oregon

A state where everyone moves to to get away from other states that they don't like. Oregon is very schizophrenic in that it has all those hippies but also some of the most conservative people anywhere. All Oregonians, though, seem to share at least some things in common. One is a love of the outdoors. The other is a generally non violent nature. A third is a a lack of fascination with getting rich. And they don't care if you don't like the weather or think they are boring, or think they are "wannabee Seattle". They're just happy they moved here because things sucked where they were.

Oregon is still mostly unspoiled and beautiful, but it lacks any "old world" charm if you like that. Its not so different from California or Washington anymore, although the older natives still prefer to think of it as "special". Its greatest charm lies in the Willamette Valley, the coast, and the Columbia River Gorge. Its greatest disappointment lies in the over logged mountains that seldom get very tall or seem grand like real mountains should. Another disappoinment is the encroaching strip malls and developments that ring the Portand area and larger towns.

Oregon's weather can be divided into two "seasons" - warm and sunny, or cool and cloudy. From July to December, it progresses in an orderly fashion from the first to the second. From January to June, it doesn't. Although the November rains bother some, they are at least relatively warm and predicable.
The April-June rains on the other hand, are cold and unpredicable. By June, you are often living under conditions that are colder than almost anywhere else in the country, then suddenly it is 100 degrees almost overnight. And after hot July and August, beautiful and almost perfect September, the October rains are not as unwelcome as you might think.

Oregon is a state of intense contrast like the spring weather. Hot and cool. Liberal and conservative. Just don't move here if you a) don't like the outdoors, b) want to get rich or c) think that the state is filled with nothing but hicks and dirty hippies.

"..while up here in Oregon, they're going to have a lot of very tall trees" Bill Murrey's weather report in "Groundhog Day."

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