Oregon Coast vs Pismo Beach Ca (Portland, Eugene: for sale, real estate, apartment)

[triplemom]

I am living in Pismo Beach Calif. and truly love all it has to offer...College nearby, Costco, beauty, safe, good schools etc.....But the housing here is through the roof and am trying to find a beach town in Oregon that some would say is comparable or close to in the same ways ...Can anyone recommend places so when I come to look I know which towns to concentrate on the most....Thank you!

[nocoldiron]

I lived in Morrow Bay and visited friends in Pismo Beach frequently.They had done the reverse-moved from OR to Pismo Beach.They hated the lack of sunshine in OR.I have lived 14 miles from the ocean in OR for 5 years now.Besides the rain,OR is sparsely populated (except Portland).That means way less traffic,long stretches of forest,and having to drive to find bigger,retail shopping.I like Reedsport,small.friendly,on the coast but protected from the ocean winds.No shopping there,you will have to drive to Coos Bay or Roseburg.I live in Mapleton because I do not like how windy and cool it is in Florence-I love to grow tomato's. I drive 45 minutes to Eugene to shop once or twice a month.You are going to be shocked at how sparsely populated Oregon is compared to CA.Makes a big difference in their ability to support competitive stores.

[Waterlily]

Things look different here.
You really won't find a place much like Pebble Beach here in Oregon. It's mostly small cities with quite a few retired people living along the coast. Coos Bay is the largest city with 16,000 people. I noticed the updated their population sign when I was driving by. There is a community college in Coos Bay. North Bend adjoins Coos Bay to add almost another 10,000 people in the one area. If you decide to come and visit the area make sure you get off 101 highway to look at the rest of the city.

Florence is a neat looking city but smaller. It has mostly retired people living there. Seaside gets a lot of young people vacationing there.

All of the Oregon coast gets a lot much rain than where you live. There'll be more gloomy days too. Still there are plenty of nice sunny days like today.

[Dangerous Dave]

The gloomy days I miss already. I just left Oregon last week, where I had moved to from southern Arizona. After spending over a decade in the hot desert, I looked forward to seeing clouds and rain... I never got sick of it. In fact, when summer came around in the W valley, I got depressed and headed to the coast.

[furyu]

Well, I guess I will weigh in here:

Frankly, there is no way you can compare any Oregon coastal town to any California coastal town, with the exception of some of the northern Oregon coastal towns that cater to tourists, and have many art galleries, gift shops and restaurants (of dubious quality). There are no coastal towns with a Costco or a Target or any other 'chain' retail store. None. The major retail stores are all inland. If shopping is your deal, you will not like living along the Oregon Coast. Florence has the closest 'hop' to shopping, in Eugene, which is about an hour's drive.

There are several universities in Oregon, with campuses in Portland, Corvalis, Eugene and Ashland. There are numerous community colleges, some with campuses located along the coast, in Astoria, Coos Bay and Brookings.

I live in/near Brookings which is the southernmost coastal town in Oregon. You mentioned housing but didn't state if you are interested in buying or renting. Rents in this area start around $1K a month for a 2-bedroom apartment. Real estate in this area hasn't moved much in the last six months or so, sales are flat with lots of houses for sale, but prices aren't dropping much either. Maybe that will change as our national economic recession and real estate/mortgage loan crises continues. (Not to be pessimistic. )

But really, you're not going to be happy living in any Oregon coastal town if Pismo Beach is your ideal. You need to spend time here in order to get a feeling for the different qualities of living it has to offer.

Good luck!

[Tony from Europe]

triplemom,STAY IN CALIFORNIA !
Oregon is sticky,gloomy,and rainy except 2 sunny days in winter and 3 sunny days in summer !

[mikemorrow]

It's a matter of perspective. Im moving to Oregon from Iowa. I was there (OR) last winter (2006) and I thought it was great. A little wet but not so much that one could not go outside and do things. Only one day of what I would call rain, and about 5 simi sunny days. I was there for 2 weeks. It aint sunny Cal. But things are much slower, time to enjoy life. It all depends what you want. If it is slowing down and smiling, Organ might be the place.

[SSIwillbebrokeby2010]

Dude Tony, Get a Grip! I absolutely LOVE thunderstorms and super-gloomy weather!
I have extreme sensetivity to light!
Wind is part of my Astrological make-up as well, so I will do just fine on the Oregon Coast.
And California, Naaa. I live here now, and am just about done with it. Am tying up loose ends and investing in a small rural Oregon coastal atmosphere where there is still dense populations and natural wonder to absorb.
You can have California. I'll take Oregon anytime!

[gemstone1]

It's not on the coast, but Eugene is the place that most closely resembles the mental atmosphere of Cal Poly/SLO/Pismo that I've ever seen. The coast is less than 100 miles away, mountains are closer, clear, cold rivers nearby. The climate is different tho', summer seems to start in July, but it is green most of the year, no brown hills all summer long like you are used to seeing.... Check out Eugene.

Regards
Gemstone

[angelbug]

Originally Posted by triplemom

I am living in Pismo Beach Calif. and truly love all it has to offer...College nearby, Costco, beauty, safe, good schools etc.....But the housing here is through the roof and am trying to find a beach town in Oregon that some would say is comparable or close to in the same ways ...Can anyone recommend places so when I come to look I know which towns to concentrate on the most....Thank you!

t-mom, I think a lot of responders to your post haven't been to Pismo Beach and are imagining it to be something quite different than what it is. I've visited it several times on vacation, and it's much smaller than many of the coastal Oregon towns - it's smaller than Newport, OR, which I've visited. If I remember correctly, as you drop down to the coast from SLO, you hit more fog just before you get to Pismo Beach. So you're pretty used to small, foggy coastal towns. Not as much rain where you are, though. And I'd imagine you drive to SLO for much of your shopping? So that might not be an issue for you in Oregon, either.