Well, it seems you’ve already received a lot of answers, and all I can do is echo them. I was raised in southern Oregon, and it has a very small-town feel to it. The scenery is awesome, the people are friendly for the most part (and let’s face it, there are not-so-nice people everywhere), but the economy is not so good in the south part of the state. Personally, I’d stay to the north if possible. Rain is a little more common there, but not unmanageable. Winters are generally nowhere near as severe as they are in Michigan or similar places. If you’re in the Willamette Valley (Eugene, Corvallis, Salem, Portland), you’re very close to the coast, mountains for hiking, camping, and skiing, and within a few hours at most of Portland, which is a great cosmopolitan urban area. Personally, I would love to live in Eugene or Corvallis. Both are university towns, with the laid back, friendly atmosphere that usually accompanies those towns. They have a small town atmosphere but are within easy driving distance of good concerts, sporting events, theater, museums, and so forth. Personally, I think you could do a whole lot worse than moving to Oregon, and I think the weather is the least of your concerns. Hey, it’s Oregon! Our motto is “If you don’t like the weather, stick around for a few minutes: It’ll change…” :-)