Possible retirement in Oregon

[kurtataltos]

My wife and I have just retired. We would like to move to Oregon. One of our key past times is fly fishing, mostly by float tube, in small to mid-size lakes. All catch and release. We are looking for an area to narrow down our search. We have been to Bend and have fished the Chiloquin area. Can anyone offer some rough guidance towards alternative possible solutions? We are thinking of Florence, Coos Bay, Medford, Eugene... more or less southwest Oregon. Insights greatly appreciated.

 

[rogerdodger]

Welcome to OFF! the coast areas provide fantastic saltwater options and great salmon/steelhead runs but the lakes along the coast are basically seasonal plant/take trout fisheries with some resident bass and perch. they heavily plant rainbows from Feb to May and most the trout are caught by July when the lakes get warm (>70F)...many of the larger coastal lakes are fairly shallow, 20' max in some, a few are deeper...cheers, roger

 

[sapo]

If you like to fly fish, especially for trout, southwest oregon is probably one of the worst places in Oregon to retire. I'd recommend Bend or another city in central oregon (depending on what atmosphere you like, budget, etc.)..Central oregon is hands down the best place to live for fly fishing here, it's close to pretty much all the good rivers (met, deschutes, fall, crooked) and it's closer to some of the eastern oregon rivers like the owyhee and the imnaha. Southwest oregon...not so much

 

[DrTheopolis]

Sapo, I mostly agree... except maybe you've heard of this stream called The Rogue?

Central Oregon does have the best lakes, though. But on this forum, we've seen this many times -- people moving here with a set agenda (nothing wrong with that), rather than adapting to the best of what's here.

 

[hobster]

For lakes.........Bend. There are a million out there all shapes and sizes. I love that town, kinda spendy but besides that a gem.

 

[OregonOwl]

Eugene is in the middle of both the options you are looking at. Moved here three years ago. Do not regret it.

 

[rogerdodger]

Eugene is in the middle of both the options you are looking at. Moved here three years ago. Do not regret it.

McKenzie and Willy rivers right there, Mt. lakes to the east, coastal fun to the west.

 

[kurtataltos]

Great inputs ! Bend is a bit "spendy" but, still, very nice. My reason, typically, for float tubing is safety. I'm pushing 70 and climbing over slick boulders in the middle of a fast moving stream just isn't as much fun as it used to be. Slower/shallower rivers, great. Bend appears very nice and Eugene is certainly an option. I suppose I should amend my comments to something closer to a preference for float tubing but stream fishing is great too as long as the stream isn't pushing 191,017 cfm a minute downstream. Currently I have to drive about 5 1/2 to 6 hours to find decent fishing and that's not a superb thrill. Regardless, thank you for the inputs and keep those thoughts coming ! Enjoy !

 

[rogerdodger]

Great inputs ! Bend is a bit "spendy" but, still, very nice. My reason, typically, for float tubing is safety. I'm pushing 70 and climbing over slick boulders in the middle of a fast moving stream just isn't as much fun as it used to be. Slower/shallower rivers, great. Bend appears very nice and Eugene is certainly an option. I suppose I should amend my comments to something closer to a preference for float tubing but stream fishing is great too as long as the stream isn't pushing 191,017 cfm a minute downstream. Currently I have to drive about 5 1/2 to 6 hours to find decent fishing and that's not a superb thrill. Regardless, thank you for the inputs and keep those thoughts coming ! Enjoy !

others on here have more direct experience but I think the McKenzie has some good float stretches and sections of it are managed with C&R redband trout...

 

[wils]

Bend is centralized (1-2 hours max) for numerous fly-fishable lakes from tubes....lakes that are - for the most part - only fishable 6 months of the year. Those 6 months in central oregon are probably drier here than anywhere else in oregon that has lakes. Ever fly fish for bass?

"Spendy" is a relative term.
We also have some very nice assisted living centers that are a bargain at under $5k per month. :yikes:

 

[kurtataltos]

Note from me, the OP: my wife and I haven't been to Bend for almost two years whe we took an exploratory visit that was quite nice. Taking the excellent advice from posters on this board, I tried doing more research on Bend as a good focal point for freshwater lake and stream fishing. I was amazed at the multitude of negative online reviews of the City of Bend itself: impossible to find a job (I'm retired, so....), crowded, high crime, favorite phrase: "poverty with a view", horrible traffic, lousy weather, snotty newcomers, a lot more crime, blah, blah, blah. I can only figure there are a couple reasons for this: a) it's true. b)people are trying to keep newbies away by posting crap. c) grumpy people post a lot. d) Other.

We are going to take a road trip to Bend in a month, hitting a few places within about a 150 miles as we drift about. The unfortunate part is that talking with local real estate people is like talking to a prostitute (I suppose, don't really know). Regardless, a real estate weenie wants their 6% commission and will tell you anything you want to hear to get it. Obviously we need to do more research.

