[RC] Off topic - tell me about Oregon! - Marlene Moss
Ok, as we deal with the sweltering heat, my thoughts turn to
where I want to live next. This is anywhere from a 1-4 year plan, but I
like having goals!
We currently live in CO, which I love, but this place is
lower in elevation than I’d prefer and although our winters are nice, the
90-100 degree summer is driving me nuts. If I stay in Colorado, I’m
thinking about the Salida area. But I’ve been thinking off and on
about Oregon for a long time. I got to
visit Southern Oregon several years ago when I bought a
horse and really enjoyed it.
So here is what I am looking for in an area, so if someone
would like to tell me if there are areas in Oregon that fit
(privately is fine so we don’t clutter the list), I’d sure
appreciate it.
Mountains must be visible (unless we’re in
them!). No more than a few days of 90+ temps. I don’t mind a
lot of snow in the winter, but I need to be in a place that I can do some
decent miles from my property and would prefer to be able to ride nearly year
round (I don’t mind riding in snow, but do like at least 32 degrees and/or
sunshine). I’d be somewhat interested in a property where I could
grow my own hay on part of it. We currently run a boarding facility
(45-55 horses) and I wouldn’t mind doing a smaller version of that in the
future, either something already set up, or starting from scratch if it made
sense in the particular area. Basically I’d like the property to
have some potential to earn it’s keep – right now board completely
covers our mortgage, which is really nice. So I probably need a minimum
of 20 acres, but more is always better and I’d like at least 40-75.
Being next to BLM or NF would be ideal!
I’d prefer no covenants (I hate asking permission to
build a fence, even if the answer is usually yes).
And of course the biggest requirement is within 4 hours to
4-6 rides and maybe within 8 hours of Steph’s Idaho rides,
would be awesome. We don’t need to be really close to an urban
center (maybe just close enough that someone has/will put up high speed
internet towers, I’d let someone put one on my property!) so that hubby
can do his remote web development jobs. Otherwise I guess we’d have
to deal with satellite again.
We’re pretty handy and can create most any structure
that we’d need (would love to have a separate house for my mom though!),
so I don’t mind – and would enjoy – old ranches that need
repair. Price range probably needs to be less than $600 and $400’s
would be preferable (which I know will be tough).
I’m open to other areas too (sorry, nothing east of
CO, the weird 50+% humidity here this year is too much for me!), so please
offer any suggestions. I’d like to chat with someone about possible
areas to keep an eye on, and learn if there are things that I should look out
for that aren’t obvious to non-locals.
