Same state, same rules. More land, more sun.

You're still in Oregon, so there's no new state income tax to learn and no sales tax to start paying. Property taxes run under the same Measure 50 rules you know, which limit growth in a home's taxable value to 3 percent a year. If you pay Portland-area local income taxes, those generally stay behind when you leave the metro. Confirm with a tax professional.

The land. For what a city lot costs in Portland, you can look at acreage, a shop and a garden here. The summers are hotter, drier and longer, with July highs around 90 and very little rain from June through September. Life outside city limits means learning wells, septic and water rights, and I walk every buyer through those before an offer.

Alaska runs several nonstops a day between Medford and Portland. Driving takes about four hours and twenty minutes up I-5.

For a real downtown with a river through it, start with Grants Pass. For the walkable, theater-and-restaurant side of the valley, Ashland and Jacksonville. For land: Murphy, Williams and the Applegate Valley for farms and vineyards, Cave Junction and Selma for woods and privacy. The Find Your Town quiz narrows it down in five questions.