The best place to live in the US?

[smokey 21,717]

 

 

 

 

Oregon could be a good place if one does not need to rely on the local economy to survive. For most retirees it is a good bet, but for someone still working maybe not so much. Very poor economy, many counties still near 10% unemployment, which is misleading, because it doesn't count the thousands that gave up looking for work. Many towns and a few counties are now without police presence, makes for not so nice environments, high crime rates. My home stomping grounds of Siletz last year had 4 fatal stabbings, unrelated, in a town with only 1200 people. Josephine county in Southwest Oregon now has only 6 deputies to cover 1600 square miles, and has released almost all prisoners from the jails due to no budget!

 

“You may want to consider relocating to an area with adequate law enforcement services,” the department cautioned the county’s 80,000 or so residents last year.

Although a Wild West-like scenario has spiraled out of control in the Pacific Northwest, residents voted against a measure Tuesday that would have funded much-needed law enforcement operations at the cost of only a 3 percent tax levy."

 

http://rt.com/usa/oregon-rape-josephine-county-647/

 

Other areas are not far removed. Many of the coastal communities have been suffering for years, with fishing and logging being heavily restricted, lots of homelessness and drug communities dominate. The Layer of beauty on the top masks some pretty serious problems underneath.

 

So just as in the Philippines, you would want to choose your area very carefully.

self employed is best i did very well repairing and refinishing business 

 

well if its that bad move to arizona you can pack your own little police force in a shinny new holster 

Edited January 15, 2015 by smokey

[shadow 18,481]

I don't see this in Oregon Larry.  Yes, my county (Polk) only has one sheriff, but I love that.  Coming from Vegas where I saw cops every turn I make, it is refreshing to see a non-police state where I live.  I also know of no crime.  The City of Monmouth has its own police force... seems rich to me with their new vehicles, but maybe its because of the University.  As far as local economy, I see help wanted signs everywhere and all the kids are working.  I know no one seeking work.  I see truck driver jobs opening signs everywhere I turn it seems.  I know this is before my Oregon time, and understand the logging industry took a big hit because of the environuts protecting the spotted owl.  But, that was 30 years ago, right?  Seems like most have recovered.  I do however, see lots of logging trucks going down the road with big trees on them.  I think the industry is still alive.  

 

NYC real estate for 2014 hit record levels. It is now 19% higher than the peak pre-recession. Rents will continue to skyrocket. What an expensive place to live. I bet the average 1-bedroom apartment will soon be $3,500/month.... and that's a small crappy place.  Big city life is expensive!

 

I still like Las Vegas where you can get 0.50 q/ft, $1.99 gas/gal, 0% state tax and the best entertainment and restaurants in the world and much better weather.

What was that I said about choosing your area wisely? The area you are in, Steve, has always been one of the least troublesome/more affluent areas, and an area I would consider moving to. The entire northern Willamette valley has remained pretty immune to the problems of the coastal and other communities. The people in the more affluent communities seldom see the other side of the spectrum, and therein lies part of the problem. "I don't see this in Oregon Larry. "

 

One of the problems Oregon faces is the extreme differences in communities (Haves/have nots). Some areas have, some areas have not. While Wiki says 3 in 5 are working, that number is an average and includes Portland, Salem, etc. That number does not hold true in many communities, which have not recovered from the timber and fishing industry ails. Some have found other niches, for instance Newport started to push tourism in the 70s and 80s, and the area has promoted a huge marine repair market, which builds and repairs boats for the Pacific fleet, but still it has a major problem with unemployment, especially in the off seasons. 

 

http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/index.ssf/2011/10/people_who_are_homeless_in_ore.html

 

Years ago there were always ways to earn money off the land, from peeling chitum and picking fern and salal to cutting firewood for sale. Now, those options too are gone and/or highly regulated and unavailable to those who needed in the most, and relied on them for their livelihood. There was always something to eat, just go get a fish, crab, go berry or apple picking, or shoot a deer. Nobody cared, so long as it was to eat. Nope, can't do that any more either!

 

Things are improving, but it is a long ways from helping those in the hard hit areas now.  Go talk to people in Josephine county, and see what they have to say. Talk to the woman who was raped there last year, in her home, while on the phone with the 911 operator who was telling her she had no officer to send her. Go to Siletz, and ask the locals how safe they feel there at night, knowing they live in a community full of homeless, jobless, druggies, and that it may take hours for a cop to reach them.

