Moving questions. Tell me your thoughts of Oregon.

I know it's a HUGE over-generalization, but be prepared for a lot more of the hippie mindset to transfer to your children. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, I think the hippie mindset has a lot to offer, but be aware that your kids will be indoctrinated with different opinions than they're indoctrinated with here. Once again, I'm not saying this is a bad thing, just different. The simplest ideas that we may take for granted can be seen as criminal in different cultures.

In Oregon you'll see some really different attitudes towards things than here. For example, you'll get a lot more anti-gun sentiments, anti-hunting, everything in the name of environmentalism, affirmative action, animal rights above human rights, dependence on the government to fix our problems, pro-vegan, anit-meat eating, etc. As Kevin said, you'll meet a lot of people who think they are better than you for the moral high ground they believe they've taken (not that Utah is devoid of this phenomenon). I grew up in the San Francisco area and I remember my city council holding a vote to ban internal combustion lawn mowers in my town because they pollute too much. Fortunately it got voted down, but expect stuff like that to come up regularly. Expect your kids to be made into monsters for shooting guns or hunting. Take a look at how CA bans new 2-stroke motors and how they have "orange" and "green" tag days for dirt biking. Expect this type of mindset to permeate everything.

On the flip side, your kids will learn a lot more about diversity and different ways of life. They'll learn more about taking care of our planet, recycling, alternative energy sources, protecting animals and their habitats, alternative lifestyles, acceptance of people different from you, tolerance, they'll probably learn to be less materialistic, and they'll learn how to make friends with people who have entirely different lifestyles. They'll be exposed to all sorts of different mindsets and situations you could never encounter here. These are all great things that can happen anywhere, but I'd expect them to learn it better in an environment like in Oregon. I remember being in a high school math class of 34 students. 3 of us were white. It was interesting to be the minority, and it was a night and day contrast between the experience my brothers have here where 99% of their school is white upper class.
 
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I've been to every state in the Union except HI. My first business trip to UT in 1999 affected me like none other and I instantly fell in love with the place. I made it a goal to create a position for myself at JL that would allow me to move to UT and still contribute to the company I loved. It took me until 2007 to make that happen and it was perfect.

You live in the best state there is. You live among the best people you'll ever meet. I had to leave due to family issues but I do hope to return once I'm no longer needed here.


BLM... lolz.
 
Grew up in a small town in Oregon, went to Oregon State in Corvallis. Moved to San Diego after college, then the Bay Area, back to Oregon, then Miami Florida, now UT. Once my boys are 18 and out of High School the wife and I will probably move to OR or WA.

While I haven't lived all that many places, I've learned that everywhere has it's pluses and minuses. People, politics, cost of living, weather, natural surroundings. It's been 14 years since I've lived there, but I don't things have changed a ton. When it comes to Oregon, if you want lush green surroundings you need to put up with rain but very little snow (west half of the state). If you want to be on or near the coast, rain. Portland/Eugene = liberals/hippies. Small towns = hicks. Great micro breweries all over the place. Better mexican food there than here. Growing up and going to college there I always though of the state as 4 distinct areas. Willamette valley where I lived, from the Portland area down past Eugene area, East to the Cascades and West to the Coast range. This is what most people think of when they think of Oregon, except for the Goonies fans and others that picture the Oregon coast as Oregon. The Coast, windy, rainy, rocky.. There are a fair number of nice days and quite a few beaches, but people don't vacation there from other states to lie on the beach in the sun. Central/Eastern Oregon, I like to think of it as the Utah part of Oregon. Lots of forest area up close to the Cascades (a bit more scrubby than the West side), and desert as you go East. It's a big recreational area, so take that for what it's worth. Cold snowy winters, hot dry summers. Overall I'd say the weather there is pretty similar to the weather here (Clearfield/Layton area). Finally, Southern Oregon - I don't know that area well so I'll refrain from comment.

The politics in Oregon are a bit odd. It's clearly a democrat state, but they lean to the right on some issues like gun control. Even this is very much area to area. You can get a strong typical "guns are bad!" vibe in Portland, then drive 45 minutes south for an "I can't wait for deer season" attitude. What I don't know much about is wheeling. When I lived there all my outdoor camping type stuff was back-packing trips. Lots of great places for that, but in the years before I left it seemed like every time I went there was a ban on open fires.

Another difference - this part of UT feels kinda cut-off. Salt Lake/desert to the East, mountains to the West with not much space in between. Oregon has a lot more room to spread out, so finding a small town or a bit of land is a lot easier.

If I move back to Oregon I will likely move either to the Salem/Keizer area or near the coast on the north half of the state. Of all the places I've lived, Oregon has the best summers.
 
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