Where can you find bears in Oregon? (Portland, Hillsboro: apartments, rentals)

[Metlakatla]

Originally Posted by Everdeen

I was told by a neighbor that it would not be euthanized. When I see the guy from up the hill who originally told me about the bear, I'll have to ask him.



I hope he got that part of the story wrong. The bears don't cause any problems and, as you know, are pretty skittish around humans.

Your neighbor was either misinformed or deliberately misled you. Perhaps she/he didn't want to upset you. Oregon Fish & Wildlife does not relocate habituated bears. I'd suggest calling and asking them and asking them rather than your neighbor if you really want to know.

https://www.dfw.state.or.us/news/2014/april/042514.asp

“We’re not going to trap and relocate a habituated bear,” he said, “because the bear will almost always come back or cause problems for someone else.” Bears that fit this profile are usually euthanized.

Relocation really doesn't work; bears are highly territorial and will attack interlopers and chase or starve them out.

Honestly, and I'm saying this as someone who has lived in both Alaska and Oregon all my life and is pretty wise in the ways of bears, I wouldn't move to Oregon to live in a place hoping that seeing bears is going to be part of daily life. It seems to be the luck of the draw; my neighbor says she's never seen one, yet I've seen them several times and we live in the most bear-dense areas of the state. I know plenty of people who live in ruralish areas and have never seen one.

I think you'd be better off planning wildlife-viewing vacations such as up to Katmai National Park during salmon season. You'll have to leave the huskies at home; they won't be allowed in Katmai and other bear-dense areas. That way, you'll be able to see bears without it being dependent on living in Oregon. By all means, move to Oregon, and if you see a bear now and then, it'll be a happy surprise. But it might not happen at all.

I don't know how you'd watch them from a distance here since they prefer dense habitat. They're also mostly nocturnal; the ones that you might see during the day are almost always mothers with cubs nearby or yearlings. If you happen to see one from your living room window, it's better for the bear to scare it off than let it hang around so you can watch it.

As far as the person who suggested baiting them, that's illegal. It's also a good way to get the animal habituated, which then leads to it being killed. A fed bear is a dead bear.

[Laura77]

Originally Posted by ejisme

Laura-77:

In Portland, to see bears you'll probably need to bait them, which isn't exactly an ethical thing to do. You'll also need to live on the east or west fringes of Portland. Sandy would be a good west-side choice as you mentioned, maybe Estacada or Molalla (https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/3...68020801_zpid/). You might look at Forest Grove, Hillsborough, or maybe McMinnville on the West side (https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1...84744341_zpid/). Bonus, both these properties I listed left there pool tables behind, lol.

You'd have to be on the edges of those towns, but also those edges are pretty nice places to live. It would be quite a commute into Portland proper, but all those towns have Home Depots and hospitals in them or nearby.

Oh yeah, zero interest in baiting any wildlife out of their natural habitats. It's not safe for anyone involved- although to be honest I'm more concerned with animal safety than human safety and I would rather not see them at all than to risk their lives for any reason.

Solid advice and recommendations! I will check those out. I don't necessarily need to be in Portland. I'd like to be 35ish miles from the edge of Portland. I don't really mind driving to work, I've never lived close to hospitals in the past. It just has to make sense. It's especially difficult because I haven't actually applied to any jobs. I've just been looking at areas I want to live in and checking the closest hospitals to those areas. I might need to just expand that and start applying to any hospital on the outskirts of Portland then look at housing from there.

I just really don't want to negotiate on being close to outdoor activities and wildlife (not even exclusively bears- I love every animal lol).

[Metlakatla]

Originally Posted by oregonwoodsmoke

They tell the public that the bears are relocated. I believe that if they would tell the truth and say the bears get euthanized maybe some of the Disney talking animal fans would stop feeding them if they knew they were setting the bear up to be killed.

There were three cubs in my neighborhood several years ago that were being fed by incoming California retirees because they were oh so cute (the flip side of the ones who are terrified of them, I suppose). Several months later, the animals were trapped and killed by Fish & Wildlife because they'd learned to associate human habitat with an easy meal.

[Metlakatla]

Originally Posted by Laura77

I don't necessarily need to be in Portland. I'd like to be 35ish miles from the edge of Portland.

Estacada, then, but as I said in a previous post, you could live there all of your life and never even see a bear.