 

After living most of my life in these small backwater communities, I have always scoffed at the "dangerous places" in the Philippines. We go everywhere here, and I feel much safer in Zamboanga city than the last year I spent in Siletz! When I was growing up, Siletz was a VERY rough town. The fights between the loggers, fishermen, and indians were normal commonplace events, and sometimes dozens of guys strong. You NEVER fight one indian (or Filipino). Sometimes someone would get shot, but mostly we just beat each other with our fists. But that was child's play compared to what is happening there now, and started at some point in the 80s or 90s. Now, it has all to do with methamphetamine and rampant poverty/unemployment. Fisticuffs, too, are a thing of the past. Better to stab your opponent in the back.

 

But it is such a beautiful place!

 

So back to my statement, choose your area wisely. It's not all vineyards, beautiful scenery, and great hunting. Some areas would make an excellent retirement community or place to raise a family, others, not so much.

 

Not so different from choosing a place to live in the Philippines.

[smokey 21,717]

dont forget fishing the government almost stopped fishing that is why the coast is hurting so bad

[TheMatrix 2,013]

What was that I said about choosing your area wisely? The area you are in, Steve, has always been one of the least troublesome/more affluent areas, and an area I would consider moving to. The entire northern Willamette valley has remained pretty immune to the problems of the coastal and other communities. The people in the more affluent communities seldom see the other side of the spectrum, and therein lies part of the problem. "I don't see this in Oregon Larry. "

 

One of the problems Oregon faces is the extreme differences in communities (Haves/have nots). Some areas have, some areas have not. While Wiki says 3 in 5 are working, that number is an average and includes Portland, Salem, etc. That number does not hold true in many communities, which have not recovered from the timber and fishing industry ails. Some have found other niches, for instance Newport started to push tourism in the 70s and 80s, and the area has promoted a huge marine repair market, which builds and repairs boats for the Pacific fleet, but still it has a major problem with unemployment, especially in the off seasons. 

 

http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/index.ssf/2011/10/people_who_are_homeless_in_ore.html

 

Years ago there were always ways to earn money off the land, from peeling chitum and picking fern and salal to cutting firewood for sale. Now, those options too are gone and/or highly regulated and unavailable to those who needed in the most, and relied on them for their livelihood. There was always something to eat, just go get a fish, crab, go berry or apple picking, or shoot a deer. Nobody cared, so long as it was to eat. Nope, can't do that any more either!

 

Things are improving, but it is a long ways from helping those in the hard hit areas now.  Go talk to people in Josephine county, and see what they have to say. Talk to the woman who was raped there last year, in her home, while on the phone with the 911 operator who was telling her she had no officer to send her. Go to Siletz, and ask the locals how safe they feel there at night, knowing they live in a community full of homeless, jobless, druggies, and that it may take hours for a cop to reach them.

 

After living most of my life in these small backwater communities, I have always scoffed at the "dangerous places" in the Philippines. We go everywhere here, and I feel much safer in Zamboanga city than the last year I spent in Siletz! When I was growing up, Siletz was a VERY rough town. The fights between the loggers, fishermen, and indians were normal commonplace events, and sometimes dozens of guys strong. You NEVER fight one indian (or Filipino). Sometimes someone would get shot, but mostly we just beat each other with our fists. But that was child's play compared to what is happening there now, and started at some point in the 80s or 90s. Now, it has all to do with methamphetamine and rampant poverty/unemployment. Fisticuffs, too, are a thing of the past. Better to stab your opponent in the back.

 

But it is such a beautiful place!

 

So back to my statement, choose your area wisely. It's not all vineyards, beautiful scenery, and great hunting. Some areas would make an excellent retirement community or place to raise a family, others, not so much.

 

Not so different from choosing a place to live in the Philippines.

 

Wow, I had no idea.  I knew times could possibly be hard in country communities, just like any rural area in the world without much commerce or industry, but never gave it much thought to the extent.  I often drive through those communities and say to the wife, "what a lovely little town".  But, the ugly truth is behind the scenes obviously.  Drug use, specifically crystal meth is ravaging many small towns in the U.S.   I recall being in Chico, California in the 90's.  It seemed the entire town was strung out and speeding.

