Brookings - considering for retirement but health care issue? (Portland: home, campground)

[MtnSurfer]

Originally Posted by ExNooYawk2

My latest plan for the future is to sell my large house and buy another, smaller one and the same area. The coast beckons but being near family, my great medical care and comfort zone win out. However, if I can swing it, would like to buy a small camper van to bring to the coast during the summer. I don't have to live there but can spend time near the beach on my own terms when I can find an RV spot. When the weather gets bad or I don't like the neighbors, I can just drive away.

That's likely why RVs/camper vans/5th wheels are so popular in the PNW. Although folks use them for snowbirding as well. I mean if you don't mind living in it and want to catch some sunrays during winter months, why not flock south? That or buy a condo in FL/AZ/etc...

There are some camper vans that are pretty nice and easier to deal with than a huge RV. Plus, they are better on gas.

Derek

[texasdiver]

Originally Posted by ExNooYawk2

My latest plan for the future is to sell my large house and buy another, smaller one and the same area. The coast beckons but being near family, my great medical care and comfort zone win out. However, if I can swing it, would like to buy a small camper van to bring to the coast during the summer. I don't have to live there but can spend time near the beach on my own terms when I can find an RV spot. When the weather gets bad or I don't like the neighbors, I can just drive away.

Good luck with the underlined phrase. We finally sold our camping trailer because finding camping spots in nice state park campgrounds on the Oregon Coast with less than a year's notice is near impossible. There are expensive private campgrounds but usually not in great locations.

If you want to go on say a Tues-Thurs in November or March then sure, you can find spots. But not during the summer.

I did the math. The RV storage fees, maintenance, insurance, extra gas to haul it around, and the cost of private campgrounds on the coast exceeded the cost of just getting a decent AirB&B for when we want to hit the coast. And AirB&Bs are far easier to find than prime camp sites on the coast during the summer.

[ejisme]

I'll second the hard to find an RV spot during peak months, say April to October. It seems RV usage has exploded since the pandemic start. We used to be able to find a spot in a state park pretty regularly with a months notice. That stopped about three years ago. Now we have to keep track of the reserveamerica.com 8 month pre-booking window, so June 2024 right now, to book a spot.

[MtnSurfer]

Wow, great updated info on the whole RV/Camper situation along the Oregon coast. I had heard something similar in the RV life youtube videos where folks drive around the country living in their RV. I guess it has exploded a lot more lately. Even in FL where prices used to be cheap to camp, it has gone up quite a bit. To Texasdiver's point, when doing the math, one needs to take a long hard look at the feasibility with combined costs (higher gas prices, steeper camping fees, availability, storage, maintenance, upfront costs, etc...) vs. renting out an AirB&B. What's the annual cost breakdown vs. convenience factor to go when the weather is actually nice vs. raining and/or windy when planned months in advance? I don't know about you, but I prefer to live somewhat spontaneously when traveling to the coast given weather changes.

The one possible exception to the above is boondocking off the main roads like on forest service roads. In fact, I was just reading how those spots have also become more popular and crowded. Honestly, you see a lot of folks pulling over in camper van along many of the highways and just crashing there for the night. I've done that too even around national parks. It can work for a 'limited' time. But I wouldn't want to live on the fringe like that for extended stays.



Then there is whole condo/small vacation home ownership option along with renting it out when not in use via AirB&B. That can sometimes almost pay for itself. You just have deal with all those tenants and the possibility of someone trashing the place. But obviously a lot of people are doing it regardless. That's our prime way to stay somewhere along the coast with the entire family. If its just two of us, hotels are super convenient.

Derek

[rkcarguy]

Originally Posted by ejisme

I'll second the hard to find an RV spot during peak months, say April to October. It seems RV usage has exploded since the pandemic start. We used to be able to find a spot in a state park pretty regularly with a months notice. That stopped about three years ago. Now we have to keep track of the reserveamerica.com 8 month pre-booking window, so June 2024 right now, to book a spot.

+1. My uncle recently retired and bought a big 5th wheel trailer. When trying to reserve desired campsites on weekends/summer so the grandkids can go, he stays up until midnight so he's "first on the website" when the camp and dates he wants fall into the pre-booking window. Even then, often the whole thing bogs down for a few minutes and everything good is gone. He travels WA, OR, and into a few of the mid-west states.

