Oregon People

[Julee]

Oregon is on our list of places to look at living in. Questions!

Where are you located, and what is the weather like?
How pet friendly is your area?
Are there a lot of training clubs in your area? Trials? Places to rent rings?
If you're in a more rural area, how far do you need to drive to get to a reasonably populated area?
Are apartments/houses for rent generally pet friendly?
Do you enjoy living there? What would you change if you could?

Anything else?

I can't think of any more questions right now, but I'm sure there will be more.

[Equinox]

Running around doing yard work and general house cleaning right now, so can't leave a detailed reply, buuuut

DO IT. MOVE HERE.

I'm in Portland/Beaverton right now but go to college in Eugene. The weather here's been great, 70s and sunny all week with a few rainy afternoons. It's supposed to rain next week, too, but that really is Oregon for you. It rains. A lot. We get mild weather otherwise, it never goes to either extreme. We didn't get any snow this year because it just wasn't cold + wet enough, and I still consider 80 degrees and up to be "extreme weather conditions".

Portland is extremely pet friendly (although I've never been anywhere else with a dog before, so I can't compare). There are lot of very nice cafes with an outdoor dog-friendly section located downtown, and you can usually bring your dog into any store that doesn't sell food. I've found that the people are usually very dog friendly, too. Even walking around with my 80 lb GSD I get more positive remarks than anything, and a lot of people asking to pet him or telling me about a GSD they owned or knew and loved.

There are also a lot of fantastic parks and hiking spots, and all the large beaches are pet friendly and never overcrowded. There is technically a leash law but everyone lets their dogs off leash and are smart about managing their dogs.

Not sure about training clubs/trials/events, so hopefully Adrienne can answer that. I am clueless when it comes to actual dog things.

We live in the suburbs in Beaverton/Portland but we do have a friend who lives up a hill and owns about 4 acres of land, and I'd consider her area fairly rural. I'd say that it's probably a 15-20 minute drive for her to reach a more populated area? We also drive about 30 minutes out from our house to fruit farms each summer to pick fruit, not sure if that helps.

Pet friendly rent may be tricky, but again, I've never tried to look anywhere else before so I can't compare. Finding a pet friendly house down in my college town was definitely difficult, especially because there are usually size and breed restrictions... but I'm really not sure how it is in Portland.

I definitely love living here. I always say that I'd like to stay in Portland forever, and even if I move elsewhere for graduate school or an internship, I'd like to ultimately come back. I love the green, love the people, and even love the rain.

PS: if you haven't already done so, watch Portlandia

[Julee]

I like rain, Rick's initially from the Tacoma area, so he's definitely used to it. He misses the PNW :P Portlandia is awesome.

It really sounds like somewhere I'd love. CT is definitely not where I want to be. Rick wants to be closer (but not too close) to his family. We're hopefully going to be visiting WA later this year for a couple of weeks, I'm hoping to trickle down into OR to check it out!

[AdrianneIsabel]

Originally Posted by Julee

Oregon is on our list of places to look at living in. Questions!

Where are you located, and what is the weather like?

-southeast portland, I work in Beaverton, do it.

How pet friendly is your area?

-Very, we can take our dogs a lot of places and people love dogs here. I may be bias though because Vegas was very unfriendly for dogs. Do it.

Are there a lot of training clubs in your area? Trials? Places to rent rings?

-yup, tons. In the nine months here we've joined two dock dog clubs, a Schutzhund club, we're joining an agility club, and the trial opportunities are vast like every weekend there is something. Do it.


If you're in a more rural area, how far do you need to drive to get to a reasonably populated area?

- we'll probably move to land in east Gresham or Troutdale eventually, it would be maybe 8-10 mi to get back in the city. Do it.

Are apartments/houses for rent generally pet friendly?

- this was hard, especially with a pit bull. However, we hid our pit bulls and knew it would be short term while we rushed to buy a house. I can PM you the apt complex we stayed in, it's "no pit bulls" (their insurance policy) but there were tons and the staff turned a blind eye. I lived there in college before moving to Vegas so I knew the area and it was a good choice for the time being. It's a very young college complex though so it had its draw backs outside of allowing the dogs. Do it.

Do you enjoy living there? What would you change if you could?

-Yes, duh. I wish it was warmer but it's not worth the sacrifice of the greenery. Oh and Traffic sucks. Really, it's still built like an old city (they get awards for rebuilding existing instead of tearing down forests and expanding, etc) so it has trouble handling traffic but its livable. Hey, do it.

Anything else?

I can't think of any more questions right now, but I'm sure there will be more.

I am on my phone but I answered what I could.

[Julee]

Thank you both! I was hoping you two would answer, I can't remember who else lives there.
Oh! Adrienne, how far do you generally have to travel to trials and such? How much are entry fees, generally (agility in particular)? I'm wondering if they're on par with what CT clubs usually charge.

[AdrianneIsabel]

Some trials are in town, so no travel, but barn hunts have been an hour or so. Dock dogs have been 4 or so. Agility this weekend was 1.5 hr drive, in two weeks obed will be about 4.

The fees seem cheaper than Vegas but I'm seeing 15-28(high end being average for Vegas) per run. FlynSBT would know better, she's been trialing here a lot longer. Obed still seems equally priced.

[Julee]

Excellent. Thank you!

[Equinox]

Just move here already

[AdrianneIsabel]

You like dog parks? This is a dog park http://www.flickr.com/photos/adriann...7632074905947/
(1,000 acre park)

You like hiking? This is hiking.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/adriann...7632116292668/
(Forest park)

You like swimming dogs? This is swimming dogs. (okay, that one didn't work well)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/adriann...7632905514471/


Do it.

[Equinox]

Originally Posted by AdrianneIsabel

You like hiking? This is hiking.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/adriann...7632116292668/
(Forest park)

This... this is less than 5 miles from my house. Why have I not taken my dog there yet? At least I know what I'll be doing later this week!!