Please give me balanced info about Astoria! (Portland, Coos Bay: lease, neighborhoods)

[Melissa E]

Hey ... well, I'm getting ready to take a big step. I am going to apply for my nursing license for Oregon (live in MO now). I am nervous. and we are still not sure which area of Oregon we will move to We are thinking we may stay in Astoria for a year or two since we loved the vibe there during vacation ... but we still need to check into that little community college (which my boyfriend will need to go to) to make sure it is reasonable (he will have to pay out of state tuition, I suppose) & has the classes he needs. We never thought we'd want to be that far from the city, but the one day we were in Astoria we loved the vibe (it was nice and sunny, but we are aware of the wet weather).
Anyone who knows about Astoria - I'd like to hear some balanced info from you all! I'm doing a lot of other research, too, but am curious what might be said.
First of all .. we are trying to escape the boredom here in MO for one thing, so I hope we are not incredibly bored there, but I realize it is a small town and Portland is a couple hours away (its cool that Portland and Seattle are both pretty close though if we have a day or two off to go).
Things I am curious about ... the people overall (without being too judgemental) ... things to do for fun in Astoria and surrounding areas, how educated people there seem to be in general, the road conditions and how safe they are (we didn't drive around there too much) .... also, I am not a religious person, but I do believe in some type of higher power. I love the support people usually get in churches and it sucks that it's hard to find those type of "spiritual families" outside of churches .... does anyone know of like spiritual support groups around there that aren't one certain religion? we wont' have family anywhere in Oregon - just mike and I - so it's kindof scary thinking we may be lonely and not meet friends. It's hard to meet people outside of bars, which we don't like going to ... I'm a nurse, but for some reason I never have hit it off great with most all other nurses I've met (not to categorize other nurses, but just something I've noticed). where are some places to meet friends?
also, are there like classes .... say like beading, sewing, crafts, cooking, guitar ... like hobby classes to keep people busy?
these things and any others that you want to mention would be awesome.

[BLAZER PROPHET]

It all depends.

Astoria is a very rainy/windy town. Unlike other Oregon coastal towns, it's not very good on the arts and things like that. However, being a small town there are some old fashioned values there and if you enjoy quilting and things like that I am certain you can find some groups for that in the general area. Seaside, Cannon Beach and just up the Washington coast there are several friendly little communities that have things to offer. Also, there is always volunteering at parks or things like that. But keeping yourselves busy is up to you and not necessarily the environment around you.

One last thing. Many people move to the glorious Oregon coast and then move away due to the weather. It takes a hearty soul to live there.

[PNW-type-gal]

Well, there is Clatsop Community College, you can check their course offerings

Clatsop Community College Home

My two favorite coastal towns are Astoria and Coos Bay, mostly because they are the least touristy and the most working class. I can't stand Lincoln City (aka "Scenic Gridlock By The Sea") and Seaside and Cannon Beach.

[Melissa E]

yea, i know about the weather, so we aren't planning on making it forever ... just an experience. so, it's not very good on the arts side?? i thought it was dangit ...do you live there? i need to look more at the astoria website today. yea i understand we've gotta keep ourselves busy, but we were just wondering about what the town has to offer you know. thank for the info =)!

[Smiled]

Frankly, you sound like a potential Portlander. Be aware finding a job is a bit tough at the moment even in healthcare, but there are affordable places a bit out of town, and you can always drive to Astoria (and, I hope, someday take the train).

[HonuMan]

I agree with Smiled -- given the interests you mention, have you considered Portland? It's a city, but it's a small city. I moved here from sprawling Atlanta, and there's no shortage of cultural activities and spiritual people, but it's not overwhelming the way a huge city can be. I love it.

That said, my wife and I like to daydream about other places where we might be happy living someday, and Astoria is on our short list. It's made a good impression on our visits. For a small town, it has a surprising number of ethnic restaurants. When we went driving around, checking out neighborhoods, several strangers who were out walking or jogging waved at us, which rarely happens in Portland. We struck up a long conversation with the owner of a used CD store. She's from NYC and has also lived in a couple other coastal Oregon towns, and she said they didn't compare to Astoria for her. Her husband is a jazz musician. We picked up a couple of local-events papers, and there seemed to be a variety of artsy things to do. We've also gotten good "visitor vibes" from Newport

That said, I can't speak from first-hand experience, so you should do a Web search on Astoria. There are at least a couple blogs run by people who live there, and they can provide you with better information. Good luck on whatever you decide!

[candida combs]

My husband and I are currently looking into a pediatric postion in Astoria we currently live on the eastcoast for residency. We have two young children. We are a couple in our 30's... What is life like for a family. How are the school systems, food, night life etc.... Thank you for your timeNew York

[hamellr]

School system is good from what I've heard, and there is lots of history nearby for the hands on experience. There are several good places to eat downtown, but a lot more that are geared towards the tourist and have a correspondingly lower gourmet factor. One of my favorites is a place called Fulio's Pasteria and Tuscan Steak If you don't like fish/seafood half your choices will be cut out though.

Night life? Besides local bars there isn't much, it's a small working town. People get up early and go to bed early.

[Melissa E]

thanks for the replies everyone. i still love astoria, but we are staying in MO for atleast another year due to signing a lease. we will consider many places in oregon when we come. if we don't move to astoria ... it'll atleast be an awesome little getaway.