Springfield or Springtucky?
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3/11/2010
I live 19 months now on the Springfield side of the Willamette River and Interstate 5; Eugene is on the western side. Eugene has the University of Oregon and is considerably more "chic"; but for me, I prefer Springfield. Does have more than its share of toothless ones, most perhaps aficionados of meth...hence "Springtucky". But unless you want to involve yourself in that strata of society Springfield has its benefits. First...it's affordable. The weather is great....rarely snows or gets cold....this Winter many flowers in fact overwintered. There are palm trees about....yeah, they are scragilly, but they're here. Yeah, lots of overcast November through March, and considerable rain....but it's preferable to piles of snow and slipping on ice. Gets hot, really hot, in the Summer.....don't assume some sort of San Francisco cool Summer. The economy is terrible....hard to see how it ever really recovers. But if you're retired it's ideal. There is a very nice shopping area on the north side of town with a good mall and a couple of miles of restaurants and big box. There's a great public transportation system. And, Eugene is just across, with lots to see and do there. The coast, and a great casino, only 50 miles away after you pass through a scenic coast range. The Cascades only 50 miles to the east. The area is not diverse.....which I like, some may not. Tends to be a pretty safe area, with homeless skateboard youth the major terror....not gangstas, etc.
Patrick | Springfield, OR