Sunday, July 3, 2011

4th of July ~




"Freedom is not a right that is granted or defended with rockets’ red glare and bombs bursting in air. 
Freedom is not achieved by man-made, blood-soaked borders.



The world cannot know that there is an alternative to violence and war, without a people of peace making peace."
Mark Schloneger


5 comments:

Christopher said...

Happy Fourth to you and yours.

Jim announced today he's tired of the desert and the 118' days and wants to move to Portland.

I said great and suggested the OSHU Hospital who always has RN vacancies.

This is a developing story. Maybe we will see you one day?

Fran said...

Whoah! That's a big turn about. The summer desert is the most harsh time of year, but in winter when everyone else is dealing with crummy weather, the desert is a nice oasis.
It's a radical change from the harsh winters of NY.

Of course I am partial to the Pacific NW... it has lots of variety both environmentally, and the metro centers are progressive (read eastern Oregon is like another planet!).

But you have to deal with rain in the winter....
and lots of it, but at least you don't have to shovel it! Although, Portland has been hit with a few winter snow/ice storms... so there are always trade offs in life.

For me I can't handle the intense desert heat, and I don't mind some winter weather, sometimes. I start to melt after about 90º.
Well sure we'd love to have you as neighbors up north. Portland is brimming w culture-- music, art & lots of long standing festivals- Blues, Rose etc.

OHSU is a great medical venue.

An hour to the coast & an hour to the Cascade mtns.

Fran said...

*From the Eugene Weekly ~ great editorial:

• The Fourth of July for most people these days is all about a long weekend of beer, barbecue and fireworks, and we are admonished to “have a safe holiday” and “keep your pets safe.” We tend to forget that this date honors a very unsafe time in our history, an era of uprising against a powerful ruling elite who were out of touch with the people. The Fourth of July should revive the spirit of revolution (this time without the muskets, cannon balls and flying body parts, please) to bring our government and society into the 21st century. War is old-fashioned and counterproductive. Corporate domination of elections is obsolete and undemocratic. Ignoring environmental devastation is so 20th century. Oppressing immigrants and the disadvantaged among us is not only outdated but damned expensive in the long haul. The best way to celebrate our freedom is to actively ensure our freedom doesn’t slip away in these unsafe times. Beer, barbecue, fireworks, revolution!

Christopher said...

Housing is down in Portland metro.

I hope this means we can find a decent house in a suburb like Aloha, West Linn, Milwaukie or Beaverton to buy under $139,000.

You think we're being realistic?

Fran said...

It's a buyer's market in housing right now.
Lots of foreclosed homes on the market- you can probably get a really nice house in a really good neighborhood for that $.

Some Realtors can probably provide you w lists of foreclosed homes & I bet most places (you can see how long they have been on the market)... will take less than what they are asking for.

Zillow is a good place to look.

http://www.zillow.com/homes/for_sale/Beaverton-OR/#/homes/for_sale/Beaverton-OR/30381_rid/0-136000_price/0-547_mp/45.570295,-122.493736,45.398914,-123.11721_rect/10_zm/

My best advice for buying a home in Western Oregon....

• do not get a low lying property... lots of rain can cause water issues. Too much of a hill can have landslide issues...

• do not get a house w a basement... older homes have them, they are a water/flood risk
new homes do not have them.

• I think you can get DEQ reports for different
enviro issues in the area.
Friends down wind from a wood treatment facility.... the place wreaked of creosote & was a superfund site, years of toxic penta chemical use.

• There are some very different neighborhoods in Portland & outlying areas....
check out crime stats to make sure you are choosing or looking for a place that will suit your needs ...
lots of cool old neighborhoods w big trees & large parks & trails.

they have a great light rail system too... decide if that is something you want to be relatively near to.