Best Retirement Locations in Oregon

[camie martin]

I retired five years ago, and moved back to Oregon. Best move ever. I grew up just north of Seattle in Lynnwood. I've lived on both sides of the mountains here in southwest and southeastren Oregon, and I can tell ya the eastside is the place to be. The rainfall is much less than that of the western side. Wide open land. It is high desert here about 4300 ft. Your bones don't ache because the air is dry and not that bone chilling damp. The sky is a deep blue and you can see the stars at night. A great place to raise a family. There are so many things to do here, you can actually run out of seasons to do things. Check out Klamath Falls, Oregon. Its the jewel of eastern Oregon. Located close to Medford and Ashland. A little bit north on I-5 are your coastal access's to the beautiful centeral Oregon coast and northren California coast line, and just 6 1/2 hours to Sacramento, California. Four hours southeast is Reno, Nevada. Come check out the best move I ever made.
C. Martin

[davefr]

If you want low taxes then stay out of Oregon. Property and income taxes are sky high.

I'd stay in Washington. Possibilities would be Winthrop, the Tri Cities or maybe Walla Walla.

[Steve97415]

Tesaje is quite correct in that you have mutually-exclusive criteria in your list. Seems like you're dreaming of a country life, yet your list also show a strong attachment to urban amenities. You can definitely forget about any place west of the Cascades. I, too, think the Walla Walla area most closely matches your list more than anywhere else in the PNW.

[echocity]

[quote=RetireUSA;5414029]I currently live in Washington State near Seattle. Planning to retire in Oregon around 4 years from now. Looking to buy 3-5 acres of land followed by a new home and shop built on it. I have a list of my desirable attributes for my dream location as shown below. Would like to hear from others who can suggest locations within Oregon that closely matches my desirable attributes. Thanks in advance for your help and suggestions. Dan

( ) Prefer living in the Northwest, USA with 250 days (8 months) or more of sunshine
Try Umatilla County

( ) Nice weather for growing veggies, winters are snowy but not too severe
Umatilla County, especially west Umatilla Co. and Northern Morrow Co.

( ) Prefer land with some trees and nearby rivers-lakes
This is a desert area, but we have the Umatilla River and some creeks running through it with lots of trees, especially the Umatilla Meadows, area around Milton Freewater, Mission, Athena, etc.

( ) Rivers-lakes are not polluted
No industrial pollution, DEQ calls the algae caused by our hot summer weather a pollutant, but I think it is pretty much naturally ocurring, Oregon Trail diaries even talked about the streams drying up in the summer before White man arrived.

( ) Land is still reasonably pristine, unlike urban living All of Eastern Oregon

( ) Land has potential for solar and/or wind power generation
Great for Solar and Wind towers are springing up all over the place in E. Oregon;
( ) Region is free from major earth quakes Milton-Freewater had one c. 1950, but that is the only one I know of.

( ) Flood Zone - Area is not subject to water floods from too much rain We do have flood plains near streams and creek beds, but it is usually from the snow pack in the Blue Mountains melting too fast after a Chinook Wind.

( ) Area is free from excessive highway and jet plane noise
Again unless you are next to I-84 or the Pendelton Airport this is not a problem. & even the Pendelton airport doesn't get that much traffic
( ) Major roads and highways are in good shape Most of roads are in pretty good shape except some of the side roads

( ) Electricity is available in the area Pacific Power & Light and some electric coops provide inexpensive power

( ) The land or region has no known history of toxic waste The Army Depot at Hermiston has been incinerating Mustard Gas, etc. and is almost done. We have equipment and sirens out the wazoo to monitor this and no problems off site.

( ) Nearby camping, hiking, boating, and fishing
Eastern Oregon has this in abundance.
( ) Low taxes (federal, state, local, real estate, etc.) Real estate prices are lower in smaller towns, federal taxes are the same everywhere.

( ) Raw Land 3-5 acres is cost-effective for purchase It is not that easy to find small acreages in Umatilla Co. There is a farm-residential area at Echo that has one acre minimums that sell for around $50,000 and you have to put in the well and septic. Check out Eastern Oregon Realty sites for more information

( ) Cost of new home construction is very reasonable in that state

( ) Cost of Utilities - electricity, water, phone, etc. is reasonable

( ) Cell phone coverage in the area? Lots of US Cellular towers around west Umatilla Co. with good coverage

( ) Major medical facilities are within 1-2 hours from my home Again in Umatilla Co. Echo/Hermiston area is about 1 hour from great hospitals and doctors in Tri-Cities, WA and about 1.5 or less from Walla Walla, WA which also has a good reputation for doctors and hospitals. Portland is about 2.75 to 3 hours away for the University of ORegon Health Sciences and big hospitals like Legacy-Emmanuel

( ) Sewer available in area? Septic tank? Perk Test acceptable? Most cities have sewer, and outside Echo they have septic but I'm not sure what DEQ requires for septics. I do know the closer you are to a stream the more stringent the requirements

( ) Supply of fresh drinking water is clean and abundant for the future Abundance of water is a problem all over the west and here too, but it is clean

( ) Clean air with no smog Eastern ORegon does get some inversions, but there isn't any smog in Echo-very little industry.

( ) Crime-rate is very low to none True of most of eastern Oregon

( ) Local Police protection close by? 911 Emergency # available? 9-1-1 is mandated for the entire state. In Echo we have a quick response team within the volunteer fire department for medical emergencies that usually responds within 5-10 minutes close to town and ambulance service from Hermiston is 15 to 20 minutes. Police response in emergencies is about 10 minutes and fire less unless you are quite aways from a town

( ) Neighbors/region are friendly and helpfulyes

( ) Good selection of home builders in the region A number of contractors in Hermiston and Pendleton

( ) No liens, foreclosures, or judgments against the property. Property is free and clear.

( ) Power Outages in the area? How often? Recovery time to restore power? not usually a problem

( ) Is it dog-friendly? Are there hiking trails that dogs, horses and bicycles are allowed on nearby?

( ) Does it stay green year-round? no

( ) In the winter, do the roads get very icy, and are they well maintained? icy yes, maintenance depends on the town. Freeways are kept up and major highways

( ) Is there a seedy part of town, or areas that should be avoided? Not really

( ) What kind of wildlife could I see there? Deer, racoon, possum, lots of birds from water fowl to hawks and bald eagles in winter near town. Toward Heppner and in Blues and Wallowas Elk, bear, etc.