Toying with move to Brookings

Hello, My wife and I are recently retired, and have long loved our visits to the Oregon coast. Lived in Eugene for awhile, but relocated to Central Washington, and now think we might want our last chapter of independence to be on the coast. Have long been an avid fly fisher - mostly for trout. Tried (unsuccessfully) to catch Kings on the Siuslaw. Would love to work up the courage to try some ocean fishing for salmon and Ling cod, but quite frankly, I would have to take baby steps as I have a GREAT deal of respect for the power of the ocean and weather. Over the course of the next several months, we plan on visiting Brookings and Bandon on a monthly basis if possible. If any locals want to have coffee or a beer/glass of wine to give me a dos of reality, I’d welcome it. Thanks. Jim

If you want to try the ocean, Sunset Bay is a great place to start.  Easy launch and can catch fish close to the bay. Good luck with your search.

Brookings is a great spot.  Drawback for most retirees is limited access to medical care beyond the basics. 

Besides limited medical facilities it is also quite a ways from 'civilization' as my wife put it when we moved there many years ago.  My three co-workers were also transplants to the area and all three were divorced within one year, the wives found it too remote.  After we were there a couple weeks, my wife told me that it was too far from 'everything' and she did not care for it. So, one of life's choices had to be made and we relocated back to 'civilization.'  It really is a great locale, beautiful and lots of outdoorsy stuff but spend some time there before committing to permanence.

Dan_E

Totally appreciate these insights and advice. Jim

What crash and Dan_E said multiplied by ten.  The entire coast is rural, and i mean RURAL.  I've lived in small, rural towns before, but nothing like the towns on the South coast of Oregon - these are deeply rural.

The biggest city on the Coast is Coos Bay, and the best store in Coos Bay is Walmart.  We rather liked that idea when we retired to the coast, and we were willing to accept the long drives inland to the I-5 Corridor to shop at Costco or Home Depot.  What we didn't give enough weight to in our considerations was medical care.  We were fit and healthy, so access to quality medical care wasn't at the top of our list of Stuff to Think About.

The nearest competent medical center is a long way from the coast - for Bandon it would be Springfield/Eugene (which doesn't look that far on a map until you must drive there every morning for six weeks) and for some highly specialized care, it's Portland.

Living on the coast sounds all romantic and just great.  The reality of living on the South coast is a bit darker and a lot harder.

Brookings is a great spot.  Drawback for most retirees is limited access to medical care beyond the basics. 

[/quote] Crash nailed it....this is the big drawback here. Most folks here are retired, it is a nice slow pace to live away from what Y'all are calling "civilized". However some of us have "rural" in our soul, and I would not live anywhere else for that very reason. The town is cluttered with dirty trucks, noisy mill, too many tourists every year, no shopping mall, no concerts, but best of all....no protesters! Hope to see you here soon Jim.

I grew up in north Curry County and still go to our place at Bandon every month, quite a bit since this virus thing has upset everything. I could advise on the Port Orford to Bandon area re. fishing and culture etc. Feel free to send me a message.

I grew up in a small rural town,  not to be named,  and remember folks talking about the area without really understanding (although at the time I thought I did). And this city wasn't far from all the conveniences of decent shopping and medical care.

Moved, been away for 20 years. Just happen to have a reason to visit today and was quite surprised at how small and rural everything was, even though I spent over almost 30 years there. 

I told my wife after returning home how I could understand the attractiveness of the area if looking for a rural community. I'd kind of like to go back except for some 'baggage', but I digress.

Definitely lots to think about, good luck with your decisions. 

Can’t tell you how much I appreciate the openness and candidness in this dialog. I’ve lived in the Bay Area of CA, LA, Portland, Seattle - all up and down the I-5 corridor. While I appreciate the convenience of box stores and medical care, we never take advantage of the “culture” of being in a metropolitan area; instead, we strive to get away from it. My roots go back to being in a camper club as a kid, and thriving in memories of driving up the Alaskan Highway in 1963. My wife loves her memories of spending summers in a Sierra mountain cabin built by her grandpa. I think a lot about the practicality of living close to a major medical center such as Sacred Heart in Eugene, but I wonder if I really want to spend the next 10 years, planning my life around the necessity of being by medical care - awaiting the diagnosis of cancer (or whatever), as opposed to enjoying life in a place one loves. I guess the safest place would be next to a major medical center with state of the art treatment, but is that really living?

You asked, we answered.  How you process those answers isn't my business.

Not trying to be argumentative, just thinking out loud.

This is actually a good discussion for us old folks. I've told my spouse continually , if I lose her and our daughter at the same time,  ( almost happened Thursday a week ago) I'm selling everything,  packing up the dogs and moving to a small coastal town and wait for The Big One, whether that be tsunami,  quake or heart attack...

I like the honesty of the answers here. Gives you a lot to think about, and a bit of a yardstick to measure against. Which is what I think Belgirb was asking for in the first place