Meet Matthew Peters, MD
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Matthew Peters, MD is a Sky Lakes hospitalist and a family care provider at Sky Lakes Primary Care clinic. We had the wonderful opportunity of getting to know Matt a little better and find out what he likes the most about living and working in Klamath Falls Oregon.
Q. Why did you choose to live and work in Klamath Falls and how long have you lived here?
A. My wife and I moved to Klamath Falls for my residency training in 2017 from Boise, ID. We were drawn here by the broad (and uncrowded) outdoor opportunities, the strong family medicine training, and the outstandingly supportive medical community. At the end of the day, our choice to move here really boiled down to the family feel that we experienced at Cascades East Family Medicine Residency.
Q. Is Klamath Falls a good place to live, and what about the area makes you feel that way?
A. Obviously, “good place to live” is highly subjective, but after 3 years of residency training, we chose to stay and buy a home. There were many factors that led us to this decision – professional, social, recreational, financial, etc. I think Klamath Falls is one of the few places in the Northwest that has >20,000 people and still feels “undiscovered” in a lot of ways. I grew up in Boise >20 years ago when it was still a small city, now it’s bursting with growth. Cost of living there is exploding and the economy is thriving. We’ve watched Bend, OR experience similar growth in the last two decades. To me, Klamath Falls offers many of the draws that pull people to Boise and Bend (weather, outdoors, etc.) with a lot less cost and hassle. Given the right development steps, I think Klamath Falls has the potential to grow and evolve in some of the same ways in our lifetime.
Q. What are the pros and cons of living in Klamath Falls?
A. We love the access to the outdoors (off leash dog walks out our back door), the natural beauty, the mild and sunnyfour season climate, the affordable cost of living, and the sense of community we have found within our tight knit friend group. We have made the best friends of our lives here and we’re really enjoying raising our daughter alongside our friends’ children. The drawbacks of Klamath Falls are fairly obvious – shopping, air travel, and limited jobs for young professionals outside of education and healthcare. We would love to have a Winco, a Costco, a Trader Joe’s and a few clothing stores closer than Medford, but alas, we’ve decided we can live without them being in town and you know what? It’s really not a big deal. Flying out of Medford is fine, but not always the most convenient. 7am flights are TOUGH when the airport is ~90 minutes away, but at least the TSA line is usually a breeze.
Q. What is your favorite part of living in Klamath Falls?
A. This will sound silly, but I love my commute. If I drive to work, I’m there in 3 minutes. If I bike, it’s 6-9. If I walk, it’s 15-20. For me, this means more time at home with my wife and daughter. More time doing what I enjoy on my time off. But not enough time to listen to the podcasts I enjoy – oh well.
Q. How would you describe Klamath Falls to a peer thinking about visiting or moving here?
A. Klamath Falls is a quirky old logging town with remarkably uncrowded outdoor opportunities easily reached in all directions and a growing culture of health and sustainable economic growth. The rural blue collar heritage of Klamath Falls is unmistakably part of its’ DNA, but there’s more here than meets the eye. It’s a great place to raise a family affordably and the stargazing is outstanding (secret perk of living a long ways away from significant light pollution).
