Observations of Coos Bay (Portland, Eugene: appointed, fit in, transplants)

[mf81783]

I'm 23, born and raised in Coos Bay although I moved to Portland for college. I haven't visited in a year or so until yestarday. As far as nightlife or any social interaction with younger people you will probably be very disappointed. Some old friends and I decided to go out for a beer and every bar we went to was filled with crusty rednecks who stared us down and one even tried to start a fight. One lady was so drunk that she passed out and fell on me. Even before we entered the first bar there was a huge brawl in the parking lot with police involved. The people here are very confrontational, small minded and unfriendly which suprisingly living in Portland has made me realize.

Downtown Coos Bay looks kind of nice and is walkable with some old brick buildings, tree lined streets and a boardwalk but downtown North Bend is pretty ugly as well as the empire area. Definatly don't move to Empire...that is the "felony flats" of the area, more than other places I suppose.

You are set if you like outdoorsy stuff...as long as you don't tresspass on redneck property and get shot. The mountains and beaches are beautiful. In my opinion the best beaches in the state which are all public and open to everyone.

As for shopping there is a huge walmart, go figure, and a mall called the "pony village" with some bargain big box stores like a ross and a dollar tree. I did see some nice new locally owned business though in downtown Coos Bay.

Foodwise there are all the big chain retail stores as well as a nice little natural foods market and I think there is a farmers market. I haven't seen alot of diversity in restaurants, mostly American or Mexican greasy spoon except for a couple of European places that were good. Not alot of sea food for being a town on the coast.

The weather is pretty mild all year but the summers can be depressingly cold and windy. The winter brings some gnarly storms which I think are cool and the power usually dosen't stay off for too long. It rains about as often as in Portland but in much heavier doses.

[Pro-4X Titan1]

That sucks!!! Me and the wife are visiting the area in late January to look at houses for a possible move. I hope the locals are not as bad as you say.

[jm21]

The pissed off lumberjack and fishermen crowd down there, has always been my impression...some people like it, most don't. It's a very poor area compared to the rest of OR. Most people would be more comfortable further north on the coast, such as lincoln city, newport, seaside.

[Waterlily]

I've lived in the Bay area of Oregon for 4 years now and have yet to met a pissed off lumber jack. You will not meet the best people in bars anywhere. Most of the people I've met have been middle class and quite friendly.

I see it's a big day on the forum for the negatives in Oregon. Ho humm

[mf81783]

Originally Posted by Waterlily

You will not meet the best people in bars anywhere. Most of the people I've met have been middle class and quite friendly.

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)

[Imperial1904]

I lived in the Empire area, and it's not really a bad place, it's just weird.

I've found the people there to be alot nicer than people in Klamath Falls. By "nicer", I mean better to talk to. Even the gas attendants there would start up a conversation. There also seemed to be more ex-Californians there so that might be the reason why. It was just way overpriced for that size of a town.

[jm21]

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.

You might be fine as a retiree too...or maybe there's an expensive/exclusive neighborhood down there for transplants? Maybe a person who doesn't interact much with most people in their town would be fine. Like, if your goal was to have maybe 1-2 friends while you lived there, and really were more interested in enjoying the outdoors than meeting any people.

But I would never recommend living there, especially if I had kids or was part of a more fringe culture. Coos Bay has almost as bad a reputation as Lafayette, and I wouldn't wish that on anyone (or especially their kids). There are plenty of other options.

[RockyMtnr]

MF8, I'm glad you posted as you did. I've only been thru Coos Bay and North Bend - and being an "intuitive" type, your post and my perception matched.
Here's a couple of things I've noticed though ... maybe it only applies to the coast - but maybe not:
1) Tourist season ruins good minds! I moved here in February. All mellow. Peaceful. I was trying to figure if I could "nicen-up" enough to even live in the state! Then, tourist season came. First, the weekends. Then, the holiday. Then, every stinking day until late September! Nearly all the attitudes around me went straight downhill. So did mine! Took me until mid-October to lose the road-rage. Things are just now getting back to "Oregon-style" peaceful thinking.
2) Nasty folks truly stick out more here than in other states. And there are a slew of them.
3)Sounds like you are of a "young" age - we all know the generation - the one that is about to take over our world. It's always the same; the young come along and start changing things that aren't quite right but that we've grown accustomed to. I was young (more than once) - we changed the world! Understand this - everybody else dislikes the current generation that's truly "in charge". Oh sure, the old folks still run things - that's how it goes - they're the judges, the politicians, the church-leaders, the PTA advisors, the whiners, the moaners - but we only have the controlling "influence" - we really don't run the way things are going anymore - and we're p.o.'d about it.
4) There are more "rednecks" down south than up north. Somebody else on here probably knows why - think I read it once - but it's partly because there is no "Portland" or "Eugene" or "Salem" to keep things balanced.
By the way, I'm not too fond of the controlling attitudes in Lincoln City, either - but it's all in who you hang with or what you're trying to do with your life.
I came from America, MF8. Oregon's better!

