r/roseburg • u/bigtownhero • 6d ago
Moving here?
I live in Medford and the prospect of home ownership is basically nonexistent. I have to get out of Medford as it just doesn't make any sense being here if all I can do is rent forever.
My question is, what's this town like? It obviously looks more affordable than Medford, but what is the economy like, what is the crime rate like? Is there a community feel, at least in the downtown area?
No criminal record, have a degree, decent to good resume.
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u/theecozoic 6d ago
What’s your work history? Our economy is borderline depressed.
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u/bigtownhero 6d ago
Team management, operations management, and logistics. I have a degree in business, working on a hr cert.
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u/theecozoic 6d ago
The downtown is the nicest part of the city. You’ll see a combination of normal folk, significant students because there is student housing in downtown, and the homelessness is rampant everywhere in the city. The integrated trails around the city are nice, if not for the homeless camping everywhere
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u/bigtownhero 6d ago
How bad is homelessness, would you say (I know how it is in Medford, or I'm wondering if you've been to Medford and can compare the two) and what type of homeless?
There are obviously people down on their luck as this economy is horrible, and then there are just crazed drug addicts who are violent and destructive.
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u/theecozoic 6d ago
Lots of people living along the green spaces and in the parks. I will steer clear of most public parks here because I don’t feel safe with my kid there. I’ve only had one bad homeless interaction but I think it’s because someone raided his stash?
The mental health services here have many different treatment options for people experiencing psychosis/drug related psychosis.
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u/bigtownhero 6d ago
Oregon, it seems, in general, is pretty homeless friendly as a state. Medford is really bad, needles everywhere, they have taken over most parks in the downtown area, and our Greenway is pretty dangerous.
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u/zigsphere 6d ago
Been in Roseburg my whole life except for the 10 years working in tech in California. Moved back to Roseburg in 2022. I do have to admit, the night life is boring, especially for the younger folks; however, I came back because it is absolutely beautiful. If you like the outdoors, this area is it. Hiking everywhere. Driving east to Glide is amazing... I love the view. Community, meh it feels like a community, but every community has its own drama and there is some here for sure. Each city has their problems. Try to find work before you move here unless you work remotely. I work remotely in tech, so that's the only way I was able to move back.
Please ask away if you have any questions!
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u/Bear-Ferr 6d ago edited 6d ago
I moved from Medford to here in 2022 so I can speak to it pretty well.
The economy is worse than Medford. We only rely on lumber here which has mass layoffs every month at this point. Medford has multiple sources of revenue.
Housing is basically the same. You'll get the same house for the same prices. However, Roseburg homes typically skew older.
Homelessness is not as bad as Medford. If you drive from one side of town to the other, you'll see maybe 1 or 2 panhandlers. They stay pretty isolated in one of the parks and under the bridge that goes into downtown. These are both city-designated areas for them.
I actually would not advise downtown. If you can swing it, and you likely can because the prices aren't crazy different, shoot for Hucrest. That is the "suburb" neighborhood. Lots of families and very safe. There just isn't enough happening downtown to justify having to live close to it. Most of the businesses are boutiques (Love that!) so they aren't open all the time. There are half a dozen bars in town. The only ones open very late are dives, naturally. Our live music venue just reopened this week so that's nice to have back.
I don't think the cost of living is any different.
Really not much to do if you aren't into outdoor recreation. Like... axe throwing, there's a small tcg store, billiards hall, paint pottery, make your own pottery, vineyards (a ton and I'd argue rival the Applegate), community theater, wildlife safari, community college public courses (cider making, sewing, etc.), etc. I don't need ti list every business we have. But you'll run through everything quickly and go "Whats next?" Not much. And not much is coming in. We are growing albeit very slowly. 1/4 of the things I listed are relatively new. Medford has way, way more to do and open late. Everything here closes at 6.
We have nice community events. Art festivals, block parties downtown for the major holidays, parades, etc. I even went to the German celebration at the Ag Hall outside of Roseburg which was a trip. So, lots of community things and you'll find out quickly how small of a town it actually is. Which is something I prefer over Medford, personally.
Climate. Not desert like Medford. It rains a ton here. But it's also more temperate. It doesn't get super hot or super cold at least not for long periods.
Outdoors stuff. Some of the best fishing in Oregon. Especially salmon. 1.5 hours from the coast and from the UNF which is a beautiful rainforest even with the burned parts. I know Brookings is about the same distance from Medford and you get to go through the redwoods but I much prefer the central coast. Newport, Florence, Bandon, Coos Bay. I go the coast way more often than I did in Medford and crab, clam, etc. Maybe because less to do in town? Anyway, I enjoy it. Wonderful golfing! Not as many courses as Medford but great. Better hunting. More heavily forested units.
Closer to Portland. I can jam up there in 2.5 hours with no traffic which is awesome. I see more big names now than I did in Medford because PDX is reasonably closer.
