Retirees have changed Florence (Portland, Salem: transplants, real estate market, rental)
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They've taken all the housing, priced the working class out of the area, and they generally hit the ground complaining and trying to change things as soon as they arrive. They love patting themselves on the back for "spending money in this town!!!" and they've turned Highway 126 into a death trap. If one of them sees a bear, they run to contact Fish & Wildlife, which usually doesn't end up well for the bear. Most of them seem to struggle with understanding that not everyone who lives in Florence is retired.
The locals, what's left of them, actually hate the retirees even though most are too polite to say so. It's my opinion that the sentiment is well-deserved. Disclaimer: I'm not retired, and neither am I among Florence's working class. Just an observer in the middle of those worlds.
Is Florence worse than other similar towns along the Oregon coast like Bandon, Brookings, Yachats, Lincoln City, etc?
Newport, Coos Bay, and Astoria have splendid natural harbors and much more local industry than Florence so they seem more like working towns to me. Florence doesn’t seem that different than any of a dozen or more typical beach towns along the coast. The ones further north and closer to Portland like Cannon Beach and Manzanita seem to be more weekend home locations for wealthy Portlanders. The ones further south like Florence, Brookings, Bandon, etc. seem more like retirement communities, perhaps because they are a bit too far from the big metro area to be convenient weekend home locations. Either way, the economy is pretty distorted along the entire coast due to (1) lack of good paying jobs, (2) high cost of living, and (3) isolation and lack of ability to commute to any larger metro areas.
Yachats has spectacular scenery and some passable places to eat, but I've always got a grating New Age-ish vibe there. Brookings has a lot of retirees, but their average median age is quite a bit lower than in Florence. Bandon is tiny and has a bunch of old people and a golf course. Lincoln City -- Idk, only been there a few times. The North Coast is too rainy and dreary IMO.
Not much industry left in Florence. If virtue signaling and complaining were industries, Florence would be in business. Some logging, but that's dwindling; it never was much of a fishing town. I too prefer the working town vibe of Newport and Astoria (and even Port Orford — small as it is, it's a fishing village more than a retirement town). It's pretty nice, but so small, remote, and probably even more likely than Florence to be wiped off the map when the Big One hits.
I can always tell an incoming because they ambush me to introduce their "rescue." Not their dog, their rescue. In other words, their living, breathing lifestyle accessory that they get to pat themselves on the back for time after time after tedious time, bragging, bragging, and bragging some more.
They didn't manage to stop the Burger King from being built here, so now they've moved on to complaining about a proposed low-income housing project that would actually do this town some good.
My favorite coastal town anymore is Newport. It's closer to family and friends, it has its own symphony (which is pretty good) and has Rogue Brewery.
I’m still not quite sure what makes Florence any more of an egregious place to live than any other random town on the Oregon Coast. They all have some combination of affordability, isolation, and employment issues. But I suspect the particular blend of dysfunction is different for every town.
Personally I expect the coast to only get worse not better as a place to life for anyone who isn’t an independently wealthy retiree just because there is a large and growing quantity of wealth in this country that is inevitably going to spill over to scenic spots like the Oregon Coast. And in the future probably a lot more foreign money as well as it is only getting easier and easier for wealthy foreigners to drop money into US real estate. The rich Californians of yesterday will probably give way to the rich Chinese and Russians of tomorrow when one can buy coastal real estate with a few mouse clicks from anywhere on the planet.
When coastal Oregon was just a local real estate market and perhaps a weekend destination for professional types from the valley, it was one thing. There was a limit to the market. But now? That is all gone. Anyone from anywhere on the planet can make an all-cash offer on any condo or new home on the Oregon Coast. And hide their identity through a limited liability company incorporated in Delaware or South Dakota. Local working class folks literally do not stand a chance.
Oh, and I suspect the reason you are more likely to see things like new Burger Kings along the coast rather than small quaint locally owned restaurants is the cost. It takes pretty deep pockets to navigate the gauntlet of bureaucracy that the state and localities throw up to regulate new restaurants in places like the OR coast. Old “grandfathered” businesses that have been around for decades are a bit different. But making a new one is tough. It is pretty much only the corporate chains that have those kinds of resources these days. Personally if I was going to start a new restaurant someplace in OR it would probably be in some fast-growing prosperous suburban area, not the coast. That is where the money and demand is. Not to mention the resources and labor.
Last edited by texasdiver; 10-25-2021 at 03:47 PM..
I moved away from Oregon in 2019. Didn't live on the coast though. I love Oregon and miss so much about it.
I am a "retiree" I guess, at least as defined by age and social security status, and I live in the northeast now. It may (or may not) be interesting for you to hear that your complaints about retirees ruining a place are widespread. As are those new retirees' efforts to get involved in their new communities and change/improve/ruin them. It's all a matter of which side you're on. Blocking a Burger King and rescuing shelter dogs both sound like good things to me. I wouldn't refer to my dog as my rescue, but if their intention is to praise the adoption of shelter dogs (even if it involves praising themselves too) what's so terrible about that? I mean who cares really? You sound really mad in some kind of general way about changes in Florence. I have lived in one place after another that's gone through changes. Some I thought were better, some I thought were worse, but however I felt about it someone else thought the opposite. Doesn't matter though because change just happens. My feelings about any given change aren't more important that anyone else's. If you're not interested in running for local office or organizing like-minded people to push for the things you want, then you need to relax and let go of this sh*t. Life is short.
