Moving to Carvallis, where to start? (Portland, Eugene: real estate market, apartments, dermatologist)

[heavens54]

Husband is taking a job Sept. 1. We want to live in Corvallis, his office will be in Corvallis. Wife (me) and son (16) will move in later...we want to wait a few months so he can play football in his hometown (So Cal desert, small town).



We love the fact that this is a college town, has good high schools, is close to Portland and has many various festivals and things to do...

Any tips, comments, gripes, or suggestions about moving to the town? Please post here. Thanks.

[jjpop]

Hey heavens. Do you have any specific questions? I can tell you that some people gripe about shopping within Corvallis. The Downtown Corvallis Association, in cooperation with the City Council have been pretty effective in keeping out national chains and maintaining the character of our downtown. Yes, for those of you who have never visited, Corvallis actually has a living, breathing downtown with local retailers intermixed with a couple of chain stores (i.e. Starbucks, Noah's Bagels). But some people really want to shop at Walmart or Target or Costco, so they will drive to Lebanon and Albany to shop. Full disclosure: I do this too!

I have a gripe about the upkeep of some of the public spaces in town. Basically it seems that the city defines "upkeep" as "mowing the lawns." Consequently, we've spent a lot of money creating parks and landscaping median strips and parking strips only for them to decay into weed-infested spaces with dying trees and tall grass growing where the mowers can't reach. Heaven forbid they take out a weed whacker and knock down the tall grass or water the dang trees! This isn't the case in all public spaces, but enough for a person to notice if they are driving around town. It's a small complaint, but I think it takes away from the otherwise nice look of the town.

One source for interesting information about Corvallis is the blog The Corvallist . The woman who blogs there used to work for the Corvallis Gazette-Times, so she knows a lot about the city. Spend some time reading her posts, and you'll get some real insights into the town.

[DavePautsch]

Corvallis has a lot to offer and a certain charm and personality all its own. jjpop has some good points about Corvallis and growth. I have always joked that "all the cross streets are named after dead presidents...and they stopped at Garfield!"

When we moved to the area 6 years ago (I had a position at OSU) we looked in Corvallis...and ended up expanding our search due to the affordability issues (for us). In retrospect, we might have made more money in the Corvallis housing market over the time period (Corvallis is still a pretty solid Seller's Market, while Albany and surrounding areas are in neutral at the moment). BUT...we ended up in Albany and found it a great place to raise our kids.

In general Albany is about 13 miles from Corvallis so the commute was not a problem at all (I had previously lived in both San Diego and Hawaii before moving here).

You can check out this webpage from a local radio station for info about the local real estate market KGAL: Real Estate Talk (includes Albany, Lebanon, and Corvallis info).

Only problem with Corvallis that I can think of is access to I-5. My family and I travel quite a bit to Washington and getting to I-5 from Albany is a quick shot, Corvallis adds another 15-20 minutes to a 4 1/2 hour drive for us. As you consider areas West of Corvallis (toward the coast...like Philomath), it adds even more time).

Good luck.

Dave

[heavens54]

Thanks. These are helpful sites.

Any specific questions...well, I have many, really. Where to buy a home first of all? Are there easy rentals in the area? With college starting soon, I am thinking not too many. Are the public schools in semester schedules rather than trimester...Do many people drive Suburbans? Are there many fitness clubs/classes available in the area? What do you love about Corvallis the most, what do you dislike about it? How do you deal with mud? Do you have good restaurants and cafes? What if you don't drink coffee (ha) and are there places in town to buy good raingear? Is it hard to get tickets to OSU football home games? Those will do for a start. Thanks.

[tablemtn]

The mud? What mud?

[jjpop]

Where to buy a home first of all? Just about anywhere in the NW quadrant of town, but the other 3 quadrants have nice homes as well.

Are there easy rentals in the area? With college starting soon, I am thinking not too many. I don't think you'll have trouble finding a rental, even after the students return. There has been a lot of building in the last few years specifically for students. The rentals close to campus and the apartments go first after the students arrive in early September. But I think finding a rental home away from campus probably won't be too difficult.

Are the public schools in semester schedules rather than trimester... I think my Kindergartener was on semesters at his school...

Do many people drive Suburbans? There are quite a few Suburbans, and there are quite a few Priuses. I've seen a few electric cars around town too, as well as some Hummers. And some people, like me, drive around cars that are over 10 years old!

Are there many fitness clubs/classes available in the area? If you or your husband will be associated with OSU, the Dixon Recreation Center on campus is far and away the best exercise facility in town. Other than that, there are a few fitness clubs that offer exercise classes, and a couple that are true gyms, with just weights and cardio machines.

