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thanks to all the great information i've read over the last 8 months or so on these forums, we bought a house in eugene last november! we ended up buying in the whiteaker neighborhood and have not found it to be nearly as grungy as it is portrayed. i can see where some streets aren't quite as nice as others, but i've never been welcomed more warmly to a neighborhood in my life! i love the central location, two blocks to rose gardens, river paths, then on to skinner's butte etc. only a few more blocks to downtown, library, restaurants, saturday market etc. flat and bikeable/walkable, even an easy bike ride across the river on the pedestrian bridge over to theaters and trader joe's etc. we couldn't be happier with our older 40s home, our neighborhood and our new/old (i went to u of o in the 70s) hometown!
thanks to all the great information i've read over the last 8 months or so on these forums, we bought a house in eugene last november! we ended up buying in the whiteaker neighborhood and have not found it to be nearly as grungy as it is portrayed. i can see where some streets aren't quite as nice as others, but i've never been welcomed more warmly to a neighborhood in my life!
That's fantastic that the neighbors were very friendly and welcoming, however, LIFE IS SHORT, and I expect my streets to be safe, walkable, and bikabale, and therefore 90% free of potholes and with no sidewalk cracks, like in Corvallis and Ashland. I would also expect in a college town to be able to walk up from the Whittaker neighborhood to Skinners Butte at night to look at the stars, and not be attacked by gangs (see recently posted GANG thread and the SAFETY poll on the Oregon forum). Mr. E writes:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr Eugenified
Rentals: Here's my brief summary of the rental opportunities in each area that I am familiar with...
West of UO: Plenty of funky, grungy, rundown rentals for students. Many older houses but they are starting to build more low-rise apartments also. If you look hard enough, you could also find some renovated older houses and newer apartments for non-students. But there is always a risk that you will be living next door to a group of freshman students away from Mom & Dad for the first time..Plenty of small crime in this area. Worse a couple of blocks north in the downtown and Whiteaker areas. .
This is all very true, but the crime and homeless rates in this area is unacceptable and the City isn't managing it adequately! The area is very old and run down, as is downtown Eugene. I don't want to talk down the place, but compared to Corvallis, less than 10% of the entire City limits of Corvallis looks dilapidated! Compare that to at least half of Eugene city limits w/ potholes, faded lines on roads, dangerous sidewalk cracks, unmaintained buildings, etc! Eugene in many parts of town looks like a ghost town. Since this is the Corv. vs. Eug. thread, I highly suggest that anyone considering Eugene also check out Corvallis (ONLY 45 minutes away) (and also Ashland (2.5 to 3 hours away). And, Corvallis has about 8% unemployment compared to over 12% in Eugene, with much less crime on the City-Data crime index!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr Eugenified
East of UO: Mix of funky, grungy student rentals and nicer renovated house rentals. They say that many UO professors and professional staff members live there. Higher rent than west of UO. Much quieter and little crime. Great for biking/walking.
Southeast: More suburbia-ish feeling with a heavy dose of grown-up hippie...earth this, natural that, organic the other, etc. Some apartment buildings but mostly older houses from the 60's and 70's, some renovated, some not. Rent is around $300-400 per bedroom. Good for biking/walking, but some areas get too hilly.
South: Neighborhood is called Friendly. Same suburb/hippie feeling as Southeast but less retail and the houses are older (40's and 50's era). About the same rent level as Southeast but sometimes higher as you get closer to UO. Good for biking/walking, but some areas get too hilly.
Southwest: Suburbs without the hippie. No neighborhood retail in this area anywhere south of 18th street. Houses built from the 70's to the 00's. Rents around $450 per bedroom, but there is a wide range depending on the house and location. Area is very hilly and tree-covered. Biking is not really an option.
