Want to live in Grants Pass (Portland, Roseburg: sales, real estate, rental)

[Paul-E-Bear]

We have been in Reno, NV. for 22 years and until a few years ago, enjoyed being here. Now it has become unaffordable. Rents and property prices are up 30% in three years and the place we're in has increased in costs so we need to find another home. Also, my wife needs to live at a lower altitude due to health issues living at 4,400'.


Recently we visited Grants Pass for a weekend and basically to look around. We like the fact that is isn't in the 'soupy fog belt' that is found up north and much warmer in winter. Our needs are modest and we are happy with a modular or mobile home as long as we can afford space rent which can certainly be a deal breaker for seniors living on a retirement income.


It is hard to get a good "feel" for a community without spending much more time there but, we can't afford an extended vacation to do that. We are saving all we can just to pay for relocating and possibly a down payment on a place and our target time to go is summer of 2019 but, even that might get pushed out another year. Understanding that prices can certainly increase over time, we are working to make that happen next year if at all possible.


I guess that I am interested in life in Grants Pass. We're mostly stay at home type people with the occasional dinner out. We enjoy rides in the country and being part of a church family. Perhaps those on here can provide some ideas for what to look for and what to avoid. Thanks!

[Cloudy Dayz]

Originally Posted by Paul-E-Bear

We have been in Reno, NV. for 22 years and until a few years ago, enjoyed being here. Now it has become unaffordable. Rents and property prices are up 30% in three years and the place we're in has increased in costs so we need to find another home. Also, my wife needs to live at a lower altitude due to health issues living at 4,400'.


Recently we visited Grants Pass for a weekend and basically to look around. We like the fact that is isn't in the 'soupy fog belt' that is found up north and much warmer in winter. Our needs are modest and we are happy with a modular or mobile home as long as we can afford space rent which can certainly be a deal breaker for seniors living on a retirement income.


It is hard to get a good "feel" for a community without spending much more time there but, we can't afford an extended vacation to do that. We are saving all we can just to pay for relocating and possibly a down payment on a place and our target time to go is summer of 2019 but, even that might get pushed out another year. Understanding that prices can certainly increase over time, we are working to make that happen next year if at all possible.


I guess that I am interested in life in Grants Pass. We're mostly stay at home type people with the occasional dinner out. We enjoy rides in the country and being part of a church family. Perhaps those on here can provide some ideas for what to look for and what to avoid. Thanks!

Grants Pass seems to fit your criteria. Try visiting Grants Pass for about two weeks in January and see how it goes. If you can get through that, I don't see any reason it won't work for you.

[PNW-type-gal]

How much further north are you comparing it to? Grants Pass isn't really any warmer in winter than most of the Willamette Valley. It also does still have that damp and cool winter that most of western Oregon has, it's just somewhat shorter and a little less wet (Grants Pass gets around 31" of precip a year, Portland gets around 40").

Also, if you are moving because of serious health issues, be aware that summer fire smoke has been very bad the last couple years. Someone with, say, COPD or breathing issues might feel trapped indoors during summer fire smoke and winter inversions. The Reno msa area is about 425,000 and access to doctors/specialists might be a bit better. The entire Rogue Valley (Grants Pass south to the California border) is less than half as many people, with fewer medical services.

There are lots of reasons to like the town of Grants Pass, but there are also many issues living in a much smaller place.

[Johnny Z]

You might consider some of the other areas around Grants Pass. There are lots of smaller towns near by, Rogue River and Gold Hill for example. If you are okay a little farther out in the boonies Merlin and the Applegate areas are nice too. You might even like Roseburg or some of the little towns around there. As was mentioned earlier the last few years we've had some large fires and allot of smoke. I wouldn't let that stop me from moving, the same could happen almost any where.

[tinytowne]

I have a retired friend who lives in Grants Pass. It is really hot in the summer, you need A/C. And it often snows in the winter. And yes, she often has to stay inside because of the air quality due to fires. Other than those factors, she loves it. I recently visited. It was beautiful. I don't like how mountainous I-5 is there, and a lot of trucks.

