Tongue Point (Astoria, Harbor, Cove: for sale, insurance, homes)

[Cloudy Dayz]

Originally Posted by texasdiver

OK maybe. But it sure SEEMS like a LOT further than that when we pass through Astoria on summer weekends in route to Fort Stevens State Park. There is often slow bumper to bumper traffic all the way there. It's not like you can walk or bike out your front door in Astoria and get to any beaches as is the case in pretty much every other coastal town in Oregon other than the other bay towns like Tillamook and Reedsport.

According to Google Maps, biking to the beach from Astoria is 30 minutes, walking is 2 hours. Walking would be probably be out for most people, but I expect a lot of people do the bike ride. Biking could be faster than driving if the traffic is backed up.

I just don't think that being six miles from the beach would be a deal killer for very many people.


US-101 Business, Astoria, OR 97103 to Delaura Beach Rd, Warrenton, OR 97146 - Google Maps

[Larry Caldwell]

Originally Posted by texasdiver

Personally I don't see the appeal of Astoria. Sure the downtown area is cute and historic and there are nice old homes on the hills. But Astoria is a river port not a beach town. The nearest beaches are 20-30 minutes away depending on traffic. More like 30 minutes on summer weekends. Sure if you are a longshoreman or commercial fishermen or work at a fish processor or any of the other maritime industries in Astoria then Astoria is your home and you live there.

But for someone moving in from out of state to retire, I can think of dozens of communities on the Oregon coast where you can actually go out your front door and walk on the beach and actually enjoy the coast compared to Astoria where you have do drive for miles and miles to get to the nearest beach.

The beach towns are white bread sterile. Astoria is way more vigorous. Traditional industries like fishing and shipping provide an economic base that doesn't exist in Vacation Home Heaven. Astoria's location at the junction of 101 and 30 guarantees plenty of tourism.

[texasdiver]

Originally Posted by Larry Caldwell

The beach towns are white bread sterile. Astoria is way more vigorous. Traditional industries like fishing and shipping provide an economic base that doesn't exist in Vacation Home Heaven. Astoria's location at the junction of 101 and 30 guarantees plenty of tourism.

No argument about that. But you could say the same thing about the economic base in Longview and I wouldn't choose to retire there either. I guess it's all about what you want in a town. Astoria, Newport, and Coos Bay are the only three communities on the Oregon Coast that actually rise above beach town status in my book with more diverse economies. Of those three I'd pick Newport first, Astoria second, and Coos Bay a distant 3rd as places to retire.

Downtown Astoria actually reminds me most of Hood River in terms of the streetscape and historic infrastructure. It actually has old historic buildings that have lots of potential. It's the only town on the coast that is really like that.

[Claire80]

Thanks for the info. Will take all in consideration, but will investigate upper Oregon a lot.

[Claire80]

Glad to see some responses that are interestingly positive. Thanks, Larry. I sort of sense the unique differences in Astoria from Oregon Beach towns. Love industrial vibe, and people who seek it. I wish Kaiser would locate there; the health care lack is a little bit of a hold back. Not that I need it, but you do like to know serious help is maybe a half hour away.

[pdxMIKEpdx]

Sorry, but I meant to be a little negative on purpose.

We get a lot of folks on here this time of year that have had it with hot weather etc, see something on TV about Oregon, watch a couple of youtube videos (or old movies) and expect that life here is going to be just like where they are at, but a little cooler, a little greener, and say they look forward to wet weather, and start dreaming without really knowing anything about Oregon.

Some are looking for a Jessica Fletcher "Murder She Wrote" Cabot Cove lifestyle.
Astoria isn't it.

Your "flags" to me were inquiring about real estate and living conditions in two industrialized areas on opposite sides of a town few people here in Oregon would make an active effort to move to.
Then the comments of being tired of SoCal weather.

It was almost like you pulled out a map, found Astoria, and figured that those two areas would be cheaper or something of that nature.
It just seemed you knew nothing about the area, and thought it could be the "San Diego of Oregon" and were looking for a bargain.

I was just curious about why you would pick that area of all places.


BTW, I wasn't really exaggerating about the weather there.

To answer your original questions, you wouldn't even know the wastewater plant is there.
I have never smelled anything, and I suspect it's because of the wind blowing up the river away from town, and environmental concerns (since it is right on the river bank).
You are going to get more "stank" from fish processing, river mud, the sea lions at the East Mooring Basin, and just regular coastal odors.

Living conditions? Mostly going to be tied to the weather.
People there are either wealthy, just scraping by, or tourists it seems.

Tongue Point does not really have any residential communities, although it does have the WW plant, a shipyard, the city transfer station(dump), a job corps training center, and a environmental marine study facility.
Google map it with a satellite view.

Youngs Bay isn't much better, but as someone mentioned, if you get up the bay and into the inland Youngs River area, it's pretty nice.
You aren't going to get much of a break from the weather though, and I doubt you will find an inexpensive single family home that isn't a moldy fixer-upper in a nice area.

