Brookings, Oregon?? (Portland, Eugene, Klamath Falls: neighborhoods, theatres, middle school)

[multiKitten]

Hello. =) I'm a teenager from Orange County hoping to move (with my mom, cat, and possibly an elderly friend) to Oregon. We were looking at Klamath Falls, first, but we saw several threads on this site arguing about it back and forth. We decided that it would be safest just to look around for another town.
Because I have two more years of high school left, I've mostly been looking around at the schools in different Oregon towns (I'm really picky about schools). Brookings-Harbor seems like a pretty good school so far, but I'm wondering about the town as well.

Also, does anyone perhaps have pictures of the school? I always have serious trouble trying to find pictures of schools. o.O;;

Thanks! =D

[Waterlily]

No pictures of the school. Brooking and Habor are by the coast. They are very small so there's not a lot to do there. There is a grocery store and a McDonalds. It's mostly older people who live there for retirement.

There going to be about 70 inches of rain per year. Summer will be mostly sunny.

[furyu]

Originally Posted by Waterlily

No pictures of the school. Brooking and Habor are by the coast. They are very small so there's not a lot to do there. There is a grocery store and a McDonalds. It's mostly older people who live there for retirement.

There going to be about 70 inches of rain per year. Summer will be mostly sunny.

There is a very large Fred Meyers, another grocery store, three or four art galleries, several book stores, antique stores, and other various and unique stores in Brookings, including numerous restaurants, a really nice (and currently still open) library, auto dealerships, etc., etc. During summer, there is a public swimming pool open to everyone. It is a small town in comparison to sprawling Orange County, where I also lived for seven years. There is a large population of senior citizens but there are many families of varying ages and lots of kids too. It rains a lot, but it rains a lot in most of Oregon (except the most eastern parts).

That said, Multikitten---it will be total culture-shock for you to leave Orange County to live in Brookings. And Gold Beach is even smaller. There are no malls, no big major stores, no mutliplex movie theatres, and such. Your level of sophistication is undoubtedly far greater than the kids of your same age who have grown up here. I doubt a person of your age, still in high school, would be very happy making such a drastic move.

I believe you and your mother and elderly friend would be far better off moving to a larger city here in Oregon, such as Eugene or Portland. Your cat will be content to be wherever you are!

[Larry Caldwell]

Originally Posted by Waterlily

No pictures of the school. Brooking and Habor are by the coast. They are very small so there's not a lot to do there. There is a grocery store and a McDonalds. It's mostly older people who live there for retirement.

There going to be about 70 inches of rain per year. Summer will be mostly sunny.

Obviously, local teenagers find plenty to do, but the activities are not the sort of thing that an urban Californian would have encountered. Besides the traditional sports, Brookings teens have access to hunting, fishing, rodeo, 4-H, and some astonishing hiking. They can make pretty good money brush picking for the holidays, and summer jobs in the tourist industry are easy to come by.

If you measure "sophisitication" by the number of mall stores you can visit in a week, California has the edge. If you measure it by opportunities to do things, with the room to do them, Brookings is the clear choice. Nothing is going to salvage a couch potato, but a kid with some get up and go will make a good thing out of moving to Brookings.

Brookings is also a meteorological fluke. It is warmer and dryer in Brookings than anywhere else on the north coast. You have to get south of Monterrey to find weather so fine.

[roguecoast]

Maybe the Southern Oregon Coast would be a really nice change from S. CA...no gangs or violence...even the "nice" neighborhoods are a little rough compared to the OR coast......not everyone needs a mall to be happy.

[furyu]

No one needs a mall to be happy! So true. And no doubt we'd be better off as a society if we had fewer malls. But we do get used to these things and when they are no longer available to us... well, it just depends on the type of person you are: you adjust quickly, slowly or not at all.

I can only speak for myself, of course, and try to remember how I felt when I was a teenager. It's hard enough to move to a new location, at any age, and adjust to the new surroundings, new friends, new activities. Again, depending upon the type of person you are, adjustment periods vary.

Sophistication is a developmental process based on one's experiences, education and activities. The more exposure one has to a variety of experiences, the more complex one becomes. Obviously, growing up in a large metropolitan area one is exposed to more cultural and educational experiences. That is one of the positive consequences of urbanity. Music concerts, the symphony, the (live) theatre, museums, libraries, exposure to and interactions with people of other ethnicities and life styles: these and a multitude of other things are common to a person living in a metro area compared to someone who does not.

That is what I meant by sophistication.

Of course, through the availability of mass media, cable television, the internet and such, cultural isolation has been lessened. Even kids living in tiny communities come to know of many things via the internet and television they otherwise would not. However, I don't think learning about something via the internet can compare to actual personal exposure to it; I don't believe one can develop sophistication vicariously.

[mdvaden]

For me, a choice between Brookings and Klamath Falls wouldn't last longer than 10 seconds.

I'd rather have the winter rain than freeze in the cold season.

Shopping - you still have Crescent city nearby to add-onto what's near.

The redwoods are less than a half hour away.

There's a school site - just not much for photos - choose schools and browse. I clicked the bear too Brookings-Harbor School Dist. 17c

I drove by the school but didn't look at it much. But the town is not dumpy. Its a rather clean looking community.

[mdvaden]

Just saw the highschool... Just so I could tell you about it. I was down there anyhow. Only a few blocks off Hy. 101.

I spent several hours taking photos and video for my Harris Beach State Park web page and Redwoods albums.

It wasn't "real pretty" - at least not what I'd put on one of my albums. Not beat up, but its got a few years on it. Mainly one level with "wings" like an A hall, B hall type layout.

The high school is next to the middle school, with a nice size baseball diamond and a football field with covered bleacher stands.

The thing with the school, not only is it probably a late 60s or early 70s building - but the weather at the coast really pounds on the buildings.

In short - not one that I wanted a photo of for an album. But looks like a nice school.

The young lady who works in the Coffee stand, said a lot of young kids are "bored out of their minds" in Brookings. I think there's some truth to that on a long-term basis.

I'd be willing to take my kids there for, say, 2 or 3 years, as long as we could move to something different if they were still in school.

If a child is motivated to make the own entertainment, hobbies, reading, etc., I think Brookings would be fine. But if they like big city stuff and need to be spoon-fed entertainment - maybe not so great.

Anyway, I got some really good photos this weekend, including the Cobra Lily nearby. Also reviewed a sign that informs about the Japanese bombing attack just outside the city in WW II. A submarine delivered a special plane. The goal was to burn up the forests.

The pilot - not long ago, gave a nice sword of his to the City of Brookings.

[Saynoo]

IF you whant pics i can get some just answer back and i might be able to

[Saynoo]

I dont attend it but the school colers are gold and blue or yellow and blue not for shur on that the animal is bear and thats all i really have on it