Best place to retire on the coast (Newport, Waldport: oceanfront, renting)

[wolfdog]

Originally Posted by Metlakatla

I really like the islands; they remind me of my place in SE AK. I've somewhat tempted to try the east side, though; someone around Yakima maybe.

If you're going east, I'd look at Wenatchee.

[wolfdog]

Originally Posted by hikernut

I had the same thought. It's been a long time since I lived in Oregon. What is the weekday traffic like between the Willamette Valley cities and the coast? Once retired I wouldn't care about the holiday and weekend traffic, but if the traffic is bad all summer long that would be a downside.

That new bypass, between Corvallis and Newport is pretty slick. Cut 10-15 minutes off the old route.

[wolfdog]

Originally Posted by Metlakatla

Because NO ONE in this thread asked for that information or even indicated that they might be interested in such a list. And like I already said, I don't have them memorized and have no obligation to look them up just because Nell seems to think the OP somehow wants or needs a list of them. You're retired and have more time than I do — look them up yourself if think it's so important.

I've been off this OR forum for a year. I see Cloudy Dayz is still posting his stuff. LOL

[texasdiver]

Originally Posted by StealthRabbit

I happen to prefer truth and expedited results in my RE transactions.

I have a method that has worked well for me and many others. (A friend buys 40 - 80 homes / month in WA & OR (NONE from realtors). Works for many, but certainly follow your comfort level. If I want my hand held in a legal transaction, I hire a lawyer, not a commissioned RE agent.

Many (most) prefer the 'norm'. That's fine. They can fight the thousands of other buyers who also follow the norm. (And rely on a '3rd' party to represent their interests.

You are talking about buying investment properties. There is an enormous difference between buying investment properties where cash flow is really the only consideration, and buying a retirement or family home for personal use. If I'm buying investment properties, the only thing I'm really going to care about is return on investment. I'm not going to care if the building is adjacent to a freeway, prison, or hog farm if it generates positive cash flow and the price is right.

On the other hand, if I'm looking to buy a retirement home, or a home for my family with school age children, then I'm going to have a hundred different criteria, none of which include cash flow. In the current example of buying a retirement home in a town like Florence, I'm literally going to want to investigate EVERY SINGLE home on the market that falls within my price and location parameters. And I might want to do that over a year's time or so before finding the right property. And then it's a matter of negotiating a fair price, not the *best* possible price in the whole Florence region, which was never the objective in the first place. That is absolutely going to involve working with a realtor because the huge majority of available properties are going to be found on the MLS. If you limit yourself to unlisted "off the books" properties in Florence or any other town you are probably going to be missing 95% of the available homes for sale, and most of the nicer ones. Because most sellers, especially absentee sellers which are common on the coast, are not going to want to go the DIY FSBO route.

I don't think many people coming to this forum are looking to buy 80 investment homes in Oregon. If they were, they'd be looking for advice on other forums like biggerpockets where those sorts of folks hang out. People come here who are looking to buy their own personal home and don't really know the area. And, unless they get really lucky, they are almost certainly going to have better luck working the MLS/Zillow, etc. and using real estate agents to at least view the homes they are interested in. That is still where most of the action is. Especially at the higher end of the market.

[hikernut]

Originally Posted by wolfdog

That new bypass, between Corvallis and Newport is pretty slick. Cut 10-15 minutes off the old route.

Nice. That seems to be about the fastest route from any city in the Willamette Valley to the coast, using online maps.

[texasdiver]

Originally Posted by hikernut

Nice. That seems to be about the fastest route from any city in the Willamette Valley to the coast, using online maps.

Its' also the closest geographically. Corvallis is the furthest west of all the larger cities in the Willamette Valley. The others are all along I-5 which is what? about 10-15 miles further east?

[hikernut]

Originally Posted by texasdiver

Its' also the closest geographically. Corvallis is the furthest west of all the larger cities in the Willamette Valley. The others are all along I-5 which is what? about 10-15 miles further east?

They're all close enough for an easy day trip to the ocean, which is nice. I love the Oregon coast, but don't have any interest living in such a sparsely populated area.

[Cloudy Dayz]

Originally Posted by hikernut

They're all close enough for an easy day trip to the ocean, which is nice. I love the Oregon coast, but don't have any interest living in such a sparsely populated area.

I agree, they are all 1 hour to 1.5 hours from the coast. Maybe 2 hours if traffic is a problem. Not really enough to make a difference.

Corvallis to Newport
58 min (48.8 miles)

Albany to Newport
1 hr 15 min (60.1 miles)

Eugene to Florence
1 hr 18 min (61.3 miles)

Salem to Newport
1 hr 34 min (82.0 miles)

Salem to Lincoln City
1 hr 10 min (58.6 miles)

Salem to Pacific City
1 hr 12 min (58.0 miles)

[Metlakatla]

Originally Posted by wolfdog

If you're going east, I'd look at Wenatchee.

Thanks, I'll check it out.

