Forest Living in Oregon

[Wile E. Coyote]

Originally Posted by Uncle Freddy

Wow.

What do you remember about The Bay area living?

Good?

Bad?

Well, it's pretty outdated at this point. Monterey was 1982-1984. Bay area was 1988 to 2002. It was not what it was in the 80's by the time I left in 2002. So, a lot of my memories are set back in time. It was hugely positive for me as I was young. It was a beautiful place to live with a lot to experience. There is a concentration of wealth there for a reason. I encourage you to go experience it for yourself!

[MtnSurfer]

Originally Posted by Wile E. Coyote

Well, it's pretty outdated at this point. Monterey was 1982-1984. Bay area was 1988 to 2002. It was not what it was in the 80's by the time I left in 2002. So, a lot of my memories are set back in time. It was hugely positive for me as I was young. It was a beautiful place to live with a lot to experience. There is a concentration of wealth there for a reason. I encourage you to go experience it for yourself!

It really is a beautiful place with the Bay itself along the all the nicer neighborhoods adjacent to the Santa Cruz mountains. With towns like Redwood City, Palo Alto, Mountain View and Saratoga, there are some amazing neighborhoods. My wife grew up in the South Bay area a.k.a. Silicon Valley. Although always pricey, it's now one of the most expensive places to live in the world. And of course it's more crowded now with all the tech giants there than it was before Google, eBay, Facebook, Apple, etc... But the architecture and old neighborhoods are well laid out. And of course, Stanford is right there as well which is a really nice campus.

One of the many benefits of Monterey is that it's within ~hour of San Jose. It's just far enough to create a buffer from the Bay Area including the hordes of people that fill it. And in that way, it has maintained extremely slow growth along with environmental protections to preserve both it and the Big Sur coastline.

Monterey population growth from City Data:
Population in 2021: 29,874 (100% urban, 0% rural). Population change since 2000: +0.7%

https://www.city-data.com/city/Monterey-California.html


Derek

[texasdiver]

Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth

Well, as I mentioned earlier, I don't think it's realistic for the OP to hope to actually own old growth, so looking for properties with at least well-established native evergreens would be more realistic. Quinault not only has homes with patches of forest, some of them are on waterfront at Lake Quinault on lots of over 1/2 acre. And they're in the OP's price range. It's worth a look. There aren't very many places in Western WA where people can afford spacious lakefront properties.

Lake Quinault is a pretty place but it is EXTREMELY isolated. You'll be driving a LONG LONG ways over deserted rural highways to find the nearest yoga class, eclectic coffee shop, live music or a Thai restaurant. Especially on a dark and rainy day in late November or mid February.

That is why I suggested the San Juans for someone with a generous budget. You can find your little patch of woodsy shoreline with a view but still have like-minded community nearby.

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by texasdiver

Lake Quinault is a pretty place but it is EXTREMELY isolated. You'll be driving a LONG LONG ways over deserted rural highways to find the nearest yoga class, eclectic coffee shop, live music or a Thai restaurant. Especially on a dark and rainy day in late November or mid February.

That is why I suggested the San Juans for someone with a generous budget. You can find your little patch of woodsy shoreline with a view but still have like-minded community nearby.

I see. Well, didn't the OP say she wanted seclusion? But in any case, it's hard to argue with Orcas, if one can afford it. Nice community. No Thai or Chinese restaurants, though. Mostly just high-end restaurants for tourists and wealthy locals. Good in the "eclectic coffee shop" department, though. Has a good public library with a good film library, too, though. Hopefully the OP doesn't need specialized medical, or won't in the future, if she considers Orcas.

[NW Crow]

The OP could narrow the targets. If comes back and desires to engage with the responders. So far, no sign of that. Many posters are quick to ghost out, in spite of efforts to help. Whatever. Ultimately it is figure it out yourself, especially for those who don't respond.

Not all response is on target or news but it is effort.

[MtnSurfer]

Originally Posted by NW Crow

The OP could narrow the targets. If comes back and desires to engage with the responders. So far, no sign of that. Many posters are quick to ghost out, in spite of efforts to help. Whatever. Ultimately it is figure it out yourself, especially for those who don't respond.

Not all response is on target or news but it is effort.

This happens a lot on CD with one post wonders. Ask a question, then poof! Gone. But it's an interesting enough topic to consider for a wider audience who may have similar, related interests. While not everyone plans to meditate for 8 hours a day during retirement, a lot of folks do dream of retiring to some type of forested environment. 'Zen' experiences can mean different things to different people. But many do love this sort of lifestyle either in or near the forests, of which the PNW has many (even if not redwoods). Personally, I find the Western Red Cedars very beautiful which can be found throughout the PNW. They are perhaps the closest thing to a Redwood in appearance and can grow very large as well.

Interestingly "Lake Quinault, Washington, is home to the largest known western red cedar in the world, perhaps the largest tree in the world outside of California, with its monster redwoods and sequoias. The Quinault Giant has a height of 174 feet and a diameter of 19.5 feet."
https://www.oregonencyclopedia.org/a...ern_red_cedar/

Derek

[Arktikos]

Originally Posted by MtnSurfer

..
Interestingly "Lake Quinault, Washington, is home to the largest known western red cedar in the world, perhaps the largest tree in the world outside of California, with its monster redwoods and sequoias. The Quinault Giant has a height of 174 feet and a diameter of 19.5 feet."
https://www.oregonencyclopedia.org/a...ern_red_cedar/

Derek

Also home to the largest Sitka Spruce at 191 ft. https://www.outdoorproject.com/unite...t-sitka-spruce

I have a photo of me and my daughter standing under that tree. We visited several years ago. The National Park visitor center is of interest. I found this fascinating book there: https://www.amazon.com/Forest-Giants.../dp/0295981407

The weather at the Quinault ranger station could be the wettest in the PNW at 131 inches of rain per year. https://wrcc.dri.edu/cgi-bin/cliMAIN.pl?wa6864

As you've previously mentioned the vast majority of really big trees, tallest being coastal redwood and Douglas fir, were logged many decades ago.