Moving to Oregon Coast (Portland, Eugene: real estate, rent, big house)

[britgirl]

Originally Posted by rgates2000

Where do you live britgirl? I think it might be an area to avoid. Simply because of the weather, you seem perfectly nice to me.

Lincoln City.

Further up the coast a small town called Tillamook was completely cut off in the November floods and our main Hwy away from the coast (Hwy 18) which would also be an evacuation route in the event of a Tsunami was blocked because of hundreds (yes, hundreds of trees blown down) for 2 days. To my husband & I it looked like a "Micro-Burst" but nothing official was ever said. It was just blamed on the November Storm. The resulting gap in the forest looks like a perfect rectangle.

Originally Posted by riwrites

Britgirl I didn't mean it to come out as disrespectful. I shouldn't try to post anything when I have a bad headache. Life is too short to live where you aren't happy that is why I want to leave Florida. The people are great but the weather and now the fires are too much.

No problem, I get migraines, I know how it is. I know all too well about life being too short which is why I believe family is so important. We have our house up for sale to get back closer to both sides of the family. We are 3,000 miles from the in-laws and 6,000 miles to my parents and brothers - but hopefully we will be able to get closer to them.

A lot of people say "LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION". I like to say "RELATIONSHIPS, RELATIONSHIPS, RELATIONSHIPS" The best thing you can leave for people when you part this world isn't money and material things or a house in a great place but the great and loving memories people have of you.

[tiffela74]

Britgirl -
I love the area you live in, we used to vacation at CapeLookout every year. Well, pretty much, growing up, if it was open, and it was the weekend, we were there. lol, but i hear you, winters can be very very harsh there. Seems like you guys get slammed w/most the rain/wind along the entire Oregon coast! Im a couple hundred miles down from you (coos bay) and its an entire different world here. we dont get a quarter of the nasty weather you do. Maybe you and I should trade places, I love the strong storms. lol
btw, on a total sidenote, have you looked into the weather (pressures, humidity, etc) being a big part of your migraines? I get them too, and it took me well over a year to get somewhat accumulated to the weather/pressure/etc. headache-wise when we moved here. But went for over a year w/an almost constant headache and migraines everytime the weather would change more than 10degrees. sigh. anyhow, might talk to your Dr bout it. A De-humidifier saved my sanity! And a change in meds. anyhow,just a thought.
Tiffany

[britgirl]

Originally Posted by tiffela74

Britgirl -
I love the area you live in, we used to vacation at CapeLookout every year. Well, pretty much, growing up, if it was open, and it was the weekend, we were there. lol, but i hear you, winters can be very very harsh there. Seems like you guys get slammed w/most the rain/wind along the entire Oregon coast! Im a couple hundred miles down from you (coos bay) and its an entire different world here. we dont get a quarter of the nasty weather you do. Maybe you and I should trade places, I love the strong storms. lol
btw, on a total sidenote, have you looked into the weather (pressures, humidity, etc) being a big part of your migraines? I get them too, and it took me well over a year to get somewhat accumulated to the weather/pressure/etc. headache-wise when we moved here. But went for over a year w/an almost constant headache and migraines everytime the weather would change more than 10degrees. sigh. anyhow, might talk to your Dr bout it. A De-humidifier saved my sanity! And a change in meds. anyhow,just a thought.
Tiffany

Thanks for the input, I actually didn't get Migraines until I moved to this country. My doctor thinks that the stress of leaving family, job, homeland and getting married can completely change someones physiology. I never had dust and mite allergies until I moved here (I had never lived without carpet in the UK) so the allergy thing didn't make sense until the Doc said that. He was probably right you know as I have been in the US for almost 9 years now and I am off my Migraine preventative medication and I am also off the Allergy Medication. I do however get cyclical headaches which can escalate into a migraine but they are far and few between now and the allergies are much better. All this is probably due to me feeling that the US is home now and not being homesick all the time which obviously helped. It is always better to feel settled than not. Stress can manifest itself in very strange ways.

