Best place to retire on the coast

[Metlakatla]

Coastal living is different here than in California -- for day-to-day life, a little inland is probably better because you're out of the gloom caused by the marine layer, but more power to those who want to live with constant wind and dark skies. They don't need yards because they can hardly ever go outside anyway. My home is closer to the water's edge than Tiny Tranquility, though, and I have privacy, so I didn't exactly make that trade. Never said people didn't have their preferences, but I've never talked with anyone who'd prefer to live around a bunch of vacation rentals.

[MtnSurfer]

Originally Posted by Metlakatla

Coastal living is different here than in California -- for day-to-day life, a little inland is probably better because you're out of the gloom caused by the marine layer, but more power to those who want to live with constant wind and dark skies. They don't need yards because they can hardly ever go outside anyway. My home is closer to the water's edge than Tiny Tranquility, though, and I have privacy, so I didn't exactly make that trade. Never said people didn't have their preferences, but I've never talked with anyone who'd prefer to live around a bunch of vacation rentals.

The neighborhoods we've lived in didn't have too many vacation rentals. So, it's hard to say how bad that could get with lots of crazy partiers, loud guests, etc... Although, the city of Monterey, where lived, was also cracking down on short term rentals with ordinances and fines. So, I don't think it's a unique problem to Oregon.

IMO, I think there can be a reasonable balance between short term vs. long term rentals/owners. With a larger family, we've certainly enjoyed renting homes while on vacation including along the Oregon coast vs. staying in hotel rooms. It was really quiet where we stayed right on the beach. I could see renting one of those tiny houses if touring the coast. I like that the owner chose to spread them out more vs. the often maligned standard trailer parks.

The worse noise I've heard while vacationing anywhere was at campgrounds which is also an unfortunate downside to owning a camper/trailer. Those sites are really crammed together. Plus, the price of campsites with hookups is almost as much as a hotel. So, I'm not big on those unless the kids really want to go camping. Sometimes you get lucky if the groups are at least somewhat respectful of other guests at night. Those times have been worth it when camping right on the water under the stars.

Derek

[texasdiver]

Originally Posted by MtnSurfer

The worse noise I've heard while vacationing anywhere was at campgrounds which is also an unfortunate downside to owning a camper/trailer. Those sites are really crammed together. Plus, the price of campsites with hookups is almost as much as a hotel. So, I'm not big on those unless the kids really want to go camping. Sometimes you get lucky if the groups are at least somewhat respectful of other guests at night. Those times have been worth it when camping right on the water under the stars.

Derek

Yep. We had a camping trailer that we used quite a bit living in Texas. Visiting campgrounds on the gulf coast as well as nice state parks in AR, TX ,and NM.

After 2 years living in the Vancouver area we sold it because it was too much of a hassle to use on the coast as we had intended. The state park campgrounds are nearly impossible to get into on any long weekend. You have to plan a year in advance to get reservations or be some retiree who can go out on a random Tuesday. The private campgrounds are really packed in and don't have particularly nice locations for the most part. Usually off the beach in nondescript locations. The state parks were all made may decades ago so claimed all the most gorgeous scenic locations and beach fronts. But private campgrounds that were built many decades later tend to be in pretty nondescript locations well away from the shore.

By the time you add up the extra gas you use to haul the thing around, the storage and maintenance, and such, I calculated that it was cheaper to get a nice AirB&B on the coast for a weekend rather than drive the little camper out there.

I suppose they are good for going up into dry forest service campgrounds in the mountains that lack water and power hookups. But state parks are really hard to get into if you have a family on regular work and school schedules

The key to getting into any state park campground on the coast at any time no matter how crowded is to be a cyclist. The state parks in OR and CA have an unwritten policy never to turn away bike campers. They have hiker/biker spots that are usually just some grassy areas with picnic tables. But the always have secret spillover areas to put you if you ride in on a bike, not matter how full the place is. I biked down the Pacific Coast and verified this the whole way down. Even on 4th of July weekend north of San Francisco they found us a nice secluded grassy place to camp for about $10 even though all the camping spots for cars and RVs had been booked up a year earlier. Usually you can't even reserve the hiker/biker spots, they just find a spot to put up your tent.

[Metlakatla]

OK...so you've never lived in an area with many vacation rentals. Unlike Monterrey, my coastal town isn't cracking down on them. There has been some coverage in local newspapers about it -- posted it here once or twice but don't have the time or interest to look them up again.

My community is about an hour's drive from UofO and gets a fair amount of the party crowd. Maybe most of the college party crowd is priced out of Monterrey?

Personally, I live alone and like knowing who's around, which is why I moved to a subdivision where the HOA doesn't allow short-term rentals. If someone wants to be around them, fine, but no one I've ever met here really wants to. I think part of it is because the seasonal nature of tourism here means that these places often sit vacant during the winter.

[texasdiver]

Originally Posted by Metlakatla

OK...so you've never lived in an area with many vacation rentals. Unlike Monterrey, my coastal town isn't cracking down on them. There has been some coverage in local newspapers about it -- posted it here once or twice but don't have the time or interest to look them up again.

My community is about an hour's drive from UofO and gets a fair amount of the party crowd. Maybe most of the college party crowd is priced out of Monterrey?

Personally, I live alone and like knowing who's around, which is why I moved to a subdivision where the HOA doesn't allow short-term rentals. If someone wants to be around them, fine, but no one I've ever met here really wants to. I think part of it is because the seasonal nature of tourism here means that these places often sit vacant during the winter.

Are there any towns other than Cannon Beach that have really cracked down on vacation rentals? I haven't really followed this.

[MtnSurfer]

Originally Posted by texasdiver

Are there any towns other than Cannon Beach that have really cracked down on vacation rentals? I haven't really followed this.

I was just wondering about that after visiting there a couple of weeks ago. I happened to see a really nice VRBO right on the beach. It looks they are placing more restrictions on it now.

"The city said the goal with the changes is to strike a balance between the residential and resort elements of the community." -- Cannon Beach restricts vacation rentals

This trend may continue down the coast. I guess it depends on the degree to which the other coastal communities are affected. Cannon Beach makes the most sense since its closest to the largest city in Oregon.

Derek

[Metlakatla]

Originally Posted by texasdiver

Are there any towns other than Cannon Beach that have really cracked down on vacation rentals? I haven't really followed this.

Not that I know of. Florence certainly hasn't. Then the retirees complain that they can't get "services." Not sure what they expect when what little rental housing there was got bought up by out-of-area "investors" and slapped up on Airbnb at seriously inflated rates.

I buy microgreens grown in Tiny Tranquility's greenhouse, btw -- they deliver them right to your door as far down as Florence/Reedsport.

[MtnSurfer]

Apparently other coastal Oregon towns are working toward similar restrictions. Here are just a few I found doing a quick search. There are probably more. I do think its a good idea to not let them grow unchecked.

Newport latest Oregon coastal city to struggle with short-term rentals like Airbnb

Lincoln County - Effort to restrict STRs continues

Tillamook County - Reeling in short term rentals

Derek