laid back, inexpensive, rural life-style sought (Medford, Grants Pass: property taxes, military, work)

[dougf]

We are retired form the military and sickened by our present out of control growth in Coeur d' Alene, Idaho. Our once laid-back lifestyle has been robbed from us. We NEVER want to settle in an area that has the potential to "take off" like this area has. We are not seeking escalating property values, but a quiet, stable small town lifestyle. We prefer to be out of town, yet still be able to participate in church and other civic events in a nice community.

Seeking a warm, not too hot and humid area. Cold within reason is fine in the winter.

We love the mountain beauty of Idaho, but do just as well with beautiful farm land. In fact, an agricultural life-style would probably suit us ideally.

The main thing we seek is - don't laugh! A decent, well maintained house with maybe a few acres for 100K or less. Our goal is to pay cash and live off of my 1800/mo military retirement check if we have to, although I'm willing to work if there is any locally.

One further question would be taxes. I had heard that a military person would find Oregon "tax-friendly." Can anyone help us understand the state's tax situation.

Oregon is definitely on our short-list, so any info provided will be greatly appreciated.

[furyu]

Check out Cave Junction, Oregon, and that surrounding area. It's a rural, scenic, quiet area. I have a friend who has lived there for close to ten years and she says the population of the area has remained fairly stable. There are people retiring to the area, of course, but it's not 'taking off' in the way many areas are, due to the fact that it's fairly isolated from the main stream. Medford/Grants Pass is the closest metro-area.

It can get fairly hot in the summer, up into the 90s but not for long drawn out periods. It's a dry, nonhumid climate. Winters are mild; the area will receive snow occasionally.

The area along Route 199 that runs predominately east/west from the coast to the Grants Pass/Medford area, has many small, agricultural communities that you might wish to explore.

Cave Junction, Oregon Community Information

Not sure what 'tax friendly' means with regard to military personnel. The state and property taxes in Oregon are moderate, certainly not as high as some states, and there is currently no sales tax. No doubt you can find something online that shows how Oregon compares to Idaho as far as taxes go, and maybe something more specific to your question.

[Larry Caldwell]

Originally Posted by furyu

Check out Cave Junction, Oregon, and that surrounding area. It's a rural, scenic, quiet area. I have a friend who has lived there for close to ten years and she says the population of the area has remained fairly stable. There are people retiring to the area, of course, but it's not 'taking off' in the way many areas are, due to the fact that it's fairly isolated from the main stream. Medford/Grants Pass is the closest metro-area.

I think your information might be a bit out of date. There has already been one housing development built out in Cave Junction, and another is being built right now. That's a big change for a small town. Outside of town, the whole Illinois Valley has undergone a real boom. The California retirees have discovered Cave Junction. It's not a sleepy little logging area any more. It's also not cheap any more.

[seashelly]

I don't know what to tell you but I'd say Oregon is "taking off" too. Have you checked out Burns area? As for Military Tax Friendly, I do know that some Oregon Counties offer a tax exemption percentage off their property tax assessments (but it's not very much) to qualifying Veterans.

[PNW-type-gal]

Not too sure of property values, but you might try Baker City or back in the Strawberry Mountains toward Sumpter. Also the John Day/ Canyon City/ Prairie City area.

[tablemtn]

How small of a town are you willing to live in?

[dougf]

We really want to live outside of town. We would consider in-town, only if there were an acre or more of property and it was on the outer edge of the town. We've seen places where you are on the town's perimeter and back up to pasture land or not-likely to be developed land and think that would be OK.

Town size - some shopping, groceries, gas station, maybe a feed store and a restaurant or two. If we are a few miles away from a town of 15K that would be OK. We would like to be able to get to a decent sized shopping area within a 1.0 - 1.5 hour drive.

Thank you all for taking time to reply to us!

[Anchorless]

Check out Jordan Valley.

[seashelly]

Check out Powers or Myrtle Point areas.

[ReturningWest]

Lakeview is another area to check out