[Carol, Oregon coast]

Please consider when you say we are all rude that MOST of the people around here are vacationers. They don't really live here and don't really know the area or their neighbors. In an 8 square block area, there are less than 10 people who are in my neighborhood full time. Coming from SD, you know the Carlsbad south to Del Mar strip. The same boom is beginning to happen here. Our house is worth 10 times what we paid for it 20 years ago. And values are still going up. The power last winter was a real problem. We stayed in Salem for a couple days. As far as commercials, you may want to stay urban...we don't have a lot of businesses like that and the radio stations (no TV stations here) are all pretty much the good old boy network. You might get lucky. But I'm with you...we moved back from Encinitas because we missed the tall trees and the rain and the green.

[JohnnyDrako]

They bill Yachats as the "gem of the Oregon Coast" and it's true. Isolated and lovely.

Weather is always the biggest issue in western Oregon. I lived in Eugene 15 years and, despite all the news stories about Seasonal Affected Disorder (S.A.D.) it never occured to me that I was a "victim". I just slowly came to the belief that I was a melancholy person. Not true. After coming back to Arizona to visit family a number of times -- and then eventually moving back here -- I know I'm a vibrant, happy person. I love Oregon so much, but I can't live there but for, July - mid-October. (Even June can have some excruciatingly long periods of no sun.) The rest of the year it's clouds, clouds, clouds.

[Cosmo]

ive been wanting to move to a coastal area for some time now. The only advice i can give to anyone looking to move is dont belive all of the bad talk or negativity that spurrs up on these forums. Every one has there own opinion of whats great and what sucks. I read some posts on where i currently live and i didnt realize that it sucked so bad. Some ppl like it and alot hate it. i think its great to live where im at but i want to live on the coast. i like rainy weather, i like wind. Ok.... so i read that it sucks. Hmm, so does my area i guess that doesnt get rain all the time and has nice weather. Great. But theres a big drug problem in my area so ive read. Ive never been a victim or know anyone that has been one in my area. But you read the posts and it sounds like you will get jacked in a second. Thats nice to know....maybe ill lock my car up for the first time in a year. My point being that there could be bad communities and great communities any where you want to move if you read this forum. Is it trickery? Is it ppl not wanting others to move in to the area? I think that more good people should move into nice palces to keep them nice. I undserstand that "most" responses are being honest about the area but "could" they be over-exagerated? In my opinion they are. I say move to where you want based on what you want to do. Yes it rains on any coast...it just depends on what kinda ambient temp you would like to be rained on. Those nice sunny days walking your dogs or strolling along the beach with a loved one will out way anykind of rain you could imagine. Maybe im blind but i want to live on the coast but with all the talk of rain and meth heads why should i move. Well i belive that with that kind of atmospehere no on would want to live on the coast but somehow people manage to not get killed or mugged (read that with sarcasm please if you know what i mean ) Newport is awsome while i was visiting there every year for 5 years but i didnt realize that was going to be mugged by meth (ice) heads out on the pier by the bridge or rained apon while crabbing....!oh wait a minute thats what the forum insinuated what was going to happen! Sorry for not believeing that every thing isnt as bad as its "supposedly" going to be. think about it

[canuckgirl]

Thanks for those thoughts Cosmo. I think you are right about not listening to everything. I came on this site and started reading the posts a few days ago because I am hoping to move to the coast ( Lincoln City ) soon. My excitment and enthusiaum for the move quickly became doubt and nervousness because of some of the negative comments. Not that I don't appreciate knowing the "bad" things about an area but I was really starting to wonder if I was making the right move.

When I think of all the things I love about the coast, the waves, the wind, the quickly changing weather patterns, the small town life, the forests, the rain, and the glorious days of sunshine, the windy roads where each turn is new feast for the eyes, and even the touristy side of it, I can't think of anywhere else I want to be. Certainly I know there will be things that might not be fun to deal with, summer traffic, winter storms, power outages, grey cloudy days,and learning a whole new culture and way of life can be duanting but then I think, but you are here in this beautiful, wild, breathtaking piece of the planet and you can call it home. A place where millions of people want to come to visit just to see what you get to see and live everyday. Those feelings and thoughts for me outweigh the other things that might make some people want to get away from the coast. We all love life in our own way.

Anyway, eventhough what I read worried me for a time about our decision to move from BC to the Oregon coast I'm glad I read it and that people honestly share their thoughts and feelings. Everyone loves something different, and a good thing too or everyone would be in one place!

