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Old 05-12-2008, 08:02 PM
 
21 posts, read 119,119 times
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My husband and I currently live in Atlanta, GA and are looking for a place to relocate to. We've been considering Wisconsin (near Green Bay) and Oregon. My research has me interested in Corvallis but there are so many things I'm uncertain about. If anyone could provide some factual answers I'd really appreciate it -

First, cost of living. I know it's higher than WI or here in GA but realistically, what is the price of a loaf of bread, gallon of milk, produce, gas, etc? Is it so bad that it crimps your lifestyle? How about eating out prices?

Second, housing seems very high priced, is this true in the real world? I notice from my research on Sperlings that most people seem to have very average household income of 40-50,000 but houses are upwards of 250-300.000?! I don't mind renting but would like to own someday. What are average rents?

Third, jobs - the unemployment rate there, according to Sperling's is 3.30, lower than here or WI so I'm confused by people I know who have lived there saying the job market sux. I work in a library and my husband does security. We don't care about careers as long as we like our jobs and make enough to get by. Is this possible out there??

Sorry about the length of the post! I'm not set on Corvallis so any other city suggestions in Oregon are appreciated too. We value quiet, low crime, friendly people and a nerd presence.
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Old 05-12-2008, 08:19 PM
 
Location: Orange, California
1,576 posts, read 6,328,532 times
Reputation: 758
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nausicaa View Post
My husband and I currently live in Atlanta, GA and are looking for a place to relocate to. We've been considering Wisconsin (near Green Bay) and Oregon. My research has me interested in Corvallis but there are so many things I'm uncertain about. If anyone could provide some factual answers I'd really appreciate it -

First, cost of living. I know it's higher than WI or here in GA but realistically, what is the price of a loaf of bread, gallon of milk, produce, gas, etc? Is it so bad that it crimps your lifestyle? How about eating out prices?

Second, housing seems very high priced, is this true in the real world? I notice from my research on Sperlings that most people seem to have very average household income of 40-50,000 but houses are upwards of 250-300.000?! I don't mind renting but would like to own someday. What are average rents?

Third, jobs - the unemployment rate there, according to Sperling's is 3.30, lower than here or WI so I'm confused by people I know who have lived there saying the job market sux. I work in a library and my husband does security. We don't care about careers as long as we like our jobs and make enough to get by. Is this possible out there??

Sorry about the length of the post! I'm not set on Corvallis so any other city suggestions in Oregon are appreciated too. We value quiet, low crime, friendly people and a nerd presence.
Ahh. Guy Sperling's Places Rate Book is such a great reference. I have both editions and I think it is the best resource on the market for someone considering a relocation.

That said, there is really no substitute for visiting a potential relo site. Oregon, and the Pacific Northwest in general, have a lot of fantastic places to live, but it is really difficult to make an informed decision until you get the lay of the land. For Oregon, a big issue for transplants is whether they can deal with the persistent gray skies in the winter months. Ideally, you could visit Oregon during the winter when the weather is at its worst, as well as the summer when the weather is practically unparalleled in the continental United States.

As for Corvallis in particular, I have visited only once but I have heard good things. I will leave it to the locals to give you good specific info. Portland is a city I am very fond of and I would consider a relocation to that city (from Atlanta as well) if the right opportunity presented itself. But I DO tend to believe the Sperling statistics re Corvallis. I am not suprised to learn that the median home price is 250k-300k while median household salary is around $50k. This is part of the reason why we are seeing a housing bubble implode nationwide. In La Jolla, CA (near San Diego, where I used to live), the median home price is over one million dollars. Yet, the median household income is something like $78k. It is not a mistake. It is more a product of middle class folks who bought houses a long time ago and benefited from massive home price appreciation.

