From Mesa, Arizona to Corvallis (Albany, Philomath: apartment, rentals, coop)

[crabappleblossom]

My family may be moving to Corvallis, OR this summer (job at the University). We've got 2 kids under 5, 2 dogs, and 1 cat and are looking to rent a house. What are our prospects? I'm hoping for something at or under $2000/month that is pet-friendly and NOT surrounded by frat houses, if you catch my drift.

My 'wish list' would be a place were I could garden, walk/bike to downtown, someday have a chicken coup, and be in a good school district.

I've seen that may people live in towns outside Corvallis, and I am open to this (or living in something more rural -- I did grow up on a farm in Illinois, after all), but I am a little worried about being far from the 'hippie' vibe of the town. We can't stand chain restaurants and prefer to avoid 'big box' stores when practically possible.

Also, how does schooling work in OR. In AZ, there is open enrollment, so even if you live 'out of district' of your desired school, your kids can still go there.

Thank you for your input!

[Steve97415]

The 509J school system is one of the best in the country. You won't have to worry about open enrollment because all the schools are good. There are few chain restaurants and big box stores in Corvallis. Many of the advantages of living in Corvallis will disappear if you live outside the city limits. You can find pet-friendly rentals, but expect to pay a deposit for each of your 3 pets.

[christiner81]

don't have any info on corvallis but wanted to say hi. moving from mesa to portland next month

[hamellr]

Finding a rental at all is going to be a pain. Luckily you're hitting in the summer when most the students are away.

Personally I wouldn't mind living in Philomath too much. I think you're still close enough to Corvallis to take advantage of it as a town. The commute from Albany to Corvallis is doable, but can be an extra 30 minutes during rush hours.

[PermanentlyLost]

Currently there is only 1% vacancy in rentals in Corvallis due to the explosion in student population, rents have gone up also Moderator cut: snip

[GeorgiaTransplant]

Originally Posted by crabappleblossom

My 'wish list' would be a place were I could garden, walk/bike to downtown, someday have a chicken coup, and be in a good school district.

I've seen that may people live in towns outside Corvallis, and I am open to this (or living in something more rural -- I did grow up on a farm in Illinois, after all), but I am a little worried about being far from the 'hippie' vibe of the town. We can't stand chain restaurants and prefer to avoid 'big box' stores when practically possible.

Finding someplace you could *walk* to downtown and have a chicken coop would be iffy-I don't know the actual city rules, but I never saw one in Corvallis itself and I lived in that area for most of my young adult life. Outside of town (Philomath, Monroe) that setup would be easy, but you're talking about 10-15 mile drive.

Within the city-biking, sure, there's bike paths all over the place. Based on what you said, I'd recommend Philomath. There are rural houses, fairly easy to rent, you can most likely take care of the pet stuff and could potentially find a place that lets you have chickens.

From foggy memory: pretty decent school system if you want to apply yourself (at least I thought so-I went there and managed to get into some pretty rigorous universities, and there were always some kids that went to West Point, Brigham Young, MIT, etc.), but it's also a system where it is somewhat easy to slide if that's your kids propensity.

Finally, if you are REALLY into biking, it's not trivial and it takes longer than 5 minutes, but there's a roughly 6 mile bike path that only crosses traffic once or twice that goes from Philomath to Corvallis, and drops you right into OSU or downtown depending on where you get off it, plus at least one other fairly easy way to get from the north part of philomath to the university area (although that one has quite a bit more traffic and isn't seperated from the cars quite as well). Quite a few people bike into town to work, and older kids can easily head in there on bikes.

[crabappleblossom]

Thanks for all the information! It is looking more and more like we will be making this move and I have a couple of follow-up questions:

I've seen on several threads here that renting a HOUSE (REALLY hoping for a yard and not an apartment) will be a bit difficult. If we go, my husband and I will head out a month or so early to 'scout' out a place to live, then fly home, pack, and head off. Given that OSU is not on semesters, I'm not sure what our move-in month should be to optimize our chances of finding a place. Any suggestions? June, July, August,...?

I'm not opposed to 'outside of town' if that is what it takes to get a house. Is Philomath any good? The bike path makes it interesting (a possible commute for hubby---to OSU).

And to christiner81, Good luck! I don't know about you, but I can not wait to 'escape' from Arizona! This place is pure torture!

[Nell Plotts]

I have heard that OSU students and staff are finding housing in Philomath.

[Steve Pickering]

Wow. Don't expect much in housing with your requirements, but Welcome to Oregon.

[Steve Pickering]

P.S.

I always welcome newcomers who have a job first, and move second.