Roseburg Oregon, for retirement?

[Metlakatla]

Originally Posted by movedintime

Don't know why politics gets involved. .

The OP brought politics into it. None of us would have brought it up otherwise. We were just trying to answer her questions; the political climate did seem somewhat important to her.

[OldOzarkLady]

Thanks for your responses. Not sure which town, but either one and from talking to the management, it might be up to space available. I think the main issue as to moving will be getting used to cold rainy winters. Summer will be very nice.

[StealthRabbit]

Roseburg is a very good retirement town with all needed services, tho it is conservative leaning.

Ashland is more liberal, and closer to CA.

I would not be too concerned about weather difference in the two cities vs No CA. They are quite mild, and no where near the winter gloom of Portland / Salem. Tad colder / chance of snow.

But both Ashland and Roseburg would be suitable for op retirement.

[Tulippsy]

Originally Posted by OldOzarkLady

Thanks for your responses. Not sure which town, but either one and from talking to the management, it might be up to space available. I think the main issue as to moving will be getting used to cold rainy winters. Summer will be very nice.

I don’t want to be Debby Downer, but whether summer will be very nice will greatly depend upon the proximity of the annual wildfires ruining the air quality. The last summer I spent in the Rogue Valley I was confined to my house because of the smoke. We have even had smoky days on the coast, where you would think the sea breeze would keep it at bay.

Again, not trying to burst your bubble, but want you to be prepared. I certainly wasn’t.

[texasdiver]

Originally Posted by StealthRabbit

Roseburg is a very good retirement town with all needed services, tho it is conservative leaning.

Ashland is more liberal, and closer to CA.

I would not be too concerned about weather difference in the two cities vs No CA. They are quite mild, and no where near the winter gloom of Portland / Salem. Tad colder / chance of snow.

But both Ashland and Roseburg would be suitable for op retirement.

Without bothering to look up the actual numbers, I would guess that Ashland is 2x more expensive than Roseburg. Or if not 2x more expensive, at least substantially more costly. It is a FAR more popular location for retirees and a much more convenient location due to proximity to Medford which has hospitals, airport, shopping, etc. and far greater cultural opportunities in Ashland itself with the university and Shakespeare festival and adjacent arts-oriented shops, business, restaurants, etc.

[JackieLovesSun]

Originally Posted by Tulippsy

I don’t want to be Debby Downer, but whether summer will be very nice will greatly depend upon the proximity of the annual wildfires ruining the air quality. The last summer I spent in the Rogue Valley I was confined to my house because of the smoke. We have even had smoky days on the coast, where you would think the sea breeze would keep it at bay.

Again, not trying to burst your bubble, but want you to be prepared. I certainly wasn’t.

same here! I never knew how bad the smoke could get; it's a real shame.

[Wile E. Coyote]

Originally Posted by texasdiver

I would disagree. There are plenty of smaller communities around Oregon that are not right-wing. They may not be uber-liberal like Eugene or central SE Portland. But are not conservative either. Just off the top of my head:

Hood River
Silverton
McMinnville
Astoria
Newport (and most of the town on the north coast frankly)
Ashland
Corvallis
Monmouth
Newberg (despite the recent fiasco with their school board)
Oregon City
Canby
Wilsonville
Woodburn
Salem

I believe if you drilled down you would find that all of those communities voted for Biden over Trump.

What you won't find is any sort of liberal blue community in small farm towns like Dallas or Yamhill that are not much more than wide spots in the road.

If it were me and I was looking for a smaller middle-of-the-road all-American sort of town with a reasonably vibrant local community in which to settle in for retirement, I'd look at Silverton or McMinnville rather than Roseburg. But that's just me.

I tend to agree with this. I did some driving around in the outlying areas and you need to realize the T flags were flying all over the place in the small towns and backroads of Oregon. The City area is more blue (but, not entirely as there is more of a 60/40 split). If you live here you would realize you need to live and let live. If you want blue I recommend the SF Bay Area (but, like who can afford that)?

I know she said she's not buying. These areas outside of Portland have gone up 50 to 80% (maybe 100% in some cases) in price compared to 30% in Portland Metro (since 2017). The rents have probably followed suit. Prior to about 2017 you could move 50 miles outside Portland, downsize and have cash left over. Now you would feel like you were overpaying.

I think someone made a very good point about living somewhere there is a backup plan for if you can no longer drive (buses and closer into Portland (Washington County) has Tri-Met for disabled (door to door transportation)). You're just going to get more services the closer in to Portland you live.

Also, Look At a Map of Oregon And Look At All The Green. ROSEBURG IS NOT SAFE FROM WILDFIRE (nothing in Oregon is; but, if you live in the Willamette Valley the firefighters were able to keep up with putting out hotspots when we had massive raging wildfire within 20 miles). A lot of folks got Evacuated or Evacuation Warnings.

You might secure housing before making a move because I know a range of people in their late 60's and 70's and some of them got out of the workforce too early and have had a lot of trouble with housing (there are waiting lists if you are looking for subsidized housing). You might consider Texas near family. If your family is in Houston or Dallas those city centers are almost as blue as Portland (Texas is turning blue anyways)... You are going to need to be politically correct to survive in Oregon (so, what's the difference? If the difference is affordability and no taxes then you are way better off in Texas).