Possibly moving to OR from N. CA (Portland, Bend: relocate, foreclosure)

[CADRMNDANES]

Hello,

I'm looking for some info on Southern Oregon and Coastal living. We live in a small town that has become VERY popular with the Bay Area and S. CA folks. Mc Mansions, golf courses, neighborhoods have popped up everywhere. Of course now a bunch of the area homes are in foreclosure.

We are retiring from our current business and selling everything to relocate. We want to get out of the rat race that is here. We like slower paced living. That's why we moved to this town in the first place in the 80s.

We will be spending a couple of weeks next month in Oregon to check out different areas.

We have children and will want to find them good schools in a good neighborhood. Hopefully they will be able to make friends and do well in the location we pick. They are easy going kids and usually make friends easily here. I'm not crazy about the schools here, even though they are rated very high. It seems they are more concerned about their state numbers and packing the classrooms with 32 kids. The poor teachers are stressed to the max.

I like the Ashland, Grants Pass, Brookings, Gold Beach and Florence areas.

We would like to be in an area that is warmer and has more sun then the Portland areas. We want less heat then here in CA. I'm not looking for 112 temp days. I have major allergies and asthma in the spring & summer and need to get out of this valley. Cold doesn't bother me in the winter months. I was actually looking a Madison, WI.

I also show and breed Great Danes. So I need to find a dog friendly area. We would love to find a home with a large lot (even a couple acres) that is not too far out of town and still close to schools. I usually have 2-3 dogs living with us. I occasionally take in a rescue and help him/her find a new home. I know it would be better to live close to I-5 for easy travel to dog shows, but we really like the coast. Hopefully there are not any fencing restrictions.

We would love to even find a home on a lake or River (slow moving), stream.
We have owned 2 lake front properties here and love living close to water. One of the properties was 2 acres and was in town close to eveything. We are in our 3rd home in this area and will be fixing it and selling it as soon as we are finished.

Thanks for any advice!

[Waterlily]

It looks like you've already picked out the places you want to see. I can tell you that Florence will not have as much sun as Portland. The rest on your list will have more sun.

Brookings and Gold Beach have loads of older people. They are pretty much retirement towns. There are schools but probably not a lot for the kids to do.

I'm sure it'll be easier for you to decide once you visit each of these places.

[CADRMNDANES]

Thanks for the reply.

Yeah, I kinda figured Brookings and Gold Beach were retirement comunities.

I guess we will spending more time around Grants Pass Area.

[swfl]

I lived in Gold Beach for several years...very beautiful and remote.... very REMOTE. It is cool during the summer...not breaking 70 degrees hardly at all. I like a little more warmth during my summers. It rains a lot in the winter but very, very rarely snows. It is also very windy often and foggy in the mornings. I loved the beaches but the town is small and yes a fair amount of California retirees have made the Oregon Coast their new home. Needless to say, there is not much to do. And if you like to shop....the nearest mall is 70 miles away in the Coos Bay/ North Bend area. I love the Southern Oregon Coast and usually go back during the summers every 3 or 4 years....it is quite a nice break from the S. Florida area. The coast is beautiful and did I mention....very remote.

[CADRMNDANES]

Originally Posted by swfl

I lived in Gold Beach for several years...very beautiful and remote.... very REMOTE. It is cool during the summer...not breaking 70 degrees hardly at all. I love the Southern Oregon Coast and usually go back during the summers every 3 or 4 years....it is quite a nice break from the S. Florida area. The coast is beautiful and did I mention....very remote.

Gotcha!!! Thanks! I don't mind the foggy mornings. Used to that from the Bay Area and San Diego. The Remote part might not be so good for long term. I think it would a great area to visit while on vacation this summer.
Thanks so much for your reply!

Renee

[CADRMNDANES]

Anyone else have opinions??

[roguecoast]

Hello,

Are you a member of the Great Dane Rescue of N CA? Our family adopted our dane after seeing a post from that group. Your member name looks familiar.

We live in Gold Beach Oregon ( moved from NE CA 2 yrs ago)...the weather is awesome 300+ days of sun per year. The schools are fantastic...we have two sons 14 & 7 enrolled in the local elementary/middle school. Small class sizes and tons of parent/teacher co-operation. As far as the kids having something to do .... if you can keep them off the beach, out of the river and off the nature trails there's the typical stuff like soccer, baseball, football, golf, boy and girl scouts just to name a few! The things we don't have for kids are gangs, drugs or violence.


Our un-crowded beaches are DOG FRIENDLY...you can let your dog run on the beach with out a leash as long as it behaves.

If you are looking for that small town community feeling, you will find it in Gold Beach!

[elcapitan]

Originally Posted by roguecoast

If you are looking for that small town community feeling, you will find it in Gold Beach!

Just for clarification, I am pretty certain that photo is the Heceta Head Lighthouse in Florence, which is pretty far from from Gold Beach. It was taken from the lookout at the Sea Lion Caves, a must see!

[CADRMNDANES]

Originally Posted by roguecoast

Hello,

Are you a member of the Great Dane Rescue of N CA? Our family adopted our dane after seeing a post from that group. Your member name looks familiar.

We live in Gold Beach Oregon ( moved from NE CA 2 yrs ago)...the weather is awesome 300+ days of sun per year. The schools are fantastic...we have two sons 14 & 7 enrolled in the local elementary/middle school. Small class sizes and tons of parent/teacher co-operation. As far as the kids having something to do .... if you can keep them off the beach, out of the river and off the nature trails there's the typical stuff like soccer, baseball, football, golf, boy and girl scouts just to name a few! The things we don't have for kids are gangs, drugs or violence.


Our un-crowded beaches are DOG FRIENDLY...you can let your dog run on the beach with out a leash as long as it behaves.

If you are looking for that small town community feeling, you will find it in Gold Beach!

Hello!! Yes, I help with the Great Dane Rescue. I'm always at the dane walk events (raffle, food & etc). I hope we have the band again this year!

Gold Beach sounds really nice. Is it windy there?
Thanks for all of the great info. We will be there in a couple of weeks to check out different areas.

[Imperial1904]

The coastal area will not have much sun and you'll most likely be wearing a sweater during summer, which isn't bad at all. It's really a different experience from the rest of the country during summer. The winters are pretty harsh with endless rain and wind. Not sure about Gold Beach, but it's like this from Coos Bay/north including Florence.

The drive along the 101 is definitely more scenic.