Pro and Cons on Klamath Falls (Portland, Oakland: real estate, houses, rent)

[Texas T]

I visited Klamath Falls in 2003, for a family reunion. I drove around every street I could find. Took the tourist bus/took in the(Sites?). The Town seemed "Dead" to me.Real Estate prices were a shock to say the least, comming from Texas. Research indicates the cost of living is 19% higher than here. 10yr employment growth rate .9%. There is just no action in this town.
I have tryed to find enough pluses to warrant moving there.The people in the community are fine folks, there are some seasonal events. My inlaws live there and are ageing so we have been considering moving there to help if needs be. As for general attraction/economy/housing mkt./9% income tax
increased cost of goods & services I am not attracted that much. Bottom line
that effects one is finances & inactivity?

[PNW-type-gal]

Originally Posted by Texas T

I visited Klamath Falls in 2003, for a family reunion. I drove around every street I could find. Took the tourist bus/took in the(Sites?). The Town seemed "Dead" to me.Real Estate prices were a shock to say the least, comming from Texas. Research indicates the cost of living is 19% higher than here. 10yr employment growth rate .9%. There is just no action in this town.
I have tryed to find enough pluses to warrant moving there.The people in the community are fine folks, there are some seasonal events. My inlaws live there and are ageing so we have been considering moving there to help if needs be. As for general attraction/economy/housing mkt./9% income tax
increased cost of goods & services I am not attracted that much. Bottom line
that effects one is finances & inactivity?

From the state of Oregon's Employment Division newsletter:

Klamath County's fortunes are changing. It added jobs for the second year in a row. And residential housing permits are surging in the city of Klamath Falls, where downtown retail is thriving.

However, the county went through some hard times during the past recession, when it was affected by decreasing national demand and also by restrictive water allocation policies that hurt the basin's farm economy. The county saw a number of prominent employers close or consolidate operations through mergers. It shed about 790 jobs from 2001 to 2003.

The county's fortunes began to change in early 2004 when the employment decline bottomed out. Since then, it has seen strength in construction, manufacturing, wholesale and retail trade, and professional and business services. Employment climbed by 1,350 since 2003, growing by 1.4 percent in 2004 and 4.5 percent in 2005. Klamath County last year had the fourth-fastest growth rate in Oregon, behind Deschutes, Crook, and Josephine counties.

I'm not trying to talk you into it - generally, when you don't want to do something as clearly as you don't want to move there, it's a good idea to go with your gut feelings. I'm just saying it's not all that dead.

[Imperial1904]

Now it's doing better. It seems like it all changed in 2007. I've lived here off and on since 2002 and it has also been dead but now with new development popping up, it's growing a little. Also, I've heard the only reason why more people are coming here is because a military base in Portland is closing and many have been transferred to the base here in Klamath Falls. If I remember correctly, 5,000 service members will be transferring here.

So with growth and new development comes jobs; more so with construction jobs.

This town doesn't interest me at all. Not much to do.

[mdvaden]

Originally Posted by Bart_3500

I won't say anything good or bad about "K-Falls". I will say that during the summer time around sun down the bugs are soooooooooooo thick that they turned by Red Dodge truck and white camper to a solid green that was more than an inch thick. I'll NEVER driver through there again at that time. There are still bug guts in places on that truck that I can't clean.

Now that you mention it, I hit a mass of bugs coming back west from Crater Lake and Klamath Falls last year, that was not as thick as what you saw, but chunkier and thicker than any swarm I've seen in Oregon so far.

[Imperial1904]

Originally Posted by mdvaden

Now that you mention it, I hit a mass of bugs coming back west from Crater Lake and Klamath Falls last year, that was not as thick as what you saw, but chunkier and thicker than any swarm I've seen in Oregon so far.

The little green bugs usually come out at night. You should see all the dead bugs on the ground at gas stations, you can even see them flying around the lights.

[FLTammy]

Can anyone tell me something about Klamath Falls Forest Estates? I'm looking at purchasing some land.

[PNW-type-gal]

Originally Posted by FLTammy

Can anyone tell me something about Klamath Falls Forest Estates? I'm looking at purchasing some land.

Pretty sure that's up by Bonanza. At least 25 miles or so outside Klamath Falls proper. All the lots are minimum of couple of acres. Some of the properties have paid for phone and power access, so it's nearby (as opposed to unavailable) but be prepared for a hefty price to get it put into a property that doesn't yet have it.

Although I can't find a copy of it on-line, I see an on-line reference to a maintenance association and CCRs (codes, covenants and restrictions) - you'd want to see those before any purchase.

[ted08721]

I just printed out average high/low weather temps. for Klammath and my location at the NJ shore ( about 50 mins. north of Atlantic City) I was surprised how close day time highs were ( within a degree or 2) Low averages were somewhat lower in Klamath. We have periods that we run our ac for 6 or 7 days before we get a break from the heat. At times it is so humid you could almost cut the air with a knife. Am I right in assuming humidity is not a problem in and around Klamath? How much snow do they get around Klamath Falls area during winter? Around here we mostly just get storms that leave a coating to just several inches, unless we get a winter storm once in awhile coming up the coast that could leave 8 to 18 inches. Although we will get a few artic blasts that may lower temps into the teens or single digits, most of the time it's not real bad. Am I also assuming correctly Klamath has dryer air that makes winter temps more easy to cope with?

[ted08721]

Is the air quality as bad as someone posted? I do suffer from asthma at times. Is the job market that bad? I am more or less being force into early retirement,I'm only 54. I will still have to carry some debt, daughter's college education etc. Wife and I will still have to work. I do telephone install/repair(36yrs.)mostly business type. Wife works retail, department store type, Kohls, JC Penney etc. I did do a quick job search,didn't see much. I guess they are the type of jobs you have to be in the actual area to see what the opportunities are. But any thoughts would be appreciated. Ted

[Imperial1904]

There's no humidity, it's pretty dry.

Klamath Falls gets some snow, sometimes it's alot other times it's a couple inches. By 'alot', I mean 12-15 inches. That's the most I ever seen snow in Klamath Falls. Before 2002, I never even seen snow in person so I'm still new to it.

It gets cold. Lowest temp I can remember was a couple degrees below zero.

Air quality is OK, it's mostly people who burn things in their yard (it's legal) and if there's a big enough fire, smoke will find its way to the basin.

There seems to be more jobs now especially with all the new construction going on, however it's still a very small town with very few opportunities. It's best you have a job lined up here before you move, this is true for the entire state of Oregon. With new retail stores opening, your wife shouldn't have a problem looking for work.

Klamath Falls is a very slow paced town with not much going on. Unless you like outdoor activities such as off-roading, hiking, camping, fishing, etc., Klamath Falls really doesn't have anything to offer. I know someone will disagree. Some locals love the place while others (specifically people who moved here from California) feel 'stuck' here.