In any event, I wish you luck with your planned relocation, no matter where it may take you.
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Old 05-12-2008, 08:45 PM
 
11 posts, read 117,044 times
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I have some perspective on your dilemma, though no answers, because we're in a similar boat. We live in Madison, WI, which anyone will tell you is a dream city. In a million ways, it is, especially for raising kids. Unfortunately, we moved here from Portland, and can't get the Northwest out of our hearts. We checked out Corvallis last summer as a potential spot and interviewed lots of people who love it, but I felt like it didn't have very nice flow or something. We wanted to love it, but we just didn't. The houses seemed to be all ranch homes, which isn't our style, maybe that was some of it. We're thinking about Eugene now. Basically, we want to move our sweet little Madison to another region.
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Old 05-12-2008, 09:19 PM
 
10 posts, read 58,197 times
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The price of gas in general in oregon is between 3.59 and 3.80 a gallon, today Loaf of bread is between 89 cents and $1.50 for straight store brand bread, apples are like $1 something a lb. Actually, housing prices are much lower in Albany, which is a nice little town just next to corvallis than they are in corvallis. I grew up in Albany and my family has been there for over 30 years. Part of Albany is located in the same county as Corvallis and housing prices seem to be related to the county border line. Rents in Albany are in the $600 to $750 range average and rental prices in corvallis are about the same right now. Corvallis is a college town so you have to deal with a major university and all of the 18 to 25 year olds that come along with it. They are opening a new expanded library in Albany very soon so I know that will create some jobs. My husband was doing security for a while in the area and the average wage is around $8 to $10 an hour until you get into the Portland area. I have heard that the crime rate is higher in Albany, though I do not know if this is true or not.

I agree with the pp that you should plan a trip out here in winter and in summer. I have been to 11 states (including alaska) and canada and can tell you right now that there simply is no place more beautiful than Oregon and particularly around the albany/corvallis willamette valley area. I don't know if it is because I grew up there but I would never want to live anywhere else.

emp.state.or.us is the state employment website and you could see what is out there. jobdango is a good one too.

Last edited by tinyfairypeople; 05-12-2008 at 09:24 PM.. Reason: typo
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Old 05-12-2008, 09:59 PM
 
1,217 posts, read 4,022,781 times
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One of the reasons Corvallis has such a high cost in housing has always been due to the anti-growth attitude there. Over the years, Corvallis has severely limited growth and Economics 101 will tell you that limiting the availability of anything in demand will drive up the price.

That being said, Corvallis has historically had one of the lowest unemployment rates in the state. This is due to the location of Oregon State University which employs thousands, and Hewlett-Packard, which also employs thousands. Over the years, since H-P has been in Corvallis, high tech has exploded due to the brain power from H-P and Oregon State. When H-P downsizes, people open new high tech businesses. Again, all these people needed places to live and they moved to outlying communities because Corvallis wouldn't accommodate them.

The median home price in Corvallis not too long ago was $300K. That has dropped although I can't tell you how much. The last few years there has been much more growth occurring in Corvallis--several large subdivisions are under construction.

I won't comment on the cost of things; that was covered above. However, I wouldn't think that you'd have much trouble finding work because of the low unemployment rate. Be prepared to possibly commute to Albany; there's also a number of companies in Tangent nearby.

I think it's also important to look at the total picture when considering income numbers. Remember that there are 21000 students at Oregon State University and their income and very presence is going to skew the income numbers.

Good luck.
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Old 05-12-2008, 11:49 PM
 
Location: Albany, OR
540 posts, read 2,166,911 times
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I would recommend that you look at the mid-Willamette Valley as a whole, instead of focusing just on Corvallis. Corvallis is a great town and Bob M and tinyfairies have given very good info. My family and I moved here 6 1/2 years ago for a job at the University - ended up buying a home in Albany and have been extremely happy here.

We spend some time in Corvallis now for some things...and also head to Eugene or Salem for others...depending on what you want and can afford for a home, you will fare better (more bang for the buck) in Albany or Lebanon than in Corvallis...Median sale price in Corvallis is $260K right now - down a little from last year but still a fairly strong housing market. Albany median sale price is $213K.

woerkilt did a post not too long ago in another thread here that was an excellent comparison of Corvallis and Albany...definitely worth checking out.
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Old 05-13-2008, 09:28 AM
 
21 posts, read 119,119 times
Reputation: 16
Default So kind!

Thanks for all the great replies everyone! Please keep 'em coming. I'm glad to hear that prices for necessities seem about equal with here (our gas is at 3.69). If we move out there, I'm sure we'll rent for awhile till we get to know the area. Can anyone tell me what rents generally are in Albany and/or Corvallis?

Coldylocks, what was it about the Northwest that appealed to you so much? Especially as opposed to Wisconsin?

