Tell me about Newberg, OR.

[worldbound4now]

Sure, seeking advice from you strange fools may be a bit daring, but I'm considering jobs across the country.

I will be completing graduate school next week, and have been on a pretty aggressive job hunt. My wife and I are looking for smaller communities that are not overly isolated. We love small town pride, but don't want to alienate ourselves too far from the conveniences of a larger city. Many, many of the satellite towns around larger cities seem to have become commuter towns which lack a sense of community. When looking at Newberg, OR, it seems to be a quaint town with decent schools but that's about all I find. For you PNW residents, do any of you have any living experience in the Newberg area?

Thank you in advance,

worldbound4now

 

[Auburn]

Just SW of Portland, rural farming town. About all I know about it.

 

[SacramentoMike]

I know Newburg is in Oregon, somewhere near the middle of Motorcycle Heaven. So you've got that going for you.

Congratulations on the graduate degree too, Peter. Same field? Good luck in the search.

 

[FJRay]

Don't know much about the town but you would have good access to the coast or the mountains for recreation. Probably gets around 40 inches or so of rain so it's green but moss will grow on your north side if you don't keep moving. Thats why I went for the east side of the mountains. Only get around 12 inches each year and most of that is snow.

 

[worldbound4now]

Don't know much about the town but you would have good access to the coast or the mountains for recreation. Probably gets around 40 inches or so of rain so it's green but moss will grow on your north side if you don't keep moving. Thats why I went for the east side of the mountains. Only get around 12 inches each year and most of that is snow.

I've also considered the Bend area, but read mixed emotions from either current or former residents. Weather seems to be brought up quite a bit if you live west of the cascades, but yet most everyone who lives in OR or WA lives on the coastal side of the mountains. Hrmm.... I've never lived in the PNW. Is the rain pattern of NW Oregon typically a day of storms with sunny days in between, or weeks of gray clouds and intermittent pissy rain just enough to mimic ancient water-drop torture treatment?

 

[worldbound4now]

I know Newburg is in Oregon, somewhere near the middle of Motorcycle Heaven. So you've got that going for you.

Congratulations on the graduate degree too, Peter. Same field? Good luck in the search.

Thank you on the well wishes. Yes, my new degree builds on the old.

I've done some back country hiking in Mt. Hood National Forest, but was lucky to have relatively moderate weather and spectacular scenery to distract me from anything negative. With that experience, I was able to cage it on some pretty inspiring roads where I have been loathing to return to on two wheels.

 

[Ignacio]

Is the rain pattern of NW Oregon typically a day of storms with sunny days in between, or weeks of gray clouds and intermittent pissy rain just enough to mimic ancient water-drop torture treatment?

Pretty much the latter...except when it rains harder than usual and is a solid drizzle.

I'm guessing you hiked in the spring or summer......it's much nicer then with far more days with some sunshine. Days with sunshine are below 50% from October to March.

Try this site.

I remember talking with somebody from Newburg once. They said it was a nice community...not much a night life. It was a dry city or something a long time ago and still pretty conservative I guess.

 

[worldbound4now]

I continue to look on through OR and WA, finding a lot of opportunity in Yakima, WA. The wikipediadescription of Yakima makes it sound pretty ominous though.....

"The per capita income for the city was $15,920. About 17.1% of families and 22.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 32.3% of those under age 18 and 12.0% of those age 65 or over"

Newburg still sounds pretty enticing. Dry cities.... they just provide a means to stimulate the economy of the neighboring wet city.

 

[Ignacio]

I continue to look on through OR and WA, finding a lot of opportunity in Yakima, WA. The wikipediadescription of Yakima makes it sound pretty ominous though.....

Ummm...that one I know as they're a sister communityy 80 miles down the road. And to be blunt...we're doing a better job at attracting folks in Pasco, Kennewick, and Richland and better luck dealing with gang crap. We have issues here too certainly....there's a big question mark on the next year or so with potential lay-offs if you're a government contractor...but long-term has been good to this community.

PM if you want details. I'm the Cliff Claven of Eastern Washington with a Masters in all things Tri-Cities.

That and we have 412 days of sunshine each year.

 

[650cent]

I continue to look on through OR and WA, finding a lot of opportunity in Yakima, WA. The wikipediadescription of Yakima makes it sound pretty ominous though.....

"The per capita income for the city was $15,920. About 17.1% of families and 22.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 32.3% of those under age 18 and 12.0% of those age 65 or over"

Newburg still sounds pretty enticing. Dry cities.... they just provide a means to stimulate the economy of the neighboring wet city.

Newberg is nice, far from a "dry" town though. The only problem I have is the traffic to and from Portland during the commute. Hwy. 99 dumps into Tigard and I-5 which can get nasty. Might want to look at Canby, small town and much less traffic because one can get on I-5 or 205 and be in Portland within 25 minutes. Schools are great and close to some of the best Cascade Mt. roads. Or about an hour to the beach.