 

You mentioned Selitz, and my only dealing with that name is the Selitz river is suppose to be on hella river for Salmon fishing.  I'll be spending a week on the river in the spring.  I imagine there's always been a limited police force in the sticks of Oregon, but crime has gotten a lot more nastier evolving from fists fights to guns.  When I fish down on the Klamath in Northern California on the reservation, I can feel the riff between the indians and us.  They only allow us to fish because we granted them permission to build a casino.  

 

Paul is sure experiencing the positive side of Oregon as well... and he's taken back by the ultra-friendliness of the community.  

[cebubird 5,391]

Florida's Emerald Coast (Redneck Rivera) Perdido Key to Panama City Beach.

 

Pensacola, Ft. Walton, Destin, Panama City Beach.

 

I'm biased towards Ft Walton.

 

Great Beaches, reasonable Real Estate, summer weather May-September, mild winters...

 

Ain't for everybody...

Beach10 099.jpg

 

Except summers are TERRIBLE with roads/beaches clogged with people from louisiana.Also most likely to be affected by storms there.

Winters tho' give excellent chance of getting to see a tiny bit of white stuff.

It is indeed a beautiful area.

[ROCO22 1,630]

Except summers are TERRIBLE with roads/beaches clogged with people from louisiana.Also most likely to be affected by storms there.

Winters tho' give excellent chance of getting to see a tiny bit of white stuff.

It is indeed a beautiful area.

 

Yeah, we tried to keep it quiet... but the secret got out about 20 years ago.

[ROCO22 1,630]

My first response was my reality and pocketbook.

 

If I could afford....

 

I would summer in the Mountains (Montana/Colorado)...

 

And winter in the Keys...

 

Love using summer & winter as verbs.

 

 

[Jester 3,557]

NYC real estate for 2014 hit record levels. It is now 19% higher than the peak pre-recession. Rents will continue to skyrocket. What an expensive place to live. I bet the average 1-bedroom apartment will soon be $3,500/month.... and that's a small crappy place.  Big city life is expensive!

 

I sold my home in Western NY in 99, the property tax then was $5200, The reason they were so CHEAP? was the property appraiser screwed up. All the politicians in NY agree that tax'x are the problem, then they raise tax's

 

Expensive is an understatement... does anyone realize how much campgrounds charge now for overnight camping of your RV?  The cheapest are like $40, and up to $100 (and over) per night.  Damn!  It would be cheaper to stay in hotels!

 

In 99 when I left NY in my RV, inexpensive parks free places were everywhere, it was easy to find overnight parking for free. Still doable but not so easy.  The campground owners saw RV's staying for free and had no overnight parking laws passed. Then where you could stay for free the RV'ers ruined it by dumping garbage and holding tanks, right in the parking lots.

 

If you think camping is expensive, if you need a repair on the road, you will quickly learn what it is to be a victim. Make sure you have towing insurance!!

 

http://www.passportamerica.com/    There are several 50% off sites on the web, if you can adapt your travel a bit, some real savings can be had.  My big score with this was I stayed in a park in Punta Gorda FL for 3 months at 1/2 price! Very unusual.  On the other hand if you want to go to Key West you will pay the big bucks and no discounts. I do not understand why anyone would want to go to Key West in an RV? I won't even drive down there anymore.  Whiner

[miles-high 3,917]

I'm in the planning stages now of taking the family across America now in the RV.  We'll be traveling from Oregon, down to Vegas and then Phoenix, across the country to the Florida Keys, and up the East Coast to Maine, back home through the midwest through Chicago, Denver, Idaho and Oregon.   Expensive is an understatement... does anyone realize how much campgrounds charge now for overnight camping of your RV?  The cheapest are like $40, and up to $100 (and over) per night.  Damn!  It would be cheaper to stay in hotels!

 

I’ve done it for about 3 years (did fly back home once a month from nearby airports for a few days  ) from Detroit to El Paso (partly on Route 66), Cupper Canyon (RV's on freight train in Mex) to Nogales, then all the way to Orlando via Dallas, Houston, Alabama, then Savannah, Augusta, Covington, GA to Albany, NY, then to Martha’s Vineyard, Mass to Arcadia National Park, ME to Nova Scotia, Quebec, Montreal to Adirondack Mountains, back to Detroit (West Bloomfield), MI...

