Moving to Oregon Coast (Portland, Eugene: home, tornado, earthquakes)

[Dorot]

We are moving to Oregon this fall. We have a big house in California and wow, that puppy has really appreciated in value. We can move to Oregon, Ashland, and build an even bigger house up in the hills there. Maybe it is expensive there but a no brainer for someone from California.
If the people are rude, who cares! I will have my huge house and a view of the hills and mountains.

[wetcoaster]

Just a few comments to the OP. Easy workaround for power outages: buy a generator. Many, many folks have them for a variety of reasons, not just storm-generated.

Pets are rampant in Oregon. It's true many rentals state "No pets," but you can always ask and be willing to pay an extra deposit for possible damage. If the owners/managers see you are responsible, often they'll allow it. Don't let this "rule" deter you.

IMHO, Oregonians are "chatty" but guarded as well. It does take a while to establish relationships. Additionally, our society is "busier" these days. Too many toys and/or functions. Don't get discouraged.

Storms: Generally, the entire coast is wet and windy for the most of the winter months. Each year one part of the state gets battered especially hard. Storms blow in from the north on the jet stream so generally the north coast gets more pummeling than the central and south coast. But we also have the "pineapple express," warmer rainstorms generating from Hawaii that go on and on and on. Was here for the 1996-97 New Year's storm with 110 mph winds. My power was out for 9 days. Challenging!!! Doesn't snow often on the coast, but when it does, it creates treacherous driving conditions including slick roads, landslides and downed trees leaving highways impassable. Some folks choose to live in Eugene or Portland and have the coast "only an hour or two away." It is not as rainy or windy as the coast, but it is also much hotter in the summer and colder in the winter.

Many folks come to the coast during the rainstorms to see mother nature in all her glory. Beachcombing is popular. Throughout the year, there are tons of festivals to celebrate everything imaginable! Blues & chowder, wine, crab, kiteflying, blackberries, rhododendrons, salmon. The list goes on and on and on.

Good luck!

[victoriana]

Dorot - good for you. When we were living on the Oregon coast, I wouldn't say the locals were rude, particularly. The old "blame Californians for everything" was such a prevalent attitude during the 1990's. Much of the attitude came from the old green-eyed monster. Some of the good old boys in Tillamook county were just plain jealous of people who had worked hard in California, bought their real estate at the right time and sold their properties for a fortune. Its mainly jealously, pure and simple. Some of my very best neighbors where we lived between Netarts and Oceanside were from NEW YORK. These people were tremendous people, neighbors and generous benefactors to the community. You have just the right attitude. Remember if some of the "natives" are rude to you and make comments about outsiders - that many of THEIR relatives all moved to Oregon from California. Just laugh it off. You will find many nice people from all over the world - especially around Ashland! Go for it!

[Larry Caldwell]

Originally Posted by wetcoaster

Just a few comments to the OP. Easy workaround for power outages: buy a generator. Many, many folks have them for a variety of reasons, not just storm-generated.

The minimum size generator will run either the well pump or the water heater, but not necessarily at the same time. My house has a wood stove and very low pressure gravity feed water. We usually don't bother to get the generator out until the second day of a power outage, when it's time to take a shower. We have two Aladdin oil lamps for light, and can cook on the wood stove, so we only run the generator for 2 - 4 hours a day. That's enough to heat a couple tanks of water, do the dishes, take showers and bring the freezer back down to temp. If you have a furnace and no backup heat, running a generator might be more important. In that case, smaller is better. I have a second generator that I use for the travel trailer that is just 1200 watts. It will run 4.5 hours on a gallon of fuel, and would be plenty to run a furnace and a freezer.

Originally Posted by wetcoaster

IMHO, Oregonians are "chatty" but guarded as well. It does take a while to establish relationships. Additionally, our society is "busier" these days. Too many toys and/or functions. Don't get discouraged.

When I was younger I was a lot more social. I spent more time hanging out with my friends, wasting incredible amounts of time. Nowadays, if I have some spare time I'm working on the yard, or the house, or other projects around the farm. I am having trouble making time to see old friends, and don't really have time to make new ones. Over the years, I have gotten to know most of the neighbors, but can't really say they are friends.

Originally Posted by wetcoaster

Storms: Generally, the entire coast is wet and windy for the most of the winter months. Each year one part of the state gets battered especially hard. Storms blow in from the north on the jet stream so generally the north coast gets more pummeling than the central and south coast. But we also have the "pineapple express," warmer rainstorms generating from Hawaii that go on and on and on. Was here for the 1996-97 New Year's storm with 110 mph winds. My power was out for 9 days. Challenging!!!

It always amazes me that people in the South freak out about hurricanes, while people on the Oregon coast put up with winds just as strong without a whimper. You just clear the roads, patch the roof, and life goes on. Part of it, of course, is the ruggedness of the coast. A 15' storm surge on the Oregon coast just gets a few beach houses wet, not entire cities. I do remember, though, when a whole residential neighborhood of Newport disappeared into the ocean. It was interesting to see houses sitting on the beach, waiting for the next storm to break them into pieces.

