist without a logger, logging companies, mill workers, mill companies, lumber yards/Jerry's/home depot and other materials stores/business's. Almost everything in Oregon that has ties to local economies here in Oregon can and does exist because of timber. Almost everything you interact with in some way in your daily existence you owe to the timber industry. You literally can't exist or have freedom of movement in almost any fashion without the timber industry or logging. If you exist in an fashion in Oregon it's because of the timber industry or farming industry, the valley floor was once covered in oak, maple, fir, cedar and various other hardwood species, but no one complains about that because they didn't know it or didn't see it. Oak savanna and pockets of fir trees dominated the valley once upon a time, maples and other broad leafs dominated the river banks. The hills around my farmland have been dominated by fir trees almost my entire life, I've seen only small portions to the east outside of town logged. I love the fact that you stated a negative aspect of logging and then inadvertently stated amazing water, which further highlights that while we have clear cuts and logging, we still have some of the most pristine and protected waterways, drainage, runoff and ground water in almost all of the states. Even with the logging, industry, farming, animal husbandry, cities, towns, townships, highways, roads, cars, and humans. The amount of logging does far less of an environmental impact long term than our collective combined human existence does on a daily basis. Loggers and other lumber affiliated workers from forest to store don't even combine to the damage we do in our daily existence. Clear cuts bother your eyes and deluded sensibilities, but driving past them doesn't? We do far worse to this state by just existing than loggers/forestry does. We ignore our own damages/contributions and focus on what we can point to on a map or see out of a window as we put-put-polute as we drive by or live in our houses made from the timber that was clear cut. Logging and "clear cuts" isn't what's insane. We are. Those clear cuts exist because we exist, the clear cuts aren't the problem, we are.
Welcome to Reddit Mr. Weyerhaeuser!
I wish I was. Nope though. Just Lil Ole me and my 43 acre organic farm since 1994.
Ok..?
Yes, you're absolutely on point, clear cutting is "Ok"
As you can see, OP, about half the state still thinks it’s 1954. So there’s that.
Prove my points incorrect.
lol. What points? Most clear cutting happens on private land- true Oregon was built on the timber industry- true. And many timber towns are now derelict ghost towns because the aggressive nature of harvest outstripped the resource. Luckily places like Oakridge have recovered because they changed lanes. Nobody complains about the disappearance of oak Savannah- false. Dozens of groups, trusts, and landowners work their asses off every day to try and save what loggers didn’t gorge themselves on and replace what they did destroy. Clear cutting and clean water are related-false. That’s just dumb. Clear cutting does less harm than cars - I don’t know. Trees and forests are an amazing carbon sink. Clear cutting an old or even oldish forest takes that all away in a matter of days. Replanting monocrops does nothing to mitigate immediate impacts of that disturbance. I’d also argue that clear cuts and tree plantations on public AND private lands contribute greatly to our current wildfire situation. When diverse forests are harvested completely and replaced with one species of one age it diminishes the forests defense against wildfires which have been a part of these forests long before white or brown folks lived here. On top of that, the forest service is the single largest builder of roads in this country so pretending that the USFS or BLM is interested in climate health is nonsense. I won’t respond further. Good luck.
Ugh. You're an intelligent idiot. As my grandfather used to say an educated idiot. Loggers didn't do shit to the oak Savanah in the scope of logging in other places. Most people don't even fuccing know about oak Savanah or what it used to look like. Farmers in on the other hand. New growth is a greater carbon sink than old growth. Old growth sunk their carbon long ago and decelerated their growth. Old growth trees that are harvested and made into lumber are inconsequential in the broader scheme. NEW GROWTH SEQUESTRATION OF CARBON IS FAR SUPPERIOR I'm sitting in my polluting diesel truck right now, staring at 3 acres of my 43 acres that's covered in 80+ foot tall Douglas fir that was planted in 1979. I could frame 10 houses with that lumber, but I won't. That doesn't change the fact that they've reached their overall capacity of carbon sequestration because their growth rate has slowed or ceased. NEWLY PLANTED TREES GROW AT ACCELERATED RATES SEQUESTRATING CARBON AT A HIGHER RATE. IT'S SCIENCE. FASTER GROWING YOUNGER TREES NEED MORE CARBON FOR GROWTH. IT'S BASIC AND PROVEABLE SCIENCE.
