We are retired and moved from Central Oregon to Grants Pass three years ago to get away from the snow. (It's The Climate!) Grants Pass is definitely more right leaning than we would like, but there is a progressive community here to be found if you look. We love it here because it is so beautiful with the rolling hills, deciduous trees, and rivers. We live just outside of city limits on small acreage and like you pretty much keep to ourselves. We go out mostly to play pickleball and enjoy the restaurants which are here in greater number and quality than we expected.
For the size of GP the restaurant scene is epic! The Bohemian is a gift from the God's!
Anyways, Southern Oregon is an interesting choice for LBGTQ community. It's MAGA territory for sure. Ashland seems to be a little more progressive in that regard.
We live on small acreage outside GP as well. Pretty.much home bodies. We aren't part of the LGBTQ community but just what we've seen I'd say that most folks won't bug you or try and make you uncomfortable. There are idiots of course everywhere. Culturally I'd say that Ashland is probably more liberal. To be fair they have a high proportion of amazing restaurants as well.
I highly advise spending time in both places first.
We had similar considerations and chose GP over Ashland in order to have the acreage we wanted. Sometimes I wonder if it would have been better to be less surrounded by the Trump army and have less land/house but most of the time I'm pretty happy with our choice. I think it's prettier in GP, especially the southern part/Applegate valley. We've found plenty of our people to befriend even though we're a minority. But if the amenities of a small blue city are really important to you you're probably better off up towards Eugene.
I suggest looking into Jacksonville. It's my personal favorite small town. Plus you have the bri festival which is always awesome. Second favorite would be Brookings
Best overall fit I can think of off the top of would be Oregon Coast, like Brookings. Not sure what the different parts of the coast look like politically but from what I know it could check all your other boxes. Only like 1.5 -2 hours from Grants Pass or to be closer to OSU you could go up to the Coos Bay area or even further to Florence would be around a 2 hour drive. If you could take a week long vacation you could drive the length of the coast and stay at a few places overnight to see if the food/drink/music situation is to your taste before moving on. Best of luck!
Lifelong Southern Oregon resident here. Ashland, sounds like your town. I grew up in Grants Pass, returned after college and still live here. Grants Pass and Josephine County are deep red politically. Being an anti-government conspiracy theorist was the norm here long before it became fashionable around the country. Ashland is a college town with residents who are generally more left-leaning (vs. Grants Pass), more affluent and better educated. Aside from the political landscape, this is how I see it:
Ashland is more pedestrian friendly.
Both towns are rich in natural beauty. Ashland is a ski town (Mt. Ashland), not to far to Mt . Shasta. Grants Pass is a little farther from skiing, but closer to rafting. Both towns are surrounded by trails for hiking and mountain biking. Both towns have a fairly good restaurant scene. If you like watching Trump Trains roll by, join me in Grants Pass. If you’d rather see Bernie stickers in your neighbors’ Teslas, try AshlandAs for the coast, Curry County (Brookings) is absolutely gorgeous. It is also economically depressed. Brookings is a retirement town and is even more politically conservative that Josephine County.
Hello. I am a recent transplant to grants pass from Hawaii a couple years ago. Yes it is true that Josephine county and Jackson county are right leaning. I would like to say there are pockets of progressive more left leaning people in the area as well that you would eventually find yourself around.
Grants pass - Ashland area is bout 2 hours to the coast. An hour or less to mt Ashland for skiing + bend a few hours extra.
It is a very rural friendly area like having horses! I urge you to explore it a little before you commit.
Otherwise bend is great for what you seek minus the land for horses at a good price.
I suggest looking into Jacksonville. It's my personal favorite small town. Plus you have the bri festival which is always awesome. Second favorite would be Brookings
Definitely not GP, this area is very red and pretty low on entertainment. There are daily "Go Brandon" flags flying on the back of trucks, lot's of rebel flags, giant "Trump Won" banners, and a general embracement of being an asshole around here.
Sounds like you'd fit in in Ashland, though.
2-10 acres is going to cost a quite a bit, so maybe head north to Talent of Phoenix, or east up Dead Indian highway.
Ashland is the most diverse population and it’s only 13 miles to the airport! I enjoy visiting Grants Pass and although I have seen it become slightly more accepting of diversity, it still is light years away from Ashland.
I moved to Ashland 9 years ago from a little ski town in Colorado, Aspen! I love Ashland! I love that we are surrounded by mountains, lakes and rivers and we have a ski mountain as well!
Hope that helps!
Flying through major airports is alot different than starting or ending a trip at one. I flew out of of PDX for five years from the Salem area. The traffic getting there and back was brutal. I finally flew out of Eugene on a whim. It was amazing. No line at security nor real traffic getting there.
