Brookings Or.

[mikld]

Hey Oregonians,

Going to Brookings for a couple days next month, I'll be checking it out for retirement. Won't have any guns with me but I'll need to check out the shooting in the area (ranges, shooting spots, gun shops, firearms friendly , etc.). Anybody have info?

Thnx

[Gun Smith]

If you have time, swing north to Florence. Population about 9000. They have a fantastic gun club. One gunshop out of town, I've never been there. Eugene is about 75 minutes east. They have several nice shops there. I do most of my buying and selling on line so I can't say much about their prices and inventory. We have a good FFL holder doing transfers here so that is not a problem.
As far as retirement goes, we looked from Gold Beach to Newport for a place to light. Florence had everything we needed. Plenty of friendly people too. Brookings is a little small and doesn't have all the things that you need as you get older. The weather is about the same in both places.
We moved from northern California two years ago and never looked back.

[Modoc ED]

Brookings is a nice area but Gold Beach is a little better in my opinion.

Listen up!!! The most important thing you shoud be looking at in an area you are thinking of retiring in is MEDICAL NEEDS!!! Doctors, hospitals, etc.. Call doctors while you are there. Survey them on whether the take Medicare, etc.. Is the local hospital on a sound financial footing? How far from you is the nearest ambulance service and hospital emergency room? A lot of people don't think of things like this and when the need comes they find themselves short of medical services.

Grants Pass is East of Gold Beach/Brookings and is a good area as is Medford to the East too.

[Gun Smith]

Hi ModocEd, Yes, that is one of the main reasons we ended up in Florence. They have the best hospital from the California border north on Hwy 101. Also I forgot to give the website for the gun club. Look it up at Siuslau Rod and Gun Club.

[mikld]

Yep, been checking necessities for seniors. A widely advertised service for Brookings is a prepaid ambulance (air and ground) insurance for transportation to Crescent City or Florence. There is a clinic/small hospital; Sutter Coast Hospital/Health Center in Brookings. Yes, I've been doing my homework, found a church, and some meetings, but I'll need to persue my hobby!

[Cosmoline]

The folks retired to Florence ten years ago but ended up relocating to Mount Angel. The coast has really gotten crowded, at least by their standards. And property values just went insane over there in the 90's. Not sure how they are now. I believe the big regional hospital is still Sacred Wallet in Eugene, which is a trip through the coastal range and some potentially snowy passes in the winter. They like it better close to the big medical centers in the Portland area.

Personally, though, I think there's something to be said for building your own cabin to retire in off-grid and dying of a massive heart attack while eating flap jacks. The fellow who climbed Denali after he retired and died of a heart attack literally on top of the mountain had it right. He'll be there forever now. He'll never have to look back at a hill and realize he'll never be able to climb it again.

[Blaine]

I'm prolly stuck where I am, but I'd retire to Medford in half a heartbeat if I could...one of the nicest public ranges I've ever seen and great hunting and fishing (Rogue River).

[pokey]

oregon has that durned state income tax,
doesn't matter where you made it they want SOME.
including pensions.

[Modoc ED]

oregon has that durned state income tax,
doesn't matter where you made it they want SOME.
including pensions.

Yeah, but they don't have "sales tax" and you can save a bundle over the period of a year. As the crow flies, I'm 37-miles from the Oregon border -- 57 miles by road to Lakeview, OR and 98 miles by road to Klamath Falls, OR. We do almost all our shopping in OR.

[Gun Smith]

Unless you have a big income, the Oregon income tax is a smaller bite than the sales tax in California by comparison. We live off our investments and S.S. and pay a lot less in total taxes here than we did in California.
What you have to watch here is property tax. It varies a lot between counties as opposed to the California Prop. 13 setup. This means you need to do your homework before you pick a county to live in.

[marlinman93]

oregon has that durned state income tax,
doesn't matter where you made it they want SOME.
including pensions.

Yep, but we got cheap car licensing, and no sales tax! I'd hate to pay the sales tax on even a cheap car in Washington!

[jjames]

I am with you Cosmoline, let the bears, coyotes, and vermin scavange my bones.

[Mike D.]

What we have in CA would never be available in OR. Nah, I'll stick it out down here in "Boxerville".

[Wrangler John]

Brookings is a small and remote seaport community. My cousin from Gold Beach had several stays in a Brookings convalescent hospital, but as the nurse said, "we are a small community and don't have major medical facilities". My cousin had to be transported to Crescent City for acute care and then flown by medical air ambulance to Medford for her procedures. The trip back took four hours in a ground ambulance. If you are sick, then Brookings isn't the place for you. They can handle an injury, but anything serious will require transportation out of town. She finally had to be hospitalized in Medford, passing away in May. If you become chronically ill, then Brookings or any coastal community isn't going to be able to treat you.

I have been visiting Gold Beach since 1960 - where my aunt and cousins lived out their lives. Gold Beach was originally a seaport serving the salmon fishery and had a very large Champion plywood mill along the Rogue River. My Cousin's first husband owned a log truck. He crashed into a nearby mountain with his two daughters back about 1965 while flying back from Medford one night. Her second husband worked for the mill and then the Port of Gold Beach. Lumbering shut down and the town became a boutique for tourists. Gold Beach is nowhere, has nothing of interest, even the salmon fishery is so restricted I buy Alaska salmon now. There are lots of properties for sale in the area, but little economic reason to go there.

PacNor Barreling is in Brookings, I dropped off an action there for rebarreling last year. Great folks, and top of the line work. You need a Sherpa to find them, it's very remote and hard to locate, so call for directions first.

Overall, the southern Oregon coast is picturesque and friendly - there's a Fred Myers in Brookings and one large gun store I recall, and you can find most of the stuff you need, but services are scant. But if I'm moving to Oregon I'll try the Bend or Medford area. Bend and Redmond areas actually have some of the best medical facilities around. Sage rat shooting is good too, as I discovered earlier this month! My friend lives near Bend, and he was issued a CCW with no problems, Oregon is gun friendly.

Crook County has one of the lowest property tax rates in Oregon - Powell Butte and Prineville area.

[Travis Morgan]

Oregon is gun friendly in SOME parts; Portland ain't one of 'em. Their cops are a bunch of criminals.

Lebanon, Oregon is supposed to have a nice shooting facility.

[Wrangler John]

Oregon is gun friendly in SOME parts; Portland ain't one of 'em. Their cops are a bunch of criminals.

Lebanon, Oregon is supposed to have a nice shooting facility.

I forgot about Portland! Portland is to Oregon as Berkeley or Santa Cruz is to California. Haven't been through there for many a year, and don't plan on it either. Too bad because my Father hailed from Portland. All those cities that traded manufacturing for services became tainted with liberals.

If it were up to me I'd deport the liberals and keep the Hispanics.