older/historic homes in the Corvallis/Albany area

[jjpop]

Originally Posted by strudel42

We are contemplating a rental in Corvallis on 9th St. near Borders. Does anyone have any feedback about living in the area? How is traffic on 9th? It seemed fairly quiet when we visited, but visiting and living somewhere are different balls of wax! Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Relative to the rest of Corvallis, 9th is pretty busy--it is the main N-S thoroughfare in town, and probably the most heavily commercial street (although down near Borders it is much less commercial than north of Borders).

I think it is probably the noisiest street in a town that is generally really quiet. Not really the kind of street where you want the kids playing ball on the front sidewalk, nor do you want to be backing out of a driveway onto 9th.

If these things aren't a concern, it's actually a pretty central location. You are walking or easy biking distance to downtown, OSU, and Fred Meyer.

[strudel42]

Originally Posted by jjpop

Relative to the rest of Corvallis, 9th is pretty busy--it is the main N-S thoroughfare in town, and probably the most heavily commercial street (although down near Borders it is much less commercial than north of Borders).

I think it is probably the noisiest street in a town that is generally really quiet. Not really the kind of street where you want the kids playing ball on the front sidewalk, nor do you want to be backing out of a driveway onto 9th.

If these things aren't a concern, it's actually a pretty central location. You are walking or easy biking distance to downtown, OSU, and Fred Meyer.

We don't have kids and parking would be off an alley.

Still concerned about the noise factor, though. It's really becoming ridiculously hard, trying to find anything that suits us -- I don't think our criteria are unusual or necessarily difficult to meet. We are not asking for a hot tub, bidet, private arboretum and a butler to come with the rental, for crying out loud. Maybe in a few weeks some more places will open up, although really wanted to have a place lined up by now. Hmmmm. Moving is hard. It's been so long since I did it that I seem to have forgotten that important fact of life.

Sorry, everyone... that was a vent.

[jjpop]

Things should loosen up a little bit after the students leave. By mid-June I'd bet there will be more rentals on the market.

[antiguanmom]

I dont live in the downtown area so Im not sure, I live closer to LBCC and the trains pass by all the time. We've lived here for about a month now and they do not wake me up. But I am a heavy sleeper. But they are loud here and it's entertainment for my 2 year old. When Im in downtown I barely notice a train going by infact I cant remember seeing one go by when Im in the downtown core. I hear and see then more in the West and SE end of town. I could be wrong though since we haven't been here for that long.

What are your deciding factors?

Originally Posted by outdoors_oriented

Thanks for that feedback.

Are the trains generally not very noticeable in the downtown area, or is there a lot of railroad noise downtown? I've only been in downtown Albany for brief periods during a visit, but I never heard a train when I was there. I'm most concerned about train noise at night... don't want to move downtown and be woken every night!

[outdoors_oriented]

Thanks, AntiguanMom. That does help.

I love the old buildings downtown, the local stores, and the proximity to the riverfront. I just need to be able to sleep through the night, if I move there! I'm going to contact Amtrak for more info on schedules, next. Thanks.