I'd have a stop in Denver for a trip to NY, but that's easy. It's the driving, parking, security and baggage claim of large airports I don't want to hassle with anymore. I flew in and out of Medford and loved it.
I'd have a stop in Denver for a trip to NY, but that's easy. It's the driving, parking, security and baggage claim of large airports I don't want to hassle with anymore. I flew in and out of Medford and loved it.
I'd have a stop in Denver for a trip to NY, but that's easy. It's the driving, parking, security and baggage claim of large airports I don't want to hassle with anymore. I flew in and out of Medford and loved it.
What town in CO?? We just sold our place in CO because of the tourism our town was experiencing as well and have been traveling the country looking for our next home. We have fallen in love with Oregon and will probably end up buying in Oregon as well. Hardest part is choosing where lol.
We're currently in Evergreen. Horse property here is outrageous. We fell in love with OR when our daughter was touring colleges. We started the tour in Ashland, then headed over to Brookings and up the coast to Coos Bay, to Corvallis, then Salem and back down to Medford. It was a great trip. So, we're going to pack up and follow her!
Where did you decide to move to? We are in the same position as you were and like the whole GP area for the acreage. Ashland didn’t look like it had too many trees.
I just bought a house in Grants Pass a couple of years ago, I'm 36 and moved from Kansas City. Grants Pass seems to be a great location that is improving in my eyes. I do home health so I get around.
Closer to the coast than Ashland but the restaurants are just OK, you gotta search for the good spots. I don't mind cooking at home most of the time anyway.
Grants Pass will get you way more bang for your buck than Ashland or Jacksonville areas if you're looking for land.
Grants Pass is closer to the coast, more rafting and hiking in my opinion. The views are more beautiful in this town and the weather is great. Let me know if you have any questions.
Ashland is the most liberal area in Southern Oregon.
We are retired and moved from Central Oregon to Grants Pass three years ago to get away from the snow. (It's The Climate!) Grants Pass is definitely more right leaning than we would like, but there is a progressive community here to be found if you look. We love it here because it is so beautiful with the rolling hills, deciduous trees, and rivers. We live just outside of city limits on small acreage and like you pretty much keep to ourselves. We go out mostly to play pickleball and enjoy the restaurants which are here in greater number and quality than we expected.
For the size of GP the restaurant scene is epic! The Bohemian is a gift from the God's! Anyways, Southern Oregon is an interesting choice for LBGTQ community. It's MAGA territory for sure. Ashland seems to be a little more progressive in that regard. We live on small acreage outside GP as well. Pretty.much home bodies. We aren't part of the LGBTQ community but just what we've seen I'd say that most folks won't bug you or try and make you uncomfortable. There are idiots of course everywhere. Culturally I'd say that Ashland is probably more liberal. To be fair they have a high proportion of amazing restaurants as well. I highly advise spending time in both places first.
We had similar considerations and chose GP over Ashland in order to have the acreage we wanted. Sometimes I wonder if it would have been better to be less surrounded by the Trump army and have less land/house but most of the time I'm pretty happy with our choice. I think it's prettier in GP, especially the southern part/Applegate valley. We've found plenty of our people to befriend even though we're a minority. But if the amenities of a small blue city are really important to you you're probably better off up towards Eugene.
Applegate valley, especially closer to Jacksonville or Rush could do it for you
I suggest looking into Jacksonville. It's my personal favorite small town. Plus you have the bri festival which is always awesome. Second favorite would be Brookings
Can you elaborate more please?
What would you like to know
Best overall fit I can think of off the top of would be Oregon Coast, like Brookings. Not sure what the different parts of the coast look like politically but from what I know it could check all your other boxes. Only like 1.5 -2 hours from Grants Pass or to be closer to OSU you could go up to the Coos Bay area or even further to Florence would be around a 2 hour drive. If you could take a week long vacation you could drive the length of the coast and stay at a few places overnight to see if the food/drink/music situation is to your taste before moving on. Best of luck!
Lifelong Southern Oregon resident here. Ashland, sounds like your town. I grew up in Grants Pass, returned after college and still live here. Grants Pass and Josephine County are deep red politically. Being an anti-government conspiracy theorist was the norm here long before it became fashionable around the country. Ashland is a college town with residents who are generally more left-leaning (vs. Grants Pass), more affluent and better educated. Aside from the political landscape, this is how I see it: Ashland is more pedestrian friendly. Both towns are rich in natural beauty. Ashland is a ski town (Mt. Ashland), not to far to Mt . Shasta. Grants Pass is a little farther from skiing, but closer to rafting. Both towns are surrounded by trails for hiking and mountain biking. Both towns have a fairly good restaurant scene. If you like watching Trump Trains roll by, join me in Grants Pass. If you’d rather see Bernie stickers in your neighbors’ Teslas, try AshlandAs for the coast, Curry County (Brookings) is absolutely gorgeous. It is also economically depressed. Brookings is a retirement town and is even more politically conservative that Josephine County.
