Eugene, Oregon: Good place to retire?

My wife & I live in the Salem, OR area and are giving serious consideration to pulling up stakes for a friendlier retirement venue; ie better food, walkability, character, public transportation. An added bonus would be any GRMers in the area/enthusiast get togethers,events like a Cars & Coffee etc. Salem is largely bereft of these things and we're a bit tired of it. The veneer of civilization up here is very thin indeed. Any input would be appreciated, what areas to consider/avoid, etc. As always, thanks in advance...

You're only an hour away. Make a day trip of it. Choose a nice Saturday and head on down. Go to eugeneweekly.com look at the calendar for an event that sounds fun and go for it. Or, Wait for spring and do a friday art walk, stay for the Saturday market, and catch some local color

I have pretty much lived in Eugene my whole life. In my forties i am ready to leave for Portland, but my job is too good to walk away from.

Eugene is pretty varied for a smaller town that it makes it hard to make recommendations. The Whitaker area is vastly different to the coburg area or the bethel area.

The downtown area has been expanding rapidly. lots of new construction, lots of new apartment buildings. People who moved away 10 years ago don't recognize anything anymore.

I like to describe Eugene as big enough that meth isn't a huge problem, but small enough that neither is heroin.

In the last decade or so UofO football has taken over everything. It is this pervasive mania that is always floating around.

Myself, i am more of a Whitaker person. That is the "bohemian" artists, bar, restaurant, brewery and music district.

The strangest thing about this town is that it has the highest concentration of homeless per capita of almost anyplace on the west coast. Huge camps of 100+ people spring up every week.

i can offer tours of my restoration shop.

Thanks for that thoughtful reply, you've certainly given me some stuff to think about. Sounds like there's definitely worse places to hang your hat. My wife wants to know if you know of any affordable places for rent near downtown, including Whitaker neighborhood or others? I'm going to check the usual Zillow, Craigslist & other listings, but I figured I'd ask anyway...

Personally, I'd look at Bend, but Eugene isn't bad as long as you can put up with the college nonsense. :)

Bend is nice, but it is wicked cold in the winter. Friend of mine practices there.

Willamette is small potatoes compared to U of Nike, college towns are not all created equal.

Bend is also berkeleying expensive! It's a beautiful place to spend a day or two, but the snooty residents wear me down if I stay out there for any longer than that.

Eugene is a wonderful place to spend time. I regret the decision to leave almost every day. Jumper K. Balls speaks the truth and a trip through his shop is worth the trip down alone.

I would do some serious math to determine if the sales tax in Washington or the income tax in Oregon would be more damaging to my lifestyle.

The tree huggers and libtards here have soured me (portland and thereabouts).

I am more than likely going to cash out and pay cash for much cheaper digs in another state.

It was great to get away from Kalifornia, nice to go in a store and be greeted with a smile.

But its not far enough from Kalif and they have a different kind of crazy here that weighs heavy on my psyche. Too PC...

I am going to visit Memphis this year to check it out. I really liked Augusta GA area years ago.

I want to live somewhere where they are not closing all the race tracks....

Capitol cities seem to be crappy places to live Salem lives up to that diagnosis.

Eugene is all college and bums, I'm always glad to put that place behind me. (no race tracks)

Maybe Medford. (has more race tracks)

The big problem with Oregon is the Portland libtards run the whole state (dominant voters) the other cities have no voice.

If you are the kind of person who uses the word "libtard" then yes, Eugene and Portland are not for you.

Honestly i have no idea what rent prices are like these days. I bought a house 15 years ago and haven't had to look since then.

I still say pick a nice spring weekend and visit. Walk around the college campus, the downtown area and the brewery district.

Outside of those areas the rest is pretty much suburban USA. Chain restaurants, houses and the rural spots.

Portland has some car events... find it odd you don't travel to Wilsonville for the "big" car and coffee event @ the world of speed..... during the warmer weather PIR has both drag racing, "circuit" racing, and car shows of many different kinds.... also plenty of backwoods roads to enjoy once you get out of the immediate area.

When we were looking @ Eugene... it felt significantly limited compared to Portland... some homes with garages... fewer with basements.

U of O is the hub of Eugene, no bout a doubt it. Bend is COLD in winter... although it does seem to be a retirement area for boomers.

Portland is getting priced out of its weird label....median rental is now over $1600 per month last year one of the local papers reported 100 people per day were moving in.....

Like to attend that C&C in Wilsonville sometime. Have a Ford Festiva w/a B6 motor swap from an MX-3, but I don't have use of it on Saturdays, unfortunately. Thanks everyone (esp.Jumper and Burrito) for all the feedback; when the weather warms up a bit in the future we're gonna head south to check things out.