Retirees have changed Florence (Grants Pass: income, store, trailer)

[Metlakatla]

Originally Posted by texasdiver

No, you are right. I have never lived in Florence. I did live in Newport for a spell back years ago when I was working for NOAA. But not Florence. My comments were more about the coast in general, not Florence in particular. Most of the coast looks a lot more like Pacific City.

Maybe to you. Pacific City doesn't seem like "the rule" to me and doesn't represent the coast in general. Maybe the part north of Lincoln City, but...even Yachats, which has half the population of Pacific City, has more of a restaurant scene, and it's not all seasonal by a long shot. I suspect "the rule" applies less and less as the distance from the Portland Metro increases. The South Coast seems to have a whole different feeling. And I imagine it would be harder for smaller restaurants that your daughter might have liked to survive in Pacific City specifically because of Pelican. Sounds like Pacific City is a company town, and I don't think that's "the rule" on the coast.

[Metlakatla]

Just an FYI for anyone thinking of renting here. I was in a rental in Florence and made the mistake of lightly mentioning on social media that I going to move out of it. I had people literally stalking me trying to get information about when I was planning on moving and who owned the property. A couple of them even showed up on my doorstep. My plans weren't solidified, and I wasn't going to hand over the property owner's phone number so he could be pestered to pieces too.

[Metlakatla]

I had thought I'd seen it all with entitled retirees, but there's a small group of them in little Florence who are trying to derail a smallish low-income housing project in between bitching and bawling that they can't find inexpensive housecleaners and yard people.

[redguard57]

LOL were people complaining about the Burger King?

When we last visited, we saw that construction, my wife and I both craned our necks to see what it was going to be. I thought it would be Panera Bread or something. When we saw the sign we both went, "Oh. Burger King." in a disappointed voice.

But what a silly thing to get worked up about.

[Metlakatla]

Originally Posted by redguard57

LOL were people complaining about the Burger King?

When we last visited, we saw that construction, my wife and I both craned our necks to see what it was going to be. I thought it would be Panera Bread or something. When we saw the sign we both went, "Oh. Burger King." in a disappointed voice.

But what a silly thing to get worked up about.

Yes, complaining about the Burger King kept them busy for awhile. Now, along with the apartment complex, they've moved on to complaining about out-of-state license plates. The worst offenders of the license plate complaining are out-of-state retirees with a fall from the California turnip truck in their recent pasts.

[maverick974]

I lived in the Florence area for more than 25 years. When I moved there in the late 80's, it was a quaint, vibrant little logging town and fishing village.
When the retirees started moving in, the politics changed the vibe of the place. The culture changed drastically. It turned into a good ol' boys kind of place. And not for the better. The local government was corrupted and still is. No longer can the little guy work and raise a family there. It turned into a playground for the well connected. If your not one of the gang, your not long for Florence.
I miss the Florence from the 80's and early 90's. What a great town it was. It stood out from other coastal towns but the influence peddlers destroyed it to the point I couldn't stand the place any longer so I moved on to greener pastures.

[Pahn]

Originally Posted by redguard57

LOL were people complaining about the Burger King?

When we last visited, we saw that construction, my wife and I both craned our necks to see what it was going to be. I thought it would be Panera Bread or something. When we saw the sign we both went, "Oh. Burger King." in a disappointed voice.

But what a silly thing to get worked up about.

How is one chain restaurant any different than another?

[Metlakatla]

There's a rumor of a Popeye's Chicken coming in somewhere close to the Burger King and the low-income housing apartment building. That's three places in the same area they'll have to complain about. Should keep them busy for a few months.

[kodiakzak]

Originally Posted by Metlakatla

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.

Out-of-state retirees have ruined this town.

THe meth heads have ruined this town, people with money just want to clean it up.

[kodiakzak]

Originally Posted by texasdiver

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.

Florence pretends to be a fishing port, but less than 1% of the boats can even get underway. They had plans for a ice plant to help bring in a vital fishery, but the port refused to subsidize it. No ice, no fish. They try to revitalize the old town section of town for the tourists, but it's small and a joke compared to Newport. Florence does have a casino to take most of the tourist's dollars. It's also a major speed trap on Hwy 101 for the lazy PD to collect revenue. To answer your question, yes it is the worst town on the Oregon coast.