Toledo or similar for divorced (Portland, Coos Bay: home, to buy, incomes)

[esya]

I am considering Toledo or a similar spot in Oregon for semi retirement. I thought at first, Coos Bay or south coast, but Toledo is closer to Portland.

I am in my mid 50's and divorced. It seems I'd have enough money to buy a small place outright. I can't afford ocean front and am not wealthy. Could I get part time work?--women's wages, I see, are very low there. Can I pay my expenses for 20K a year not including housing but including property taxes,etc? I have a great job now but am just worn out with work travel. Is the cost of living there higher than in Portland, not including housing?

How far a drive is it to Portland or another similarly interesting city? I would like the quiet but want be close enough to visit Portland for consulting work. I used to live in Portland and loved it. Is there a bus or any transportation other than auto from Newport or Toledo? How frequently is the road impassable due to ice?

I have an adult daughter with Down's syndrome. How would she fare in town? Are there any handicap bus services if we lived out of town? Denver is where I am now, and it is just getting too congested for us.

[Deserter]

Originally Posted by esya

women's wages, I see, are very low there.

Just curious as to where you got that information. I would think it was illegal to pay women less than men for the same job. Where did you find info broken down to women's wages versus men's? Are you basing it on jobs "traditionally" held by women or some average of women's incomes (which might be affected by averaging stay-at-home mothers into the wage base) ? I know statistically women are paid less than men in general, but what makes you say it in particular about Oregon?

[esya]

Oh, that's an easy question to answer: I checked the data.

Some wage data website (I forget which one, but it was likely oregon state data) that posted average or mean wages for lots of places in Oregon, by gender. It's not illegal to collect or report the data by gender.

So I am NOT implying that a man and a woman in the same job get different rates in Oregon, it's just reality that in smaller places people tend to give the better jobs to men (family dynamics, religious belief, etc). Sooo, in Coos Bay the men's wages and women's wages were way diffferent on average. The women's was 20K a year. Also, statistically, since women USUALLY have more education (again, check the degree data) that means that a degree means ....well, it's not that important if you gotta work in a place that hires women for the worst jobs.

Give me some slack here, I am not hostile, but you gotta be realistic. If I wanna leave my big city job I am going to pay a price.

[esya]

Also, wage data does not "average" in stay at home moms. If they are working, they are working. If they are at home, they don't have wages. Women do not always have part time work because it's what they want--sometimes it is what they can get, just like men.

[Deserter]

I wasn't assuming you were hostile, just curious about your source. Guess that's just one of the reasons I won't be moving to small town Oregon but to Portland. I need a job and I'll already take a $20,000 (or more) pay cut to move to Portland. Don't think I could handle even less pay.