[tiffela74]

hummmm....well, i moved here to Coos Bay almost 5yrs ago. I had only been here 2x in my life, once as a child, and once for a funeral (husbands grandfather). I was SO AGAINST moving here! We have 3 kids, and from everything I had heard, and some first base impressions, I thought Coos Bay/North Bend was a rundown, junky awful place to live. I finally came, reluctently and with an agreement w/my husband to give it a year. I even had my job in Clackamas hire a temp because I told them Id be back and not to replace me! Well, guess what? We're still here, we just bought our first house this summer here because hopefully we are here to stay! I love it here. The whole family does! My kids range from 13 down to 6, and they have been more involved in things here than they were back in Clackamas. My oldest is into drama, art and choir, my son gymnastics and soccer, my youngest, competative gymnastics. All outside of the schools. Theres not been any probs w/gangs in the schools, and their drugfree programs are terrific. My kids can go ride their bikes all over the neighborhood w/o me worrying about them, we sure couldnt do that where we lived before! They have so many more opportunities here then before. I love raising my kids here.
I havent met anyone here in town nearly as nasty as some people on this board have been! Actually, I was warned (by someone that had never lived here) that Id have troubles making friends here, that most people are either very secluded and rude, or snobby and dont want to let anyone "new" into their circle. Not true. My husband and I have made some wonderful friends here. From all different lifestyles/incomes.
I will say, if youre into the nightlife bar scene, you wont do so well here, thats true. We dont have a ton of all night hard rock thumping dance craze young adult clubs. Hummm...do we even have ANY? lol I can see where this town would be very boring to a 20something person. I will say, I probably would NOT have wanted to live here when i was in my early 20s.
Having most our $ go to raising our family and doing things that involved all of us, we dont do the bar scene much. And I know there are some you want to avoid. Just like in Portland, there are some I would highly recommend you stay far away from! Every town has those. (well, not EVERY town, some towns dont have a bar. lol) But if we want to have an adult night out, there are some places that we can go to have some drinks and a good time. Ive never been accosted by "crusty rednecks" "pissed off lumberjacks" or such. Maybe my choice in establishments? BTW, my husbands cousin is gay, she lives here and has had less harrassment then she did in Eastern Washington, Central Idaho or in Northern Cali.
And as for the home prices being 110.000?!? Maybe for a 1bedroom! or a manufactured house in a park! Man, we looked for a couple years before finding a house we could afford! And it was more then 110!! And we were on the low end! To find a 3+bedroom for under 150thous. is quite a challenge, and thats for some that need work. Of course, we found one, took a lot of work, but it was still financable and a sturdy little house.
This summer was beautiful! I dont know where you were!! And the only way we know its winter here now, is its COLD. as in about 40degrees in the morning! brrrrrrrr. But still, blue skies, my kids spent this weekend out riding their bikes under those blue skies. In jackets and mittens grant you, but it was clear and dry.
anyhow, theres good, and theres bad here. My opinion and experience here is just my own. (well, and my family) Im happy we moved here. Ive lived in Beaverton, Mulino, Portland, Clackamas, Tigard, Forest Grove and Hillsboro and this is our happy place. I like the people, the town, the beaches, the yummy fresh crab, the schools, my neighbors, the local Boys and Girls Club, the weather, the lack of roadrage, the neighborhoods once you get off 101, the incredible parks, (ya Mingus!) oh the list goes on and on.
Tiffany

[Pro-4X Titan1]

Thanks Tiffela74!!! Great post. That gives me some assurance that my wife and I will love it there when we visit late Jan.