Astoria (Portland, McMinnville, Coos Bay: real estate, house prices, employment)

[esya]

I am also looking to relocate closer to the coast (than Colorado!). I am wondering if Astoria housing prices are really that much higher than Newport, Coos Bay, etc. What I saw on line looked like they were higher. Do people commute to Vancouver and/or Portland from there? It seems awfully far.....

[mrkool]

A friend here in Wisc has been researching Astoria for retirement in a few years. The housing prices there are rather absurd given the town size, remoteness, and lack of economy/jobs. I think it is about 100 miles to Portland, so I doubt folks are commuting there for work.

[cvanripe10]

What kind of jobs can be found in Astoria? Contracting jobs? House/boat painting in particular..

What about sea jobs like deep sea fishing?

[mrkool]

Originally Posted by oregonoceanside

I sell real estate in Astoria,Oregon And the Coast and the prices are no higher than La.

This post makes no sense. When you say "La.", do you mean Los Angeles or Louisiana??
If you mean Los Angeles, well no kidding. Almost anywhere has lower prices than LA. That doesn't make Astoria reasonable.
And if you mean Louisiana, the house prices in Astoria are much higher.
Good grief.

[mdvaden]

I'm on the Oregon coast [Moderator cut} almost every two weeks.

But Astoria would be among my last picks.

It should say something that Astoria's mayor just got busted for what I think was his third drunk driving situation.

A few people commute from Seaside to Portland, but the drive gets old for daily driving.

McMinnville is a bit over 1/2 hour from the coast, is not too far from Portland, and may be big enough in itself now to have good employment opportunities.

[TexasNativeinNW]

...and it was a wonderful experience for the most part, but I grew weary of the weather and sense of isolation that the location and climate induced. The wonderful part was the scenery and beauty of the area. When the weather was clear and sunny, it was glorious....but the rain was relentless. I think I read it was one of the wettest areas in the country. I'd go into Portland to get sun, if that tells you anything!! But the air in Astoria is so wonderful! I do miss that part of the experience sometimes.

Commute to Portland??? You'd probably hate it. I worked on my computer at home, so I was able to do it. I eventually moved to Portland because I was feeling isolated from the world, basically!

There were also some interesting "characters" living on my street who I'm certain thought I was the anti-christ because I had a television. In fact, I met very few people there who owned television sets. It was very odd!

I sometimes imagined that there must have been a lot of paranoid, anti-government folks holed up in their homes.

I also went to several local outdoor celebrations and each time there would be a tiny beer garden way off to the side of the action for anyone who wanted a cold one. Otherwise, no beer was ever permitted. They were so strict, I wasn't able to enjoy one because my child wasn't allowed in the tiny beer garden! But, man, in that town, you sometimes really needed a drink!

But more plusses, I met some wonderful artists and creative people. In fact, the little town seems to nurture creativity for a lot of people. It just has so much beauty. The vicorian homes scattered around make it look like a mini-San Fran!

I would recommend Astoria as a vacation place or temporary home, but forever??? Maybe for some people.

good luck.

[cvanripe10]

aside from commuting to portland for a job....what about weekend trips?

is there public transportation from astoria to portland(bus, train, ect.)?

[TexasNativeinNW]

Originally Posted by cvanripe10

aside from commuting to portland for a job....what about weekend trips?

is there public transportation from astoria to portland(bus, train, ect.)?

I don't know if it is every day...or seasonal..or what. But I heard this. I would assume there is bus service. Nice drive for a weekend trip...but every day would be draining.

[cvanripe10]

i was actually thinking about moving to astoria for a few years to try out oregon.

I would like to be able to get into portland on some weekends though(for nightlife, i'm 23) which is why i'm wondering about bus transportation.

[frenzied]

Originally Posted by mdvaden

I
But Astoria would be among my last picks.

.

I agree with that one. I have lived here in OR for 13 years and spend a lot of time on the OR coast in the summer. Last summer we did the entire Oregon coast for vacation a couple of times. Astoria for some reason just has a depressed, run down feeling to it, like it needs a serious face lift, but people either don't care, or don't have the money to do anything about it. It is o.k. for 1 or two trips during the summer, but other than that - there are other OR coast cities that I like a lot better.

Southern Oregon is nice - Bandon, Brookings and Gold Beach. The weather is a bit nicer.

I do like the drive from Lincoln City up to Cannon Beach - Very nice. And the drive from FLorence to Newport is a beautiful drive as well.