Long Beach (Seattle, Pacific, Ocean Shores: employment, to buy, pros and cons)

[psalm27]

HI EVERYONE
OK--WHO CAN TELL ME THE REAL SCOOP
ON THE PROS AND CONS ABOUT LIVING IN
LONG BEACH AS EMPTY NESTERS...
ANYONE???
THANKS

[JeffsWife]

I think it would be amazing. My husband and I only have birds and we also want to move there. I have a gal friend, and her mother lives in Long Beach. We are just waiting for an employment situation to change so we can move. We have been there when a storm rolls in and it just awesome! So many positives to being there! The only thing that may be a bummer, all of the good the grocery shopping is all in Astoria. That is the "worst" of it. What an amazing drive to buy groceries!!!! WOWIE!!!! I love Long Beach!

[jwb123]

Well, I think a "con" would be that it's overcrowded in the summer. I used to live in Virginia Beach, and as a local, we were always annoyed by the tourists and how congested things got. I think that can be said for any beach locale.

Other cons, for me, would include the weather. Even more so than in Seattle, it's unusually grey and rainy. "Summer" is frequently 60's, dark and sweatshirt weather. Occasionally you will get blue skies, sunny and 70... but that's not the rule, nor would it be for an extended time. We used to go there every summer since I was a kid, before we moved away in 2006 and until they died, my grandparents did live there full time.

It's also fairly remote (and small town) for my tastes, full time, like a ghost town in the off season and the things in town (shopping, gas, entertainment) are expensive due to the tourist element. The beach, itself, is not particularly fun to go to because of the harsh winds, cold temps and bad weather.

I would also be concerned about the lack of public services there, and distance to a hospital.

I really do love it as a "family getaway" but could not imagine settling in there to live.

[HeavenlyAngel]

Just curious...because I have thought about moving to the coast. Long Beach, Ocean Shores, Pacific Beaches...somewhere.

Where is the nearest Hospital to those places? If we move, I am bringing my mother with and she has heart problems. We can't be too terribly far from a good medical facility.

[Bosch11111]

Ilwaco 5 miles from lb

[red_beard_kent]

I had a medical emergency on the Long Beach peninsula. They flew me by helicopter to Portland and it saved my life.