Overcrowded? Who is leaving and why? (Portland, Eugene: real estate, 2015, crime rate)

[JumpHigh]

I beg to differ with texasdriver regarding what a university offers to Corvallis.



OSU in Corvallis serves it's own without regard for the residents. Jobs go to graduates if they choose to stay--maybe that's a reason for young people to stay--good luck to any one over 40. And good luck to newcomers. If you don't have a job lined up, expect to be in line waiting a long time for a job to eventually open up.


When you speak of "New Blood" in the community you must mean the transient students. They are not terribly concerned with the needs and the on-goings of the community and what is best for it. Economic investment? You mean spending on their own infrastructure, or keeping land locked up for their own future growth. Restrictive urban growth boundaries are choking the life out Corvallis.



Corvallis exists because of the University. Take OSU away and Corvallis crumbles. All the housing, which is old and in disrepair because it's rented out to students with little maintenance when turned over to the next class of students would sit vacant because rents are exorbitant. Rents are calculated by bedroom count--on average about 700$ per room. That's ok if you get 3 students to share costs but not affordable for families. New housing is built for students, multi-level, multi-bedroom, small, more bedrooms = more students = more $$.


Most people who work in Corvallis live in Albany, Lebannon, Philomath, Millersville, Monroe, Independence and Monmouth because they can't afford to live in Corvallis--or don't want to live in a run-down over-priced 1950's home. Not that there's anything wrong with a 1950's house, if it's been taken care of, maybe even had some new appliances from the 90's?. But not in Corvallis, that house gets turned over every year and probably has the original everything. A lucky few California transplants, who were able to sell big and relocate are able to pick up some nice homes (or spend $$ to renovate). The physicians who work at the hospital take up the remainder mega-homes. Corvallis is just another example of the haves and have nots.



No Corvallis would not be nearly as appealing as Albany if the University wasn't here. If they even lost some of their foreign student population, who are gouged the most and who the city dearly depends on, Corvallis would slide faster than mud down Portland's West Hills on a rainy day. The next biggest employer (health) has and is severely applying cost cutting measures, hiring freezes and lay-offs.



Neither Albany or Corvallis have a decent newspaper, but hey, those are fast declining too. Bend Bulletin does have, in my opinion a good on-line version with magazines. Neither Albany nor Corvallis have a TV station, news comes out of Portland or Eugene--Corvallis is rarely mentioned. And no airport!. Gotta drive or shuttle to PDX or Eugene for that.



Albany does at least have some department stores that Corvallis residents flock to, because, well besides Fred-Meyer there's really no department store here. K-mart is now closing. What's left? Oh, a TJ Max and two Bi-marts.

[iso4everhome]

Originally Posted by JumpHigh

I beg to differ with texasdriver regarding what a university offers to Corvallis...

I'm interested to hear more about your perspective. Specifically, what kinds of things/infrastructure/services/investments do you think go unaddressed for the non-student population, aside from the housing issue that you described?

(If you're interested in a little background for my question, this explains where I'm coming from: //www.city-data.com/forum/orego...l#post54123887)

(sorry - I think that I don't have enough rep points yet to make the fancy links)

[pnwguy2]

I have not read the entire thread, but I do understand Bend. It is basically a playground for rich Portlanders.

OK, so that got your attention, right?

Bend is actually a working-class town that happens to be in a great spot that many want to live in. Like many popular areas, it attracts those with money who want to be near great mountain ski areas up high and great golf courses down low. This is indeed an important part of Bend in 2019. But it isn't the whole story.

The city also is home to many working class who keep the area chugging along. Yes, some live in less expensive Redmond, just 18 miles to the north. But Bend also has lower income areas, and the homeless have become more evident.

The area continues to grow, and housing can be expensive. The climate is high desert, with warm to hot temps in the summer, and cold winters, but only about 20 inches of snow as it is in the shadow of the Cascades.

Overall, a nice area but it isn't nirvana. There are few perfect places in the lower 48, and Bend is not perfect.