[texasdiver]

I've lived in OR and WA for much of my life and have spent a great deal of time out hiking, fishing, and when I was younger, hunting. I have seen black bears maybe 3 or 4 times in my life. And not anywhere near population centers. I've seen more in Pennsylvania visiting family out there than I have in OR.

[Hawk J]

When we have gone rafting on The Rogue River & The Umpqua River, we have seen Black Bear along the river. We also see Great Blue Heron, Bald Eagles, Osprey, Crane, turkeys, deer, elk, etc, etc.
https://www.google.com/search?q=vide...client=gws-wiz

Sometimes bear are seen around Medford, Ashland, Jacksonville, Grants Pass. They are seen around the local lakes, rivers, ponds. i saw a beautiful cinnamon bear last summer.

[Laura77]

The primary reason for relocation is weather. I absolutely HATE the desert. There are no redeeming qualities at all, and now with Californians relocating to Phoenix due to low cost of living, it's becoming difficult to live here financially as well- like everywhere else.

Wildlife in general is also a good reason to relocate- do you know that I haven't seen a raccoon, squirrel, or opossum not once in the 10 years I've been in Phoenix? Not a great place to live for hippydippy animal lovers.

You guys are probably right, of course, that wildlife centered vacations are the best move. However, choosing the location isn't strictly dependent on wildlife, bears, and what have you. It's also based on wanting fewer neighbors and woods nearby... And again, weather. I am the complete opposite of a city girl. It's just relatively necessary when you work at trauma centers.

Again, I do appreciate all of the information and recommendations being provided. I appreciate everyone's time.

[oregonwoodsmoke]

Originally Posted by Laura77

......... I'd like to be 35ish miles from the edge of Portland. I don't really mind driving to work, I've never lived close to hospitals in the past.........

35 miles from the edge of Portland would be a hellish commute to do daily. Traffic in Portland is a snarl and the roads are not adequate to carry the volume of traffic. I don't know how many hospitals there are in Portland, but the ones I've been to have been located in really bad traffic areas, and a snarl on the freeway topped off by a snarl in local traffic would be stressful to face every day.



In Portland, you are better off to live as close as you can to work and then do your distance driving on your days off to get out to the country to enjoy the outdoors. That way you are only fighting masses of traffic a couple of days a week instead of 5 days (or 6 days, depending on your job)

[StealthRabbit]

If medical employed.... And luv outdoors... I would find an evening job on Eastside (Adventist medical, Kaiser) or westside (legacy, Kaiser) (out of core downtown,and not commuting through it.)

My preference would be Corbett (National Scenic area / lots of trails and nice habitat). Or Estacada (access to NF). Commute from the Columbia Gorge can be treacherous a few days / year, but the quality of outdoor life is worth it the other 360+ days / yr.

West side living in perimeter near Banks / Vernonia is a pretty easy commute to west side medical jobs. And close to coast range.

There is probably some bear in Forest Park if you want to live in town.

[leastprime]

Originally Posted by Laura77

This is disappointing to hear. I really really really love bears.

Obviously not a make or break decision on where we will live, but would be a huge bonus.

I am a clinical scientist and need to work at a hospital. My husband works at Home Depot so it would be less restrictive for him to transfer. I was looking at Sandy, possibly, way more affordable and still relatively close to Portland and close to the wilderness.

I've heard that Gresham isn't a great place to live due to high crime. Is there truth to this? I've also been kind of looking in Troutdale as well. I've actually never been to PNW before, but I know this is where I will be happiest- rain, cloudy days, seasons, some snow in the winter, being able to enjoy the outdoors without burning alive 9 months of the year, mild temperatures. I plan to visit in the next month to check out houses and hopefully have some in person interviews. It's difficult to find work when you're out of state.

Thank you for your reply, it was very helpful.

Get a place relatively close to your work. Get a rental agreement for as short of period as possible, until you get familiar with the area. Use google maps to estimate your travel times and best route during your expected commute times. Try to use community and rideshare transportation.

Look into Washington/Seattle job possibilities (no income tax) but the ownership fees will match Oregon's Income tax. Commuting in the Seattle area also needs researching as mentioned above. It's easiler to get into them mountains and highlands from Seattle than an escape from Portland. Coast destinations are excepted
GL