[bailey2227]

I tend to shoot straight from the hip. Well, I think I can speak for the Oregon Coast, seeing as how I was stationed up and down it for 6 yrs. So, here is what I have to say. I've been stationed in Newport, Tillamock, Coos Bay, and have been to every city in between.

I could not stop laughing for like 30 minutes after what I heard about meth heads in Newport. Newport is the king of the fleet. Out of all the cities I listed above, and all the major cities on the oregon coast. Newport has got them all beat. Newport is NOT dangerous, you DO NOT have to worry about rude people. I was involved with the Volunteer Fire Department in Newport. Never once did I encounter a rude person.

You begin to wonder if these people who are writing on these things, are CRAZY. My wife and I sit here and talk to ourselves about what kinds of people are on here. It's sad because there are NORMAL, yes I said it NORMAL people who are looking on these things for solid information.

I give you my word that if you move to Newport you are going to fall in love with it. I did, and I miss it to death. In fact, my wife and I are planning to move back as soon as we can.

Now, I'm not going to lie. Newport is a smaller town. BUT< again I'll say BUT, you have SALEM AND EUGENE BOTH WITHIN A HOUR TO HOUR AND A HALF AWAY. Probably even closer, depending on how you drive. Either way, we went there all the time to go shopping, or just get the feel of big city life.

Now, for what I loved about Newport. I loved being able to take walks on the beach. I loved waking up to the freshness of being near the water. If yuo've never been crabbing, you need to get a crab pot and take it down to the waterfront. Also, you have to take the DISCOVERY and get a chance to be out on the water.

If you plan to stay long term, you will probably eventually buy a pleasure craft to go out in the bay in. You don't have to go outside the bay into the ocean. There are alot of people who just stay inside the bay, and crab, and fish for fun. That is what I'll do honestly. I've been out in the 30 ft seas in the winter. It was fun, but it is not something I need anymore.

There is a Walmart in Newport. Fast food: Wendys, Taco Bell, all that kind of stuff. There is a grocery store. It has all the normal things. Gosh just sitting here and writing is hard for me to do. And I'm not really worrying about grammar, in case there are some smart asses out there.

I'm in school right now for court reporting. I plan on becoming a broadcast captioner. In case you are wondering what that is, they are people who do life broadcasts from home on your television. You know when you turn on your CC1 or CC2 for people who are hearing impared. There is someone at home doing that live on a special machine (steno machine). very hard schooling. 70% dropout rate. good thing, high pay $100,000. . I can work from home, make great money. My wife works in the medical field, so we will be set. By a nice bayliner, or nice boat. Enjoy a slower paced life, with big cities near by.

OH, and in case you are wondering. Portland, Oregon is about 3 hours away, and Seattle is about 6 hours a way. Give or take depending on how fast you drive. I drive pretty safely, and tend not to speed.

IF you are into offroading or horses. There is a bunch of that to do. If you have kids, you can get them involved with 4-H. It is the kind of place where you would feel safe with your kids walking downtown at night. It is safe. There are great restaurants. You can go down to the tides, or rogue at night. Get a babysitter, and you and your husband go have a bite to eat and a beer.

They have a pretty neat dance club on the bayfront.

I could write for days, but I won't. Way to busy.


Good Luck! God Bless

[mdvaden]

Relating to one aspect of what Bailey wrote...

I find a huge difference between a one hour or 90 minute drive to the coast (or to the big town) and a 2 to 3 hour drive to the coast (or to the big town).

That's why I only go to the coast in southern Oregon every 3 to 5 weeks instead of every week or two like when I was up north.

The main reason we want to live in Washington county. Or, would live at the north coast if we were to live on the coast.

I wouldn't be surprised to see Newport pick up a speck of the "high-tech" computer commerce someday.

[Joycie]

Wow, Im sorry to hear it to be so unfriendly in Oregon. My husband and I are planning on moving there soon and a little later my daughter and her boyfriend might do the same, we are friendly :-) We were thinking of looking in Brookings or Myrle Creek, How is Cottage Grove? How is life in these places? I would appreicate some replys. Im not crazy about storms and constant rain but the desert is way to dry for my health too. Thank you