[MtnSurfer]

Originally Posted by slowlanes

We just moved off the OR coast, had a home on Devils Lake just a few miles east of Lincoln City. As an old surfer, know the coast well, have been up and down it hundreds of times. So a few thoughts for consideration. regarding Lincoln City, much of it generally applies to Newport as well
-Rain. Lots of it, as in an average of 94" a year in Lincoln City, two years ago we had 104". So house maintenance is an ongoing requirement, especially roofs and decks
-Healthcare. Lincoln City has a brand new hospital, sister to Newport's. The problem isn't the facility, it's the lack of qualified doctors, they just can't attract the really good ones (wife a retired RN, knows nurses who work at the hospitals, get straight scoop). Our emergency room experiences (wife has an health issue) were nightmares both times we were there, so replaced with white knuckle 2 am drives to Salem Hospital (very good e.r., plenty of excellent specialists, the Salem Clinic a very good practice)an hour and a half away. Try that when it's pouring rain, the drive is on curvy single lane roads with a high accident rate.
-Dentists, Salem
-shopping such as Costco or department stores, Salem
-traffic, roads packed during good weather and summer
-two hours to PDX airport
-Poverty. It's estimated that one in 5 school kids in Lincoln City is living either in a car or motel with their family, so they give free lunches, send kids home for the weekend with food when signed up. The schools themselves are a budget disaster.
-Beaches are great, many out of the way places, great salmon fishing in the area
-The ocean air is as good as you'll ever breathe anywhere
-if you surf, lots of uncrowded waves if you know where and when to look
-where we lived a few miles off the coast late spring through early fall wonderful weather, plenty of sun, out of the summer fog hanging over the beaches.

Newport is much more of a community town than Lincoln City, which is essentially a service town for the casino and rental industry, has a great little harbor area, plenty of local basic shopping.
-good health care is in Corvalis, the local hospital is aged and offers basic emergency care, luck of the draw with what doc is on shift, some are good, others not so much. Dentists same.
-rain, see above
-the road from Newport to Corvallis has been improved recently, very crowded on holidays and good weather, about an hour without a traffic backup
-Corvallis airport an hour away, more expensive than PDX flights, less destination options

We moved off the coast for two reasons. At 70, and one of us with a health issue that requires immediate care at times, we just couldn't deal with the drive to quality health care anymore, especially at night.
And the coast just gets more and more crowded. The highway in and out of town backed up frequently, the drive to Salem can easily double on a weekend. It used to only crowd during during summer and holiday weekends, now it's year around except for in the mid winter when the storms are banging. Have to go through an Oregon mid coast winter storm to believe it - 70 mph winds and few inches of rain an hour. Better not need to go anywhere.

We're currently living south of Bend in a cabin we own, moved in because our coastal house sold quicker than we thought it would. Once this Covid pandemic eases up, a vaccine is available, we'll buy another house an hour from the coast so I can still surf and fish when the itch strikes, be close to doc's, shuttle to PDX for visists to kids/grandkids. Lot easier for an elder to make that drive for fun than it is to be forced to make that drive.

Slowlanes, this is one of the most informative posts I've read about retirement along the Oregon coast. Thank you for sharing your experience!

This is something I've tossed around a bit myself once it comes time to retire. I'm also an old surfer like you and actually grew up and lived most of my life on the coast. So, there is a stronger connection to it for me. Don't get me wrong, I still enjoy my day or extended weekend trips from Vancouver. However, its not the same as being able to walk down and watch the sunset over the ocean from your home any time you want, enjoy sunrise at dawn patrol or watching the big storms roll through and then the sun burst through the clouds. The smell of salt air while hiking coastal trails. Watching the waves break and surfers and kids playing along the shore. That I truly miss.

I'm not sure if living there again FT will ever make sense though. So, you've got me thinking about the next best thing:

1. Living there part of the year through owning a vacation home if I could afford it. This is probably the most expensive route and not the most practical. May be hard to maintain if not there FT with all the wind, salt air, etc...
2. Long term vacation rentals - might be more affordable than owning without all the overhead/headache. You can also go somewhere different anytime you want including other states/climates.
3. RV living along the coast with freedom to explore more places - I've never been one to haul boats or trailers before. And I'm not sure if it would be worth the cost/hassle. Though I have an old surfer friend who retired early from the military and travels all over the US and Mexico in his camper with his wife. They take some pretty fun adventures.

Right now I'm just doing weekends or go weekdays when I can take time off work. With all the talk about how much more rain it gets and how much colder it is, I find that sometimes its the opposite as well during the winter. For example, it can be 40s in PDX and 50s at the coast. I just went there a couple weeks ago in between storms and it was sunnier and warmer than inland.

I could definitely see the travel back and forth for decent medical care being an issue. And since there are no real jobs or very few compared to the larger cities like Portland, kids/grandkids would be further away. So, that could feel somewhat isolating over long stretches.

I remember the first time I fell in love with the Oregon coast and dreamed of retiring in places like Bandon or Brookings right next to Redwood National Park. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that there is nothing else around there for miles and miles.

Derek