[pdxMIKEpdx]

I have not read the entire thread, but I do understand Bend. It is basically a playground for rich Portlanders.

Sorry, Bend is thought of by Portlanders (and probably the rest of Oregon) as more of a playground for rich Californians, and a retiree spot for rich Californians.

[BendLocal]

Originally Posted by pdxMIKEpdx

Sorry, Bend is thought of by Portlanders (and probably the rest of Oregon) as more of a playground for rich Californians, and a retiree spot for rich Californians.

There are many wealthy Portlanders with homes in Bend.

[pnwguy2]

Originally Posted by BendLocal

There are many wealthy Portlanders with homes in Bend.

Yes, this is my semi-conclusion. But my post also mentioned the "working-class of Bend", which entirely exists. Those who make 25-35K a year servicing Bend's brewpubs, restaurants, hotels, etc. are also a large part of the community. And they have to live somewhere, and are usually priced out of most areas. This is a huge problem, not only for the employees, but for the employers who have to attract quality applicants.

[pdxMIKEpdx]

I will agree that having a "place" in Bend is a status symbol for rich Portlanders.

But I doubt that Bend would be the town it is today without a very healthy influx of rich Californians.

Nowadays when I go through Bend, it seems a lot like it should be in resort mountains of Southern California.

I am not rich by any means, but could easily afford a vacation home in Bend.
I just don't like it that much.
But then again, I am old enough to clearly remember the Bend of the 60's and 70's.
Maybe that puts a little bias on my current opinion of Bend.

To me, the best part of visiting Bend is seeing a "Welcome to Bend" sign in my rear view mirror.

The area around Bend though, is spectacular.

[texasdiver]

Originally Posted by pdxMIKEpdx

Sorry, Bend is thought of by Portlanders (and probably the rest of Oregon) as more of a playground for rich Californians, and a retiree spot for rich Californians.

I'm willing to bet that at least 5x more retirees and affluent couples with 2nd homes in Bend and Sunriver are from the Portland area (or at least the Willamette Valley) compared to those from CA. I taught at one medium size HS in the Portland area and I knew of 3 separate teachers who retired and moved to Bend (and one to the coast) in the 2 years that I was there. That is a pretty small sample size. But in my wife's world (she is in medicine) we run into a ton of people who have second homes in Sunriver or Bend or occasionally places like Sisters. Go to AirB&B or VRBO and look at the addresses of the people renting out their vacation homes in Bend and Sunriver and see how many are from the Portland area compared to California. I'm wiling to bet it is at least a 5:1 ratio. I happen to live in the Portland suburb of Camas WA and I know of 3 people on my street who have second homes in Sunriver. I know this because they keep advertising them on the local PTA facebook group.

Californians have a bazillion places to go like Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, and "old" Mexico that are all closer than Bend. If you want to see a lot of Californians, visit Santa Fe. If you are a wealthy Oregonian and want to retire to someplace sunny that isn't too far from your grandkids then Bend and the surrounding resort towns is pretty much your only option. Although I do suspect a higher percentage of the the wealthy young 30-something millenial types with mysterious "online" tech industry jobs who live in Bend are from CA.

I remember the Bend of the 60s and 70s too. Well, least the 70s. I grew up in Eugene and skiied a lot at Bachelor growing up. Back then you would see farm implement dealerships in the middle of Bend and the lunch spot was more likely to be Denny's or old diners and dive bars than what you see today. I graduated HS in 1982 and I had HS friends who skipped college and went over to Bend and bought houses on the salaries they earned from ski patrol and bartending. Try that today.

[pdxMIKEpdx]

Yep, the old Bend..................

Memories.

Good luck to todays Bend.

HAHAHA

But I wish I had invested in old Bend ranch land twenty or thirty years ago when it was cheap......

Years ago, nobody thought it would become what it is today.

[BendLocal]

Originally Posted by texasdiver

I graduated HS in 1982 and I had HS friends who skipped college and went over to Bend and bought houses on the salaries they earned from ski patrol and bartending. Try that today.

In the early 80s Bend was in a severe recession. Houses were cheap but there weren't many jobs.