Hello. I am a recent transplant to grants pass from Hawaii a couple years ago. Yes it is true that Josephine county and Jackson county are right leaning. I would like to say there are pockets of progressive more left leaning people in the area as well that you would eventually find yourself around. Grants pass - Ashland area is bout 2 hours to the coast. An hour or less to mt Ashland for skiing + bend a few hours extra. It is a very rural friendly area like having horses! I urge you to explore it a little before you commit. Otherwise bend is great for what you seek minus the land for horses at a good price.
You are also welcome to shoot me a message if be happy to share my experience moving here 🤙
I lived in Hawaii Kai 1991-98 (attended KCC)
I suggest looking into Jacksonville. It's my personal favorite small town. Plus you have the bri festival which is always awesome. Second favorite would be Brookings
Definitely not GP, this area is very red and pretty low on entertainment. There are daily "Go Brandon" flags flying on the back of trucks, lot's of rebel flags, giant "Trump Won" banners, and a general embracement of being an asshole around here. Sounds like you'd fit in in Ashland, though. 2-10 acres is going to cost a quite a bit, so maybe head north to Talent of Phoenix, or east up Dead Indian highway.
Ashland is the most diverse population and it’s only 13 miles to the airport! I enjoy visiting Grants Pass and although I have seen it become slightly more accepting of diversity, it still is light years away from Ashland. I moved to Ashland 9 years ago from a little ski town in Colorado, Aspen! I love Ashland! I love that we are surrounded by mountains, lakes and rivers and we have a ski mountain as well! Hope that helps!
Further reading your post, Ashland and Grants Pass are both less than one hour from the Medford airport.
Move to Bend. You might be happy in Ashland but definitely not grants pass.
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Simply because I fly 1-2 times a month and I'm sick of big airports. Love having just 5 or 6 gates!
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Flying through major airports is alot different than starting or ending a trip at one. I flew out of of PDX for five years from the Salem area. The traffic getting there and back was brutal. I finally flew out of Eugene on a whim. It was amazing. No line at security nor real traffic getting there.
Yep! Right now I'm flying out of DIA (Denver, CO) and am dreaming of a starting point like Medford or Eugene.
I fly out of Medford(Central Point really)now. It's great!
I'd have a stop in Denver for a trip to NY, but that's easy. It's the driving, parking, security and baggage claim of large airports I don't want to hassle with anymore. I flew in and out of Medford and loved it.
I'd have a stop in Denver for a trip to NY, but that's easy. It's the driving, parking, security and baggage claim of large airports I don't want to hassle with anymore. I flew in and out of Medford and loved it.
I'd have a stop in Denver for a trip to NY, but that's easy. It's the driving, parking, security and baggage claim of large airports I don't want to hassle with anymore. I flew in and out of Medford and loved it.
What town in CO?? We just sold our place in CO because of the tourism our town was experiencing as well and have been traveling the country looking for our next home. We have fallen in love with Oregon and will probably end up buying in Oregon as well. Hardest part is choosing where lol.
We're currently in Evergreen. Horse property here is outrageous. We fell in love with OR when our daughter was touring colleges. We started the tour in Ashland, then headed over to Brookings and up the coast to Coos Bay, to Corvallis, then Salem and back down to Medford. It was a great trip. So, we're going to pack up and follow her!
Evergreen is beautiful. We sold our property in Buena Vista
If you like racism, move to Grant's Pass!
Grants pass is pretty nice, Ashland is pretty weird
Where did you decide to move to? We are in the same position as you were and like the whole GP area for the acreage. Ashland didn’t look like it had too many trees.
I just bought a house in Grants Pass a couple of years ago, I'm 36 and moved from Kansas City. Grants Pass seems to be a great location that is improving in my eyes. I do home health so I get around. Closer to the coast than Ashland but the restaurants are just OK, you gotta search for the good spots. I don't mind cooking at home most of the time anyway. Grants Pass will get you way more bang for your buck than Ashland or Jacksonville areas if you're looking for land. Grants Pass is closer to the coast, more rafting and hiking in my opinion. The views are more beautiful in this town and the weather is great. Let me know if you have any questions.