Seeking smaller towns, where to look? (Portland, Eugene: hotels, houses, contractors)

[AnthonyJ34]

Originally Posted by NW4me

I'm originally from So Cal, but have lived in SF for many years... SF weather can't be beat, IMO.
Another place worth a look is Bishop (in the Owens Valley, behind the Sierras). Not quaint,
but a perfect location for accessing the great hiking on the east side. I'd be bored there in the winter,
though, because skiing doesn't interest me.
To keep the moderator happy and steer the conversation back to Oregon, there are some attractive towns
along the Oregon coast... I find the southern coast the most dramatic, and a town called Gold Beach is
in the center of it.

I've looked at Astoria, Oregon as well as Coos Bay and even Brookings. I have never actually visited these places, however; I've only researched them. I also have an uncle that lives in Grants Pass (he's lived there for over 40 years), and that seems like a nice area as well (I only visited once as a young boy and don't remember much about it though). I'd actually prefer the coastal areas in the summer due to the cooler weather. I know those further inland locations can get downright hot in the summer, but the tradeoff is that those inland places have more of a winter as well as more seasonal variety. So, I will have to pick one over the other -- either more seasons and greater temperature fluctuations or more stable temperatures and less seasonal variations.

Corvallis, Oregon interests me (as does the surrounding areas). But again, I'd have to actually visit these places to get an up-close and realistic feel for the areas.

[pdxMIKEpdx]

Just remember the further north you go the worse the weather gets.

It is very easy to fall in love with the north Oregon Coast during the summer.
Pick some bad times of the year "weather wise" to go visit.

November is good for storms.
December through May is good for cold, wet, cloudy, windy misery, with only about eight hours of daylight in DEC and JAN.

Lots more to contemplate other than temperature.

People that say it's really not that bad, probably don't live in the N. Coast year round.

[texasdiver]

Originally Posted by pdxMIKEpdx

Just remember the further north you go the worse the weather gets.

It is very easy to fall in love with the north Oregon Coast during the summer.
Pick some bad times of the year "weather wise" to go visit.

November is good for storms.
December through May is good for cold, wet, cloudy, windy misery, with only about eight hours of daylight in DEC and JAN.

Lots more to contemplate other than temperature.

People that say it's really not that bad, probably don't live in the N. Coast year round.

There is a reason why the Willamette Valley has about 100x more population than the coast.

There is also a reason why there are no major cities on the Pacific Coast anywhere north of San Francisco. Eureka is the largest city between San Francisco and the Canadian border and it is only about 25,000 population.

[pdxMIKEpdx]

There is also a reason why there are no major cities on the Pacific Coast anywhere north of San Francisco.

I believe that reason to be is that there is no major east-west route from Coos Bay to I5.

Think about it.
If there was a nice, wide, kind of flat, not to curvy route for a four lane highway or rail from Coos Bay to I5, Coos Bay would be a thriving port city.

Coos Bay is one of the most undeveloped and passed over towns on the Oregon coast.

I also believe that will change in the coming decades.
My family has been slowly acquiring undeveloped property around Coos Bay for about twenty years now, and we have had quite a few investment companies contact us about buying our land.

Coos Bay is smack dab between Portland and San Francisco, the land around it is cheap and undeveloped, it is ripe for big investment.


There are a lot of people that do not want to live in either Portland or San Francisco, and with the right city planning and foresight, Coos Bay could become the "gem" of the Pacific Coast.

[PNW-type-gal]

I don't think a town with 65" of annual precip is ever going to become a hub. I'd see a place like Florence, with a straighter shot into Eugene, as standing a better chance. Although, really, the hills around Coos Bay are prettier with better views as long as you aren't looking at the many clearcuts.

[texasdiver]

Originally Posted by pdxMIKEpdx

I believe that reason to be is that there is no major east-west route from Coos Bay to I5.

Think about it.
If there was a nice, wide, kind of flat, not to curvy route for a four lane highway or rail from Coos Bay to I5, Coos Bay would be a thriving port city.

Coos Bay is one of the most undeveloped and passed over towns on the Oregon coast.

I also believe that will change in the coming decades.
My family has been slowly acquiring undeveloped property around Coos Bay for about twenty years now, and we have had quite a few investment companies contact us about buying our land.

Coos Bay is smack dab between Portland and San Francisco, the land around it is cheap and undeveloped, it is ripe for big investment.

There are a lot of people that do not want to live in either Portland or San Francisco, and with the right city planning and foresight, Coos Bay could become the "gem" of the Pacific Coast.

Bend is also not on any freeway system and significantly more isolated from population centers than Coos Bay. You have to take 2-lane roads over winter passes for 2.5 to 3 hours to get to Bend from Portland, Salem, or Eugene. Yet Bend is booming like crazy.

In 1970, both Bend and Coos Bay were nearly identical in size with about 13,500 population. Today Coos Bay is about 16,500 while Bend has exploded to over 100,000.

Why do so many more Oregonians and migrants from other states want to live in Bend as opposed to Coos Bay? I would suggest it isn't the highway access.

[pdxMIKEpdx]

There are many, many shipping ports around the world that have a lot worse weather than Coos Bay.
Why would rain affect anything?
Ships and shipping containers get wet don't they?

Plus Florence does not have the room or the facilities to become a port, it's a river town and really doesn't have a "bay".
Also it has pretty much established itself as a retirement community with a ton of recreation around it.

Everybody knows Florence, but Coos Bay just sits there, sad and forgotten.

Sorry, you really can't compare Bend to Coos Bay, they are totally different types of towns.
Like comparing apples to oranges.
Bend has been promoted as a resort community for decades, while like I said, Coos Bay just sits there, sad and forgotten.

[CaliforniaPlaya]

Originally Posted by pdxMIKEpdx

I believe that reason to be is that there is no major east-west route from Coos Bay to I5.

Is 42 not major enough? We're planning a trip to North Bend later this year, will be taking 42 from 5. Everything I have seen and read says this is a good route for trucks and had been straightened and otherwise improved over the years, but I haven't driven it yet.

[texasdiver]

Originally Posted by CaliforniaPlaya

Is 42 not major enough? We're planning a trip to North Bend later this year, will be taking 42 from 5. Everything I have seen and read says this is a good route for trucks and had been straightened and otherwise improved over the years, but I haven't driven it yet.

You'll be fine. Trucks and school buses travel that route daily. You'll just have to slow down and won't be able to drive 75 mph like on the freeway. It isn't nearly as curvy or narrow as some of the remote coastal highways in Northern CA like CA-1 from Legett to Fort Bragg.

[CaliforniaPlaya]

Originally Posted by texasdiver

You'll be fine. Trucks and school buses travel that route daily. You'll just have to slow down and won't be able to drive 75 mph like on the freeway. It isn't nearly as curvy or narrow as some of the remote coastal highways in Northern CA like CA-1 from Legett to Fort Bragg.

Then is it just not wide enough then to be a major trucking road from Coos Bay to 5? Needs 3 or more lanes or just straightening?

Did that Legett to Fort Bragg drive a few years in a new Challenger - was kind of fun!