Bill

 

[Jer]

I spend my summers in Salem, 30 miles south of Newberg. I worked with several people that lived in Newberg and commuted to Salem. They liked the small town life, but then again Salem in not a big metropolis either. I didn't mind the rain when I was working, but as soon as I retired a home was purchased in the Palm Springs area of California. If a little rain doesn't bother you then Newberg might be your place.

 

[madjackdog]

I can tell you that Bust doesn't live there. What more do you want?

 

[fjrwalker]

I can't disagree with Ignacio on the perceptions of Yakima vs. the Tri-Cities area but, if the right job opportunity presents itself, you shouldn't discount the Yakima area.

I've lived here most of my life and have never had any direct problems relating to gang or drug activity that seem to concern people so much around here.

There are some smaller communities nearby like Selah, Naches, and the West Valley area with highly rated schools and more rural atmosphere.

Feel free to pm if you'd like.

 

[BIODSL]

When looking at Newberg, OR, it seems to be a quaint town with decent schools but that's about all I find. For you PNW residents, do any of you have any living experience in the Newberg area?

Grew up in Yamhill, 11 miles to the west. Newberg is now basically on what I would call the west end of the Portland metro area. Head west and you're rural. Newberg and Yamhill county is becoming what the wine people call the Napa Valley of the North. Wine is big and has replace other type of agriculture in the area. Property prices in the county are high.

The has resulted in kind of a schizophrenia in the county; long time residents and those who've moved in over the last 10-15 years. There is a home town feel to the communities around here while the influence of the wine community has brought in a more afluent crowd as well. Depending on who you are and what you like to do, you might like the community. Most do. It's just so damned crowded anymore.

The weather does get a bit damp in the winter. 40 inches might not sound like much, but it comes slowly; the dreaded Oregon drizzle. Mild climate but a lot of clouds all winter long. Still, if you don't mind a little rain a guy can ride practically year round. And we have some great geography to ride.

 

[worldbound4now]

I can't disagree with Ignacio on the perceptions of Yakima vs. the Tri-Cities area but, if the right job opportunity presents itself, you shouldn't discount the Yakima area.

I've lived here most of my life and have never had any direct problems relating to gang or drug activity that seem to concern people so much around here.

There are some smaller communities nearby like Selah, Naches, and the West Valley area with highly rated schools and more rural atmosphere.

Feel free to pm if you'd like.

Thank you for the surrounding community hints. I don't mind a 20-30 minute drive to work if it's on open roads, without stop and go traffic. Too many years in Las Vegas and Dallas/Ft. Worth have made me truly hate congested, stuffy, frustratingly homicidal urban traffic.

 

[Ignacio]

Thank you for the surrounding community hints. I don't mind a 20-30 minute drive to work if it's on open roads, without stop and go traffic. Too many years in Las Vegas and Dallas/Ft. Worth have made me truly hate congested, stuffy, frustratingly homicidal urban traffic.

Well, then looking to most of Eastern Washington except possibly Spokane....and maybe after a soccer game on Saturday in my town...we don't have rush hours. We have rush minutes. I shared in another thread my 11 mile commute to work through light morning traffic about an hour after the spike

. Yakima and others would be similar....you gotta be comfortable with lack of trees.
But then with the more rural feel...you gotta drive some miles to find an Olive Garden, more miles to go to a pro football game, and resist the urge to kill the occasional left-lane camper.

 

[worldbound4now]

I first thought the lack of trees in the Tri-Cities area was from the high desert terrain, but I caught wind of the Hanford site story.... wow. It explains a lot

 

[nofreeride]

I live in McMinnville, 20 minutes further out from Newberg, which I drive through twice a day. Figure on a minimum 45 minute drive to Portland, almost none of it freeway, and that's if you can avoid rush hour. IMO, McMinnville is a much nicer town, bigger than Newberg, with a lot of shopping and atmosphere. I've been commuting to Portland over 10 years, and yes it really sucks.

Feel free to PM me if you have more specific questions.

 

[Top Case]

Newberg is also a college town; George Fox University is a pretty conservative Christian school, but the simple fact that there are a bunch of college kids in the town affects its character. I'd say for the better, in that they support a little more night life than you'd expect in a pure bedroom community, but YMMV.

I was born, raised, and live in western Washington, but run through Newberg often to visit in-laws in Pacific City, on the coast. I also dropped off and picked up my daughter back when she was a high schooler attending a basketball camp on the George Fox campus. As noted above, the town has a growing roll as a bedroom community for Portland and Salem, but Oregon has some of the most stringent growth management regulations of any state, so the undeveloped gap between the bigger cities and Newberg may remain for a while. With that gap, and the college, Newberg stands a shot of maintaining an independent small-town fee.

As for the rain, learn to ski. The rule of thumb is that if it's below 50 degrees in the lowlands, the rain is snow in the mountains. For a skier, that completely changes the emotional reaction to rain; instead of thinking "this rain is miserable", you think "oh boy! freshies!"