Is Medford or grants pass better for relocation to?

The previous post has some good advice (except there isn't an apostrophe in Grants Pass), however your best relocation area sounds like Lane County and, specifically, somewhere near Eugene.

Here's why:

While Grants Pass and Medford are not nearly as cold or snowy as Bend, they are surrounded by major mountain passes. There are three passes north of Grants Pass — Sexton, Smith and Stage Summits — and one south of Medford — the Siskiyou Summit — all of which are usually under chain restrictions during the winter. It is not uncommon for these mountain passes to close temporarily during heavier snowfall.

The Eugene area is far less likely to weather (pardon the pun) the snow and ice you want to avoid. You'll have to adjust to the rain, but you'd have to do that in Grants Pass anyway.

Aside from the weather, Lane County provides you with more amenities and travel options than either Medford or Grants Pass. Most of the major retailers — Costco, Wal-Mart, etc. — are in Eugene. There's an airport with direct connections to San Francisco, Seattle and other international ports as well as rail and bus service. Also, you have a direct route to Bend with Highway 58. Bend is just over a two-hour drive to Eugene-Springfield.

Finally, if cost is a concern, you want to stay out of Medford. Surprisingly, housing costs in Lane County are better than in Medford. Supply is the reason. The Rogue Valley, which includes Grants Pass and Medford, has drained its housing inventory, forcing middle-income families to commute from smaller towns such as Talent, Cave Junction and White City.

Eugene was selected as the "Best Place to Retire in the Northwest" in MONEY Magazine's 2001 annual list.

Here's some links you'll find helpful:

Retiring in Lane County:

http://www.visitlanecounty.org/listings/index.cfm?...

Retirement information from the Eugene Area Chamber of Commerce:

http://www.eugenechamber.com/relo/retirement.htm

50 Fabulous Places to Retire in America:

http://www.amazon.com/50-Fabulous-Places-Retire-Am...

Grants Pass To Medford

Medford To Grants Pass

From the perspective of someone from So. Cal., there isn't really a whole lot of difference between Medford or Grant's Pass. Both are on the I-5 and have a fair amount of development and industry, Medford being the larger of the two. But in my opinion, your asking if it's better to live in Riverside or San Bernadino when your son lives at June Lake. You will still have quite a drive to get to visit him.

If I was retiring to Oregon with your needs, I would look into Lebanon instead. It's smaller than either Grant's Pass or Medford, but close enough to both Salem and Eugene that you can do your major shoping there without more than a half hour drive to either one. They have some fantastic senior programs and city wide Wifi - one of the few places in the state to do so. Housing is fairly priced, and because it isn't in the larger cities, it is less expensive - especially if you can sell a home in So. Cal and move north.

Traveling to Bend from Lebanon is great too - it's on one of the three highways that go to the east directly to Bend (Highway 20). All three of these highways join together at the top of the pass, so you can be sure that if it's safe to drive to Bend, that road will be the one that's open. That can't be said for the roads that go over to the inland highway (Highway 140 to Highway 97). Yes, it's usually open, but not always.

I live over on the coast an love it - but if you'd miss Home Depot and Costco, the coast is to rural for you. Even a McDonald's is 45 minutes away. But do take a look at the Lebanon look - I've heard great things about the city.

NO MORE KALIFORNIANS!!!