What do you love about Corvallis the most, what do you dislike about it? LIKES: I can get anywhere in town, even in the worst traffic (except game days!), in about 15 minutes. I can bike to the store or to work when I want to. It's a very kid-friendly community. DISLIKES: I mentioned my concern about the upkeep of public spaces up above. Medical care is adequate but not outstanding. Often there is a wait to see a specialist if you are on an HMO. I had one experience in which it took 2 months to see a dermatologist for a 20-minute appointment to get a plantars wart frozen off. By May I am pretty darned tired of the rain just in time for the sunny spring and summer months. By October I am pretty darned tired of the sun just in time for the rainy fall and winter months. One other thing: Corvallis is in a media black hole. The only local broadcast media is an AM radio station that broadcasts local news on weekday mornings. The rest of the day the station plays syndicated right-wing talk radio. Corvallis is relegated to an afterthought in the Eugene and Portland TV news unless there is an abducted co-ed. This has been on my mind lately, thinking about if there was a natural disaster or other event, how would I get official news that is specific to Corvallis? Could I rely on the local station to cut into Limbaugh to give me news about a destructive storm? I don't have an answer to that question.

How do you deal with mud? Floormats. I just got muddy today watering the garden, so this doesn't just happen in the rainy months. But just to put you at ease, we do have paved roads and sidewalks. In fact, I've seen more paved sidewalks here than I did when I lived in Southern California. I assume they would never have been used in So Cal!

Do you have good restaurants and cafes? Good? Yes. Outstanding? Not so much, but we do OK. Not a lot of variety, but some good restaurants and more coming.

What if you don't drink coffee (ha) How do you propose we all stay awake then?

and are there places in town to buy good raingear? Fancy gear: Peak Sports. Cheap gear: Fred Meyer or Big 5. There is an REI in Eugene (my favorite).

Is it hard to get tickets to OSU football home games? I haven't been to a home game, but this year may be the first time to take my 6-year-old son, so we'll see. When I listen to the games on the radio, they are usually sold out or nearly so.

Hope this information helps!

[heavens54]

Yes, I KNOW there is mud...but that is OK.

JJpop, thanks for all of the info. Great stuff and pretty much as I thought. Can't wait to see the place. We took it sight unseen.

Any comments on the high schools? My son is 16, plays sports. From what I have seen on the websites, my son will enjoy it up there. Lots of outdoor activities anyway...

And yes, we do need to get in touch with a realitor...that is next.

Any other comments, or just your two cents?

[Larry Caldwell]

The Corvallis Gazette-Times is online at

Corvallis Gazette Times: Your Source for News in Corvallis, Oregon

[rhbsue]

Thanks for asking all these questions, heavens54! We moved here from Hawaii 6 weeks ago and love it here. But I have written down where to get that raingear, we are going to need it! We only visited once before we decided on Corvallis to live, but I did a lot of research online (especially this forum) and know that we have found the right place for us. As far as high schools go, I think both of them are supposed to be pretty good. My 16 year old son will be going to Crescent Valley High School next fall as we bought a house in the NW area and most of the kids in the NW seem to go to Crescent Valley. I found a wonderful realtor online who was just fabulous. Because I was buying long distance (only saw the house for about 15 minutes in January when we were here visiting), he was most reasuring, and gave me very good suggestions as far as mortgage loans etc. He even mowed my lawn before we moved up here (the house had been empty for 5 months). If you want his name you can send me a message through this forum (we can't give out names or recommend businesses here--I think they delete them). What the heck, I'll try and see if this gets through. His name is Fred Adams with REMax here in Corvallis. He has his own website: fredadams.com. I would highly recommend him to anyone looking for an experienced, caring realtor.
On another note, my son is into outdoor activities too, and Crescent Valley High School has a snowboarding club which he is excited about joining (he spent a week at a snowboarding camp on Mt. Hood when we first got up here in June and loved it). I know that Corvallis High School looks like a very good school too, so I don't think you have to worry about the caliber of the high schools.
Having looked all over for a house before we bought one, I second the opinion that the NW seems the nicest area, but that there are nice houses in any area. We did not see any really bad "slums" like we did in parts of Oahu, but there are definitely a wide range of houses. There are a lot of high end houses in the hills of the NW but at the same time, there are a ton of middle income homes too. We got a nice, modest 3 bedroom home with over 10,000sq.ft. of land in the $280,000's.
Please feel free to contact me, and maybe we can explore parts of Corvallis together after you arrive! You will really like it here, I am sure.

[jeremymandile]

Corvallis is a great town,schools people and yes its a great choice to raise a family here in Oregon.Jeremy