Klamath Falls?

[gardenvarietymama]

Hi there Mamas,

my husband is interviewing at a residency program in Klamath Falls, so we may be moving there come June.  We will have 4-year-old twins and a 3-month-old.  And I have to confess that I grew up on the opposite coast and I know nothing about this area.  So can anyone help me out?  I would love to know things like:

-are there any good moms' groups?

-what schooling options are there?

-are there fun things to do with kids?

-I hear the local food scene in the NW is amazing; how accurate is that?

-are the people friendly?  How hard is it to make friends there? (we are moving from Maine, where people are very nice but don't want to be friends unless your grandparents were born there).

Thanks in advance, and if you live close by and would like to meet up if/when we get there, give a shout out!

-Liz

[philomom]

I was there recently. My teen has OIT on the top of her choices for nursing school. It's a very small town. Lots of sunshine compared to other Oregon cities but colder. The city is so small that most folks drive to Medford even to have decent shopping. I'm not sure I could live there. The lake is lovely and there are many bike paths but the local library had a lot of ads up about alcohol abuse and how it affects families. Not sure that's a good sign.

Are there any Meetups listed for there?

[littlebearsmama]

If I were you, I'd visit Klamath Falls first. It takes a certain type of person to enjoy living there. The weather is hot in the summer and cold in the winter with a very short spring and autumn. It's very dry and even desert-like. The lake is beautiful, but it's too dirty to swim in. Downtown is quaint, but feeling the effects of WalMart/ box store sprawl. In fact, the hip and charming local natural food store recently closed its doors due to lack of community support. Klamath Falls suffers from high rates of child abuse, meth and other drug abuse, and related crimes.There are some hiking trails and lots of bird watching, too. I know there is a charter school 45 minutes from Klamath Falls that is oriented toward native children, but other than that I don't know much about the schools there. I'm no expert, having visited repeatedly over the past years, but I'd say that if you're a hip mama looking for a hip community, I'd move to Ashland (just over the mountain from K. Falls). That's where it's at.

Good luck

[journeywooz]

And I second Ashland!!!