where to next?

[Monkeyman]

Let's say you came out to Oregon 25-30 years ago, fleeing a socialist paradise back east. Now look; yeah, PDX is not so hip any more. What if the time were ripe to get outa dodge, and as my old mentor Uncle Remus advises, "stay out of crowds at all costs"?

If you were going to retire, and try to grab a little piece of land with a view, far, far away from Utopia (as it's defined today by our progressive betters), with less than $200k, where would you go? Assume you desire to stay in Oregon except for Multnomah county and the surroundings. Josephine County? Up the gorge? Coast?

Where would you NOT go, at any cost?

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[dogface2000]

Let's say you came out to Oregon 25-30 years ago, fleeing a socialist paradise back east. Now look; yeah, PDX is not so hip any more. What if the time were ripe to get outa dodge, and as my old mentor Uncle Remus advises, "stay out of crowds at all costs"?

If you were going to retire, and try to grab a little piece of land with a view, far, far away from Utopia (as it's defined today by our progressive betters), with less than $200k, where would you go? Assume you desire to stay in Oregon except for Multnomah county and the surroundings. Josephine County? Up the gorge? Coast?

Where would you NOT go, at any cost?

I live in Stevenson. The Gorge works pretty well. As far as Oregon Gorge, I personally think that The Dalles has a lot to offer. Good services and you can be pretty remote right as soon as your out of the town.
I would stay completely away from Hood River. Although it's pretty nice up on the bluff above downtown, it's expensive and crowded and progressive, which ain't my thing.

 

[P7M13]

Under $200K ?
I'd look at places in Missouri, Kansas, Southern Illinois/Ohio, Arkansas, Louisiana or Tennessee.

 

[Ura-Ki]

Alaska!

 

[Unicykle]

Christmas valley area i watch land for sale there regularly and you can get a nice isolated 80 acres for $50k or less whick leaves plenty left over to build with. Id do a well, septic, pv, generator and a combo container/ stick built house and shop.

 

[Carcassman]

Some things to consider would be, for example, energy cost. The further north one goes, the more energy you need for winter (no sun). Look at the more or less fixed costs weighed against what you can do for yourself (grow food). A big concern for me, and many friends, is access to medical care for routine monitoring of chronic issues.

 

[Member 34319]

You can do a lot with $200,000.

Just depends on how much you are willing to have and more importantly, not have.

I certainly would not go back to Reno!

My goal is the Oregon coast. I don't care if it is in a shack, or a tiny trailer. I won't want land by then as I'll be too old to want to maintain it, I won't want half the crap I have. I hope to have decent health, a wife by my side, and walks on the beach. As well as tons of sunsets. A tsunami can take me out for all I care, as long as I'm old and near the ocean.

Best of luck finding yours!

 

[CountryGent]

If you were going to retire, and try to grab a little piece of land with a view, far, far away from Utopia (as it's defined today by our progressive betters), with less than $200k, where would you go? Assume you desire to stay in Oregon except for Multnomah county and the surroundings. Josephine County? Up the gorge? Coast?

I personally wouldn't stay in Oregon and, in fact, am taking steps to relocate to the southwest.

But, that said, if one was to stay in order with those parameters: eastern Oregon in the more remote, rural, and dry areas in the central and southeastern parts. Why?

• Very reasonable land prices.
• Breathtaking, beautiful, wild country.
• Great hiking, hunting and fishing opportunities.
• None of the insanity of the cities.
• If you are retiring, having to commute somewhere and/or telecommute is a non-issue, though there are ways to do so. (Been there, done that.)
• Some of the small towns are charming places with decent, hardworking people.
• Quiet and lots of it.

(If the dry isn't your cup of tea, there are some communities on the coast towards the southern end that are pretty nice.)

Where would you NOT go, at any cost?

In Oregon? Not PDX for the obvious reasons. North coast (e.g., Clatsop County) I couldn't be paid to live there because of the non-stop miserable weather pretty much all year long.

Though we, obviously, live here, we're increasingly not a fan of southern Oregon; the country is beautiful, land prices are decent, and there is still enough "civilization" to take care of business. But a lot (most) of the people are cretins and the social ills (e.g., serious drug problems, property crime, poverty, etc.) here are pretty bad. And it still rains too damn much for my tastes, though, admittedly, I like dry climates.

Good luck with your project and let us know how it works out.

 

[1371JarHead]

Under $200K ?
I'd look at places in Missouri, Kansas, Southern Illinois/Ohio, Arkansas, Louisiana or Tennessee.

Yup we are thinking about buy some land west of Springfield MO, awesome whitetail hunting, fishing super low cost of living, not so fond of the brown recluse but they are better then THE BLM HUMPS

 

[Beekeeping1341]

Yup we are thinking about buy some land west of Springfield MO, awesome whitetail hunting, fishing super low cost of living, not so fond of the brown recluse but they are better then THE BLM HUMPS

BLM humps?

 

[1371JarHead]

BLM humps?

black live matters, the term hump (s) was used by my SDI at Boot Camp, it was a way of describing totally useless recruits lolol, peppered with many F bombs as well.

 

[chukar]

I live in Stevenson. The Gorge works pretty well. As far as Oregon Gorge, I personally think that The Dalles has a lot to offer. Good services and you can be pretty remote right as soon as your out of the town.
I would stay completely away from Hood River. Although it's pretty nice up on the bluff above downtown, it's expensive and crowded and progressive, which ain't my thing.