So I have had a few CA clients that moved to Florence from the Bay area, and then moved to Salem when they realized that the Oregon coastal towns and CA coastal towns are different things. Not all, but some Californias are looking for Montecito or Malibu in Oregon, which we do not have here. So there is often a sense of disappointment when they move to the coast which I imagine involves a lot of complaining by the transplants.
I don't think it is about being mad about changes, but Oregon isn't California, and some Californians struggle with that thought. The wealth that exists in some of the CA coastal towns just isn't going to be replicated here so there needs to be some sort of balance. I can't speak for Met, but it is important for cities to have resources for all income levels. Not just the rich ones.
I’m still not quite sure what makes Florence any more of an egregious place to live than any other random town on the Oregon Coast. They all have some combination of affordability, isolation, and employment issues. But I suspect the particular blend of dysfunction is different for every town.
Personally I expect the coast to only get worse not better as a place to life for anyone who isn’t an independently wealthy retiree just because there is a large and growing quantity of wealth in this country that is inevitably going to spill over to scenic spots like the Oregon Coast. And in the future probably a lot more foreign money as well as it is only getting easier and easier for wealthy foreigners to drop money into US real estate. The rich Californians of yesterday will probably give way to the rich Chinese and Russians of tomorrow when one can buy coastal real estate with a few mouse clicks from anywhere on the planet.
When coastal Oregon was just a local real estate market and perhaps a weekend destination for professional types from the valley, it was one thing. There was a limit to the market. But now? That is all gone. Anyone from anywhere on the planet can make an all-cash offer on any condo or new home on the Oregon Coast. And hide their identity through a limited liability company incorporated in Delaware or South Dakota. Local working class folks literally do not stand a chance.
Oh, Idk if I'd call it more egregious than others, but one thing it does have is a far higher percentage of retirees than other coastal communities with the possible exception of Bandon, and the effect they have on the town was the point of my post.
One thing I haven't thought about until now, thanks to your mention of foreign investors, is that Florence may be in a better position to weather that particular storm than most. A lot of the housing here is in gated communities, and most have restrictions on renting, and all strictly prohibit Airbnb/vacation rental activity.
But yeah, I think they're already buying some of the Vacasa homes etc. outside of the gates.
So I have had a few CA clients that moved to Florence from the Bay area, and then moved to Salem when they realized that the Oregon coastal towns and CA coastal towns are different things. Not all, but some Californias are looking for Montecito or Malibu in Oregon, which we do not have here. So there is often a sense of disappointment when they move to the coast which I imagine involves a lot of complaining by the transplants.
.
My favorite is when they start hyperventilating all over local social media when they can't find housekeepers or yard people.
So I have had a few CA clients that moved to Florence from the Bay area, and then moved to Salem when they realized that the Oregon coastal towns and CA coastal towns are different things. .
Oh, and I suspect the reason you are more likely to see things like new Burger Kings along the coast rather than small quaint locally owned restaurants is the cost. It takes pretty deep pockets to navigate the gauntlet of bureaucracy that the state and localities throw up to regulate new restaurants in places like the OR coast. Old “grandfathered” businesses that have been around for decades are a bit different. But making a new one is tough. It is pretty much only the corporate chains that have those kinds of resources these days. Personally if I was going to start a new restaurant someplace in OR it would probably be in some fast-growing prosperous suburban area, not the coast. That is where the money and demand is. Not to mention the resources and labor.
I do think, that for the most part, Florence has done a pretty good job of limiting chain restaurants, and if a BK were to pop up in Old Town, I might have some objections. But it's on Highway 101 on the outskirts of town. And yes, it would be very difficult and probably not cost-effective for an indie restaurant to open up shop in that particular location.
One of the main objections to the BK was that it would siphon business away from independent restaurants, but they draw from different customer bases. People aren't going to cancel plans/reservations for somewhere in Old Town to go to BK. People with carloads of tired kids after playing in the dunes all day will probably appreciate having a drive-through to go to, and the rest of us will appreciate not having to sit next to a table full of cranky, tired, and hungry kids.
I moved away from Oregon in 2019. Didn't live on the coast though. I love Oregon and miss so much about it.
I am a "retiree" I guess, at least as defined by age and social security status, and I live in the northeast now. It may (or may not) be interesting for you to hear that your complaints about retirees ruining a place are widespread. As are those new retirees' efforts to get involved in their new communities and change/improve/ruin them. It's all a matter of which side you're on. Blocking a Burger King and rescuing shelter dogs both sound like good things to me. I wouldn't refer to my dog as my rescue, but if their intention is to praise the adoption of shelter dogs (even if it involves praising themselves too) what's so terrible about that? I mean who cares really? You sound really mad in some kind of general way about changes in Florence. I have lived in one place after another that's gone through changes. Some I thought were better, some I thought were worse, but however I felt about it someone else thought the opposite. Doesn't matter though because change just happens. My feelings about any given change aren't more important that anyone else's. If you're not interested in running for local office or organizing like-minded people to push for the things you want, then you need to relax and let go of this sh*t. Life is short.
Well then you should stay away from Florence, because Burger King is open and has lines around the block.
For those who think there are too many California retirees in Florence, just wait until In-N-Out gets around to opening a location in Florence. Then all hell is going to break lose and the flood gates will be open.
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