Things We've Learned Since Moving To Eugene

We have quickly learned many things about Oregon more specifically about Eugene that we had wished we had known before we had moved. Hopefully if you find yourself moving to Eugene you can learn from our experience thus far.

1. You don't have to pay sales tax in Oregon, this is a nice perk.
2. The con to not paying sales tax is that you pay 9% income tax.
3. Not sure if this is a pro or a con, but you can't pump your own gas. Still getting use to this.
4. People tend to be very friendly drivers. They drive the speed limit and they know what a blinker is.
5. The roads are not in a grid system like Utah--GPS would be helpful.
6. There are lots of trees everywhere! Everything grows in Eugene except for my aloe plant, it has recently taken a turn for the worst.
7. Nose rings, tattoos, and dreadlocks are all the rage here.
8. People seem pretty relaxed about--well, everything.
9. Beer and pubs are a huge deal to most locals--many people brew their own drinks.
10. There is a strange law that allows women to go around in public topless-- haven't experienced this one yet and hope not too.
11. There is a thing called "Country Fair" that happens every July--avoid it like the plague. It is basically an excuse for people to run around half naked and hopped up on drugs. (We were warned about this the first day we arrived).
12. There are A LOT of hippies. The first day I saw hippies I was driving down the road and they were dancing on the corner, holding signs that said smile, and making peace signs. And as you may have guessed they had dreadlocks. All I could do was laugh to myself.
13. Saturday market is a place to go to buy over priced "organic" produce. Not a place to go to buy food, but if you're in to people watching you should hit it up.
14. Don't eat at the Cornucopia they will serve your bloody burgers--I learned this from experience.
15. The only good (by good I mean tasty) place we have found to eat is Voodoo Doughnuts--mmm doughnuts.
16. Running is huge here. They call it "Track Town" for a reason.
17. Eugene is close to hiking, fishing, camping, and the ocean--it's great if you like to be outdoors.
18. You cannot get plastic grocery sacks at any stores in Eugene, it is illegal. You either have to bring your own bag or pay $0.05 for each paper bag. This makes grocery shopping difficult at times.
19. There is a strange thing called bottle collection. Anytime you buy any sort of bottle or beverage you are charged an additional $0.05 for each bottle. If you save your bottles and take them to a bottle collection location you can get your money back. Be careful when using the collection machine or you might crush your hand.
20. Be prepared to pay to go to the parks--so far it has been $4.00 each time we have gone.
21. Jerry's is like Home Depot on steroids, it's great!
22. Blackberries grow like weeds and make for some great jam.
23. Very large (by large I mean 2-3 inches in diameter) poisonous spiders abound--we have found our fair share.
24. Moss grows on everything from roofs, to cars, to cement. It comes off when pressure washed.
25. Most people let their lawns die in the summer--it's the norm.
26. Thrift stores are everywhere-- love this!
27. Everyone is quackers about the Ducks.
28. Rush hour consists of 3 minutes of slow traffic and 15 minutes (aka 7 miles) is far away.
29. In regards living space everything is smaller, pay more get less.
30. People are very very friendly.
31. Farmer-plaid, suspenders and beards are always in style. We call it the lumberjack look.

To sum it up expect the unexpected when in Eugene, pretty much everything goes. We have experienced our fair share of culture shock but things are good. So far we are loving this new adventure in life called Eugene, Oregon!