Hey everyone! Today we’re going to be talking about the Top 5 Reasons NOT To Move To Roseburg Oregon. We’ve done pros and cons videos and blogs in the past, and are always talking about what things there are to do in our small town, but we get a lot of comments asking about some of the negatives to living here, so that’s what we’ll be digging into today!
Of course, I love my small town of Roseburg Oregon. I was born and raised here, have done a lot of traveling around the United States, and still don’t plan on ever leaving. So please don’t take offense to any of the negatives we jump into today, and understand that this channel is all about honesty and transparency from myself and my team, who have all grown up in Roseburg and want to give the best possible information about living here. So with that being said, let’s hop right into it!
Homeless, Mental Health, Drug Problem
This is probably the subject that is brought up more than anything else. The homeless problem. Now being born and raised in Roseburg I have to say this wasn’t ever a “problem” growing up. I mean sure, we had some homeless folks as every town does, but it has definitely become much more visible in the community over the last few years and is becoming hard to ignore.
I think part of the reason this has become so much more out in the open is that during the Pandemic the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention said it would be safer to allow homeless to shelter in place and in turn Kate Brown issued executive orders that called for local governments to allow it. This is when I personally really started to notice the change. Since then, the local government has started to move homeless out of our parks, but these folks of course have to have somewhere to go. So we see them migrate from one area of town to another, living in their cars, or these beat up RV’s. It’s really a sad deal.
And of course there is the occasional homeless person screaming at cars, or waving their arms around at the crosswalk, so for simplicity’s sake we’ll keep mental health and drug problems in this same conversation.
I don’t care where you’re from, chances are that you have a homeless population in your city, some places worse than others. But I think this is more of a national problem, than a local problem. And I can tell you Roseburg’s “homeless problem” is next to nonexistent when compared to areas of Portland Oregon or Eugene Oregon which are some of the larger cities farther north up the I5 corridor, or even compared to the “beautiful” beaches of Southern California or even Hawaii! I’m pretty well convinced that if Roseburg now has a visible homeless population, most places across the country must also have a homeless population.
Education System
Here in Roseburg, the schools are rated pretty middle of the road according to greatschools.org. Our west side elementary schools Hucrest and Melrose, and West Side Middle school Fremont are the higher rated local schools we’ve discussed in some of our neighborhood videos.
I’m frequently asked about private school options. There are a few that I’ve heard good things about, and most of them are faith based or Christian schools. I’ve recently learned more about the local Montessori school which is not faith based but had a completely different take on the education system that was refreshing to hear about.
With all of that fancy stuff set aside, I went through the Roseburg public school system. From green elementary, to East Primary in Sutherlin, to Fullerton IV elementary, Fremont Middle School, and then Roseburg High School. I always had a good experience with my teachers and counselors even though I wasn’t the best student in the world, and you know what, I’d have to say I turned out pretty alright…
Not Many Things To Do (Activities, Clubs, Etc.)
On the subject of kiddos, our next reason not to live in Roseburg is that there isn’t much for kids to do around here. Insert comment: “Except to do drugs!” I already know it’s coming, and that’s why it’s on the list.
Of course there’s all the things we always talk about that make Roseburg great, like the outdoors, waterfalls, hiking, hunting and fishing, but what do you do when it’s raining outside or when the night comes?
If you’re a single adult looking to date, or a teenage kid looking for something to do on a Friday night you might have a hard time coming up with what to do next.
I feel like the majority of this con is just because Roseburg is a small town and we lack the amenities of a larger city. For instance I really enjoy training at a boxing gym, but the one we had in town shut down, and I don’t want to drive an hour to the more metro area Eugene for that, so I’m kind of just out of luck.
I have friends who live in the Phoenix AZ area and their kids attend a parkour, gymnastic, kind of ninja class that teaches them how to bounce of the walls and do flips and whatnot. That’s super awesome! But specialty things like that are going to be few and far between, and best of luck to you finding the love of your life the old fashioned way in a small town like Roseburg Oregon.
Lack of Job Opportunities
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. Roseburg Oregon is primarily a retirement community. So if you like Bingo, wineries, playing golf, and a slow pace lifestyle you have plenty to do here in Roseburg.
But for the younger generations looking to establish a worthwhile career in Roseburg Oregon it can be difficult. There are limited opportunities for young professionals, with retail, lumber mills, and medical being the overwhelming majority of the employment opportunities.
With us being a retirement community, there are many retirement homes, the VA hospital, and Mercy Medical center, and plenty of private practices that are always looking for help in the medical field.
But again, Roseburg is a small town and doesn’t have a lot of opportunities for the younger population. I personally feel very lucky to have found myself owning my own business and making a life for myself that allowed me to stay in Roseburg without having to move to find worthwhile employment. Many of the kids I grew up with moved up the I5 corridor to the Eugene/Springfield area, Salem, or the Portland area for schooling and career options, and understandably so.
Affordability and Housing
And last but not least, Roseburg, like many cities around the U.S. has felt the crunch as housing inventory has gone down and prices continue to go up.
While Douglas County is still the most affordable county on the Oregon I5 corridor, prices have gone up substantially over the last few years. To even find a rental is next to impossible, and the prices landlords are charging for them seem astronomical when you take into consideration the last topic which is we don’t have a lot of high paying jobs around here.
Roseburg Oregon was just recently featured #1 on a Yahoo! news article stating that it won’t be affordable to live here within the next 10 years, and they were projecting a 20% increase in value over the next 12 months. Sounds crazy, and good luck trying to predict the market, but with what’s gone on the last handful of years in our small community’s real estate market I wouldn’t doubt it!
This has been a similar story for many cities across the country, and of course the west coast market has just continued to ramp up with housing appreciation being in the double digits year over year. In my opinion Roseburg likely won’t be the small town we know it as today, come 20+ years from now. Many big businesses have been investing in our community, more and more chain stores, restaurants, and businesses, which is usually a pretty good indicator of suspected growth over time. I continue to buy up Roseburg real estate and smile as it goes up in value. Of course, who knows what’s going to happen tomorrow, but over a long enough time horizon it’s only going to get more expensive to live in Roseburg.
Conclusion
While there are a few reasons not to live in Roseburg, I think you’ll find that most all of the reasons not to live here align with the fact that it’s a small town. You’ll likely have most of these issues in any 25,000 or less population town, but of course there are many pros to living in a small community as well. Hopefully you guys now know if Roseburg should be considered on your list of places to live.
Thanks so much for reading and watching our video on Top 5 Reasons Not To Move To Roseburg Oregon! If you haven’t already, make sure to subscribe to our blog and channel to learn all about what it’s like living here in Roseburg Oregon and the greater Umpqua Valley!
-Anthony Beckham
