Port Orford VS Gold Beach (Coos Bay, Lincoln City: foreclosure, rentals, mobile home)

[MrsLakota]

These are the towns we've been eying, Gold Beach & Port Orford. Never actually visited them but passed by on the highway on our way to Coos Coos Bay. Port Orford seems to have a wonderful health food co-op.

Bound to remain here due to:
1. Our daughter who lives 1.5 hrs away. She comes to stay one weekend a month. And we visit her 1-2x a month.
2. Husband is in Construction. He is 55 and his body is wearing down so he works just part of of the year now. He can fix up houses.

Reasons to move
1. Bible based church. None here within 1.5 hrs radius.
(Bible based meaning googling doesn't produce the word cult & no female pastors. Resembles the new covenant church in this way)
2. Health. We enjoy Mtn Biking but it can only be done here about 4 months out of the yr.
The remaining months we eat bad, drink alcohol, and do not exercise. Gain weight. The snow here, this year, was brutal.
3. Love the ocean and mtn biking. Seeking an area that offers both
4. An area which draws Tourists. As we age, we may always have seasonal jobs. We will need to work well into our 70's
We are healthy.
5. We have only 100k to spend on a home. We can sit and wait for a foreclosure/fixer upper
Husband is very handy since he works seasonally in Construction. He is self employed.
6. Health food store or somehow have access to organic vegetables.


Fort Dick adjacent Crescent City seems to fit the bill. Crescent City provides the ocean for visits and Fort Dick
wasn't depressing and provided Mtn Biking. Fort Dick homes are way out of our price range and we didn't see a health food store.
Yet it is also closer to our daughter which is nice. Husband would need to get his license in Oregon if he worked there, which is possible

[Metlakatla]

There was something on the news tonight about how construction jobs are going unfilled in Oregon because of high demand. But I'm not sure that applies to the south Coast. You can get a better idea of available jobs by looking at the listings on the Oregon employment website.

Port Orford is too small for you, and Gold Beach likely is as well, although GB has more rentals. Can't help you with churches.

Not many people on this forum have done more than drive through the places you've mentioned either, so get out your biggest grain of salt. The best thing for you to do is drive up 101 and check these towns out for yourself.

[MrsLakota]

Yes we plan on driving up to visit when I have time off. Thanks for the info
We currently live in a town of under 500 so these towns would be 1-2x larger than our current town.
We are from a town of 4500
Our current town draws tourists during the summer season which is nice

My husband will likely work in California Mid may thru Mid October.
This way he'd be near our daughter much of the year. I could stay back working p/t, 18-24 hr shifts which allows for some
weeks off at a time to visit her. Being so far, it's doubful she could visit us more than once a year.


Currently she stays the weekend with us once a month. And we visit her 1-2x for a few hours when we are down her way for doctors or dentist appointments. We have no family alive otherwise

[Metlakatla]

Well, when I said Port Orford was too small for you, I meant because of the job situation. Locals seem to have a tough time getting by there. I think there'd be more opportunity in Gold Beach. It's also closer to Brookings, which will have more jobs due its larger size.

You can go here and look for jobs by specific communities:

https://secure.emp.state.or.us/jobs/index.cfm?bkmk=w9

Sometimes going to come along and say that the North Coast gets way more tourism, and while that's true, it's also more expensive and pretty short on affordable rentals.

[MrsLakota]

Originally Posted by Metlakatla

Well, when I said Port Orford was too small for you, I meant because of the job situation. Locals seem to have a tough time getting by there. I think there'd be more opportunity in Gold Beach. It's also closer to Brookings, which will have more jobs due its larger size.

You can go here and look for jobs by specific communities:

https://secure.emp.state.or.us/jobs/index.cfm?bkmk=w9

Sometimes going to come along and say that the North Coast gets way more tourism, and while that's true, it's also more expensive and pretty short on affordable rentals.

Yes, Gold beach is where I could work. The commute isn't bad either, considering my shifts could be 18 hrs+ as they are now. but I'd research that. I've seen openings already in gold beach. Longer shifts mean more days off in a row, generally, which wed need to travel to continue to see our child. The benefit to it being close to brookings for more jobs is great. Thanks for the link! I'll check it out right now.

