Thoughts on Corvallis, Oregon (Albany, Donald: best town, real estate, rentals)

[emilyw2003]

My boyfriend and I are considering relocating to Oregon and came across Corvallis, Oregon in Sunset magazine. We like the location, it's only 8 hours from our family in Lake Tahoe, Ca and we will eventually be going back to school, possibly at OSU. I would love it if people would share their thoughts on Corvallis and photos or suggest alternatives.

[Steve97415]

Use the "search" function in the blue tool bar on the top of this page. Type in "Corvallis" and you'll get all kinds of information.

[darjoh]

Only eight hours to Lake Tahoe huh? Maybe in a perfect world with no restroom stops, no gas stops, no food stops and 55+mph the whole way. Plan on more like 10-12 hour drive.

[desertman]

was born in corvallis and raised in corvallis. has changed alot over the years. hewlett/packard helped with the change but there pretty much gone now. osu is a great college. easy acess to the coast and the cascades. in my opinion corvallis is the best town in the willamette valley. go check out Marys peak, the highest peak in the coast range 4000 and some change, and the only place in the coast range where there is old growth Noble fir

[llwise]

Hi emilyw2003,

I've lived in Corvallis and its sister city, Albany for almost 15 years. Corvallis is a small (45,000) town, about 4 miles across in one direction, about 6 in the other. It is a typical 'college town'. If you've ever been to one, you understand what I mean. It has small shops, an active farmers' market, a higher than average intellectual/snobbishness quotient (not necessarily a bad thing), and few big businesses. You will have to drive about 15 minutes to get to a mall in neighboring Albany (even then, the mall isn't much). The streets roll up at 4pm on Sunday, and about 8 any other night of the week.

I've adored living here. The city is surrounded by fantastic natural areas for mountain biking, hiking, nature walks, picking wild apples or berries, or just pretty vistas. Twenty minutes in your car, and you're in the woods (actually, you could go to McDonald Dunn forest even faster, but hey). An hour and you're at the coast. Two hours and you're in the high desert. Want a day trip to something fantastic? No problem. Waterfalls, whitewater rafting, rock climbing... This place has it all.

Weather is mild all year, summers especially so. On the negative side, it has two seasons. From November through June it is gray, rainy, and fairly depressing (but at least it isn't freezing). From July through October, you get to see the sun, and it isn't too hot to enjoy it generally. Humidity is low, no rain at all, nice breezes but no wind. Paradise.

Economically it's suffering right now, but everything is. HP was the big industry here, and it has gone from 7,000 employees to under 2,000 in just a few short years. And yet they're still building new homes left and right, and charging an arm and a leg for real estate. You'll get a nice three bedroom in a good area for around 200,000 in Albany. In Corvallis, it would be closer to 300,000. Of course, when I say 'nice' I don't mean a starter home. You can find things for less. Rentals are more reasonable - from $600/mo for a 2 bdr apt, to about $900/mo for a small house. There are no really 'bad' areas in Corvallis, although Albany has some that are more impoverished.

Great place to raise kids, mostly safe. Good sports and summer programs. Big on soccer. Public transportation is fairly good, esp for a small town.

Feel free to email me if you have other questions. My husband and I have both recently lost our jobs here (like so many others). We'll be moving soon, and we're sick at heart because of it. This is home. Like no where else has ever been.
Laura

[Nina-in-Ashland]

Originally Posted by llwise

Hi emilyw2003,

I've lived in Corvallis and its sister city, Albany for almost 15 years. Corvallis is a small (45,000) town, about 4 miles across in one direction, about 6 in the other. It is a typical 'college town'. If you've ever been to one, you understand what I mean. It has small shops, an active farmers' market, a higher than average intellectual/snobbishness quotient (not necessarily a bad thing), and few big businesses. You will have to drive about 15 minutes to get to a mall in neighboring Albany (even then, the mall isn't much). The streets roll up at 4pm on Sunday, and about 8 any other night of the week.

I've adored living here. The city is surrounded by fantastic natural areas for mountain biking, hiking, nature walks, picking wild apples or berries, or just pretty vistas. Twenty minutes in your car, and you're in the woods (actually, you could go to McDonald Dunn forest even faster, but hey). An hour and you're at the coast. Two hours and you're in the high desert. Want a day trip to something fantastic? No problem. Waterfalls, whitewater rafting, rock climbing... This place has it all.

Weather is mild all year, summers especially so. On the negative side, it has two seasons. From November through June it is gray, rainy, and fairly depressing (but at least it isn't freezing). From July through October, you get to see the sun, and it isn't too hot to enjoy it generally. Humidity is low, no rain at all, nice breezes but no wind. Paradise.

Economically it's suffering right now, but everything is. HP was the big industry here, and it has gone from 7,000 employees to under 2,000 in just a few short years. And yet they're still building new homes left and right, and charging an arm and a leg for real estate. You'll get a nice three bedroom in a good area for around 200,000 in Albany. In Corvallis, it would be closer to 300,000. Of course, when I say 'nice' I don't mean a starter home. You can find things for less. Rentals are more reasonable - from $600/mo for a 2 bdr apt, to about $900/mo for a small house. There are no really 'bad' areas in Corvallis, although Albany has some that are more impoverished.

Great place to raise kids, mostly safe. Good sports and summer programs. Big on soccer. Public transportation is fairly good, esp for a small town.

Feel free to email me if you have other questions. My husband and I have both recently lost our jobs here (like so many others). We'll be moving soon, and we're sick at heart because of it. This is home. Like no where else has ever been.
Laura

thanks for the good info, best of luck to you and your husband.