Can you tell me about Brookings and Gold Beach? (homes, income)

[davefr]

Originally Posted by rebalol

And one last comment. If it's so bad here, then why do YOU stay????????

She never said it was "bad". She very accurately described small town living on the Oregon coast. I agree with her 100%. Many newbies discover some of these attributes of coastal living too late.

It's up to the OP to decide if this lifestyle is what they desire.

[Steve Pickering]

I must agree with Dave.

[rjeppler]

Can anyone tell me is there a big difference in weather between Brookings and Gold Beach?? We are considering moving to the area. The winter storms sound a bit scary? As far as the rest of the year it sounds great to me, the area is beautiful! For me to be able to walk the beaches, ride bike and hike some trails is enough and of course go fishing!! Guess it all depends on what you want out of life if you cant enjoy the beauty of the Gold Beach or Brookings area you dont deserve to live there. My question is just how much does the wind blow on the coast in these areas? We are from ND and are tired of the wind and for the person complaining about cold you dont know what cold is and I agree if your not happy there leave. People that have lived in these wonderful areas dont know how lucky they have been and obviously dont even see the beauty anymore!!!

[Hawk J]

Take a Jetboat ride on the Rogue River. Jerry's Rogue Jets Oregon's only Mail Boat Loads O FUn.

Sometimes Brookings is warmer a few days, due to the warm air currents, from the 'Chetco Effect'.

If you live inland a bit, on the other side of a mountain, it will protect you from some of the wind.

[Mermaid~Tears]

Does anyone have any recent information on the area? I haven't been to Brookings since 2007-08 but loved it. My daughter has two small school aged children...we know that there is no such thing as a Utopia but would like to know she and grandkids are reasonably safe. That the area she is considering has decent schools and community events, etc

[Steve Pickering]

The area is much much worse than 2008. How can you work in Coos Bay and consider anything south of Portland? It doesn't make sense. You say in other posts she is going to transfer there, so why is she looking to live in Brookings? The schools are bad and people with children are trying to get out, not in. Drug and Meth is just as bad. If she is transferring to Coos Bay why drift to living all over the state?

[Thor6809]

Brookings has a very low crime rate.

[NW4me]

Originally Posted by Brenda-by-the-sea

I don't think it's so much a matter of some place being good or bad by objective measures or even a matter of attitude. It's really more a matter of a "good fit" for you and the idiosyncrasies of your lifestyle. There are plenty of people who think that coastal Curry County is the bees knees and there are plenty who wouldn't live here for a million dollars. Having a good attitude in a place that isn't suited to you only goes so far. The more you can fit in with these criteria, the more likely it is that you and Gold Beach will be a match:

1. A marked preference for cool, damp, cloudy, breezy weather over warm sunny weather. Above all, being a summer-hater -- someone who wishes that the progression of seasons would stall at mid-spring and summer would never come. If you have no sandals, tee-shirts or shorts in your wardrobe, that's a good sign.

2. Older demographic. You should fit in well with the over-70 crowd. That doesn't mean necessarily that you need to be in that demographic, but you should be happy living someplace where the social values of people born during the Depression prevail. If you have kids you should really think twice about whether or not living here would serve their best interests. This is an area that builds its reputation on retirement living. Most people live on a fixed income and vote accordingly.

3. Small-town sensibility. A lot of people will tell you that Curry County is very conservative. But it's more than that. It's not as if people here are big on Glenn Beck or Sarah Palin. It's more a very old-fashioned sense of civic values and personal responsibility. It's a bit like going back to live in the 1950's.

4. Self-sufficiency. Living in a small town is one thing. Living in a small town that is a long ways away from anywhere else is another. This is an isolated part of the country and you need to be able to supply your own needs and recreation. If hiking, fishing and hunting occupy much of your spare time, that's a major factor in your favor. Curry County is seriously considering the possibility of declaring bankruptcy in the coming year or two. If you rely much on government services, this is probably not the place.

As I said earlier, this CAN BE paradise for people with a certain quirky set of preferences. If what Curry County has is what you want, then you won't be able to find it anywhere else. But there's also a reason that the entire population of the county is just 22,000, despite the lovely scenery.

Informative, and witty too! (and I know it's an old thread, but I just ran across it today)

[wolfdog]

It's still on my list.

[Larry Caldwell]

Originally Posted by NW4me

Informative, and witty too! (and I know it's an old thread, but I just ran across it today)

It must be really old if the over-70 crowd was born during the Great Depression. The Greatest Generation that had to deal with the depression and WWII is mostly gone. If a kid was 18 in 1945 he would be 90 now. The Silents are in their 80s, and the boomers are either 70 or getting close.

The two industries that supported the coast, fishing and logging, are just a shadow of their former vitality. Tourism picks up some of the slack, but the economy of the Oregon Coast has been in a continuous recession for 35 years, as the economy steadily shrinks. Social Security and pensions provide some cash flow, but nobody with a 401k moves to Oregon because they will lose 9% of it to state income tax. Of course, if all their money is in a Roth, they are golden, but Roths haven't been available that long.

The days when someone could fish for 40 years and then sell a paid-off boat for half a million bucks are long gone. There are still union pensions at the mills, but for 400 workers instead of 4,000. There are still some family wage jobs, but not many.