Brookings, OR (Portland, Medford, Grants Pass: for sale, rent, buying a house) - Oregon - City-Data Forum

xPlorer48 · 01-07-2012, 01:49 AM

My grandmother had a cousin in Brookings, Oregon who we visited when i was kid. All grown up now and ready to retire, I think it would be a great place to call home. Native Northwesterner (5th generation) living in Bellingham, WA, I would like to be close to salt water and the Cascades. I have read a few threads about Brookings and it still sounds like the small coastal town it was. Bellingham has outgrown its charm.

I understand you call it the "Banana Belt" of Oregon. We don't mind the cold and rain but not all the time. Warm and rain is better. Is the fog just near the water like we have and that it dissipates when you are further inland.

I know that is has a small population of retirees but that there are families, also. This is good; no way do we want to live where there are just old people. We like kids, families, a good mix of young and old and those in between.

We ended up retiring a few years early so are not well of but if we are careful, can be comfortable. A quick look at home prices and I wasn't shocked. Bellingham's are comparable.

We are photographers so we noticed that Brookings is much closer to the photographic hotspots than we are now. And, we can avoid I5 to access those areas. To go south from our home, unless you go along the Washington coast or only travel from May-November if you go east, then you are stuck on I5.

We are not into golf but do love to roam beaches. The great thing about Oregon is that they are not private like up here. The one cool beach we like will have a big coal port in a few years. We are quiet but friendly and law abiding.

Questions:
What is the weather really like?
What kind of veggie/fruits can you grow? A decent nursery nearby?
Are people friendly toward newcomers?
Grocery stores? We like Fred Meyer (Retail isn't that important as we garage sale or shop on line)
Sidewalks for walking?
Can you drive into the coastal mountains in the winter? We don't mind logging trucks; they drive by our home as our backyard is forestry.
Pet friendly (2 dogs/4 indoor cats)?
Pride of ownership of homes?
Medical facilities? Doctor availability?
Anything else that is important?

Thanks. It will take us about a year to get our property ready for sale, sell stuff, and fix up home. We will probably rent before buying a house unless we find the right one. The right one will be a one story home, 2 BR, 1 bath, closer to woods than water, some land for growing fruits/veggies, and in good shape.

Steve Pickering · 01-07-2012, 01:09 PM

Steve Pickering · 01-07-2012, 01:10 PM

All of the above.

Hemlock140 · 01-07-2012, 03:23 PM

We stayed there a few days one summer and hope to go back next July or so. Would love to live there, maybe after retirement. Not much in the way of jobs.

rtg143 · 01-09-2012, 09:31 PM

In the center area of the page are links to other posts about Brookings, You can see a lot there. Post back if not all of tour questions are answered. //www.city-data.com/city/Brookings-Oregon.html Also at the bottom of this page are some links to more posts.

xPlorer48 · 01-09-2012, 10:02 PM

Hmmm, we are thinking after checking out weather that the warmer temps are nice but there is more rain than even Bellingham. I think a better fit may be a smaller town along I5 corridor. We are not ruling out Brookings, however, We have about a year to figure it all out. We are moving south to Oregon, but not California. Washington is just getting too crowded and Seattle seems to drag the rest of us along with whatever it wants. Oregon has more land area and fewer people. And, open public seashore. Time for a change. We plan to do some travel in our truck with popup slide-in camper along the coast and into eastern Oregon. It does pay to investigate and actually visit. Thanks for the help.

diogenes2 · 01-10-2012, 05:31 AM

Brookings was love at first sight for this retired easterner. However, a reality check of how far it is from major medical, shopping and airports cooled our ardor. Another consideration is the coastal fog and the cool summers. However, we always enjoy visiting Brookings and the picturesque redwoods, which we have done several times.

I would suggest a look at the Grants Pass/Rogue River area, which would still be within a two-hour drive of Brookings and affords proximity to excellent medical and shopping in the Grants Pass-Medford area. Good photography subjects abound in Josephine and Jackson counties, not to mention convenient access to northern California and Mount Shasta.

Terryj · 01-10-2012, 10:23 AM

Don't let the land area and population fool you, the reason for this is 57% of Oregon is government land. The density of population is more along the line of 80 people per square mile.

xPlorer48 · 01-10-2012, 06:48 PM

I looked up what percent of each state is publicly owned and the two states are similar. 36.41% vs 31.58% for Oregon. It would seem better to have Portland as the urban leader rather than Seattle. We prefer your tax structure, environmental record, closer proximity to areas we want to travel and your scenery is spectacular. Home prices seem to be similar more or less. Weather would seem to be similar, maybe a bit less rain and warmer temps along the I5 corridor. Whenever we want to head south, we have to drive the nightmare that is I5 from Everett through Olympia. I know we could adapt well to Oregon. I have much more reading to do on this forum which has been very enlightening. Thanks.

Terryj · 01-10-2012, 08:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by clikrf8

I looked up what percent of each state is publicly owned and the two states are similar. 36.41% vs 31.58% for Oregon. It would seem better to have Portland as the urban leader rather than Seattle. We prefer your tax structure, environmental record, closer proximity to areas we want to travel and your scenery is spectacular. Home prices seem to be similar more or less. Weather would seem to be similar, maybe a bit less rain and warmer temps along the I5 corridor. Whenever we want to head south, we have to drive the nightmare that is I5 from Everett through Olympia. I know we could adapt well to Oregon. I have much more reading to do on this forum which has been very enlightening. Thanks.

I don't know what site you check the percentage of public lands but 31.58% is a very low figure. Public lands in Oregon are right at 53%: Oregon's Public Lands