Retiring in Oregon

[jyl]

I really liked a short period I spent in the Raleigh-Durham area of NC. Is it still nice there?

Okay, PDX weather in a typical year: June-Aug hot (90-100F is not uncommon) and clear. Sep-Oct cooling, maybe a little refreshing sprinkle, really nice. Nov-Apr rains almost every day, and it gets cold, every year has at least one 30 day period of rain every single consecutive day with average day temp 34-38F. I get Vitamin D deficient. Riding to work, I dress up like a spaceman and drip my way into my office, then spend 5 minutes peeling off the balaclava, gloves, jacket, fleece, booties, bike shoes, rain pants. Around Feb I'm pretty unhappy and I imagine my posts here get pretty crabby. May is warming, though some years the rain has continued well into summer. I think in the middle of last July we got 3/4" of rain one day.

Let's put it this way - my tomatoes are mostly green when picked. And despite having the God-given gift of beautiful effortless male model-level tanning, I spend most of the year pasty white, or yellow in my case.

[Adam]

I recently spent a month in the PNW and was amazed. You guys have some seriously beautiful land and the cost of living is great (compared to where I live). I really loved the Gorge region, I spent a few days at Hood River, OR and bought a '68 Mustang Fastback from a guy who lived near Mt. Hood, so I have lots of great memories of the area.

Ideally, I'd love to retire to somewhere just like Hood River, although my friend in SW Washington cites his home state (and area) as the best region for all the tax reasons above. He's just outside of Woodland, WA which is quite peaceful too.

I'm smitten with the entire area, so much so that I'm coming back in Aug/Sept.

[KFC911]

Originally Posted by jyl

I really liked a short period I spent in the Raleigh-Durham area of NC. Is it still nice there? ....
.

I lived there when I worked at RTP fresh out of college. It was getting "too" congested for me even back then and it's only gotten worse. Of course that's all relative...it's not congested at all compared to where you've lived. It's still a great area imo, but it's just not for me .

[LakeCleElum]

Originally Posted by scottmandue

We visited friends in Astoria.... it was a beautiful sunny day... I looked at house prices and said "honey I could sell my house and buy a nice one here outright with our equity!"
She (the native Oregonian) said NO WAY!!!

Astoria, OR, gets 85 inches of rain per year. The US average is 37. Snowfall is 9 inches. The average US city gets 25 inches of snow per year. The number of days with any measurable precipitation is 206.

On average, there are 127 sunny days per year in Astoria, OR. The July high is around 70 degrees. The January low is 34. Our comfort index, which is based on humidity during the hot months, is a 72 out of 100, where higher is more comfortable. The US average on the comfort index is 44.

[jyl]

Astoria is pretty dour in the winter. And there isn't much to do there.

If you're looking for a coastal PNW small-town-that-has-some-hipness sort of place, I recommend Port Townsend WA. It is about perfect for that sort of thing, weather aside.

[RWebb]

Squim

[LakeCleElum]

Originally Posted by jyl

Astoria is pretty dour in the winter. And there isn't much to do there.

If you're looking for a coastal PNW small-town-that-has-some-hipness sort of place, I recommend Port Townsend WA. It is about perfect for that sort of thing, weather aside.

I grew up in Pt. Townsend.......Only 16 inches of rain per year...Same as Sequim (mother lives there now) - I'd take PT any day....

[jyl]

Yeah, weather is not bad there. OP should def check it out. Couple hours from Seattle but feels further. It's a small town, but one with style and a vibe.

[Jim Bremner]

I did 9 months in Federal Way Wa.

NO F'n way could I do more. I just need to pray and vote right and maybe some day California will split into two or three states. This needs to happen.

[R K T]

You're gonna miss Pedro!......I do.

[5String43]

+1 on Reno and the areas south of it, including Minden and Gardnerville, especially if one stays to the west side of Highway 395, where it's greener than on the east side of the highway and closer to the mountains - like, right against them.

Re Portland, I've a great friend who has lived there for years and has always sung the praises of the city. He's finally given up and bought a condo in Palm Springs. Says he can't take the gray wetness any longer, at least not on a fulltime basis.

[scottmandue]

What? No one has mentioned Newburg?

We have friend with a pub there... nice place...

Yeah... I'm pretty spoiled by the weather being born here... Pedro IS nice! Maybe when I do retire (still at least five years down the road barring winning the lotto) and don't have to drive into town (Los Angeles) every day I will chill and be able to just hang around SP.

However like any coastal town Pedro is getting more crowded (and traffic worse) every day.

[JTO]

My wife got her doctorate from George Fox in Newberg so we have spent some time there recently.

It is a nice area with some excellent places to eat (Subterra, The Recipe) to name two. Plus the wine in the area can be great. Very rural and beautiful.

If I had to relocate within the state, I would consider the Newberg area. Downside? Wet, humid compared to Medford. Close to Steve Weiner and Rennsport though!

Troy

[scottmandue]

Originally Posted by jyl

Yeah, weather is not bad there. OP should def check it out. Couple hours from Seattle but feels further. It's a small town, but one with style and a vibe.

Pt. Townsend? I would think it is very, very cold in the winter? Being so far north.

[madmmac]

North to South in W Wa the temperature is not that much different. There are pockets, like along the Hood Canal that get cold air trapped and dumps a lot more snow and the Bellingham area that gets the Frazier River outflow for much colder W Wa temps. Of course there is the famous Puget Sound Convergence Zone where the clouds and rain funnel through the Straits of Juan de Fuca and dump from Northern Seattle to Arlington.

Growing up in W Wa and nearing retirement myself(3-5 years), I have decided I will not be retiring here. I am sick and tired of the endless gray drizzle and exorbitant property taxes, right about 7+k now, but still mainly the gray drizzle. It is a stunning place when the sun is out with an amazing variety in climates and terrain. Tons of lakes and rivers and inland salt water fishing if that is what you enjoy. Again, for a couple of months a year, unless you are a snow skier or you enjoy the rain.

When I retire I want to be outside enjoying myself as much as possible. Purchased a 2nd home in Az during the downturn for the sun, golf, hiking, sports and such. Shopping right now for a condo in Maui for those hot summer Az months. Something to rent out when we are not there.

Like I said to my wife, we could come to the PNW in the summer and stay at a nice hotel for a couple of months or rent a house and still be ahead on what the taxes are.

The traffic sucks also.

[teenerted1]

Originally Posted by RWebb

Squim

thats not how its spelled

[Jim Richards]

Originally Posted by madmmac

snip I am sick and tired of snip and exorbitant property taxes, right about 7+k now, but snip.

The traffic sucks also.

Sounds like you're describing Northern Virginia.

[jyl]

Originally Posted by scottmandue

Pt. Townsend? I would think it is very, very cold in the winter? Being so far north.

By SoCal standards yes, but where isn't?

Pt Townsend is farther north but being on the ocean, there is a moderating effect on max/min temp. Still, there is an actual winter there.

Pt Townsend
Average Weather for Port Townsend, WA - Temperature and Precipitation

Portland
Average Weather for Portland, OR - Temperature and Precipitation

[gtc]

Originally Posted by Jim Bremner

I did 9 months in Federal Way Wa.

NO F'n way could I do more. I just need to pray and vote right and maybe some day California will split into two or three states. This needs to happen.

I'm sorry. Federal Way is an armpit, for sure.

[RWebb]

Originally Posted by teenerted1

thats not how its spelled

Squirm?