Mid Twenties Couple Possibly Moving to Coos Bay from Indianapolis (Portland: sales, casino) - City-Data Forum

musicalmatt · 07-31-2011, 04:39 PM

Hello,

I am writing with hopes of getting some decent, honest advice for my soon to be wife and I, who are strongly considering moving to Coos Bay for a job that I am currently finishing the interview process for. I am confident I will enjoy the area, having visited it two weeks ago, but as for my fiance, I am not certain she will. We live in Indy, which is a pretty happening, fun place as far as restaurants, night life, and city life go. She and I are both fans of nature: camping, kayaking, hiking, backpacking, biking, but I am still afraid she will end up unhappy there because of the slower "pace" of the Coos Bay area. Also, I am worried she will have trouble finding work, even though she is educated with a interior architecture degree and currently works in sales in that industry. She is not stuck on staying in that industry, so she is flexible, I am just wondering if the job availability in the area is as bad as people make it out to be in that area?
Also, she hasn't been their yet, but one of her main worries is that its too cold there. When I was there the weather was awesome, it only rained as I was getting on the plane to leave. Is the weather through the summer warm enough to wear shorts comfortably, perhaps even lay out and get some sun occasionally?
Last question, does anybody know of any social activities or clubs to get involved in that area? We will not know anyone if we move there, any ideas?

Thanks in advance for any help you may offer!

Matt

pdxMIKEpdx · 07-31-2011, 08:17 PM

I'm afraid to say your wife's concerns about Coos Bay are well justified.
IMHO, you are correct, she would hate it there.

Coos Bay is a backwater.

sarahkate_m · 07-31-2011, 08:19 PM

Have you looked at the threads/posts here at City Data about Coos Bay?

Silverfall · 07-31-2011, 09:42 PM

Head to the search bar and there are many, many threads about Coos Bay. I think both of you will have culture shock coming from Indy to Coos Bay.

Hawk J · 08-01-2011, 08:24 AM

Read some of tiffela74 posts. She loves Coos Bay.

http://www.city-data.com/forum/membe...a74-10080.html

hamellr · 08-01-2011, 09:16 AM

I love Coos Bay, but the economy there has been terrible since the lumber crash of the 1980's and never recovered. I seriously doubt there is an Interior Designer in the area, much less the need for one.

Camping is possible, but Kayaking (unless you have your own and are content with the rivers,) Biking, and Hiking are going to be difficult to impossible. There isn't a lot of hiking trails through there, mostly old logging roads that don't go anywhere, or worse yet go through twenty miles of the worst terrain you can imagine over more hills then exist in the Alps, only to end up 1/2 mile from where you started.

Winters can get cold and rainy. The area is right on the ocean and gets the brunt of all Winter Storms. The only thing keeping Coos Bay afloat is what little industry there is, the Casino, and Tourism for Winter Storm watching. Fishing and crabbing have been in a bad way the last 3-4 years now due to the dead zone off the coast.

sarahkate_m · 08-01-2011, 12:42 PM

Dead zone?

hamellr · 08-01-2011, 02:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sarahkate_m

Dead zone?

The water has no oxygen in it at all, so no fish can live in it. A phenomena possibly related to climate change.

Marine 'dead zone' off Oregon is spreading

I think it's gotten a bit better in the past two years, but not by much.

dusky_beauty · 08-01-2011, 04:46 PM

Sorry Matt, but the other posters are right. I drove through there from Salem to Arizona and the locals in WalMart kept giving me the evil eye. (Funny thing is Coos Bay is my hometown.) The young man (20-ish, should have had better job prospects than Wal Mart but didn't) asked me if I wanted a bag for my 6 pack of "beverages" I bought for dinner. Almost cracked a joke that I'd be drinking it in the car but *someone* near me smelled like they'd been hitting the Budweiser for lunch hour so I didn't think It'd be well received.. or even understood to be a joke.

There are places in Oregon that would suit the both of you better but I don't think Coos Bay is it. If she could adjust to the lack of a social scene, the outdoors could pick up slack, especially if she's ever wanted a garden. It's only considered "cold" if you're used to hot summers. Winter and summer are exceptionally mild.

pw72 · 08-02-2011, 10:29 PM

Sometimes smaller towns can be OK if they are within easy distance of a bigger city. Coos Bay? Nope.
The nearest larger town is Eugene, and because there are no freeways to there, it is a curvy 3-hour drive. Portland would be more like 5+ hours. I think for me personally, that would be a deal-breaker, but that is just me. However, Coos Bay is located near the coast, hardly ever snows, and near great golf at Bandon.