Trans friendly coastal cities in Oregon? (Portland, Eugene: employment, wages, living in)

[TyCy]

My partner and I are moving to Oregon in the next year or two. We are both trans men who will pass well by our moving date. We would need trans friendly medical care. We are very excited to be in cooler weather and must live where natural spaces are still plenty. Are there any towns to stay away from since we are 2 gay men?

[texasdiver]

There are no cities on the Oregon coast, only small towns.

I expect you will most likely be driving over to Portland, Salem, or Eugene for any kind of specialty medical care.

There are places I wouldn't chose to live such as Coos Bay. But that because they are economic wastelands with little to offer not because they are necessarily intolerant. I doubt your sexuality will be an issue any place in Oregon that you find attractive and interesting enough to live in.

[oregonwoodsmoke]

Be aware that employment can be difficult to find on the coast.

It's hard to imagine having any problems for being anywhere on the gay spectrum. Although, you can run into the occasional nut case no matter where you go.

For medical, your best bet is going to be Portland, but unless you have to see the doctor every week, you can get to Portland from the coast. The coast villages have medical clinic level of medical care for emergencies mostly.

There is a good hospital in Salem and the drive from Lincoln City to Salem is good. My personal opinion is that the best section of the Oregon coast starts around depoe bay and runs south to a few miles north of Florence. Florence has an excellent road to eugene. Eugene is granola crunchy and most likely has good medical care available.

My suggestion is to find your doctor first. I suspect that is specialized medical care. Find the doctor first and then look coastward from there.

[patches403]

Originally Posted by TyCy

My partner and I are moving to Oregon in the next year or two. We are both trans men who will pass well by our moving date. We would need trans friendly medical care. We are very excited to be in cooler weather and must live where natural spaces are still plenty. Are there any towns to stay away from since we are 2 gay men?

The coast is populated by small towns and very small cities. The biggest city on the coast is Coos Bay, with a population of around 16,000. Oregon is pretty live and let live, but two trans men would definitely stick out and be noticed in nearly all the coastal towns just because the towns are so small. I would expect trans friendly medical care to be non-existent on the Coast. Also as others have mentioned, jobs are scarce on the coast, living wages jobs are very few and far between. And we haven't even touched on the coastal weather, which is another reason why the population on the coast is so low. NW coastal weather is far different than coastal weather in other parts of the US and most people can't handle it (the weather) full-time.

My two cents is that you and your partner would be far happier living in or near Eugene, Portland, Salem, or Corvallis. Portland would have the highest trans population and the most options for trans friendly medical care. I would assume Eugene would be next followed by Salem. You also don't mention your budget, but be aware Oregon has a more expensive cost of living than most of the US and it's getting higher all the time.

If you're okay with drier, warmer weather the area surrounding Bend would be an option, but other than that Central/Eastern/Southern Oregon probably isn't for you.

[crazyme4878]

Well, we have at least one in Florence--and I only know that because she is quite flamboyant. I'm not sure what prejudice she receives in her day to day life, but she is definitely part of this community and seems to have no problem interacting with everyone (or, should I say, everyone I see doesn't have a problem interacting with her since obviously the problem would be with others, not herself). I'm sure there are more that I don't know. I feel like the coastal areas I have lived in and been around are pretty open. There is a good mix of liberal and conservative people in the population and it's a breath of fresh air. When you have a good mix, people tend to be nicer because you don't know the leanings of who you are talking with and most people (contrary to the crazy comments that appear on the internet) would rather just get along.

The further south you go, the further away from the larger medical facilities, and the more isolated overall the communities are.

So I agree with all the other posters: the question is not so much of acceptability, but of jobs, and potentially medical facilities.

[bler144]

Originally Posted by crazyme4878

So I agree with all the other posters: the question is not so much of acceptability, but of jobs, and potentially medical facilities.

Jobs and specialized medical, definitely major concerns.

Acceptability, maybe. One visible flamboyent trans is not necessarily the same as 'acceptance.' Given that the OP wants to pass, I'm guessing a higher bar is sought.

Though assuming the OP is insistent on the coast (which I would recommend against if work is needed) I would stick to the towns that have a direct line to the valley - Newport/Florence/Lincoln City or Astoria/Cannon Beach, both because they're larger, and are going to make the drive for medical care more in the range of 60-90 minutes rather than much, much longer.

[bler144]

p.s. And uh, what's the draw of Oregon and the Oregon coast specifically? OP never really says.