 

I loved it and would like to do it someday again…

 

KOA is still reasonable, WalMart allows RVs to park in their 24/7 store parking free (no hookups), locally owned parks are still reasonable. Have your passenger check the local park directly on the DirectTV internet well before the nightfall...

 

Probably, RV would be the best place to live in the US while keeping residence in Guam or Saipan if you don’t want anything to do with IRS!

[miles-high 3,917]

If I could afford....   I would summer in the Mountains (Montana/Colorado)...   And winter in the Keys...   Love using summer & winter as verbs.

 

Summer to Fall in Oregon… Winter to Spring somewhere in the Philippines... would be affordable…

 

The problem is they cancelled Narita-Portland flights when they had a problem with 787... Otherwise it was a one-stop (from Manila), relatively short comfortable flight... Hopefully, Delta, ANA and/or JAL would start the PDX service someday soon...

[TheMatrix 2,013]

 

 

http://www.passporta...merica.com/����Thereare several 50% off sites on the web, if you can adapt your travel a bit, some real savings can be had.  My big score with this was I stayed in a park in Punta Gorda FL for 3 months at 1/2 price! Very unusual.  On the other hand if you want to go to Key West you will pay the big bucks and no discounts. I do not understand why anyone would want to go to Key West in an RV? I won't even drive down there anymore.  Whiner

 

I’ve done it for about 3 years (did fly back home once a month from nearby airports for a few days  ) from Detroit to El Paso (partly on Route 66), Cupper Canyon (RV's on freight train in Mex) to Nogales, then all the way to Orlando via Dallas, Houston, Alabama, then Savannah, Augusta, Covington, GA to Albany, NY, then to Martha’s Vineyard, Mass to Arcadia National Park, ME to Nova Scotia, Quebec, Montreal to Adirondack Mountains, back to Detroit (West Bloomfield), MI...

 

I loved it and would like to do it someday again…

 

KOA is still reasonable, WalMart allows RVs to park in their 24/7 store parking free (no hookups), locally owned parks are still reasonable. Have your passenger check the local park directly on the DirectTV internet well before the nightfall...

 

Probably, RV would be the best place to live in the US while keeping residence in Guam or Saipan if you don’t want anything to do with IRS!

 

KOA is quite expensive at $50+ per night.  When I travel by air, I usually use Hotwire and stay in 4-star hotels for $50-$60, so this is a little more challenging.  Yeah, I probably join passportamerica for the 50% deals and towing insurance, but I found some resale deals on eBay for Thousand Trails memberships.  You basically get to stay in as many campgrounds as you want for free after you buy the membership and agree to $600 annual maintenance fees, kind of like a timeshare.  For example:  http://www.ebay.com/itm/291349687452

[TheMatrix 2,013]

 

 

Summer to Fall in Oregon… Winter to Spring somewhere in the Philippines... would be affordable

 

I'm trying to do this right now, but have seen like three days of sunshine since I arrived in this country seven weeks ago.  It might not be a good idea to spend winters in the Philippines if one is looking for good weather.

[tomaw 1,341]

2 hours north of LAX, must be less than 5 miles.  

Just before Christmas it might have been faster getting out of LAX by bicycle. I know, I work there.

[shadow 18,481]

I'm trying to do this right now, but have seen like three days of sunshine since I arrived in this country seven weeks ago.  It might not be a good idea to spend winters in the Philippines if one is looking for good weather.

 

Perhaps we should ask Paul how many days of sunshine he has had in the last 7 weeks, and how many times the temperature has been above 70 deg?

 

[Lee 17,710]

We find Feb to May in the Philippines to be a good time but that might be hard to do with school age children, June and July is hot and it seemed to have rained every time I did those months, thus our present choice. 

 

For us it is cooler in south Florida during those months, so we do not leave Florida because of the weather but we do go to the Cebu and Mindanao because of the weather during those months. The end of April and heading into May we have found that there can be more rainy days but it does seem weather patterns are all screwed up all over the world nowadays, so nothing is a given.

 

Las Vegas, Arizona and Florida in the US seem to be good choices from my experience for a first or second home, with Vegas being neat because a person can drive up to Lee mountain and see snow or if wealthy enough even have a home up there for cooler weather and all within a drive of nice weather.