Observations of Coos Bay

[esya]

That seems pretty low compared to other electric bills around the country. Thanks.

[thunderstuff]

Wow, thanks for both the positive and negative comments on this area. We're moving out to Oregon (after we do some "Recon" in May") from NJ. We're both college educated (the HS diploma of 50 years ago in terms of the relative salary it commands) and in our early 30s.

Coos Bay - Reedsport - Florence... actually the whole West Coast is on our list, although we'll probably end up around Eugene or Portland for a year or two, wherever the jobs are. We're also looking for the hilly region between the Coast and Eugene.

We both don't want suburban living, our goal is to be rural outside a small town, but 1-2 hours from a big city, so we can get the best of privacy and space (I've always wanted to have a garden that was larger than my balcony or windowsill or fire-escape), and on the weekends have the occasional Thai food or take in a show or something. Long commutes, being from the NY Metro Area, don't faze us in the slightest.

I don't want to buy a house and find myself hemmed in 10 years later by Walmarts and Subdivisions and an ever-skyrocketing property tax to pay for all the new infrastructure that would have to be built to support them.

PS we pay $300 / month for electric here in NJ (we have electric heat). That's for a 900 sq ft one bedroom, and we only heat the bedroom on the weekdays when we're home from work.

[vnodak]

Originally Posted by mf81783

not sure where you meet people, but if you don't fit in with the blue collar conservative macho crowd you get the "you don't look from around these parts" vibe pretty bad. Not just in bars. Not a good place if you are a minority/gay/liberal/french/any other type of "different" etc...maybe if you are a housewife or something people don't mess with you as much.

Some statistics:

16.5% of the population is below the poverty level
21% of children live below the poverty level
9.5% unemployment rate
The racial makeup of the city is 90.75% white
20% of adults have never finished high school
15.6% of adults hold a bachelors degree or higher
median home value is $110,000

not a good place if you are looking for a diverse, educated population or a good economy

You could be worse off living in the inland towns of Coos County though-Coquille, Myrtle Point or Powers (deliverance)

I agree to some extent but I will say this is an over kill on your part. Yes ,their are some of these people and not much for young singles but their are nice people and you meet them at church, organizations,and the gym. The area is very conservative but their are others than what you described. I lived in Coquille area also and it is a nice decent town with nice people and so is Myrtle Point. Now, as for Powers, that is a different story. Then again, I did not hang out in bars. Their are bars that do not have that type of people in the area however, like the Red Lion.

[Nikidann]

Im sure gonna love it too....im so glad i can find all of this info through these posts.....

[tiffela74]

its beautiful, calm and clear 55degrees here today just before 11am in Coos Bay. I just checked the Coos Bay Webcam and wish I were spending the day out on the beach rather than going to work!

[smokey63]

I would like to say that the living in Coos County is great. We have great people. To me, living in Coos Bay is not the first choice I would have if coming from another state, as Coos Bay is dirty to me. They have the bigger stores and more big stores are coming into the area. And I would like to ask VNKO why Powers is so bad, that is where we landed coming from California 20 years ago. Powers is a great little community to raise your kids, our school is small and thus makes teaching a lot easier, there is more 1 on 1 between the student and the teacher and you cant beat the weather, when it is cold and foggy down in coos bay, it will nice and sunny in Powers. Check Powers out if your coming from another state and want to relocate. Portland, Salem, Eugene are too big for me. and that is saying a lot since I came from Sacramento.

[oldphoneguy]

I was amazed at not finding a bunch of seafood restaurants. Did we just miss 'em?
We found the street signs in Couquille to be pretty terrible. Many intersections have none at all, and a lot of the ones that are there are illegible. Are they simply trying to discourage visitors or does that city have $s problems?
Oh, yeah - is there some reason that gas costs noticibly more in CB/NB than elsewhere in Coos County? City taxes? Price fixing, mayhaps?
Are there local TV stations that don't require CATV to receive? What about internet access?
We're looking to retire in the area, but I'm real leery of the State income tax. Being in Washington, that's new to us - thoughts?
Thanks for any input you can offer....

[vnodak]

Originally Posted by oldphoneguy

I was amazed at not finding a bunch of seafood restaurants. Did we just miss 'em?
We found the street signs in Couquille to be pretty terrible. Many intersections have none at all, and a lot of the ones that are there are illegible. Are they simply trying to discourage visitors or does that city have $s problems?
Oh, yeah - is there some reason that gas costs noticibly more in CB/NB than elsewhere in Coos County? City taxes? Price fixing, mayhaps?
Are there local TV stations that don't require CATV to receive? What about internet access?
We're looking to retire in the area, but I'm real leery of the State income tax. Being in Washington, that's new to us - thoughts?
Thanks for any input you can offer....

I lived in Oregon for over 25 years and I lived in North Bend, Coos Bay, and Coquille. For 14 years I lived on some land outside of Coquille. We had direct tv and internet(high speed). The whole area does have some money issues. Not much going on. The timber industry is down and so is fishing and those were big in the area . Not much tourism either. In a nut shell, the area is declining and poverty and drugs rising. Not much different than many small towns around the states. Having said that, I did enjoy the area but it was time for me to move on. Yes, their are some rednecks but they are everywhere. The people on a whole are nice and friendly. I once was an outsider moving in. Now, let put your mind at rest. We moved to Washington-----can not wait to leave. The property tax here is outrageous. Makes Oregon look great. They tax everything here and want to do more. It is unbelieveable. You should end up paying less tax than you did in Washington and of course some of that depends on where you lived here and where you want to live there. Trust me --I would rather pay state income tax than what I have to pay here. Washinton is nothing but a tax tax tax tax state. It does not compare to Oregon. Hope this helps and enjoy the coastal life and your retirement. Oh and not many sea food places--go figure. However, try Bandon.

[esya]

I dunno how many is a lot of seafood restaurants, but when I have visited Coos Bay, people have steered me to several different ones, most of them sort of hidden away and small, not big chain sized ones, and there was a very hopping place just off the main drag that had sushi and other things that was very good and attracted a young crowd.

I am pretty pragmatic about trying out places and don't get surprised anymore when first impressions are wrong. One rule of thumb is don't ask the hotel clerk where the fancy places are, as they either have not eaten there or they are just sending you to the tourist places. Ask the hotel clerk where the locals eat. I also always use the local phone book and often call and ask questions before I go. Saves time and frustration. You can often tell by the listing what type of customer they are trying to attract. Most people want their customers to be happy and are more than willing to tell you "what kind of place" it really is.

There are many people who are just worn down by the busy competitive urban lifestyle and Coos Bay is an antidote to that. I found the people there to be very friendly and helpful and relaxed.

It's sort of sad that our society has become so transient--it really does make it tougher on young singles.