Since you mentioned that 700K figure, LO is a place where you get some nice SFRs. Schools are very good too. (But I don't live there; we are in Washington county area north of Beaverton).
one more question, should we change our california plates out as quickly as possible?
Not really; I think the law is 30 days or something. We took a few months; no one harassed us.
i keep reading about how everyone in portland and oregon in general hates californians moving in!
That is a lie. Portlanders are very nice sociable folks – even to Californians. Now I can't be so sure of folks in rural areas. They may have some honest fear of all the rich bounty hunters from outside.