Also like you may have heard, thousands and thousands of tourists pass through Astoria during the year.
If it's not tourism, it's for camping and fishing.
IMHO, Astoria really isn't that "pretty" of a town, but the scenery from the Column can be mindblowing on a clear day.

Also, when you specify "Tongue Point", to most NW Oregonians you are talking about Tongue Point itself, and not the areas around it.
Same when you call out "Young's Bay".
That means Young's Bay, not anything else.
They aren't residential suburbs of Astoria.

[pdxMIKEpdx]

For the record, I am 60+ years old, and have been for a while.

I have family in Astoria (my nephew is a fishery biologist there, based in Young's Bay as a matter of fact) , and I go several times every year for crabbing, and coho fishing in the Fall.
I have a perfect boat for that, and either pay months ahead in a Skipanon marina, or deal with the Warrenton nightmare.

I don't live there, but visit several times a year, and have been doing so for decades.


I would NEVER think of retiring there.

For all it's tourism beauty, it's not an easy place to live.

The weather sucks, it's economy is now mostly based on tourism (unless you are fairly young, in good health and find a transient job in the maritime industry), or you are young and have something really special going on..................Well, Good Luck.

For every dream there, several other dreams just die silently.



You haven't given us any information on why you would want to live there, your income, your desires on price on real estate, or anything else. You have been quite mysterious.

Another "Flag".

But, if you are one of those SoCal folks that sold your house for millions, and are now looking for a place to retire, just focus on a hillside house in Astoria.

You will get all the "visual" excitement you desire.
A coastal town, sometimes big ships, a river, a really nice bridge to look at, close to the actual beach (which really isn't all that great, it's all state park from the Iredale on up), it feels nautical, all that crap that transplants seem to wet their pants over.

You won't get a "Cabot Cove" experience there, though.
The next year you will decide to go somewhere else.

Sorry I am being negative.
Sometimes people need a slice of reality.

[Claire80]

Really appreciate your frank observations. Do I have to move to New England for the "Cabot Cove" experience? I have been looking at hillside and top of the hill properties overlooking Young's Bay. I focused on 2 areas that seemed to have personalities of their own, not reliant particularly on tourism. Tongue Point Village seems to be charming. I am in love with the Columbia River, and all its major tributaries. Don't really need the beach, although being near it is a plus for a person who also loves the Pacific Ocean, and the onshore wind that keeps away heat & mosquitoes.



My 'flags' point out that I am not a 'usual' person, and have learned not to share much more than is polite or necessary. I like REAL people, and I don't look at Oregon as a Mecca for a disgruntled Southern Californian, and a provider of consumer amusements. Some of the outlying districts of Portland are on my radar. I wish my family had moved to Oregon when we first came from PA. Certainly northern PA has schooled me on weather, and we would have prevailed OK with the weather patterns in OR.


Certainly will have to do a lot more investigation, as I don't want to move away, unhappy, in a year. Who wants to have dreams die silently? Or even with a scream? Thanks for being so honest, and curmudgeonish (refreshing).

[texasdiver]

Originally Posted by Claire80

Really appreciate your frank observations. Do I have to move to New England for the "Cabot Cove" experience? I have been looking at hillside and top of the hill properties overlooking Young's Bay. I focused on 2 areas that seemed to have personalities of their own, not reliant particularly on tourism. Tongue Point Village seems to be charming. I am in love with the Columbia River, and all its major tributaries. Don't really need the beach, although being near it is a plus for a person who also loves the Pacific Ocean, and the onshore wind that keeps away heat & mosquitoes.



My 'flags' point out that I am not a 'usual' person, and have learned not to share much more than is polite or necessary. I like REAL people, and I don't look at Oregon as a Mecca for a disgruntled Southern Californian, and a provider of consumer amusements. Some of the outlying districts of Portland are on my radar. I wish my family had moved to Oregon when we first came from PA. Certainly northern PA has schooled me on weather, and we would have prevailed OK with the weather patterns in OR.


Certainly will have to do a lot more investigation, as I don't want to move away, unhappy, in a year. Who wants to have dreams die silently? Or even with a scream? Thanks for being so honest, and curmudgeonish (refreshing).

Come visit sometime between November and February. You'll be able to see all the available properties in Astoria in a day or so in all their dreary winter weather glory. And you'll be able to get a flavor of the place during the off season.

If you really want small town coastal life in a cold dreary climate, look to SE Alaska. I spent 10 years living in Juneau and working all over coastal Alaska, especially out the Aleutians and Bering Sea. Astoria is a banana belt and center of the universe compared to that. Actually Juneau is a very nice small city to live in if you don't mind the weather. A bit like Astoria but much more picturesque and larger. It's the remote small towns in Alaska that are really brutally isolated.

[Larry Caldwell]

I have a friend who lives in Astoria. He sets up a camera and posts time lapse records of days on YouTube. The view from his house is toward the Astoria-Megler bridge. across the river. If you go to his YouTube channel, there are several videos like this.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqezO6Q02oc

He says there are never three sunny days in a row. Two days of sun will be followed by fog, even if it doesn't rain. The wind blows a lot.