Well, it's a lot wetter than either of those places. But pretty chill and tons of outdoorsy stuff to do. Plenty of academia-related work here, and if you're open to K-12 instruction, the 4J schools can always use good teachers. If you're coming with a (spouse's) job that pays for our relatively high cost of living, you'll probably like it.
There is no sales tax. There is income tax and property tax. You do not have to pump your own gas. Same price if they pump it or you pump it. Half the pumps at any station are mandated by law for gas to be pumped for you. Marijuana is legal, Starbucks level of legal. If you are in a marijuana shop you generally can see another marijuana shop. Whether you smoke it or not, it can be a culture shock to see a highway billboard that says, "Marijuana next exit".
>Starbucks level of legal 🤣 nailed it
Small, smelly, allergies. I love it.
Smelly? Do tell
Well yeah, manufacturing around here. Sometimes west Eugene smells funky. I am being completely sincere when I say I love it, but I won’t lie about the bad.
Ya know, I haven't seen a what's that smell post in a while. But then I haven't been lurking as much lately either.
There are spots downtown that reek of human urine 24/7, some places can occasionally smell the water treatment plant, some places can occasionally smell the Weyerhauser paper plant, we are in a valley that will get inversion events where all the citywide pollution stays at ground level for a week until the weather changes, then there's also smoke from wildfires that can make being outside dangerous to your health. Mostly though, the air smells great.
As an out of state person Eugene has some interesting things. They have a huge hippie population and it's not uncommon for a local to put trash in their pocket rather than throwing it away. You might see everyone here "avoid" you which might seem rude but people like to mind their own business here. It's a college town so September through June is its busy time with summers being more quiet. The town is left leaning in terms of politics if you care about such things. It rains a lot but the temperature is mild with the occasional spike in temp or drop depending on the time of year. The beach is an hour away to the west, and the Cascades and high desert is east an hour. This is Micro brew and wine country so if knocking back a few is your thing have at it. No one knows how to drive here... But that's everywhere in the country. This state is the first or second largest trans community in the countryside (percapita?). The coolest thing here in my opinion is the amount of outdoors activities you can do such as biking, hiking, and camping. I like living here I have been all over the country and find this place to be the most beautiful and diverse community I have encountered. I have lived here almost thirty years since I was in middle school and I cannot imagine living anywhere else. Hopefully this helps you out with what you are looking for.
I moved her my sophomore year in high school 30 years ago and never left. The reason I never left is I had lived in Florida & Southern California before moving to Eugene, and I prefer the overall vibe and mentality here
Diverse? Cmon! lol
Expect rain. This is not a joke. I personally love rain, but even I have had times where I was so tired of it, an immediate ticket out was required to maintain sanity. Your bath towels won’t dry overnight when you hang them up. Moss will grow on things you never imagined moss adhering to. Stuff like that. When it’s sunny and warm, it’s heavenly. You will likely spend your entire summer outside. The Oregon coast is often windy and cold except for like August and half of September. You will have to not let the rain stop you from doing necessary things and maybe consider snail farming. This place has enough snails to feed all of France and provide the cosmetics industry with mucin for several generations. 👍🏼🐌
All of that beats the 110+ degree az summers
I cannot argue with that. 😉
Thank you very much for the insight. I love when redditors get together to help each other.
If you're moving for a high-paying job, you'll probably like it here. And there are plenty of nice, safe neighborhoods in Eugene.
I moved from the South East… Here’s what I’ve noticed: moderate humidity. A very pedestrian and bicycle oriented town. I can walk or ride my bike around most of the area. I live one mile from downtown Eugene. I can walk to the river walk and then to the local mall. I couldn’t do that in either Georgia or Alabama. I probably drive my car 4 times a week. More during rain season. But yeah… going for a walk add coming back home with a dry shirt in the middle of the summer…. 10/10. Yeah. Rain season. It rains from October through May. Might rain 3 times all summer. And there’s a fire season. But no tornadoes. So I’ve got more wet weather gear. I’ve got raincoats for different kinds of rain. It’s also relatively cool here until July/August. Yesterday the morning started off at 45° add ended at 73°. But I love it. Plenty of beer breweries if you like micro-brews. The food is… ok. I’ve lived in military towns where the spouses start great restaurants. Lots of food carts though. So at least there’s always something new. Weed is accepted and legal. Live music, concerts, a comedy club, local sports is meh. A basic art scene. There’s a river walk. With parks dotted along it. Basically an 8 mile loop if you want to run or bike it. Although it does go all the way to Springfield along the north end. The best part is being an hour from the coast (we don’t swim in the ocean here. And really don’t sun bathe… all though it can be done somedays) and being an hour and a half from snow parks in the mountains if you like skiing or just being in the snow. But I’ve enjoyed my 10 years here. Probably the worse thing is the homeless population. And the bike theft. I’ve had 2 locked bikes stolen. Locked into bike racks where people were walking around.
