Considering moving from California to Oregon or Washington. I am interested in a small community, quaint little town where my children would be safe and I could find a good school to teach at, yet close enough to a fairly big city so that my construction working husband could drive to work.
Short of driving around looking for somewhere, I don't know what else to do.

I would recommend Sisters, about twenty miles NW of Bend, Oregon. An adorable, really small town in a beautiful area. My 94 AAA book shows Sisters as having a popoulation of 700, with one Best Western Hotel and one recommended restaurant. Just perfect, I would think.

You would have a lot of choices in Washington, depending upon how big of a city you wanted to be near and how far you wanted to drive to get to it. Some suggestions: Poulsbo (near Bremerton and a ferry ride from Seattle), Lynden (near Bellingham), Orting (near Tacoma), Snoqualimie/North Bend (two neighboring towns near Seattle but in the rural area), Enumclaw/Black Diamond (near both Seattle and Tacoma), Carnation/Duvall (kind of near Seattle), Monroe (near Everett and a bit farther but accessible to Seattle), and Eatonville (near Tacoma and Olympia). Your question is complicated by the fact that every city in Washington has a quaint town pretty nearby. E-mail me with any more selective criteria and I'll try to narrow it down.

Well, I live in a quaint town in Oregon near a bigger city/town. The town I live in is named Jacksonville and it is well known in this state because its so darn quaint.
The whole thing (population 2,000) is a National Historic Landmark and it looks almost exactly as it did in photos taken in the 1860s.It has a big outdoor music concert hall too. It's 6 miles from Medford (population there is 60,000 or so and growing by the minute). Also nearby is Ashland, a town many folks are crazy about. It has a university and is famous for its huge Shakespeare festival that runs in 3 theatres 9 months a year. Lots of Californians move to Ashland. Lots. Its population is about 15,000.

I've been to Sisters and certainly wouldn't recommend it to anyone. It's not quaint at all unless you think tourist trap mini-malls are quaint. Bend is nearby but its a quite an isolated town.......bad if you want to fly anywhere and a long drive to anyplace else.

BT

Do you have information on the Stephanie Inn at Cannon Beach, OR?

In reference to the previous question about the Stephanie Inn. It's extremely beautiful and on a great part of Cannon Beach. Pretty pricey however.

check out www.seasurf.com for more info. we just got back and it's great.

In reference to the previous question about the Stephanie Inn. It's extremely beautiful and on a great part of Cannon Beach. Pretty pricey however.

check out www.seasurf.com for more info. we just got back and it's great.

I think if I had to choose a location in Washington again I would pick Pt. Townsend on the Olympic peninsula. It was started around the turn of the century and was never completed.(The RR went to Seattle instead) Small with a good High School with some of the problems they all have, but comparatively speaking, one I would prefer to raise my children. Waterfront "touristy" and about 30 miles from Bremerton area. (Excellent job growth in construction.) Good luck in your hunt.

I live and sell real estate on Oregons's north coast and have really enjoyed the Gearhart and Cannon Beach area. If you like the beach, it's a great place to walk the beach's, plenty of history, easy one hour drive to Portland, good shcools,etc....
Good luck and enjoy you search...Ric Holderbaum

Also consider the tax structure in determining your choice. Both states have lots of beautiful little towns, but the tax situation is vastly different. Oregon has a pretty steep income tax but no sales tax. Vice versa in Washington. However, they seem to jack up the prices of everything in Oregon so it usually comes out more than it does in Washington with the tax. We checked the price on an identical object one year in Washington, Oregon and So. Calif. and it was highest in Oregon, even though there was no sales tax. The biggest difference in the two states is in the property tax. Friends who have moved to Oregon before checking out the taxes have been horrified when they learned what they were paying in property taxes. Also, if you live on the Washington side of the river and work in Oregon, you still have to pay Oregon state income tax.

TAke out a map, circle the places that look interesting
based on what you know about the area and then subscribe
to the local Sun paper and visit them. You'll get ALOT
from the Sun paper incl.flavor of the jobs and housing
prices. I concur w/ other readers re the Sisters/Bend are
and Medford area. However, due to Ballot Measures 5, 47 and 50
you're going to have trouble finding a teaching job.
Therefore, I suggest WA; we're trying to keep the
population level around here!

I like Eastern Washington around the wine country. Prosser and Selah are both nice small towns with good schools. Chelan is also nice. I'm in education also and all three of these are good communitites. They are away from gang activity and are still pretty wholesome towns. I live on the west side, but am partial to the nice weather in the spring, summer and fall that the east side enjoys! Good luck on your move!

Medford is nice.