[Metlakatla]

Originally Posted by MtnSurfer

Then there is whole condo/small vacation home ownership option along with renting it out when not in use via AirB&B. That can sometimes almost pay for itself. You just have deal with all those tenants and the possibility of someone trashing the place. But obviously a lot of people are doing it regardless. That's our prime way to stay somewhere along the coast with the entire family. If its just two of us, hotels are super convenient.

Derek

Before anyone decides to go this route, keep in mind that there is basically no local labor force (the working class has been priced out between the retirees and the vacation rentals), so you'll be driving over to clean that vacation rental by yourself between guests — or just doing like a lot of them do and leave a big to-do list for guests to do upon checkout and hope they actually do it (most won't). Additionally, vacation rentals typically sit empty for most of the winter, and break-ins are a thing with them.

[texasdiver]

At state parks, by far the hardest sites to get are the big pull-through sites for large RVs and 5th wheels. The smaller your trailer the easier it is.

Basically most of the state parks were built in the 1930s when campers were MUCH smaller. Mostly just teardrops and old style smaller trailers. So the older campground loops with back-in sites were mostly built for smaller campers. Some or most campgrounds in more recent years have put in new loops with big pull-through camp sites for the big rigs. But they go fast. So if you have a small pop-up or teardrop or something it is easier to find a site than if you have a monster RV or 5th wheel.

I'm a cyclist and I have discovered that if you are bike touring you will never get turned away. A few years ago I rode the whole pacific coast from Astoria to San Francisco and the unwritten policy at every state park in both OR and CA is that they don't turn away bikers and hikers. They just find you a spot of grass someplace. In fact, most have hiker-biker sites that are just a grassy area where you can always squeeze in, even if you don't have a picnic table or grill next to it. Since there is no car or trailer to park they have flexibility in finding you a place to put your tent.

So even 4th of July weekend we were able to roll into popular state parks on highway 1 north of San Francisco without notice and they would always find us a spot.

[ExNooYawk2]

Originally Posted by MtnSurfer

That's likely why RVs/camper vans/5th wheels are so popular in the PNW. Although folks use them for snowbirding as well. I mean if you don't mind living in it and want to catch some sunrays during winter months, why not flock south? That or buy a condo in FL/AZ/etc...

There are some camper vans that are pretty nice and easier to deal with than a huge RV. Plus, they are better on gas.

Derek

I appreciate all the comments about the possible difficulty in finding RV spots in summer. My plan would be to stay in a spot for a month at a time, or even longer. It might be easier (knock on wood) to do that than find shorter term space availability. I'd love to stay on the coast for maybe three months in the summer.

To the OP, sorry for the hijack, but it looks like medical care is an issue on the coast. All my medical facilities and doctors are in Medford which I wouldn't change for anything.

[Metlakatla]

Originally Posted by ExNooYawk2

I appreciate all the comments about the possible difficulty in finding RV spots in summer. My plan would be to stay in a spot for a month at a time, or even longer. It might be easier (knock on wood) to do that than find shorter term space availability. I'd love to stay on the coast for maybe three months in the summer.

Sorry, but I doubt it. Local social media is full of those with the same plan who can't find a spot. But maybe it would work if you started looking really early for next summer, like now. There are private RV parks like Darling's Marina south of Florence that seem pretty nice.

[MtnSurfer]

Originally Posted by Metlakatla

Sorry, but I doubt it. Local social media is full of those with the same plan who can't find a spot. But maybe it would work if you started looking really early for next summer, like now. There are private RV parks like Darling's Marina south of Florence that seem pretty nice.

Yeah, its gonna probably take some advanced reservations and negotiation or battle it out with all the late comers.

Heck, if you know you want 1 month+, the weather won't matter as much as the the onslaught of others campers wanting the same thing once the reservation systems open. Maybe private is more negotiable even if a bit more pricey.

Given the demand and popularity, it wouldn't be a bad business model if you could acquire some land and rent out camp spots. There's a nice private RV camp my son and I tent camped at on Cannon Beach when everything else was completely booked. It's called Sea Ranch and there are others like it.
Cannon Beach camping





It's right along this Ecola creek which flows into the ocean.




Derek