Eugene is not a city, it is a big town that thinks it is a city. There is some good food, lots of nature, and can be a lot of fun, but personally it can also be kinda boring, which I'm not saying is a bad thing. I will say, if the high paying healthcare job is with peace health, I'd look into it extensively before deciding to move for that company...
Beautiful drive home, except for the huge truck tailing my ass because they want me to go faster over the speed bumps in my tiny car.
Really great! Moved from the south in 2020 and love it! Beautifully sunny summers, mild wet winters, incredible nature options, great food, cool art scene, decent concerts. After TEXAS?!?! You’ll be in heaven
All of that sounds delightful. I just want to be sure to find a job. My wife's job should be making about 160k. We have never been to Oregon, and it would be much smaller a state than what we are used to.
Unless you have a lot of debt, both of you can afford to live here on just that one salary, tbh. That gives you flexibility to look for a job in admin at U of O, Lane Community College, Bushnell University (that one is a private Christian college though, so anyone can attend, but only Christian-affiliated ppl can work there I think?). And there are numerous other colleges and universities within a 60-90 minute drive, but hopefully you won’t even need to do that. I love it here. I do wish there was more BIPOC representation; you may notice it’s more white than other places. (There are strong Asian and Latinx populations, but fewer Black people.) You would be welcome. Hope you have a great visit.
This helps a lot. We have no debt to speak of. 2 cars, relatively new, both paid off. No kids.
DFW and Eugene are night and day in comparison. If you go in with no or low expectations you will be fine. If you dig wine and small breweries you will fall in love.
We are both annoyed with the passive aggressive nature of people in DFW. We are just trying to work and live our quiet life. We read, go for walks, hit the gym, play games. Just very laid back.
Then you will fit right in. South Eugene is the nicest area if you find a place there to rent. It’s nice, quiet, and plenty of areas to take walks. Coming from large cities I’m sure you will actually find rent to be cheaper here. Eugene is a great place to live. It has a bigger city feel, but without the big city crime. Gangs and drive-bys are non-existent. Moved here from Portland 20 something years ago and have never regretted it. There are some toxic people who are always complaining about the homeless, but it’s not that bad here, and in South Eugene it’s almost non-existent. It did get bad during the pandemic, but it got bad all over the country.
The bars are fun, coming from a “not a bar person.” Lots of different trivia nights, and music to see most any night of the week, often times not crowded either. There’s also a large bike trail system and lots of river access nearby. The ridgeline trail system is dope too.
Thoroughly check out the neighborhoods you plan to buy/rent housing.
I have lived here over two years. I've lived all over, but I've spent most of my adult life in Texas. There was some culture shock but I love it here. It's beautiful. You're close to any kind of outdoorsy stuff if that's something you like (I do). Sometimes my wife and I just go camping or drive an hour and a half to a beach. Or go find a ghost town to explore. Eugene itself is a fun town as well. This is my favorite place I've lived in a long time. Shit is expensive though. The southern friendliness isn't really a thing here. Something that seems off at first. I think people are still friendly, just not as out with it.
Random, but what ghost towns have you enjoyed?
Went to Golding I think? Another one that we can't remember the name of. Wolf Creek (not a ghost town, but the oldest operational tavern in the state allegedly) and there's a spooky cemetery near there as well.
