One of the Wild West's most storied promised
lands, Oregon today represents a different kind of frontier. Oregonians live
just a little differently than most Americans. Where big box retailers and
sprawling McMansions find a fertile environment in the rest of urban America,
Oregon's cities - most notably Portland (a.k.a. City of Roses) - strive to
keep their environments small and livable. And where SUVs rule American highways,
Eugene, Oregon has been rated one of the top cycling communities in the country.
It isn't just a fad either; Oregon was the first state in the U.S. to require
plastic bottles to be refundable and recyclable. It's not all that surprising
that Oregonians would be environmentally conscious given the environment they
have to be conscious of: eastern Oregon is a slice of the damp, rugged, evergreen
Northwest dream that out-of-staters only imagine while western Oregon is a
drier, more mountainous landscape.
But when you move to Oregon, you'll realize that
it's not just the views that makes life here worth living, it's the people
too. Oregonians have a small-town sense of community, embrace technology creatively
(during the dot com boom, parts of Oregon were nicknamed 'the Silicon Forest')
and think with a progressive spirit.
Now that you're moving to Oregon, there are a
couple facts you'll want to keep in mind:
- Oregon's population is 3,421,399. Oregon's state capital is Salem.
- Aside from New Jersey, Oregon is the only state in the U.S. that doesn't
have self-serve gas stations.
- Oregon has more ghost towns than any other state.
- Oregon's Crater Lake is the deepest lake in America.
- At the Oregon Caves National Monument, visitors can tour caves carved
entirely from marble.
- Oregon's population jumped by 20.4% during the 1990s. The boost, generated
mostly by newcomers from California and other nearby states, has lead
to tensions between longtime residents and new residents.
- Oregon has no sales tax.
- In Oregon it's illegal to buy or sell marijuana, but it's legal to smoke
it on your own property.