These are all GOOD neighborhoods, BUT THAT IS ABOUT IT! And even in these areas, be careful at night, this city is a METH city with a serious gang problem, that is NOT going away under the current Eugene leadership that COULD be doing more. All the troubles between the students and the police indicate major problems at a deeper level. I was hastled by police once by mistake, because I was in the wrong place, at the wrong time, and the police made an error in judgment. Deal with it, Eugenites, and stop smoking dope unless you do it for medical reasons under Oregon STATE LAW.
Check out Corvallis folks, I just drove through both, and that's my best advice here in this Corvallis vs. Eugene thread . . . I think Corvallis will be a welcome surprise after reading these Eugene forums! Corvallis also has more bike lanes, and mountain biking closer to the City limits. Have a great day.
Check out Corvallis folks, I just drove through both, and that's my best advice here in this Corvallis vs. Eugene thread . . . I think Corvallis will be a welcome surprise after reading these Eugene forums! Corvallis also has more bike lanes, and mountain biking closer to the City limits. Have a great day.
But it all depends on what you need in a city. If you're looking to retire somewhere, I'd recommend Corvallis over Eugene. If you want to move someplace to find a job, Corvallis is not the better choice--it is so much smaller than Eugene. In fact, in the current economic climate, if you need to move and find a job I think it's a bad idea to tie yourself to any particular city. Retirees-well that's just a different audience.
I guarantee you that Corvallis's unemployment rate would match that of Eugene's if people started flocking there to search for employment. Most people relocate to Corvallis because they have a job lined up or they are attending the University. There's just not the employment base there to support a very significant in-migration. At least part of the draw to Eugene is that it's a metropolitan area with over 300,000 people and, even though the local economy is currently in the crapper, there's still more opportunities (and yes, more competition) than in Corvallis.
But it all depends on what you need in a city. If you're looking to retire somewhere, I'd recommend Corvallis over Eugene. If you want to move someplace to find a job, Corvallis is not the better choice--it is so much smaller than Eugene. In fact, in the current economic climate, if you need to move and find a job I think it's a bad idea to tie yourself to any particular city. Retirees-well that's just a different audience.
I guarantee you that Corvallis's unemployment rate would match that of Eugene's if people started flocking there to search for employment. Most people relocate to Corvallis because they have a job lined up or they are attending the University. There's just not the employment base there to support a very significant in-migration. At least part of the draw to Eugene is that it's a metropolitan area with over 300,000 people and, even though the local economy is currently in the crapper, there's still more opportunities (and yes, more competition) than in Corvallis.
Nobody is hiring anywhere, right now, so the other amenities do matter ... since the only way to get a job is to start your own business ... or go back to college, but I won't tolerate the high crime and meth in Eugene. You want to have enough retirees or rich people from California around to purchase your services, like in Ashland, Bend, Corvallis. Eugene reminds me of the Central Valley in California, high crime, high meth, high unemployment, w/ deteriorating infrastructure. When did Eugene fall apart?
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But it all depends on what you need in a city. If you're looking to retire somewhere, I'd recommend Corvallis over Eugene. If you want to move someplace to find a job, Corvallis is not the better choice--it is so much smaller than Eugene. In fact, in the current economic climate, if you need to move and find a job I think it's a bad idea to tie yourself to any particular city. Retirees-well that's just a different audience.
I guarantee you that Corvallis's unemployment rate would match that of Eugene's if people started flocking there to search for employment. Most people relocate to Corvallis because they have a job lined up or they are attending the University. There's just not the employment base there to support a very significant in-migration. At least part of the draw to Eugene is that it's a metropolitan area with over 300,000 people and, even though the local economy is currently in the crapper, there's still more opportunities (and yes, more competition) than in Corvallis.
I see your point, however, Seattle, Portland, look a lot better than Eugene, both in terms of their infrastructure, and also their job prospects. I'd avoid Eugene, it's obvious once you start driving around the place for an hour or two that there's high unemployment, meth, homeless, and other issues. I think Corvallis is better due to the lower unemployment and better infrastructure, even though the population size is much less. Companies will choose to relocate to cities that look better, such as Corvallis, Ashland, Portland, Seattle, Olympia. Hopefully Eugene can re-invent itself someday soon to attract people driving through town. Eugene reminds me of Santa Cruz, another place with deteoriating infrastucture and recently they now have 15% unemployment.
