The Best Place to Live in the United States?

[GardenerGal]

Bullitt wrote:
Yeah, many people in the cities are restless for a more simple life.

If you move to the Oregon coast, you better like rain


That's what I figger. Where I live in coastal Massachusetts, we get plenty of rain and gray overcast. Our winters are typically gloomy. We're kinda the Seattle of the East Coast except with snow (though this winter we got almost no snow, and temps have stayed mostly in the 40s and even 50s).

My life is pretty simple here. I am a professional gardener, I keep poultry, I keep a garden. My reckoning is that I can do same if I drive due west and settle on the opposite side of the continent in Oregon, as long as I find a community where there are no ordinances about livestock and poultry.

 

[chickened]

Exactly if a referendum deals with more than one issue it ges shot down. They are more careful now. The healthcare system is broke financially now anyhow so it most likely will die like all the other liberal plans do here.

Quote:


State Constitution I assume?

 

[chickened]

The south coast is pretty nice to live in. There are no real ordinances there about pets or livestock as most towns are 5000 people or less. Most under a 1000. There are no high paying jobs though really as most jobs are seasonal and tourist wage jobs like waiter/waitress, gift shop attendant gas pumper etc. If you are into social service work there is a lot of those positions with the state but they are unreliable as they are the first positions to get cut in low budget years. Since timber money to the counties stopped in the late 80's we have 15 to 25 percent unemployment in rural Oregon. Brookings is a beautiful area though.

Bullitt wrote:
Yeah, many people in the cities are restless for a more simple life.

If you move to the Oregon coast, you better like rain


That's what I figger. Where I live in coastal Massachusetts, we get plenty of rain and gray overcast. Our winters are typically gloomy. We're kinda the Seattle of the East Coast except with snow (though this winter we got almost no snow, and temps have stayed mostly in the 40s and even 50s).

My life is pretty simple here. I am a professional gardener, I keep poultry, I keep a garden. My reckoning is that I can do same if I drive due west and settle on the opposite side of the continent in Oregon, as long as I find a community where there are no ordinances about livestock and poultry.

 

[Bullitt]

Bullitt wrote:
Yeah, many people in the cities are restless for a more simple life.

If you move to the Oregon coast, you better like rain


That's what I figger. Where I live in coastal Massachusetts, we get plenty of rain and gray overcast. Our winters are typically gloomy. We're kinda the Seattle of the East Coast except with snow (though this winter we got almost no snow, and temps have stayed mostly in the 40s and even 50s).

My life is pretty simple here. I am a professional gardener, I keep poultry, I keep a garden. My reckoning is that I can do same if I drive due west and settle on the opposite side of the continent in Oregon, as long as I find a community where there are no ordinances about livestock and poultry.

You can always find a place to live outside the city limits.

All the coast of Washington, Oregon, and Northern California is rainy. But that is what makes all those trees grow.

 

[jeremy]

The Central California Coast.

Yes, you'll have to deal with the occasional earthquake, but whatever. If it's gonna happen, it's gonna happen. I'd rather deal with earthquakes than tornadoes, hurricanes, wildfires, etc. etc. Most of the time they aren't that big and the damage is minimal... yes, every hundred years or so there is a big one that destroys entire cities... but I don't plan on living in a city!

We're looking at property in San Luis Obispo county, Monterey County, and maybe a bit inland, if we can find what we want for "cheap".

 

[GardenerGal]

Thanks for the input, chickened. A couple of months ago I checked out online real estate listings in the Brookings area, it's good to know I'm on the right track. I'm doing my homework now to see how sustainable a garden biz could be in the Gold Beach (for example) area. I thought about living on the outskirts of communities where there are a lot of retirees because there's the possiblitity of picking up hort/landscape/garden work at condo complexes, hotels, businesses and private residences. Because I am self-employed, I'd have to start from scratch to build a clientele, but figure I could get work at a tree/plant nursery, greenhouse, garden center, farm operation or related business while getting established. One of the first things I'd do is get any necessary licensing or certification for pesticide application and other horticultural requirements.

The south coast is pretty nice to live in. There are no real ordinances there about pets or livestock as most towns are 5000 people or less. Most under a 1000. There are no high paying jobs though really as most jobs are seasonal and tourist wage jobs like waiter/waitress, gift shop attendant gas pumper etc. If you are into social service work there is a lot of those positions with the state but they are unreliable as they are the first positions to get cut in low budget years. Since timber money to the counties stopped in the late 80's we have 15 to 25 percent unemployment in rural Oregon. Brookings is a beautiful area though.

 

[chickened]

If gardening is your thing then you want to get inland a little bit it is too cold during the summer on the coast. The areas you may want to look in are places like Myrtle creek, Applegate, Elkton, and other inland places. Medford is nice but it gets pretty hot there in the summer. Cottage grove is nice as is Veneta, Elmira and other western edge valley areas and they are not too populated but are within an hour drive of the beach and the larger towns where stuff is available for less. It is nice around Fern Ridge Reservoir also and they have a great growing season with very fertile soil.

I should mention that Portland has the largest open air market in the U.S.

Thanks for the input, chickened. A couple of months ago I checked out online real estate listings in the Brookings area, it's good to know I'm on the right track. I'm doing my homework now to see how sustainable a garden biz could be in the Gold Beach (for example) area. I thought about living on the outskirts of communities where there are a lot of retirees because there's the possiblitity of picking up hort/landscape/garden work at condo complexes and private residences. Because I am self-employed, I'd have to start from scratch to build a clientele, but figure I could get work at a tree/plant nursery, greenhouse, garden center, farm operation or related business while getting established. One of the first things I'd do is get any necessary licensing or certification for pesticide application and other hort skills.

 

[Bullitt]

The Central California Coast.

Yes, you'll have to deal with the occasional earthquake, but whatever. If it's gonna happen, it's gonna happen. I'd rather deal with earthquakes than tornadoes, hurricanes, wildfires, etc. etc. Most of the time they aren't that big and the damage is minimal... yes, every hundred years or so there is a big one that destroys entire cities... but I don't plan on living in a city!

We're looking at property in San Luis Obispo county, Monterey County, and maybe a bit inland, if we can find what we want for "cheap".

The cost of living and natural disasters may hold that area back on the list.

That area can be expensive to live. Or do you know a way around that? You make a good point that if you live outside of a town you don't really have to worry about an earthquake. It would have to be a very big earthquake to knock down your house that wasn't near other structures.

 

[GardenerGal]

Thanks for that info too, chickened. I'll look into those areas. Cool summer weather actually isn't a problem in the gardening business. In fact, a good pro can make and maintain attractive gardens and grounds that fit into any climate. It's a matter of knowing the plants, climate and soils, plus the quirks of the individual property sites. I do a lot of work with the native plants of the area... makes for much better success than trying to force oranges to grow where it's too cold.

But you're right, it might be a little easier in the milder regions.

 

[jeremy]

That area can be expensive to live. Or do you know a way around that?

Buy now, when the market is terrible.

There are 50+ acre properties going for $200,000.

Or buy a home for next to nothing, wait for the market to recover and then sell high... and buy your property with the profit.

That's our plan. We've bought the house for dirt cheap, now it's a waiting game...