Flying sucks. Have to go to Eugene so you're driving 1hr 45m before you even get to the airport. Really nice one though. Was voted best small airport for a couple years recently.
I love it here and am very glad I moved from MDF. I don't intend to move anytime soon.
Questions?
Edit: Oh, crime. Yeah like everyone said, petty stuff. We have a super low violent crime rate.
Very large elderly population. This is a retirement community, like Medford, but much more so. The healthcare system is already strained and a larger elderly population exacerbates that.
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u/rev_rend 4d ago
I agree with all of this. I've lived in Roseburg most of my life and have relatives in Medford.
One quibble is that despite all the attention, timber isn't the biggest industry here. Health care is much, much bigger. Retail, government, manufacturing, and education all employ more people than timber (a sector that also includes agriculture). People who moved here 20 years ago from California love to put Timber Unity stickers on their cars but they can't tell a fir from a pine.
I agree that the economy is worse than in Medford and it's precisely because it's more of a retirement community. I meet plenty of retirees. They have disposable income, but many don't spend it here and aren't interested in investing in local services.
The city of Roseburg seems interested in a more diverse economy that promotes tourism. The county seems more interested in sweetheart land deals for their friends and keeping up the fiction that timber is the most promising route for economic development.
I run into a lot of people who recently moved here. Many of the ones who aren't retired have moved here for healthcare, government, or teaching jobs, pretty much in line with the bigger employment sectors.
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u/Thatdirtymike 6d ago
I spend a couple years in the Medford area before moving here and I thought it would be similar. It’s a lot smaller, poorer, older and generally rougher than Medford.
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u/RavenShrike459 6d ago
So, crime isn’t too big of a deal if you aren’t in walking distance of downtown. A degree in business probably has remote work opportunities as well if you aren’t open to that. The town is somewhat spread out but it’s got a lot to offer in terms of shopping, downtown night life opportunities, and out door recreation. It still a small town feel which I personally like. Most crime isn’t homeless related, I’ve had a bike stolen and some bags of cans, nothing major. Police seem to be stepping up their activity so things seem to be trending in. A positive direction. If you private message me I can connect you with a top notch realtor I can HIGHLY recommend. He will work really hard to get you into a starter home. He also has connections in almost every area in roseburg from contractors, plumbers, and electricians to potential job opportunities. We have worked with him twice now getting into our first house and then getting into our family sized house.
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u/frogcmndr 6d ago
The night life is pretty non existent in town
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u/Covfam73 5d ago
Moved here 3 years ago... and suffoce to say everything thats available on medford is not here roseburg in the last decade lost sears,Macy's,jc pennies,super k mart, & half of the VHA jobs, they most most electronics stores as well, if i or my wife need clothes our options are walmart or Coastals or tractor supply, or driving to medford or eugene to shop, we have to go to medford or eugene to work on both our vehicles , and while we have a home depot & lowes they are like a junior version regularly i have to go to euege or grants pass locations to get atuff or mail order it, i will say our costco location is nicer than the one in eugene by far
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u/DHumphreys 6d ago
Lots of outdoor activities, great produce in the summer, the best McMenamin's and the Backside Brewing.
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u/GlitteringLeader9506 3d ago
I grew up in Medford but have been living about 15 miles outside of Roseburg for the last 12 years. The job market in Medford is without a doubt better. However the cost to rent in the Medford area is astronomical. It is a rarity to find any rentals less than $1000 per month in Medford. In fact if you have a family your rent is probably closer to $1300-$1700 at least. Comparing medford, Zillow reports a median rent of $1,695 for all property types vs Roseburg Zillow indicates a median rent of $1,400.
Apartments.com Medford lists average rents by unit size:
Studio: $1,120/month
One-bedroom: $1,143/month
Two-bedroom: $1,368/month
Three-bedroom: $1,478/month vs. Roseburg Apartments.com lists average rents by unit size:
Studio: $380/month
One-bedroom: $678/month
Two-bedroom: $1,107/month
Three-bedroom: $1,187/month. Renting is definitely not cheap and makes saving any money difficult on one income regardless of where you live.
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u/VioletMagician70 1d ago
Housing prices are good here. You’ll be able to get into an entry level home . You can find work too . The greater Medford area has a much higher population and has a lot more there- it heavily reminds me of California, maybe that’s a me thing from growing up there. The greater Roseburg area is much much smaller and more rural and feels more like Oregon distinctly. Yes we have had several retail and restaurant closures but I think we had some “ bloat” and duplicate kinds of businesses so I wouldn’t worry about those. You can do well here if you want to.
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u/darealboot 6d ago
Find work before you move here. It's a fairly poor town with lots of retail commerce but not really much available past that unless you want to get into the medical field or the lumber industry. Buy in large the population is nice, mostly petty crimes. There's pockets that are better than others but for the most part there's not much space between you and your neighbors. It's a very red county with a growing blue voter population.