Every year, Outside Magazine, one of the few magazines I actually subscribe to, puts together a list of the best towns to live in--towns that are perfect for people who want to live where the action is (high quality of life, great adventure sports, good food, etc.).
This year, one main town, plus a premier small town and big city was picked in every region of the country. Ashland with its "great weather and Shakespeare festival" was the Readers' Choice for best small town in the Northwest! (Bend was the main town picked, same as last year.)
It's not a surprise. Ashland's a scenic resort town of 20,000 with a Berkeley vibe where you can indulge in most kinds of adventure and outdoor sports right here--from whitewater rafting and mountain biking to hiking, rock climbing, and skiing--but still be only two hours away from the ocean, the Redwoods, and Crater Lake.
We've got great, sunny weather (nowhere near the rain of Portland and very little humidity), Southern Oregon University, the Ashland Independent Film Festival, and the country's largest Shakespeare Festival (which incidentally has a lot more than just Shakespeare and runs for 3/4 of the year, not just the summer). And if we need a big city, we're 3-4 hours from Portland and 4-5 hours from San Francisco. (Thank god, Medford airport is only 20 mins away!)
Over 400,000 tourists come to Ashland every year and as a result we've got great restaurants and shops. Plus, the fertile soil of Southern Oregon happens to be home to Harry & David and its infamous pear orchards. In general, an amazing array of mostly organic fruit, vegetables and wine are all grown here.
You can pretty much take the virtues of Bend from Outside's article and apply it to Ashland, only it's in a different part of the mountains, has a third fewer people, and is closer to the beach (and is prettier, if you ask me). Pretty cool. It's been an interesting and fun switch from NYC, that's for sure!
For more about my transition from being a New Yorker to an Oregonian, click here.
I've got a lot of pictures of Ashland and the surrounding area too--check them out.