In all honesty, how grey are the winters? Much snow?
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Old 05-13-2008, 09:59 AM
 
11 posts, read 117,044 times
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Basically, in Madison, we have access to nature everywhere - lakes out our door, four intense seasons in which to play (swim, ski, sled, play in the leaves - you've got it all) and we love all that - but we desperately miss wilderness. When you camp here, you are on top of someone else and there are mosquitoes as big as dogs. We just miss throwing our stuff in our VW and taking off into the wild blue yonder on a long weekend. Wisconsin is lovely in lots of ways, but it is more controlled - the people, the nature, everything. We frequently find ourselves thinking that it is very "nice" here, or that a hike was "fine". In the northwest I was in pure bliss everytime I left the city, I couldn't believe I actually LIVED there! Also, Madison is heavenly for children - urban, funky, progressive yet safe, sweet and child-centered. We miss our carefree west coast ways but we love the down-to-earth attitude of Madison. It's a dilemma. I'm wondering if Eugene might be the perfect combo of our desires. What are you looking for and what have you learned in the journey thus far?
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Old 05-13-2008, 10:06 AM
 
7 posts, read 85,805 times
Reputation: 19
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nausicaa View Post
My husband and I currently live in Atlanta, GA and are looking for a place to relocate to. We've been considering Wisconsin (near Green Bay) and Oregon. My research has me interested in Corvallis but there are so many things I'm uncertain about. If anyone could provide some factual answers I'd really appreciate it -

First, cost of living. I know it's higher than WI or here in GA but realistically, what is the price of a loaf of bread, gallon of milk, produce, gas, etc? Is it so bad that it crimps your lifestyle? How about eating out prices?

Second, housing seems very high priced, is this true in the real world? I notice from my research on Sperlings that most people seem to have very average household income of 40-50,000 but houses are upwards of 250-300.000?! I don't mind renting but would like to own someday. What are average rents?

Third, jobs - the unemployment rate there, according to Sperling's is 3.30, lower than here or WI so I'm confused by people I know who have lived there saying the job market sux. I work in a library and my husband does security. We don't care about careers as long as we like our jobs and make enough to get by. Is this possible out there??

Sorry about the length of the post! I'm not set on Corvallis so any other city suggestions in Oregon are appreciated too. We value quiet, low crime, friendly people and a nerd presence.
I lived in Corvallis for about 18 years- I'm 22 now. What I can say is that Corvallis is a really nice place to settle down. Most of us kids move up to Portland or outta State to try something different since it's a little boring for us younger ones, because it's definitely a very calm and quiet city. It's very middle class and has a more liberal leaning (not quite as liberal as Eugene however, which is 45 minutes South and home to Univ. of OR). As someone mentioned before, people tend to be educated as the three major sources for jobs are Hewlett Packard, the County, and Oregon State University. In terms of landscape- we are like most of Oregon, very green. We also have a small but cute downtown area, the Oregon State University (it has an absolutely gorgeous library...it was voted Best University Library in the nation in 99' after it was built), a plaza, a nice golf course, and a decent bus system. Population is about 50,000 people. It's predominantly white.

We are conveniently located too because we are pretty central- an hour and half away from Portland (the biggest city in Oregon- it's an amazing city) and an hour South of Salem (the state capital).

But to answer your questions. The houses do tend to be expensive. Starter homes sell for about 150,000 or 200,000. I agree it is because we self-impose growth limits here- the city even voted against having a shopping mall, we have a plaza, but nothing like a real mall- so that was built in the more industrialized neigboring town of Albany. But it's pricier because it's also a nice city- we're not on the I-5 (which is a major highway that goes all the way down to Southern California), so we have a less transient, polluted community. Overal, in comparison to other states, I would say cost of living is not expensive and not cheap. I'm abroad right now, so I couldn't give you exact prices, but from what I've seen while traveling to other places, that is my general opinion. We also don't pay sales tax here either (however, I believe our property taxes tend to be pretty expensive).

Corvallis is pretty tight-knit community as it is small. The downside of it being small is that there aren't a whole lot of jobs here (I guess that's because job growth is not high). When I come back from Korea, I'm going to look for work at the university, but I know I'm probably going to have to move elsewhere to find something.
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Old 05-13-2008, 10:12 AM
 
7 posts, read 85,805 times
Reputation: 19
Oh I forgot to mention....if you're moving to Oregon, you better be able to withstand long periods of cold and rain! Our summers, falls, and springs are gorgeous, but Winter is long, cold, and wet (from November-February). We pay a price for that green!!! If you have seasonal depression, look elsewhere!
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