Ten things to know about Oregon

Many students come to Oregon to study. They find new and surprising things here. KVAL is a television station in Eugene. It made a list of seven things that new students need to know about life in their new state.

1. People don’t pump their own gas here. There are no regular “self-service” gas stations in the state. Oregon and New Jersey are the only states in the country with this law.
2. There is no sales tax. Many states have a tax on things people buy. Oregon does not. Here, people pay for the government with property taxes (taxes on land and buildings) and income taxes (taxes on the money people earn).
3. Marijuana is legal. Users must be at least 21 years old. However, they can’t use it in public. Also, colleges and universities do not permit it on campus.
4. Oregon has a minimum wage (a wage is the money people receive for work). In 2022, it was between $12.50 and $13.75 per hour. It depends where a person lives.
5. People pay a deposit on beverage containers, such as soda cans. A deposit is money that you can get back. The deposit on beverage containers is 10 cents each.
6. People do not own the beaches. The state owns the beaches. Oregon passed a law in 1967 that says all beaches are public beaches.
7. It is illegal to use a cell phone while driving a car. Illegal means it is not legal; it is against the law. The police can give a driver a ticket.  A person’s first ticket can cost between $130 and $1,000.

Here are three more interesting things about Oregon:

1. Bicycles don’t need to stop at all stop signs. Bicycles still stop for other traffic, but a law passed in 2019 allows bikers to slow down and continue without stopping — if it is safe.
2. It doesn’t rain all year. In fact, summers in Oregon are warm and dry. People think Portland gets a lot of rain, but it depends how it is measured. Among U.S. cities, Portland comes in third in terms of the number of days with rain. However, it’s not even in the top 10 for the amount of rain.
3. Oregon’s flag has two sides. It is rare for a flag to be double-sided, but Oregon has one that is. The picture above shows the front side with the state seal (a special picture with symbols of the state). The picture below shows a beaver (Oregon’s state animal) on the back side of the flag.

^{-This story was first published in ESOL News Oregon September 24, 2018.}