This part of Oregon, close to California, becomes the pass-trough area for people who are vacationing or moving North. As California becomes more arid, as more people begin to think of retirement, temperate areas like Oregon and Washington State will be visited, will be consulted, and considered for what most people hope they can have during their retirement years.
I am not working for the Chamber, or for any real estate agency. I am not working at all.
All I needed when we came up north from California were water features. (I know, it all sounds a bit naive!)
I wanted a view of water, a feel of water, access to water.
We have lived in Southern Oregon for eleven years. Not a day goes by that I don't pinch myself. Fresh air, beautiful views, wild rivers...The list goes on...
I don't think we are totally rational when it comes to these life/changing decisions. My husband just wanted trees. I wanted water. Neither one thought of all the practical things one needs to consider. And yet, just like falling in love, we take the step of loving someone without a lot of planning, or practical reasons.
It just feels right.
Now that we drive three hours to our doctor, we are beginning to realize the choices we made then might not be right for us now. We don't want to give up what we have; but what we have is not enough anymore.
Perhaps, with more people moving this way, doctors and specialists will move here too.
Perhaps, we don't have to go anywhere else if medical care can be delivered via phone, television, and other technological inventions still to come.
21 comments:
I would love to wake up every morning to those water views!
I'm afraid that I put being in a heart of the city with buses and good hospitals nearby (and we seem to need them) is a major reason for sacrificing *good views* with practicality. My son would like us all to move to the heart of the country near the sea miles away. I'm not the least interested and feel I will have to reserve that pleasure for holidays.
having no car, we feel, makes it essential to be where we are and to meet our needs and to stay independent for a while longer.
Just as well we are all different, isn't it?
Maggie x
Nuts in May
ah. its hard to tell what is coming....and i guess too it depends on how great your need becomes as well....finding the right place is important though...
When we bought our home we moved into the "country" from town. Now, if you visit Ashland OH it's a small rural town and when I moved here from Chicago I thought I did move to the country! Ha! 13yrs ago I thought the 4ac of woods was lovely and heating with wood was great. Now, heating with wood is hard work and our bodies are rebelling. Mowing the 2ac around the house was fun at first..now it's a bumpy, body wrenching 1 1/2 hr ride! Yep, things do change and reevaluating situations is often necessary. I don't want to move either and we may have to do some changes to how we live here to stay. In any case, we do enjoy the quiet and the lovely area we're in. Who knows Rosaria, our #2 son and his family live to Portland, Ore, and we thought it was beautiful when we visited...can Ore. take a transplant from the East? You never know! I do hope medicine can make changes to help out of towners like you. Frankly, I worry about small hospitals like ours with Obamacare making it very difficult to survive financially. Only time will tell. Enjoy your scenery and I do envy the water views...you and I have the same love of water I think!
I also feel a peaceful calm when near water ... rivers, lakes, the ocean. Living in the Orlando area afforded weekly opportunities to drive to the coast, a mere 45 minutes away. I miss that however there is NOTHING I miss about Orlando. Our coast is so mystical and magical, especially when the sky is clouded over, a light mist shrouding everything. I love living here and am blessed to have really great healthcare options. Why not consider a move to my part of Oregon? You might find something outside city limits affording space, views .. still minutes from great physicians, dentists, etc.
Yes, love isn't always rational, Rosaria. I do hope you can find a solution which doesn't involve moving house again.
It is so beautiful. It is great you can be so near to it.
Well, even when we're retired we "can't have it all." But I say, do what you love, the practical will follow.
The only way I will be able to move is if I win the lottery. We have a different view, but beautiful in its own way. The winters are relatively mild and we get little rain. I still long for a few palm trees and a tropical breeze, though.
'just like falling in love, we take steps of loving someone without lot of planning', and that is not less important for a long life.
Even in love, we continue to change, our needs change our wants may be different and sometimes the relationship cannot remain the same, and that is okay.
Velva
The drive to live in certain places is likened to the pull of falling in love.
I hope what drew you to your corner of beauty will also draw those healthcare givers.
What a decision to have to consider! I understand your dilemma Rosaria but if I live where you do, I would not be able to imagine moving into town. Portland works for me but that is because I don't have much money. If I had money, I would buy a house where you are and suffer the consequences of isolation as a fair trade off. However, I am alone and have no one else to worry about.
I hope you are both well.
I understand the experience you have had, Rosaria. All things being equal, I would be living on the rocky Canadian Shield, surrounded by evergreens and water. Still in Canada, a thousand miles from where we are now.
But I don't know if we could afford to buy ther. And the isolation would be difficult, especially in terms of medical care. So, I guess we will stay in our house in the city. With our "therapy dogs."
Hope you can sort out what you need and what you want.
Blessings and Bear hugs!
I seem to come across very often, lately, those who consider medical access when moving somewhere. I guess I'd never thought of it either.
Yes, medical types will come to your trees and water. They will.
We had a medical emergency this winter in Tucson, and I am grateful for the excellent care only eight miles away. However, I have been corresponding with our doc in Washington via email and he is totally in the loop. Hopefully the medical service will improve for you - if not physically close, then accessible via phone or computer.
Hi Rosaria .. being practical about potential situations later in life does need to be thought about. Where you live sounds idyllic .. and I certainly hope you can find the best and most satisfactory way forward ...
Cheers - it does sound lovely where you are and with such a wonderful community around you .. all the best - Hilary
Indeed. It's the same reason why we left the Twin Cities for a career in rural Minnesota . Water and trees. Small town life. Oh and now in our so called "Golden Years" having the Mayo Clinic less that a half hour away doesn't hurt either....:)
We never thought of medical care when we purchased our second home. Your three hours to a doctor is a daunting effort, especially if you're in need of urgent care. Surely, new services will come closer if the rest of the population is thinking about your temperate, watery climate!
I don't live where I like, but I have learned to like where I live. I have that whole "bloom where you are planted" thing going on. I know this may not be the last stop, but cultivating a sense of wonder helps to ameliorate the dread of change.
That said, I lived up and down the West Coast for the first half of my life and if I had my druthers...
Your 11-years-new hometown looks so beautiful! I think you chose well. There are always trade-offs. We had to drive an hour to a 10-minute hearing aid check today. Oh, well. The traffic was light. I read something in the paper today about the Los Angeles area having the worst traffic in the nation -- and believe it. So we may have had many more amenities close by there but just remember, Rosaria -- just remember how long it took to get to them on traffic-clogged streets and freeways! I do hope you have more essential services nearby before driving anywhere becomes too much of a chore.
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