Originally Posted by wetcoaster

Many folks come to the coast during the rainstorms to see mother nature in all her glory. Beachcombing is popular. Throughout the year, there are tons of festivals to celebrate everything imaginable! Blues & chowder, wine, crab, kiteflying, blackberries, rhododendrons, salmon. The list goes on and on and on.

I like to warn the storm watchers that the coast is not a theme park. The ocean kills people every year. I have had friends die on the coast. A few years ago, a co-worker's daugher and her boyfriend vanished on the beach. They never found the bodies. Last year was a bad year for beachcombers dying on the beach. If it is stormy, STAY OFF THE BEACH! Find a nice rocky headland and watch the storm from there.

[mdvaden]

Originally Posted by Larry Caldwell

If it is stormy, STAY OFF THE BEACH! Find a nice rocky headland and watch the storm from there.

Ain't that the truth.


This brought Ecola State Park to mind. The long paved driveway going in there, meanders under so many trees, I doubt I'd even use it's headland once winds go above 40 mph. Suppose I'd go early to get to the parking lot before the wind hit.

I'd like to watch "Terrible Tilly" the lighthouse, get hammered. We have a fairly decent scope on a tripod.

[Thai]

We live on the edge of the Central Valley in Calif. and it gets too darned hot here, and I hate it, but when we vacationed on the Oregon Coast recently the rain and wind were depressing and dampened (pardon the pun) our vacation experience significantly. All the places with wonderful weather are way overcrowded, and so it goes... no perfect place!

[turnerfamily]

I will tell you that the weather has alot to do with it.There's nothing worse than having wind blown rain non-stop and that can be depressing.It can actually be like you've been living in a cave and the sun ,when it shows will hurt your eyes.Also there are alot of people that don't like out of staters and the ideas they bring no matter what anyone tells you and yeah you can say that's like anywhere but it's more previlant here in Oregon and especially small towns.I've talked to many that don't even travel out of town or maybe once a year for Christmas shopping.How can you be objective without hands on expierence(not just what you read in flyers).One thing anyone should do if considering moving to an area in Oregon is stay a couple of weeks during the winter months in the town you're considering.

[Kathleenh54]

Originally Posted by JohnnyDrako

They bill Yachats as the "gem of the Oregon Coast" and it's true. Isolated and lovely.

Weather is always the biggest issue in western Oregon. I lived in Eugene 15 years and, despite all the news stories about Seasonal Affected Disorder (S.A.D.) it never occured to me that I was a "victim". I just slowly came to the belief that I was a melancholy person. Not true. After coming back to Arizona to visit family a number of times -- and then eventually moving back here -- I know I'm a vibrant, happy person. I love Oregon so much, but I can't live there but for, July - mid-October. (Even June can have some excruciatingly long periods of no sun.) The rest of the year it's clouds, clouds, clouds.

Yachats has the worst restaurants this side of the Alpo factory. Avoid at all costs!

[kari0422]

Originally Posted by Polish-Pride

When my wife and I relocated to the coast, we found it extremely difficult to find someone willing to rent to us, as we have two dogs. Property management companies are out, don't waste your time. We looked from Lincoln City to Newport and finally found a place, not a perfect fit, but it was temporary. In any case, the local newspapers are your best bet, Newsguard or News Times on the north.

A word about the storms, They can be quite severe and last fall/winter they were horrendous, we lost power more often than it was on. Generally after the storm is over we like to check on neighbors, neighbors don't really give a damn about one another. I grew up in an ethnic neighborhood on the East Coast, so I'm used to the closeness, you won't find that here. In my opinion, locals tend to be a bit xenophobic toward out-of-staters. My wife and I have decided to sell and move back East. I hope you like the dreary weather and the depressing attitudes that go along with it. I'm sorry to be so blunt, but you need to hear it from someone not from the Oregon Coast. BTW, I filled some potholes in my street, for the benefit of the neighborhood and not one neighbor has stopped to say thank you, proves my point convincingly.

I must agree, the people are so unfriendly here and it is dreary. I am from the East also and i can't wait to get back. Most of the time the neighbors don't speak here, nor do other parents at my children's activities. They are very self-absorbed and persnickety.

[kari0422]

Originally Posted by kari0422

I must agree, the people are so unfriendly here and it is dreary. I am from the East also and i can't wait to get back. Most of the time the neighbors don't speak here, nor do other parents at my children's activities. They are very self-absorbed and persnickety.

I also forgot to mention... my home here is on the market, but there is so much on the market that I now feel trapped. It has been on the market for a long time.

I hate to say it, but a lot of the negativity I have read has been mostly true. They are my common complaints.