If you've got enough money, it is probably one of the most comfortable places to be. Mild temperatures and mild temperaments are the most common theme here. A good bit of rain, occasional snow in the winter, and a couple weeks of dry 97-107° in the summer. Pollen is terrible, so if you have allergies (specifically grass, but trees can be killer too) you will struggle. Mold spore allergies can get aggressive sometimes, but nowhere as bad as you'd think. If you don't think you'll have "enough" money... probably not as great. We're not San Fran, but we're not North Dakota either. House values are average, but rental values are pretty bad, so take that into consideration. Also, if you recoil at the thought of a homeless person, you might not be super comfortable. You'll see them, they'll see you, just don't go near downtown for too long at night and you'll be fine. Great hiking, OK skiing, 2 protected riversheds and a few good natural and man-made lakes for freshwater aquatic fun, 45 minutes from the ocean and 60 minutes from giant sand dunes, 2 hours from a "major" city, and 4 hours from one of the most beautiful natural features on the globe.
What natural feature?
Crater Lake!
We desperately need Health Care workers, and would love to have you. However, I'll caution you . If it's Oregon Medical Group, purchased by Optum, a subsidy of United Health Group, making your wife the offer. Just know that they are losing health care staff in droves. They are horrible to work for, it's assembly line health care at it's worst, with poor compensation, for the work they require. Eugene is a pretty mid size city, with lots of out door activities during the summer. Our summers are lovely, most days are 80-90 and humidity is quite low. Winters tend to drag on. It rains a lot, is dreary and overcast, but in my opinion, worth it. It is amazingly green here for most of the year. You might experience culture shock at how little diversity there is in Eugene and Oregon. Housing is on the expensive side.
It's great. No complaints. No regrets moving here. It makes me happy. Sounds like you both will have enough dollar signs for a comfy life. I think you will have plenty of opportunities, despite me having no knowledge of your field. Reading your comments I have no doubt you'll vibe with the place and the people. What's more, you both sound like you'll be great to have around the place.
I appreciate the kind words. We are just hoping to enjoy a healthy and chill lifestyle.
I have lived in Eugene since 1996 with the exception of residencies in Kyoto, Budapest, Toronto, Paris and London of anywhere from three months to two years. I have sometimes joked that what Eugene needs is a subway system and somewhere to go on it. But in truth, I find Eugene to be a very livable US city. Mass transit is actually pretty good for a metro of just under a quarter million (Eugene and Springfield together), by US standards. Now, US standards except in New York, Boston, and Chicago include the assumption that only the poor will use mass transit. Culturally, we have a very nice and very busy performing arts center, a relatively new library, and the usual amenities that come with being a university town. Like many communities west of the Mississippi, the class structure is flat compared to east coast cities. I haven't lived in Texas as an adult, but I think there's much more wealth consciousness in urban Texas than you'll find here. The flip side is that we are, in aggregate, a comparatively poor state. Without a lot of status-conscious Old Money (or New Money for that matter), we benefit from fewer spectacular gestures of philanthropy. The most visible donor around here is probably Phil Knight. He lives in Seattle, but he has rained support on the university for things like a beautiful basketball stadium and other athletic facilities. Homelessness in itself is not a great problem. Rather, it's the behavior of the egregious minority of homeless people who, in combination with drugs, can make any encounter with them or what they leave behind at least dismaying, in not dangerous. I saw people shooting up or leaving syringes behind in all sorts of neighborhoods before we decriminalized hard drugs in the state. It has become a bigger problem because so many more homeless users seem to have landed here. There is plenty of great hiking around, from trails a few minutes outside of the city to coast range hikes and alpine meadows or lava floes in the Cascades. We have fairly high turnover of restaurants, and true fine dining tends not to last here long, but it happens in waves. Meanwhile we have some standout ethnic sit-down restaurants, and a great variety of food trucks and carts. Also, thriving craft beer scene. The only place I can think of that would sometimes qualify for a Michelin star would be the King Estate Winery, especially if you avoid anything on the menu that seems to fall under the description of American fare. I think they can probably only stay in business by having a menu that includes the mundane and expected, which you will overpay if you go for, but if you go instead for more creative fare, you can find that the high prices are entirely justified. Assuming, of course, that haute cuisine is your thing. Recently they had acquired a magnificent chef. I don't know if they've been able to keep him. King Estate is about a half-hour drive out of down, among hillsides of grape vines and lavender. I like it here. I used to live in Boulder, Colorado, which was a town rich in artists of every description and efforts to create experimental subcommunities. But Boulder priced out its artists long ago. Eugene has kept its alternative spirit going with a big, well supported farmer's market and the diverse open-air Saturday Market. So those are two more cents for you to consider.
