Info on Yachats (Eugene, Newport, Florence: real estate, rentals, hotels)

[davlinder419]

Hi. My wife and I have been trying to decide on a coastal town to relocate to. We recently came across an article about Yachats and it seems like just the kind of place we're interested in. Can anyone give us any useful information about the town, employment opportunities, rent, the schools, tsunami threat...etc..? We have a middle school aged son. We'd appreciate the feedback.

[pw72]

As a former Oregonian and short-time resident of the coast I will offer this:

Yachats has some positives and negatives. Positive: Beautiful coastal town, picture post card. Negative: Not many jobs, and not much there, there. If you need to do any serious shopping you will need to drive north to Newport or even east to Eugene. Newport is atleast a half hour, and Eugene is an hour and a half atleast.

The tsunami threat exists up and down the coast, I think it is understanding the escape routes and how close you are to them.

Don't know about schools there, but I doubt there are many options.

[hamellr]

Employment opportunities = none

rent = Not going to happen unless you can afford to shell out the cash

tsunami thread = high if an earthquake comes

Schools = Yeah, right.

Yachats is a small Oregon Coast town, that barely has a tourist industry or even an economy. Most people fly right through town, I'm pretty sure the only reason the town survives economically is traffic tickets to tourists. Your kid is going to be bored out of his mind, the beach will only entertain someone that age for so long. The town is so small that it doesn't even have a harbor for fishing boats/whale watching boats.

Rentals are going to be non-existent, because they're mostly reserved for summer beach rentals. You could find a place now, but expect to get yourself evicted in the late spring or your rent easily quadrupled.

Small Oregon Towns have few jobs. Oregon Coastal Towns have few jobs. Yachats meets both those definitions. Do yourself a huge favor and stop thinking about Yachats right now, unless you can afford to live without a job at all. You might get lucky and get a part time job with the city or at one of the half dozen local hotels, or perhaps find something in Florence or Newport.

But pay attention to the dozen + threads already here about general moving to Oregon issues.

[Minervah]

I love to visit Yachats but I never thought of it as a place where people lived. I always thought that people lived in Newport or surrounding towns where there were homes and schools and such and rented their boats for fishing or operated their stores and small restaurants for the tourists during the summer season.

[Steve97415]

Unlike the California coast, the Oregon coast is a retirement belt and place for vacation homes for those who work in the valley. Most of the towns there are "towns" in the literal sense of that word: they're not cities. The overall feeling is more like a resort or retirement facility and many of the conventional civic amenities will not exist there. Yachats isn't really the kind of place you can move to and look for employment. You have to bring your money with you from elsewhere.

[Steve Pickering]

I think everyone has more or less said it all. Without beating it to death, I would say you have never actually been there. No jobs, poor schools, very high rentals and rare, Medical is non-existent, Tsunamis are not if, but when, and 100% likely.

Travel Magazines have a knack for best photo angle.

[oregonwoodsmoke]

Tsunami zones are well marked, as are the escape routes. Lots of places on the Oregon coast are not in danger from Tsunami because of the high sea cliffs. Places that might be in danger are sign posted. I can't see where it would be an issue if you are careful where you buy.

Yachats is a high priced area to purchase real estate.

[Steve97415]

There are maps that show the different levels of tsunami hazard. Tsunamis loom large in the imaginations of those unfamiliar with the coast, I suppose -- much like those who are unfamiliar with the desert are preoccupied with Gila monsters and tarantulas. Some people are influenced by Hollywood versions of tsunamis and see it as this huge inescapable wall of water bearing down on you. It's actually more like a high tide that comes in higher and faster than normal.

http://www.oregongeology.com/sub/ear...33-yachats.PDF

[Steve Pickering]

Originally Posted by Steve97415

There are maps that show the different levels of tsunami hazard. Tsunamis loom large in the imaginations of those unfamiliar with the coast, I suppose -- much like those who are unfamiliar with the desert are preoccupied with Gila monsters and tarantulas. Some people are influenced by Hollywood versions of tsunamis and see it as this huge inescapable wall of water bearing down on you. It's actually more like a high tide that comes in higher and faster than normal.

http://www.oregongeology.com/sub/ear...33-yachats.PDF

My take is just the opposite. Too many people living on the coast don't allow the prospect of a Tsunami to loom large enough. And my Arizona (Maricopa) property had two Gila Monsters and lots of Tarantulas, so that theory doesn't hold up either..

[jjpop]

Originally Posted by Steve97415

There are maps that show the different levels of tsunami hazard. Tsunamis loom large in the imaginations of those unfamiliar with the coast, I suppose -- much like those who are unfamiliar with the desert are preoccupied with Gila monsters and tarantulas. Some people are influenced by Hollywood versions of tsunamis and see it as this huge inescapable wall of water bearing down on you. It's actually more like a high tide that comes in higher and faster than normal.

http://www.oregongeology.com/sub/ear...33-yachats.PDF

I'm sure you didn't mean to imply that every tsunami is only as high a high tide, but that's the way your post comes across.