Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with eugene and Oregon

Essential knowledge for Eugene, OR

solipsophistocracy — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 13:45:06 -0800

What do I need to know about living in Eugene, OR? I just moved to Eugene for grad school, and I don't really know anybody yet. I live close to campus, directly to the east, and I don't have a car. I'm hoping that I won't need one, but don't know yet if that's realistic or not.

I have a few specific questions, but would also appreciate any general tips about living in town, recommendations for must see places or rad local businesses to support.

Where should I buy a used bike? Is there a shop that specializes in used bikes/repairs?

Are there any restaurants that I absolutely need to check out?

Is there an awesome tattoo artist here?

Thanks a lot, everybody.

My apologies for the hodgepodge nature of this question.

I say oysters and you say ersters...

TungstenChef — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 14:45:04 -0800

I'm visiting Portland this weekend and would love some food tourism suggestions. So far, my plan is to stuff myself to the gills (heh) with seafood. My sister-in-law lives in the area, and already has the following activities planned:
-winery tour
-tasting menu at a very nice restaurant (I don't remember the name unfortunately)

Other than wineries, are there any other types of food producers we should visit, like oyster beds for example? What local seafoods are in season right now? Any suggestions for hole-in-the-wall types of places where we can get some great seafood on a budget? Any secret places I should know about if I want to eat an obscene amount of oysters? Finally, we're driving to Eugene to catch our flight out on Sunday, is there anywhere along that route that's worth taking a few hours to check out?

Thanks!

How much money do I need to save for my new business to take off without a hitch?

bacall423 — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 09:14:43 -0800

How much money do I need to start my business? And am I foolish to think I will be able to do this?? I'm planning to start a private investigating business in early-mid 2008. Before it happens, my partner and I will move from San Francisco to Eugene, OR (she's hopefully going to be attending grad school at UO). Our cost of living will decrease substantially, but she will most likely have a limited income, so I am fully expecting money to be tight for a little while.

My question is this: How much money do I need to save up in order to focus all my efforts on my new business once we're in Eugene?

The business will be low-cost to start-up - I've estimated about $3,000 will go into licensing fees, a new computer, etc. Moving fees have been estimated at about $1,200.

(I should mention here that my business will be a sole proprietorship, I will be working from home, and most of my work will be done online. I'm not the field investigating type of P.I., I'm the public records research P.I. with a librarian background. The main focus of my work will be background investigations and skip tracing.)

So, besides the estimated $4,200 needed to move and start my business, how much do you think would be necessary to have saved up before jumping into this head first? I'm not sure how much rent will be in Eugene, but I'm guessing maybe $800 a month for a 2 bedroom?

Should I look into small business loans, state funded grants, etc., or is that not a good idea?

Also, does anyone have any idea how much E&O insurance for this type of business might cost me?

Where should I live in Oregon?

saragoodman3 — Fri, 12 May 2006 15:57:26 -0800

I want to move to Oregon. I have heard good things about Ashland, Medford, Roseburg, Eugene, Corvallis, Salem, Beaverton, and Portland. How can I choose where to try first? We have ‘up and moved’ before (without plans, no jobs waiting at new city) and I don’t want to do that again. I can see us moving summer 2007. I am a twenty-something white female. I am married and we have a cat. I want to move to Oregon and rent for a year or two, and then buy a house. We can swing a $250k mortgage. If we could live below our means that would be ideal. I don’t mind living in a suburb as long as everyone minds their own business. I would love an acre surrounded by a tall fence. I am willing to sacrifice ‘culture’ for privacy. I want to get a dog, and eventually we want to have a kid, in the next 5-6 years. I want a fireplace, a dining room/area, a ‘master suite’, a basement. I like museums, books, bikes. We are foodies, home bodies, but like to have friends over for dinner. We live in So Cal and I cant take it here anymore. Four years ago we moved here from Brooklyn, before that we lived in the Midwest.

Another Ask MeFi is in here somewhere about Portland, so I don’t really need Portland advice, but does anyone else have any thoughts about the other cities, or ones I don’t know about? I don’t know if Portland will be too big of a city for me, with my dreams of a tall fence.

At least one of us would have to find a job, before we could move, but we are both reasonably intelligent and employable. I am a records department supervisor for a medical company. I like to organize stuff, I have management experience. My husband is the IT guy, currently building the infrastructure from the ground up at an office. I would like to hear your opinions, but would also value links to relevant info. I don’t want to drive more than a half hour to get to work, the subway or bus is cool too. Sorry for the long post; I wanted to give as much info about me as I thought was relevant.

Living in Oregon

Irontom — Wed, 16 Mar 2005 12:00:17 -0800

What can you tell me about Portland, OR? The good, the bad and the indifferent? My wife and I vacationing in Oregon this summer with the intent of deciding if we could live there, and we need your help. We're a mid-30's couple with 2 kids looking to escape the DC/MD/VA rat race.

We're pretty blue in our politics, and would like a place with a slower pace of life. We want more time with our kids, more opportunities to do outdoorsy stuff, a lower cost of living, dramatically shorter commutes (me = 2 hrs/day, her = 1.5 hrs/day) and generally less stress in our lives. We don't want to live in the boonies, but we dont want to live in a gigantic burb either.

We like the arts, we like to eat a wide variety of foods (from sushi to mexican to whatever) and outdoor activities. So, we need more info: traffic, schools, crime, congestion, weather, leisure activities, neighborhoods, local politics, etc. Tell us what you know, and we will love you forever!