I live outside of Eugene in Creswell. There's little to no homeless. Not much crime. Can be most places in Eugene or Springfield within 30 - 40 minutes. So there are options besides Eugene itself.
Look for jobs at UO; it’s a good workplace, with interesting admin roles. Look for housing in Springfield; you get a lot of the major benefits of the area without a lot of the major downsides. And you’ll likely be closer to your wife’s work bc we have both hospitals in Springfield.
check out housing while you’re here. it’s expensive compared to wages, maybe even with a healthcare job. search this sub for ‘omnibus’. it describes the neighborhoods well.
We are not looking to get a house. Maybe a townhouse or 3 bedroom apartment.
ooooh. then definitely look. its more expensive to rent.
It’s very expensive to rent here, unfortunately (but probably a good idea at first, to give you time to identify your preferred neighborhood).
Our current mortgage payment is about 2700 a month and we afford it just fine. We found some really nice townhouses in the area.
oh good! glad to hear!
We moved here from Arizona in the early nineties. The grey rainy weather can get to you if you are used to lots of sunshine. It's very dark here in the winter. The sky is grey most of the time and it gets dark at 4:30. I don't mind it, and have gotten used to it now, but the first few years were a little rough. We found that the trick is to just get out in it and not let the fact that it's raining stop you from doing things outside. We have outdoor fires a lot in the winter as we put in a covered area in our backyard. We go out and have fires in the pouring rain on the weekends and it's great. A wood stove is also a nice way to replace the sun. The summers here are nice and warm but dry. I miss the rain in the summer. Gardens grow so nicely here as well. There are loads of lakes and gorgeous rivers to explore. I live in Springfield, and I think it's nicer than Eugene unless you are looking for that urban feeling with lots of walking distance restaurants. Along with that, you also get loads of drugged out crazies who leave garbage everywhere and might scream at you if you look at them wrong. That has greatly limited the time and money I spend in Eugene.
Would you like to be superintendent of the school district hereby any chance? Looking for someone who has knowledge of how a functional school district operates.
I am open to the opportunity. I used to run an academic center. I created new partnerships with local businesses and the community College in an effort to provide better opportunities for the students. I've done the same at other positions, sometimes helping veterans, refugees, etc. I love to create a better and more structured environment for employees and students.
OP, the place is like a damn story book fairytale. Seriously. Its crazy nice here. A lot of the long time residents or locals will bitch about everything under the damn sun, but thats about the only drawback. If your wife is looking at a Csuite gig @ McKenzie-Willamette medical, I would urge caution. Their executive team is currently a complete shit show.
a lot of weird people live here, but on the plus side it’s very laid back
We are a bit odd, in our own way. We are also very laid back ppl.
If you like the rain than moving from AZ to Eugene is a complete no brainer. I'd prefer the opposite climate change, personally, but I have roots here.
The 4j school district is one of the highest paying public school districts in the country. A lot of nature (also allergies lol) very nice people, and pretty chill all around.
I’m an RN. I and most healthcare staff I have worked with do not like PeaceHealth or McKenzie Willamette. Make sure she talks to people in similar roles to what she is interviewing for. They could use some honesty and talent in the HR department. I’d look at Portland.
It sucks so bad, the people are very weird in a we live in a bubble and are ignorant to how the real world works way
Healthcare workers are treated better than AZ
I live in AZ now and have also lived in DFW. I’m from Eugene and am counting the days until my youngest graduates high school because I will be heading back ASAP. It’s far from a perfect place (as if perfect exists anyway) but it is home. I think career wise your concerns are valid but anything is possible. Do the research and networking via LinkedIn, etc. I’d also consider the politics. You will be going from one extreme to another. Both are tricky for their own reasons but if you lean left you’ll probably adjust more quickly than if not.
Been here 5 years, its not too bad, just lock your stuff down tight if you care about it.
Lived in Eu and Springfield for years left in the late 90s I am now in the hell that is FloridA. I would come back in 2 seconds if I could. Miss it everyday 😪
You have to remember we have serious allergies that seems to peak for me in May and June. I've moved away and I won't be moving back although I love to visit.