Second what he said. The "heights" offer some non-touritard activity. The entire HR core is solid blue and directs the votes to determine the county despite the vast majority of land mass in HR County which votes red.

Wasco or Gilliam county would be my guess for the Gorge. Generally conservative. Less risk of that darned earthquake. Still in reach of big city supplies in The Dalles.

On the Wa. side, Lyle, Dallesport, Goldendale... bubbleguming redneck, but cheaper prices compared to Hood River or West. Still close to flying out of PDX and shopping within reason. Perhaps a better tax scenario....

 

[teflon6string]

I was thinking Idaho might work until I read more of the OP and saw a desire to remain in Oregon. Kind of a moot point since Idaho will suck just as badly as CA, WA and OR as soon as all the libs flocking to Boise turn that state into yet another hyper-restricted, tax/spend, anti-gun, anti-police state too. They're working hard on making that disaster materialize as we speak.

Took an Oregon road trip a couple years ago through Condon, Mitchell, Antelope, Burns, La Grande, Ontario, Baker City, etc. We've always loved open spaces, and you can really stretch your eyeballs out there. What struck us as we drove was how remote some of the homesteads were, basically requiring an all-day round trip to pick up groceries (or just a tube of toothpaste). It's a very different life there.

The desirable properties we saw all had a lot of farmland, too, which I'm guessing would be expensive to acquire and keep hydrated. And you gotta work that land to pay the mortgage. Will our remote fellow-Oregonians be first on the list when the dems send storm troopers to confiscate AR-15s and magazines from productive citizens minding their own damn business? Maybe not, probably last in fact. But it will still be a blue state because of Portland, Salem and Eugene. Very sad that.

 

[Jasonanddeonna]

Let's say you came out to Oregon 25-30 years ago, fleeing a socialist paradise back east. Now look; yeah, PDX is not so hip any more. What if the time were ripe to get outa dodge, and as my old mentor Uncle Remus advises, "stay out of crowds at all costs"?

If you were going to retire, and try to grab a little piece of land with a view, far, far away from Utopia (as it's defined today by our progressive betters), with less than $200k, where would you go? Assume you desire to stay in Oregon except for Multnomah county and the surroundings. Josephine County? Up the gorge? Coast?

Where would you NOT go, at any cost?

Joseph, Oregon - Wallowa County (Gorgeous border town of Washington, Oregon, and Idaho on Snake River Canyon surrounded by the Wallowas)
Halfway, Richland, or Baker, Oregon - Baker County (High desert if you like that)

 

[SparksFly]

Wallowa County is a really nice place, down by Christmas Valley and Diamond is also a nice place, certainly good trout fishing and lots of pronghorn and mulies close by.

 

[JRuby]

Just had a freind move back to Huntsville Alabama and bought a 1750 square foot home with a nice shop on 17.acres for 275k. Cost of living is signifiantly cheaper as well. Personally I will stay here

 

[Geardo]

Second what he said. The "heights" offer some non-touritard activity. The entire HR core is solid blue and directs the votes to determine the county despite the vast majority of land mass in HR County which votes red.

Wasco or Gilliam county would be my guess for the Gorge. Generally conservative. Less risk of that darned earthquake. Still in reach of big city supplies in The Dalles.

On the Wa. side, Lyle, Dallesport, Goldendale... bubbleguming redneck, but cheaper prices compared to Hood River or West. Still close to flying out of PDX and shopping within reason. Perhaps a better tax scenario....

I would park my butt in Gdale right next to @Cerberus Group And shoot every day.

 

[Ura-Ki]

Count me in!

 

[CountryGent]

Kind of a moot point since Idaho will suck just as badly as CA, WA and OR as soon as all the libs flocking to Boise turn that state into yet another hyper-restricted, tax/spend, anti-gun, anti-police state too. They're working hard on making that disaster materialize as we speak.

I fear that as the case too. Here's hoping they don't slide into big .gov land any time soon. (I was hot on Idaho years ago, but I'm increasingly less interest in cold weather and some of the cultural aspects there. Though I'm hoping they won't go full Marxist any time soon, if there is a trend toward said, there's another reason.)

Took an Oregon road trip a couple years ago through Condon, Mitchell, Antelope, Burns, La Grande, Ontario, Baker City, etc. We've always loved open spaces, and you can really stretch your eyeballs out there. What struck us as we drove was how remote some of the homesteads were, basically requiring an all-day round trip to pick up groceries (or just a tube of toothpaste). It's a very different life there.

We lived outside Condon for a spell. And we traveled all over that area and then some back in that day. It is some of the most beautiful, wild country I've seen on this green Earth, and I've been around. Though I was working hard while recovering from surgeries to address injuries in that era, it was some of the happiest days of my adulthood. Absolutely breathtaking wide open spaces and good people. Loved it.

It is indeed a very different lifestyle there. Oh, "supply runs" were in an all day thing to The Dalles or Madras. But you just planned around it. No worries in the grand scheme of things.

 

[DivCurlGrad72]

I've been following this survey since 2014, and since then Oregon's been either the #1 or #2 inbound state. It's #2 for 2019, Idaho's #1 (guess they didn't get the message that Idaho's full).

2019 National Movers Study | United Van Lines

United Van Lines’ 43rd Annual National Movers Study tracks customers' migration patterns over the past year. See the study, interactive map and press kit.

www.unitedvanlines.com