Shelter from the Storm: Oakridge, Oregon

If you've been reading about the changes Peak Oil is going to bring our society (www.LifeAftertheOilCrash.net ), then you might want to ask yourself, "Where do I want to be when there's no gas or it's too expensive to drive anywhere?"

Do you want to be in a city, with no way to grow what you need to eat, when our food supply system breaks down? Without cheap oil, or unavailable for any price, how can trucks supply your neighborhood grocery store? Can you imagine that hungry people will resort to looting?

If you live in a city or small town, will your backyard vegetable garden or tree fruit crops be safe? Even if they were, how long could your family live on what you can grow and preserve?

Where would the ideal place be, to live in safety and comfort as oil prices go inevitably up and we experience intermittent supply shortages over the next few years?

* A mild climate would be a plus: temperate, not too cold or hot, good for
gardening and farming

* Far enough away from hordes of starving city dwellers and criminal
types, so there will be fewer hungry people to keep out of your garden

* Plenty of fresh, clean water in all seasons

* Abundant game animals and fish, if you want to hunt and fish

* Lots of sunlight in the winter, to run solar energy collectors

* Ideally, the local government can see what's coming and is preparing
for it

I've found a place that pretty much meets these criteria. It's far from perfect, but the location is fantastic and the things that are missing can be added. An influx of those who are preparing for "life after the oil crash" would make it possible to change the political climate of the small city I have in mind.

The city is Oakridge, Oregon. It has about 3500 residents living in a protected valley about 35 miles from the nearest city, a cosmopolitan college town (Eugene).

One of the nicest things about Oakridge is its climate. It sits at 1200' altitude and therefor is "above the fog and below the snowline" in the winter and pleasantly cooler in the blazing Oregon summers. Five rivers converge here at the headwaters of the Willamette River. This is still in Zone 7 of the climate charts, so the gardening is good. We are surrounded by National Forest lands, and enjoy lots of "old growth" trees.

Recreation is big here. Hundreds of miles of trails through the forests and along the streams make this heaven for hikers and mountain bikers. A network of single and two-lane paved logging roads connect us to neighboring communities like Cottage Grove and even Crater Lake National Park. Might come in handy.........

( It should be pointed out that clearcut logging was stopped in this region about 20 years ago, so these forests are healthy and green and these paved roads are left for bicyclists, hunters, and anglers to use. )

Oakridge is 30 miles from the nearest ski area. The fishing is fantastic - trout , salmon, and bass, with some other species in our streams and reservoirs. Hunting for deer, bear, and elk is good, in season.

Oakridge after peak oil poses problems for retirees who need to be close to a major hospital for dialysis or other medical problems.

Those who must commute to a job in Eugene (as many do now) may find this less and less possible in the near future. Either people must find ways to work here and/or live off the land, or they must have dependable income from investments or businesses (like those on the Internet) or they must go elsewhere.

Oakridge has a strategic location, sitting astride a major highway through the mountains. There are many unfilled business niches to service the traveller. For as long as travel continues, that is.

There are incentives for businesses that create jobs. The community is crying out for vision and investment. Oakridge is the "homely step-sister" of Oregon mountain communities, waiting for her makeover. But her bone-structure (the mountain setting) is fantastic!

I like to say that it's easier to add the amenities Oakridge lacks than it is to remove all the things I don't like about most other places.

Oakridge is an opportunity for those who see the need. There's a limited ammount, truly. It's a chance to take a beautiful place and create the ideal Peak Oil refuge.

All we need are a few hundred visionaries to bring their business skills and resources to remake towns like Oakridge into the ideal post-Peak Oil refuges. Look at what's developing in Willits, CA! Look at what's happened to Bend (which has a lot of drawbacks in post-Peak Oil terms)!

If nothing else, Oakridge is a bargain place to set up a get-away or retirement home. People are moving here, anyway. The real estate market is very tight, but still a bargain compared to Bend or Eugene. And it can only hold about another 1500 souls. Check it out before the prices go out of sight!

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