degas

The coastal Oregon town of Florence has been rated the top retirement spot in America, according to the almanac Retirement Places Rated.

Anybody got any rants or raves about this city or other recommended retirement spots in Oregon?

kimamom

My good friend's dad went to Florence on vacation about ten years ago and never came back home! He loved it so much there. He recently passed away, but she's always talking about how much he loved being in Florence.

We have a ways to go, but we would like to retire in Astoria, OR. It's one of my favorite places in the state of OR! ***kim*** www.oldoregon.com

degas

Kim, thanks - nice website. Astoria looks great.

kimamom

Trust me, it is! I miss it! ***kim***

kimamom

Degas, my MIL is an artist and many of her friends are retiring in Golds Beach, also on the southern coast of OR. Very pretty there, also! ***kim***

marigold

Those places are beautiful, but aren't they very, very rainy and damp during the winter?

Orcas

People are also retiring to Bend, which is on the east side of the Cascades, and boasts something like 300 sunny days a year. Prices are high, though. Ashland, to the south of Oregon, is also a place people think of retiring, but prices have gone off the map recently. It is the home of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, and has a climate more akin to northern California (very close to the border).
The coastal towns in Oregon are foggy and chilly a lot of the year, not just in winter. They are so beautiful, though, I guess those good days must make up for it. I think they are not overcrowded because a lot of people can't take living in a rainforest, though.

kimamom

Ashland is very nice. It does get really hot there in the summer, tho. In the winter you could ski at Mt. Ashland if that interests you. Do you want to retire on the coast or inland?

I've also heard good things about Eugene, OR and also the Portland area is really nice. My DS & his fiance want to re-locate there after they get married. ***kim***