Oregon Peeps - I have questions

There is a chance that the other half and I will be moving cross country in the near future. His Dad has a ranch in Oregon, and is getting older, and would like for us to move out there to be closer to him.

Right now we don't have an exact location pinpointed, but I've looked into the county his Dad lives in (Union) and the surrounding counties. Just a little digging tells me Malheur county is a no effing way option due to "severe restrictions" on pit bulls or any dog resembling a pit bull. I'm unsure of the other surrounding counties (Baker, Grant, Wallowa, Umatilla, namely) so if you know, please share. No way I'm moving somewhere that has active or proposed pit bull bans.

Aside from the BSL concerns of the potential move, tell me what's good about Eastern Oregon. What's bad?

Of course I'm interested in all the dog related stuff, but tell me everything. Scenery, weather, crime, job market etc.

Well, those are all Eastern Oregon, so ignore anything you've ever heard about Oregon or especially Portland.

Cold desert, lots of sage brush. Some nice views of the Wallow and Elkhorns from Baker City/ La Grande. Union is more mountainous than a lot of central to eastern Oregon (John Day for example). Umatilla is off the mountains (big, big hill between Pendleton and La Grande) so it looks a lot like Nebraska.

Deep Republican to Libertarian. Its really more Idaho than Portland.