Coos Bay - What's the Scoop? Funky? Run-Down? Depressed? (Portland: sales, health insurance)

[trailuser]

Originally Posted by pdxMIKEpdx

Just to settle the argument:
Cyclists can now ride across McCullough

Read the discussion page. That should tell you about how locals feel about bikes on that bridge.

IMHO, they are being realistic no matter how their words come across to you.
In my personal experience, common sense and the average cyclist are strangers to each other.

How funny and sad, I never felt that unsafe on the bridge. People sometimes never change so it takes actions like these to force change. Bikes and cars can and do coexist. It's too bad that coos bay locals see bike riders as second class citizens. Most places I know are filled with cyclist supporters I wonder what makes coos bay residents so resistant and anti bike?

[hamellr]

Originally Posted by bcosner

How funny and sad, I never felt that unsafe on the bridge. People sometimes never change so it takes actions like these to force change. Bikes and cars can and do coexist. It's too bad that coos bay locals see bike riders as second class citizens. Most places I know are filled with cyclist supporters I wonder what makes coos bay residents so resistant and anti bike?

Portlanders still see cyclists as second class citizens. And until the vast majority of cyclists learn to follow the laws too, both sides are going to butt heads.

Granted, 90% of the people I see who are not obeying bike laws are wearing spandex and riding a bike several thousand dollars more then I'd care to pay, and seem to be constantly racing somewhere. Few things tick me off more then riding up behind one of these guys and watching them blow a stop sign or fail to signal.

[hamellr]

Originally Posted by dusky_beauty

How about Tillamook? the dairy farms and cheese factory seems to be pretty strong there. Maybe Seaside and Astoria?

Tillamook is a nice town. I don't know how the economy is, but the feeling is much more of a rural rough and ready farm town then a tourist destination. It's far enough from the ocean that most people visiting Tillamook keep driving through, or just stop to visit the Cheese Factory.

I have no clue how the jobs are there, but my assumption is that they've held steady and had few layoffs compared to the rest of the state. The downside is that it's mostly family farms, who hire family to work on the farms.

Seaside and Astoria are both heavily dependent on tourist dollars and the roller-coaster job cycles that implies. Astoria a bit less then Seaside due to it's larger population and also a necessity shopping destination for much of the northern Oregon and Southern Washington Coast. For instance there is a Costco there.

The bad news is that weather wise Astoria gets the brunt of it all, both from the Ocean and from the north. Lots of rain, lots of fog. I would not be surprised to find that it gets the most rain fall on the Oregon Coast.

[hamellr]

Originally Posted by hamellr

The bad news is that weather wise Astoria gets the brunt of it all, both from the Ocean and from the north. Lots of rain, lots of fog. I would not be surprised to find that it gets the most rain fall on the Oregon Coast.

North Oregon Coast that is. I'm pretty sure Brookings is the rainiest part of the Oregon Coast.

[Connie J Lewis]

Funky, rundown and depressed fairly well sums it up. Whoever gave you those ideas was... um correct. We're 34 years here and it does not appear to be getting better - in fact, it's gotten significantly worse as time passes. WAY too much drug use (heroin, crack, cocaine, prescription, etc.) and when they begin to get a handle on it, they takes their hands off the handlebars. Not kidding even a little bit.

Poverty, homelessness, and really depressed and oppressed area. Wish I could give a more glowing report, but for now... this is as good as it gets.

[RegReg]

Dam, thats sound ****ed up.

[Connie J Lewis]

Originally Posted by hamellr

North Oregon Coast that is. I'm pretty sure Brookings is the rainiest part of the Oregon Coast.

Actually, Brookings is commonly known as the banana belt of the Oregon Coast. If you get inland even a tiny bit to get out of the fog, it truly is beautiful weather; considerably warmer than the rest of the coast, and quite a lovely little town.

Wonderful place to visit, and actually a delightful place to live, if you can afford it, and for those who are retired, it's especially nice.

[yotravis]

So much negativity about that city! Most everything I've read so far is very positive. True, the city has been hit hard but what other city or township hasn't? And people ARE FRIENDLY! That is, if you are too but I doubt that from your postings................

[Random_Walk]

I think it may be because it got hit hard by the whole Gov't/Lumber thing, which basically wiped one of the biggest local industries right off the table. The only place I can think of that got it worse would be Josephine County (Grants Pass and the like).

The local government (in either place) is struggling hard due to the federal government basically putting a halt to most of the timber industry there (long story, involves government lands, etc). In turn, with a lot of the jobs gone, the place has to struggle to find and attract other industries in order to get some sort of parity with what they once had economy-wise.

Overall, unless you're a tourist, independently wealthy, or bring your own job with you? It's going to be hard going in such areas.

[Socalstu]

Just came as a tourist and loved the town. Fishing was great and good for boating activities. Scenary is great. Have a friend that's non-white living in Coos and he senses hostility from time to time. Was surprise to run across a white airport shuttle driver in Portland that lived there for a number of decades and left in 2000 tell me that with the racism it felt like Mississipi in the 60's. My stay was fun and enjoyable and the town just felt like the typical fishing/lumber town.