A place like Corvallis?

[FVWinters]

Originally Posted by got2bteri

I love Corvallis! But my asthma and allergies dont. Is there a town just similar to Corvaiilis minus the allergens?

Here's a thought. It worked for me.

Go find an allergy specialist and get tested for what you react to the most. After that you can usually use the same specialist or another to start you on a series of injections that will dull your sensitivity to whatever ails you.

I did that back in 1980 when my hay fever got so bad I not only had to leave work early on many occassions, I had to be carted home in my boss's rig. Neither one of us were very happy. I found out I had a severe allergy to grass pollen; tested out at a level my allergist had never seen before, a "plus 5" which didn't even exist as a severity level at the time. If I was susceptible to asthma instead of hay fever, I am sure one of those attacks would have killed me. As it was I had one or two close calls.

Since my shot regimen, grass has not bothered me and my only problem is with mold spores and amimal fur. A prescription of cortisone based inhaler takes care of that fine.

If you can afford this route or have insurance that pays most of the cost, this would be a better option than leaving a place you love for another you might not like as well and still be stuck with allergies.

[Steve Pickering]

Ya gotta love putting chemicals in your body.

[WMBGer]

Originally Posted by backdrifter

That is not completely true (though mostly true). If your major allergy, like mine, is grass/grass pollen, then the Willamette Valley (ESPECIALLY near Corvallis/Albany) is the probably the worst place in the world for you because something like 90-95% of the world's commercial grass seed production occurs in Linn County.

I remember a couple years ago right in the height of the allergy season I almost had to go to the hospital when I was in Eugene because of those grass allergies. I could barely breathe. But the Portland area is fine for me. Anywhere south of the Willamette Valley is fine. Western Washington is fine for me as well. Towns like Corvallis... Maybe Ashland, Bend, Bellingham, Olympia...

Oh, this is good to know! I just saw Eugene listed as the 2012 #1 best places to live with asthma on some site or another & have seen several times OR listed as a good state for people with allergies, but I had no idea about the grass seed production. We live in SE Virginia now & a job opportunity in Eugene has us considering a BIG move. But grass & tree allergies are severe for my son & me. Having our allergist test us for PNW allergens might be in order... How far "east" (?) would we have to live (while hubby commutes to downtown Eugene) to be outside of the "hot zone" for grass, do you know? {she asks in a panic}

[Steve Pickering]

You can't go too far or you are in the mountains.

[WMBGer]

Originally Posted by Steve Pickering

You can't go too far or you are in the mountains.

That's what it looks like on the map! Other than east toward the mountains, however, isn't clear where the valley (that traps the pollen) ends.

To avoid living in the "grass pollen" hot zone of Willamette Valley & still work in Eugene (within about a 1/2 hour commute to downtown Eugene where the new job is), which direction should we head with our house-hunt?

As you head East & hit what I assume to be foot-hills of the mountains, it doesn't look like there are many towns/housing. Or it the map deceiving? How far South or West we'd have to go before less extreme pollen levels are the norm during grass season? Obviously living to the North "above it all" in Portland isn't a viable option!

[Steve Pickering]

Pretty well where civilization ends.

[backdrifter]

Originally Posted by WMBGer

That's what it looks like on the map! Other than east toward the mountains, however, isn't clear where the valley (that traps the pollen) ends.

To avoid living in the "grass pollen" hot zone of Willamette Valley & still work in Eugene (within about a 1/2 hour commute to downtown Eugene where the new job is), which direction should we head with our house-hunt?

As you head East & hit what I assume to be foot-hills of the mountains, it doesn't look like there are many towns/housing. Or it the map deceiving? How far South or West we'd have to go before less extreme pollen levels are the norm during grass season? Obviously living to the North "above it all" in Portland isn't a viable option!

I wish I could give you my first-hand experience of areas around Eugene, but I never had any real reason to go much of anywhere in the Eugene area outside of South Eugene, even in the spring and summer months.

Usually what exacerbates the pollen situation is a long, cool, and extremely wet spring like we have had the past few years out here. That's not typical in most years, but it does happen in La Niña years and is projected to become more normal with global climate change. I should note that when I was considering going to the hospital it was DEFINITELY a La Niña year (we didn't really get "summer" weather until August, and it was anemic at that) and I also hadn't been on my (formerly prescription-only) antihistamine for years as I hadn't really needed it in Portland or my previous location in Southern Oregon.

Also I don't feel like the allergy season is terribly long here in my experience. I'd say around April or May I start noticing the allergies kicking in and June-July is the worst (for me anyway) and by August I don't really notice much of anything until it starts to warm up again the next spring. Other people may disagree.

I think Eugene is doable for allergy sufferers. I've spent time there in the summer months before and not had much of an issue with my allergies, but spring can be pretty bad. Fall and winter are fine for most I think.

I wouldn't let it scare you off. Eugene is a friendly, vibrant, homey little city. It's one of the very few places I'd consider settling down in for good, down the road a few years.

[Steve Pickering]

When it comes right down to it, only Corvallis is like Corvallis