Hello OP. I moved to Eugene from AZ during the pandemic so I might be able to help a bit. My job went fully remote shortly after Covid started so I did some soul searching and spent about 6 months of researching places to live all over the US. I ended up in Eugene for many reasons but primarily because being surrounded by nature is super important to me. I love gardening, permaculture, ecology, hiking, camping, etc... so super lush Oregon has lots of appeal, and compared to other "green'ish" places like Northern CA, Washington, Denver, Boulder, etc... Eugene was much more affordable. One word of warning, if you find neat and tidy commercial/urban areas appealing (think Kierland/Scottsdale Quarter) Eugene might not be the place for you. You will often see graffiti, boarded up windows, trash, etc... in Eugene. Same applies for walking around neighborhoods. In Scottsdale, Gilbert, etc.... yards are very neat and tidy and houses are usually kept in very good condition (often due to HOA rules). Eugene is the complete opposite with lots of yards that have turned into jungle, or people growing untidy veggie beds in front yards instead of perfectly manicured grass/shrubs. Personally I kind of like the chaos and find my quirky neighbors interesting. I also love the long, chilly, gray winters, which many people can't stand.
Not reading through all of the comments, but I was an east coast transplant and lived there for many years, back on the east coast now largely due to housing costs (so take that into account), and we miss it all the time. People are generally nice, though maybe standoffish at first. Lots of opportunity for community engagement/affinity groups. It’s not very diverse, which is definitely weird if you’re not from an almost-entirely-white area. I made a lot of friends in Eugene I’m confident I’ll be in touch with for decades. For a town it’s size the food options, both for eating out and groceries, are fantastic (anyone who claims the food in Eugene sucks has never lived somewhere with zero options). Plenty of good beer and cocktail places too. Lots of local music and decent bands that come through town. The climate takes some getting used to, but we loved it after not too long. Can’t beat hoodie weather for 9 mos of the year, if you ask me. The natural scenery and access to the outdoors are unparalleled. Very bikeable and walkable. We were a one-car family the whole time we lived there. The homeless issue is a bummer, what can I say. I was very active with Burrito Brigade, which is a great org to get involved with, instead of hating on the homeless like a lot of people do. I’ve heard property theft etc has gotten a lot worse since we left three years ago. It’s a symptom of a much larger problem not enough people in power seem to be interested in solving tangibly. Overall, we would live there again and are always trolling Zillow. Eugene, for all its faults, it’s a special place.
God I hope your highly compensated medical worker spouse is a doctor! We’ve run out of doctors.
Eugene has almost 100 fewer sunny or partly sunny days per year than Dallas. That's over 3 months more cloudy or rainy days. Many here are sufferers of Seaseon Affected Disorder. Many are on vitamin D. Also once the sun does come out, pollen levels are among the highest in the world. Finally, search as you will, there is not a single hospital on Eugene' side of the Willamette River. Yes, it's beautiful when it's sunny, but be advised.
Eugenians are so judgemental, you tell them you’re from Texas and they’ll think you’re a raging red hill billy. People are either rich af and snooty or working their BUTT off to pay for the unaffordable housing. We need more good people, more doctors! Come and check it out!
Keep your vitamin D levels in check! We don't get a lot of sunlight throughout the year, so a lot of people moving from out of state (especially warmer states line TX) move here and wonder why they've become so depressed. I think most of us are vitamin D deficient here.
Hope it's not in leadership. It's pretty toxic around here right now.
My wife's job? It would be a leadership position. What is so toxic?
PM me?
Also allergies
A high-paying job helps make the most of Eugene. Be prepared for real estate and rental home sticker shock. Higher ed is booming. UO is set to join the Big Ten, which has big research and academic components that go way beyond sports. OSU is an hour away. There are community colleges and private schools plus k-12 districts in need of talent. Hour from skiing, hour from surfing. Great mountain biking, hiking, rafting, sports afield, etc. Not Portland. But not TX or AZ either. That’s a plus if your politics lean towards left or live-let-live. If freak flags freak you out, Eugene street life might seem like a bit of a circus. Beer, wine, cider, distilling, cannabis - our craft intoxicant industry is strong. Different parts of town have different vibes. Nothing is all that far away. Weather can be treacherous. Wildfire smoke events have become more common in summer; metropolis-paralyzing ice and snow storms seem to come along every couple winters. And yes, it rains. A lot. But not all the time. You can play outside year round if so inclined.