I see your point, however, Seattle, Portland, look a lot better than Eugene, both in terms of their infrastructure, and also their job prospects. I'd avoid Eugene, it's obvious once you start driving around the place for an hour or two that there's high unemployment, meth, homeless, and other issues. I think Corvallis is better due to the lower unemployment and better infrastructure, even though the population size is much less. Companies will choose to relocate to cities that look better, such as Corvallis, Ashland, Portland, Seattle, Olympia. Hopefully Eugene can re-invent itself someday soon to attract people driving through town. Eugene reminds me of Santa Cruz, another place with deteoriating infrastucture and recently they now have 15% unemployment.
But the thread is "Eugene or Corvallis," not "Eugene or Portland" or "Eugene or Seattle."
And let me tell you, having been a 10-year resident of Corvallis (and a 4-year resident of Eugene while attending UO), companies don't relocate to Corvallis. If you look at the recent history, Corvallis has been home to several startups that eventually leave Corvallis because of some inconveniences (not the least of which is the distance to a major airport). Additionally, it's not enough to just look at the unemployment statistics to make a case that Corvallis is a better job market, you have to know the job market. When your city population is 1/3 students who are not actively looking for employment, your unemployment figures will be skewed somewhat.
Additionally, in another thread you said you "drove through Corvallis" to make these sweeping determinations about it's livability. Readers can figure out for themselves if they want to base their opinions on someone who basically did a drive-by. I'm not trying to flame you, I just think you're presenting your case based on incomplete information. I wouldn't want people to get the wrong impression that Corvallis is some sort of buzzing hub of economic activity that Eugene is not. I'm trying to present reality here--does Eugene have some problems? Yes. There's a grunge factor to parts of Eugene, but I've said before that's what some people love about the city--the weeds growing through the cracks in the sidewalk. Is that what I like? Not necessarily, but who am I to decide for others what they should and should not like?
I had my beefs living in Corvallis, but overall I loved living in the city, and if you're a retiree, I think you'd be hard pressed to find a city that has better livability. But I'm realistic about what life is like there while it appears that you have a real axe to grind with the city of Eugene for some reason, as evidenced by your postings where you keep repeating the same stuff over and over.
Additionally, in another thread you said you "drove through Corvallis" to make these sweeping determinations about it's livability. Readers can figure out for themselves if they want to base their opinions on someone who basically did a drive-by. I'm not trying to flame you, I just think you're presenting your case based on incomplete information.
But I'm realistic about what life is like there while it appears that you have a real axe to grind with the city of Eugene for some reason, as evidenced by your postings where you keep repeating the same stuff over and over.
Citing economic and crime statistics in message board posts is what constitutes being a pragmatist. Truth be told, Eugene has higher unemployment, higher crime, and deteriorating infrastructure, compared to Corvallis. Eugene is of no interest to me. In fact, I have previously lived in Corvallis, briefly, many years ago, and enjoyed it.
You've stated your case (several times) and your comments will live on in perpetuity on these boards for people to read forever (or at least until 2012).
And here's a message to all the Eugene cheerleaders: C'mon guys and gals! Make more of an effort to reply to Eugene queries so that prospective residents will get a more balanced view of what Eugene has to offer. I think it's awful that someone posts and the first response they see is: Meth! Homeless! Potholes! Unemployment! Cracks in the sidewalks!
I think CCCVDUR is stuck in Colorado - that's his problem, poor guy.
Also, I think most people ignore him and his abrasive assumptive comments anyway. It's pretty obvious he doesn't know what he's talking about when it comes to Eugene.
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Check Out Corvallis