[NoMoreSnowForMe]

What's nice about Grants Pass is that it has decent shopping, and it's pretty convenient to major highways and airports.

I lived in Redding and Crescent City, CA, and have only ever driven through Grants Pass. But, I always found people in southern OR to be really friendly, including Brookings, OR, just across the border from Crescent City, where I lived.

For a fairly small town, it's got what is important to me, as far as decent shopping and accessibility to easy travel options. Much better, in my opinion, than the coast of southern OR, northern CA.

You wouldn't be far at all to entertainment options in Ashland, OR, or Redding, CA.

So, overall, I think it would be a good place to live, for a small town in a rural area.

You just might want to also consider that OR can reassess your property values, as far as your property taxes go. CA has a law called Prop 13 that means your property taxes will always be based on the purchase price, with a maximum increase per year allowed of only around 1%.

Just always keep in mind that if a state doesn't have an income tax or a sales tax - then, they must be getting their revenues from property taxes. At any rate, if there are amenities - there are taxes. So, you need to take a smart look at where the taxes are collected, and how that might impact you.

[tw200]

Consider Roseburg. The real estate is much cheaper there. You can compare other things between the G.P. and Roseburg with some online searching but cost of real estate is usually a pretty big deal and I would start with that.

[Paul-E-Bear]

Thanks for all your replies! My computer hard drive self destructed the day after I posted so, it has taken a while to get things back in order.


We will probably take a few days to visit again before we start seriously looking for a place. Watching the weather comparisons so far, it isn't much warmer than Reno at this time. The rainfall doesn't bother us and it is a very welcome change to the long dry spells in Nevada.


Anyway, I will be back on again once we get a little closer to actually moving. All of your information has been very helpful.


By the way, we had considered Roseburg but, my wife didn't really like it there. As for smaller towns, we like Gold Hill and Shady Cove as my wife's Aunt lived in Shady Cove for 30+ years and we would travel there to visit a few times a year. The timing just wasn't right for us to buy her place when she passed on so, we missed out on that. There are some nice, very affordable Mfg. homes there but, it also seems like space rental rates are climbing too...


Thanks again!


Paul

[Cloudy Dayz]

Originally Posted by Paul-E-Bear

Thanks for all your replies! My computer hard drive self destructed the day after I posted so, it has taken a while to get things back in order.


We will probably take a few days to visit again before we start seriously looking for a place. Watching the weather comparisons so far, it isn't much warmer than Reno at this time. The rainfall doesn't bother us and it is a very welcome change to the long dry spells in Nevada.


Anyway, I will be back on again once we get a little closer to actually moving. All of your information has been very helpful.


By the way, we had considered Roseburg but, my wife didn't really like it there. As for smaller towns, we like Gold Hill and Shady Cove as my wife's Aunt lived in Shady Cove for 30+ years and we would travel there to visit a few times a year. The timing just wasn't right for us to buy her place when she passed on so, we missed out on that. There are some nice, very affordable Mfg. homes there but, it also seems like space rental rates are climbing too...


Thanks again!


Paul

You should probably just focus on moving to Grants Pass. It's probably your best bet. From there you can better explore smaller towns you might want to live in.

[Paul-E-Bear]

Thanks for your reply. We have pretty much settled on this and may come up in the spring for a visit again. For now, some unexpected health issues have thwarted our plans to move this summer so, we may be another year before that happens. Thanks for all who have provided good information and advice. It has all been very helpful!


Living in Reno with our 'normal' winter, I don't think anything is much of a surprise in GP. What I do like is milder temperatures and LOTS of "green" growth which we don't have much of here...


Paul

Originally Posted by Cloudy Dayz

You should probably just focus on moving to Grants Pass. It's probably your best bet. From there you can better explore smaller towns you might want to live in.