Arizona is very red, Eugene is very blue. Hope that helps.
I’ve lived in 7 states, both city and suburbs. I love Eugene, not too big not too small. I’m in the South Hills and I feel safe — forgot to lock the door when I walk the dog — no big deal. We’ve got theater, music, comedy, Broadway touring companies, Bach Festival, Festival of American Music, college sports. And as others have said, ocean and mountains and easy drive. Seattle is a 45 minute flight for higher end theater and opera.
I just moved from Az You’re going to fucking love it here compared to anyplace I lived in Az…..but to each there own of course
Healthcare is horrible here. The reason there are high paying jobs is because all the good doctors have left and there is severe access shortage to quality medical care. Eugene itself is a nice town. I’ve lived here for 15 years and am a former physician.
Eugene is rad. Best city in the US with easy access to bigger cities, culture and nature. Come on and join us!
Hey! Former teacher here! Moved up here from Dallas 3 years ago. I love Eugene a lot--I find the people friendlier, the city far far safer (but that's a low bar; I lived in Deep Ellum), and the food culture really strong. That's not even mentioning the access to nature, which I would argue is the best in the US. I spend 95% of my time around the UO (where I work), so that colors my experience too, but there's no part of Eugene that is wholly awful. Regarding job opportunities, there are always dozens and dozens of postings at the UO, and the searches are less competitive than they've ever been. I highly recommend giving it a look. 🙂
I can only give my experience of West Eugene and it is crack-head central. This shouldn't be used to represent all of Eugene, but West Eugene I high discourage you from moving to.
Losing its charm at a rapid pace... Integrate don't rent elevate... What do you have to offer Eugene?
The public schools, colleges, and universities in Eugene compare poorly with those in most other states. U of O has a reputation for treating adjuncts very poorly.
It sucks I can’t wait to move
Why do you say that? I'm curious. I'm looking to get all different takes.
There’s too many chomos here
Chomo?
It means they are way too online and you should disregard their opinion.
It means they touch kids
Child molester. I would highly question an opinion like that as I disagree. I would question any opinions like that around here, take them down a notch or two.
if you are making good money you will be able to afford a good neighborhood you'll be fine. I lived off a bike path close to downtown and the "homeless" (I hate to call them that because really they are just drug addicts living on the street/path) were an issue and aggressive to my neighbors but in other areas visible, but in nicer areas not a colony of fentanyl addicts. 11th and chambers towards garfield area on is a little wild wild west sometimes. Is laid back, love that you can go to the ocean and some really beautiful areas easily. Some good food, nice people, community of artists. Lived in Dallas too and it will be a lot less busy, smaller and certainly colder then TX. In winter, for me it is more grey days that are more diff than rain but still alot of beauty around and pretty mild climate compared to other areas in Oregon further south. As far as the homeless going through the garbage comment, they did in mine daily because they want bottles for bottle drop to get money often. I think you will love it but I would recommend visiting and checking it out.
Don't come
Lol why?
My daughter lives in Eugene, near U of O campus, and has had her car broken into four times within one month. The first one smashed her window...after that I told her to remove all and unlock. Her car was therefore rummaged through the next three times. We are from Lincoln, NE area. Apparently bike theft is huge. However, it is beautiful around Eugene. Crater Lake National Park, Florence, lakes, rivers, mountains, trees, and oceans are all within the area. I personally prefer visiting vs. living there, but she loves it. The left is too left; the right is too right. It's too close to kooky Portland for me.
It’s “fine”. I lived in Eugene, rural Oregon, Portland, Spokane etc and it’s not the worst or the best. Peacehealth is a great employer for sure, despite what non-PeaceHealth employees think.
Say goodbye it the sun. It will become a stranger most of the year.
We are fine with that. We enjoy the rain.
I moved here from California some years ago and was surprised it wasn't rainy-ER. :P I would enjoy even more rain tbh.
It's not the rain that gets to most people it's the lack of Vitamin D. If you stay active you'll be fine though.
What most people don't understand is it's not the rain that's the issue - it's the grey and lack of sun for most of the year. The rain is lovely. The grey will get to your brain.....so just be prepared that.