If you have highly tainted opinions and observations please feel free to launch them this way with joyous abandon !!! Thanks !

 

[~JM~]

Now is a great time to sell a home. Not so great of a time to purchase. Never trust a real estate agent, they make used car salesmen look good.

Do you have a preference about living in a Red State vs. a Blue State? Oregon is very blue, especially west of the Cascades.

Idaho looks nice.

 

[kurtataltos]

JM, red/blue doesn't matter too much as I currently vote non-partisan. I probably lean towards red just a bit. Don't need a job. Would prefer a safe environment. Good medical services. Decent golf courses. Not too crowded but not isolation. And, yes, freshwater fishing. Sort of "moderation in all things, including moderation". Don't know if there is any place that fits all criteria but reasonable accommodations can be made as we are fairly easy to get along with and are flexible.

 

[JeepsAreBuilt]

I would suggest Albany, Oregon. Low cost of living there.. They have Medical services, a Hospital. If you need a Specialized service that isn't available in Albany.. you prob will find it in Eugene or Portland, or even Salem. Which is 1 hour, 1.5 hr, 30 min away in that order. Day trips to great fishing water is very doable from Albany. Population is lower and less crowded than Eugene. Crime is there.. but its generally a safe town.

 

[hobster]

Note from me, the OP: my wife and I haven't been to Bend for almost two years whe we took an exploratory visit that was quite nice. Taking the excellent advice from posters on this board, I tried doing more research on Bend as a good focal point for freshwater lake and stream fishing. I was amazed at the multitude of negative online reviews of the City of Bend itself: impossible to find a job (I'm retired, so....), crowded, high crime, favorite phrase: "poverty with a view", horrible traffic, lousy weather, snotty newcomers, a lot more crime, blah, blah, blah. I can only figure there are a couple reasons for this: a) it's true. b)people are trying to keep newbies away by posting crap. c) grumpy people post a lot. d) Other.

Crime? That's funny to me. I moved to Richmond VA in 1987 and it was the murder capital of the country. I lived there 8 years before moving to Eugene in 95. Crime in this state is a joke compared to most areas, that's one reason we moved out here. You might get your bike ripped off that's about it. I think it's a little bit of b,c, and d. Anyway............
Eugene is a great town, I love it here, lots of fishing options. Coastal lakes are about and hour and a half and so are some cascade lakes, but the good ones are about 2 1/2 hours away. Ever think of Oakridge? Not a lot going on but cheap, right near the cascade lakes, and great rivers as well. Might be a cool place to retire.

 

[kurtataltos]

Hobster,...true, "crime" depends on perspective. I lived a couple years in southeast D.C. and that kind of formed a "this is as bad as it gets" data point. From the comments here it seems the "banana belt" coastal area has nice weather. But I don't ocean fish (yet) and will need to re-evaluate that. Checking out Oakridge. Westfir is another place close by that might have potential. and Eugene or Salem. thanks for the reply !!!

 

[sapo]

kurtataltos Yeah Bend is actually a pretty nice town, I have friends who live there and they love it..I've been there quite a bit too and it's great. Plus, as many others have said, lots of lakes around and many good rivers (although the Deschutes and Met tend to be powerful, big, fast-moving rivers, but there are easier options around). And yeah as hobster said Oakridge might be a good area, I've been through it a few times on my way to the Upper/Middle Fork Willy, it's pretty quiet with a lot of good fishing around. In the immediate area there's Salt Creek, Salmon Creek, and the Middle Fork Willy, and a bunch of other options close by. A lot of good options here!

 

[TheBigFoote]

My vote is for the Eugene area, I live in Springfield. We have both the Mckenzie and Willamette right down the street. Multiple smaller tributaries which are full of fish. 5 large reservoirs within 30 minutes, coast is about 1hr 30 minutes away which give access to salmon almost year round. Your about 1hr away from the Bend area which has lake after lake.

 

[fish face]

I never thought that Oregon was a retirement friendly state. Granted, no sales taxes (yet) but high income taxes. I know a lot of people who intend to move to Washington when they retire because of that.

 

[rogerdodger]

I never thought that Oregon was a retirement friendly state. Granted, no sales taxes (yet) but high income taxes. I know a lot of people who intend to move to Washington when they retire because of that.

I think it depends how you look at retirement. if you own your property(s) and toys and have lots of money in savings that has already been taxed, then you don't have/need much taxable income during retirement, especially in the many beautiful but low cost of living areas of Oregon. sales tax can end up being a bigger deal than the income tax. anyone that has bought a car/truck/boat in WA recently has felt the sales tax hit big time....plus the fishing is way better in Oregon.