Richard & Beth in Cottage Grove, OR

A briefly annotated pictorial essay about our place, as it was in late spring 2010. Pictures are from 1 May (our first and only pre-offer visit), 20 May (property inspection), and 10-14 June, shortly after we moved in. If you received an e-mailed PDF from us, you've seen all these before.

(click on any image to enlarge it)

We did not choose the Eugene area so that Richard can maintain a university position; college towns are interesting places for a lot of other reasons as well.

Google Earth images showing Cottage Grove.

A site map, to scale. As of 15 June 2010.

The house wasn't the main selling point for us; from the outset, we planned a major remodel. Actually, MANY aspects of the house will be/are being/have been changed, as you'll see.

The major remodel is a complete revision of the rear 58% of the house, as depicted below.

Other buildings include a large barn, a falling-down-and-needs-repair-or-replacement equipment shed/carport, a greenhouse, a "high tunnel" skeleton, a small storage shed, and three well houses (each with a 5 gpm well).

The yard around the house has been nicely landscaped; the trees are a mix of ornamentals and fruit/nut (cherry, apple, walnut, quince, asian pear, Bartlett pear).

The excellent soil promises to support a thriving kitchen garden. It's small this year, but next year look out!


The trees in the orchard were planted from 2006 to 2009 (by former owner who has become a new friend); few of them are bearing yet. See site map (above) for full list of trees. Here are some field shots.

At first, we mowed the orchard with our old tractor. We still use this when our riding mower is in for repair (often). We'll be investigating scything (Eugene is home to a scything society).


Finally a view from the end of our dead-end street.

Beth and Richard in Oregon: backstory

We finally have started a blog to keep friends and family apprised of our new life in the outskirts of Cottage Grove, Oregon.

This first post is a timeline of our move from San José and acquisition of 4 acres on Cedar Park Rd. just east of the town, Cottage Grove. Pretty boring for most of you, probably; starting with the next blog we'll have real Oregon news and pictures.

July–August 2009: Beth and Richard share many conversations on the back deck of our beautiful 1918 Craftsman house in downtown San José (next to the grapevines and overlooking our 600 sq ft vegetable garden) about possibly selling the house, retiring, and moving somewhere for a simpler, more down-to-earth life. The southern Willamette Valley of Oregon crystallizes as an appropriate destination. We decide to take the plunge in early August, and retain a realtor by mid-August.

August 2009: We spiff up the house, including pulling up carpet and refinishing the floors in several rooms (beautiful! wish we'd done that earlier!). House goes on the market in late August for $879k, which sounds stupidly expensive, but at the time was considered a good price.

September 2009: After a couple of close calls, action wanes (and the market weakens), so we drop the asking price to $858k. We visit Oregon for the first time, looking at properties near Corvallis, northwest of Eugene.

November 2009: Still no offers, and the market is tanking; we lower the asking price to $829k. Oregon visit (mainly in the Eugene area).

December 2009: As the slow holiday season approaches, we drop the price again, to $799k. We also arrange to rent the single-family house four doors away (!) in anticipation of selling our house but not having an Oregon house yet.

January 2010: A flurry of activity, resulting in an offer in mid-January. After some back-and-forth counters, we settle at $780k in early February.

February 2010: Another Eugene trip.

March 2010: We close on the 9 March. Meanwhile, we move everything into the rental house. Another Eugene trip, which leads to us making an offer on a place in dire need of a massive cleanup job. Fortunately, in early April our very low bid is rejected outright.

April 2010: Another trip to Oregon, in the western Eugene and Cottage Grove (south of Eugene) areas.

May 2010: Another trip to Oregon, focusing on the Cottage Grove area. On 1 May, we visit the place we now own. The house wasn't the selling point, but most other aspects of the former dairy farm property were right up our alley. We write an offer on 2 May, and it was accepted on 3 May. Boom boom boom. In mid-May, Richard goes up for a one-day visit to be present for the four-hour property inspection. Also in mid-May, Richard starts renting a small apartment near SJSU. Beth notifies her school district of her impending retirement, and learns that the district has serendipitously arranged for a "golden handshake" for early retirees; Beth qualifies.

June 2010: The cash sale closes on 3 June. Beth's last day of classes is 4 June. The movers pack up our house on 9 June and meet us in Cottage Grove on 10 June. Richard stays 10 days but has to return to SJ, starting the back-and-forth "commute" that will go on for many months still.