We currently live in Aurora, Co. About an hour from the Rocky Mountains. Beautiful riding from mid April to mid October. One can ride year round in Aurora as long as there is no snow or ice on the ground. In Aurora it can get cold. Sometimes it will dump 2 to 3 inches of snow, then hit 55 or 60 and the snow will melt. This goes for riders, non fair weather riders.
With the housing costs skyrocketing we are considering taking advantage of that and moving to La Grande, Or. My wife absolutely loves Joseph, but the 90 minute commute would get tedious, especially in the winter. Still not out of the realm of possibilities, but...
I am looking for the good, the bad, and the ugly about life in and around Oregon.
The diminished days of sun, in comparison to Aurora, is actually good for my wife who is highly allergic to the sun. When we do go riding she is in long sleeve shirts with 1000 spf sun screen.
How far is the coast? Yes, I am aware of google maps and mapquest.
How is the riding? How are the winters? Anything I should know? Is the HD dealership in the tri cities ok? Rattlesnake HD, right? Anything closer?
Thanks to all

 

well La grande is in the blues (blue mountains), it gets real cold there, the summers are hot, and the sun can be constant... as far as the coast goes.... its about 5 1/2 hrs to the coast could be more.... in the winter I-84 does get shut down at time because of the wind, snow and ice... i drove truck thru there a few times a week, others may have better input for you , but this is a start

 

I live about 50 miles from La Grande but if I had to choose, I'd rather live in Baker City because of the beauty of the valley that Baker lies in and also the tall mountains that surround Baker. There's a lot of history there and if you like exploring, the road to Hell's Canyon is a good one to take. There are also some ghost towns around if you like exploring them as well. It will get cold over there but to me, the beauty and what that area has to offer is worth it. Honestly don't know about the cost of living between Baker and La Grande, I just prefer that area better. You can take the back roads from Baker to Halfway on to Joseph, that's a great ride also. No offense to Rattlesnake HD but I use an Indy in Pendleton and he does better work at a far cheaper price and they are also old school and fun to BS with. Feel free to search Baker City and the surrounding area and if you have any more questions, feel free to ask.

 

The winters here vary from mild (1-2 months long with no riding) to miserable (3-6 months no riding) Its different each year. Summers are usually in the upper 80's to mid 90's with the occasional 100+ day here and there. Cost of living is the same anywhere here in the blues, with gas prices being on the higher side of the Oregon average. Unfortunately anything east of Bend is considered Skull and Crossbones to the I-5 corridor and so were mostly ignored by the state politicians. Our riding is good here and living in one of the largest fully contained valleys in the US (mountains on all four sides) we can sometimes enjoy a valley tour ride of 60+ miles when everyone else outside the valley is still snowed in. For dealerships I'm not fond of Rattlesnake HD (2 hr. drive). I personally use High Desert HD in Boise (2:45 drive) or Hells Canyon HD in Lewiston Id. Rattlesnake doesn't offer test rides and runs their business like a powersports store.
The coast is a bit farther than 5 1/2 hours. Due to Portland traffic it can take anywhere from 6 to 8 hours to Seaside. I wouldn't live anywhere else after spending 35 years in the Seattle area and all the rain they have.