Coast (Portland, Klamath Falls, Astoria: for sale, low crime, house)

[boatguy]

What can people tell me about the coast and where to live. I'm a boat mechanic, my wife a social worker. We want a smaller town, low crime, low housing cost, you know the whole shebang. And while I'm asking, not much rain. Does such a place exist?
Thanks

[Waterlily]

That place does not exist here on the Oregon coast. Anywhere on the coast gets quite a bit of rain. I don't know where you are but prices are not really cheap either. It could seem less expensive if you are coming from Southern California.

[mdvaden]

You have to like rain on the Oregon coast.

The previous reply is about right.

And on our coast in winter, the rain "hammers" and "pulverizes" the coast during some weeks. Mist, fog or low clouds can lurk to late morning or noon on quite a few summer days.

I'd love it myself. If there was a big urban area than fit my niche of work, I'd be at the coast first chance. We love rain, and I can handle working in it if I have too.

If you are up to it, Brookings keeps water craft, likewise Newport, and Astoria for starters. I think that's right.

There might be more boats around Portland than meets the eye. The Willamette and Columbia are two very large rivers that merge right there. Check the suburbs.

[Marko3]

In my opinion all the towns on the coast would fall into the smaller town low crime catagory. Many of the towns on the coast are retirement communities and tourist magnets. I'm unaware of a surplus of low cost housing on the coast, I'm sure it can be found, but its pretty rare. Regarding the rain...good luck finding a place on the Oregon coast with "not much rain". Depending on what you consider not much rain, it may or may not bother you. I love the weather at the coast, I live in the valley, and it does rain much less inland an hour or so.

[Silverfall]

I know people that go to the coast in the winter to watch the storms roll in. It's rainy. There are a couple of marinas in the Portland area as the Willamette meets the Columbia. There are some small towns outside of Portland, but what do you consider low cost housing. I mean coming from NYC, we'd be cheap.

[BLAZER PROPHET]

The Oregon coast has to climatic seasons- rainy and friggin' rainy.

THat said, Newport has a good size fleet of both commercial & private boats and Depoe Bay (15 miles away) has a small one. A good boat mechanic might make a go of it there.

[Oregonbeachlover]

I live on the central Oregon coast and we've had 2 straight weeks of sun in January, with no rain. We had some rain on Tuesday. I just looked on the forecast and for the next 5 days at least, more sun, clouds....no rain. I think the weather in the valley can be more gray in the winters than on the coast. Here, it can change in a heartbeat. I love it!! But, housing would be cheaper in one of the bedroom communities in the valley.

[davefr]

Originally Posted by boatguy

What can people tell me about the coast and where to live. I'm a boat mechanic, my wife a social worker. We want a smaller town, low crime, low housing cost, you know the whole shebang. And while I'm asking, not much rain. Does such a place exist?
Thanks

No, but if you're willing to tolerate lots of rain you could probably get your other criteria satisfied in Garibaldi or Astoria. Housing right on the coast is generally very expensive but it gets reasonable going a little inland.

Maybe Klamath Falls would be better for you. Less rain, inexpensive housing and there's bound to be boat repair potential from Klamath Lake.

[tiffela74]

Im on the southern oregon coast, and like Oregon Beach Lover, we've had weeks of beautiful weather. i just got back home from going out to lunch, and its blue skies and beautiful again.
But hey, dont listen to us, we just live here. (although that said, i know waterlily does too, and I totally respect waterlilys posts!)
It does rain here, much more than it does in Scottsdale Arizona! And we're not as warm/sunny as S.Cal beaches, so dont be expecting that. But we're certainly not sitting under any waterfall. whats your idea of not too much rain?
What is your idea of low cost housing? For example, theres a standard ranch house near me that just went up for sale. 3bdrm 2bath, bout 1300sqft, decent yard, newer roof, and its going for 139x. For some people, thats cheap, for others, its terribly expensive.
work is challenging to find all over. Id highly advice making sure you have a job secure before moving anywhere. Tighter along the coast too I think. Have you visited up/down the coast line? Checked out the webcams along the coast for first look at weather? Might do those things too.......
Good luck in your search!

[mikemorrow]

This is my first winter on the coast. Ive gone to the beach many times for picnics. If this is the normal winter, its great! Many times it will be raining in town. I look to the west and the skies are clear. The beach is 2 miles away as the crow flies, around 15 min as the car drives.