Thinking of relocating to Corvallis/Albany area and would love some info. (Portland: job)

[Madeline55]

My husband and I are thinking of relocating to the Corvallis/Albany area and would love some REAL info. from those already in the area. Is it a nice place to raise a family?, do you mind the rainy winters?, is it low in crime and high in education? Nearest airport? My husband is in construction, how's the job market? What draws us is the "more reasonable" housing (we're coming from SoCal), the outdoor activities (we love nature), the beautiful surroundings and smaller town atmosphere. We've been hardpressed to find usable info. We've found a lot on Portland but not this area. I'd love to hear from any of you natives. We have a 16 month old and want to find a place that we'd all love to stay for a long time. Do you have suggestions for other areas as well? The reason we're leaning toward Corvallis/Albany is easy access to Salem/Eugene and even Portland. Thanks.

Madeline

[Steve97415]

If you ask people in Salem, Portland or Eugene where in Oregon they would live if they could live anywhere they most often say Corvallis. I'm surprised you haven't been able to find out much about Corvallis because it has often been rated as the #1 or #2 small city in America.
While there is a smaller town atmosphere, you won't have a lot of need to go to bigger cities. Corvallis is a very acculturated place: between Hewlett-Packard and the university, there is a very high proportion of people with Masters degrees and PhDs. They want interesting things to do and a family-friendly city. They have it. Crime is extremely low.
Like many smaller livable cities, finding employment can be the most difficult part. Many of the university professors have well-educated spouses who came along with the move who are looking for employment. Educators are stacked like cordwood in Corvallis. Any teaching opening in any of the schools generates hundreds of applications. Corvallis has a city charter that only allows for land to be annexed to the city if voted on by the citizens. Most residents want to keep growth slow and so don't usually approve annexation requests. That makes the construction business extremely competitive. I know a number of builders there who just couldn't get established.
Albany is okay, but nothing like Corvallis. It's on the I-5 corridor and is a rather generic Willamette Valley freeway town. I know of families where both mom and dad work in Albany, but live in Corvallis just so their kids can go to Corvallis schools. Albany is also in Linn County so the local government is not as good. I lived in Corvallis and rural Benton County for 13 years and had real misgivings about leaving. I miss it (except for the winters).

[Valentine8]

mod cut. The best thing to do is go to the local newspaper site there and you can learn a lot. As far as Hewlett Packard. My husband just retired early from there. They have had their 3rd downsizing in the last 4 years. They are sending all the work overseas. New houses are being built in Corvallis but not like Albany. North Albany, which is in Benton county like Corvallis, is booming. New shopping & homes. Albany in Linn county is also growing with new businesses and homes. People are coming to Albany to buy and commute to Salem or Eugene because homes cost less. Housing prices have skyrocketed the last year. Had several years of decline. I agree with the other post in the winters. Cloudy and gloomy all winter long.

[jensen]

How did it go? Did you end up moving? I moved here from SF, CA & I love it! An excellent place to live. Jenny