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I live in Eugene.  Honestly, I like it here.  Sure there are some hippies and libs but as long as you stay away from downtown, everything is pretty normal.  Plenty of conservative people around here.  You are an hour away from the coast and the mountains, half an hour to the hills where you can shoot all day in the woods and not be bothered.  We could use some more gun shops here but there are some good places and gunshows are at the fairgrounds on a regular basis.  Pretty clean here IMO, like it a lot better than similar sized Salem.  Tons of recreational opportunities.  Beaches are gonna be essentially the same from the border of WA to the border with CA, temperature and weather wise.  I would give a slight advantage the farther south you go but the differences aren't huge.  The coast due west of Eugene is nice, tons of beach and sand dunes, plus the shear drop off cliffs.  Really I can't say anything too bad for the area.

Take a look at this link:

AR15 Link

Read and research before you decide to move.  Oregon is great, but its not for everybody.  Like many states, the big population centers rule the rest of the state.  So, Portland imposes its will on the rest of the state.

Anywhere but Hood River!

Seriously, check out the Bend area. Growing very fast with lots of oputunity.
Make sure you have work before you move.
CH

Bossmonkey, are you Basketcases brother?
He posted another thread about his brother wanting to move here, he was from IN. as well.

Bushwacker is right on about Eugene. I grew up in Albany but have been going to school in Eugene over the last couple years.  Eugene is known for the liberals, but there really are both extremes, the liberals are just louder and attrack more attention. The only other place I would reccomend than Eugene would be Bend, on the other side of the mountains. You'd be much further away from the coast though.

The weather here in Medford most of the time is the hottest in the state and we dont quite get as much rain as the north does. Just from watching the news were usually 10degrees warmer, common to have 100+ degree days in the summer.  So if you like the warmer weather then its the spot for you. We have skiing about 30mins away (Mt. Ashland). Coast and the redwood forest I think is about 2 1/2hrs away. Cali border is 30miles away. We have some nice lakes and the Rogue River is good for fishing/camping/rafting. I lived in Gold Hill which is about 13miles from Medford. Its really nice cause your about 15-20mins from the big city if you need to do major shopping but out enough that you dont have to deal with the bigger city life. Its also right next to the Rogue River.

We only really have 1 nice gun store in my opinion in the area , there is 1 public range close by as well as an indoor range. http://www.mrpc.info/ The nicest IMO is about 35mins away http://www.jcsa-shootingsports.org/  There is BLM land all round but I dont really know of any spots as I do most of my shooting at the ranges listed and none of my friends own any land. We do have active IDPA/IPSC shooting matches as well.

There isnt much of a night life as far as I know in the valley, theres a few night clubs and such if your of that suit. We have one strip club, lol, so that lets you know that were still small compared to Eugene/Portland.

As far as other Arfcommers, the majority are in Portland/Eugene area. The "Oregon Shoots" are held up north in the Portlanders area. If your wanting to be really social with fellow Arfcommers then Portland/Eugene is your best bet. Anyhow hope this helps in making a decision easier.

On a personal note I prefer Medford to PDX/Eugene. I dont like the hustle and bustle of those big citys where you have to plan your plans around traffic schedules... The downside to this area is there isnt a gazillion things to do like in the big city. Also, I think our county went Bush, btw.

-MrMaeda

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