[MrsLakota]

Does Gold beach, Port Orford or Brookings have a marijuana dispensary? I'd like to avoid that but it isn't a must.

[Metlakatla]

Originally Posted by MrsLakota

Does Gold beach, Port Orford or Brookings have a marijuana dispensary? I'd like to avoid that but it isn't a must.

That's kind of a tough thing to avoid in Oregon. There's probably one each in Port Orford and Gold Beach and possibly several in Brookings.

[Cloudy Dayz]

Originally Posted by MrsLakota

These are the towns we've been eying, Gold Beach & Port Orford. Never actually visited them but passed by on the highway on our way to Coos Coos Bay. Port Orford seems to have a wonderful health food co-op.

Bound to remain here due to:
1. Our daughter who lives 1.5 hrs away. She comes to stay one weekend a month. And we visit her 1-2x a month.
2. Husband is in Construction. He is 55 and his body is wearing down so he works just part of of the year now. He can fix up houses.

Reasons to move
1. Bible based church. None here within 1.5 hrs radius.
(Bible based meaning googling doesn't produce the word cult & no female pastors. Resembles the new covenant church in this way)
2. Health. We enjoy Mtn Biking but it can only be done here about 4 months out of the yr.
The remaining months we eat bad, drink alcohol, and do not exercise. Gain weight. The snow here, this year, was brutal.
3. Love the ocean and mtn biking. Seeking an area that offers both
4. An area which draws Tourists. As we age, we may always have seasonal jobs. We will need to work well into our 70's
We are healthy.
5. We have only 100k to spend on a home. We can sit and wait for a foreclosure/fixer upper
Husband is very handy since he works seasonally in Construction. He is self employed.
6. Health food store or somehow have access to organic vegetables.


Fort Dick adjacent Crescent City seems to fit the bill. Crescent City provides the ocean for visits and Fort Dick
wasn't depressing and provided Mtn Biking. Fort Dick homes are way out of our price range and we didn't see a health food store.
Yet it is also closer to our daughter which is nice. Husband would need to get his license in Oregon if he worked there, which is possible

Gold Beach has a population of about 2,000, Port Orford 1,000. Neither town has any of what you are looking for. The only jobs in either town are a very limited number of tourism related jobs, and there is not even close to enough of those for the current residents. There is virtually no construction going on. So even if your husband is self-employed, he is not going to find work in Gold Beach or Port Orford. You can't even buy a mobile home in Gold Beach or Port Orford for 100k. In short, you are not going to find housing or jobs in Gold Beach or Port Orford.

You might have a small chance to find some of what you are looking for in Lincoln City, or somewhere else on the North Coast, but not on the South Coast.

Originally Posted by MrsLakota

Does Gold beach, Port Orford or Brookings have a marijuana dispensary? I'd like to avoid that but it isn't a must.

All of those towns have dispensaries. That is the one industry that is booming. Marijuana is legal and sold in every town in Oregon, that is big enough to have a demand for it.

[MrsLakota]

Cloudydayz-Gold beach has jobs almost hand tailored for me. It's just one employer yet if not, seasonal jobs could work too.


We live in a very expensive area of California. No one smokes weed here, it is so nice not to smell it. We realized this benefit after moving.


My commute to work is about 1 hr 40 min. Luckily the shifts are 18-24 hrs

[Cloudy Dayz]

Originally Posted by MrsLakota

Cloudydayz-Gold beach has jobs almost hand tailored for me. It's just one employer yet if not, seasonal jobs could work too.


We live in a very expensive area of California. No one smokes weed here, it is so nice not to smell it. We realized this benefit after moving.


My commute to work is about 1 hr 40 min. Luckily the shifts are 18-24 hrs

I don't think you understand the situation. People who have lived in those small towns all their life, are leaving everyday, because they can't find any jobs. That means any jobs, of any type. They don't want to leave, but they have no choice. I'm sorry but, your believe that you can swim against the current and find a job in a town, that locals can't find a job in, is just not realistic.

There is a reason that small towns, stay small. If there were jobs, they would not stay small. But if you want to waste your time trying to find a job in a place that doesn't have jobs, go for it.