How would you describe the personality of Corvallis?

[iso4everhome]

Originally Posted by StealthRabbit

These are very different cities (Corvallis in not much of a 'small town', you can live there for yrs and not encounter the same people while running errands / at events.)
...
Corvallis is much more 'moderate'... there is more of an impact from lifelong rural / agricultural focused industry, as well as the significant difference of a "Land Grant U" vs a 'Non'. +/-

Thanks for that. I think I've been waiting for someone to say that Corvallis is not really a small town. That you can live there for years and still have some anonymity is actually pretty comforting. The freedom of anonymity is probably the thing I miss most about living in large cities.

It's interesting to hear now two opposite perspectives on Eugene vs Corvallis, too.

I'm contrasting your perspective to what BeaverState said earlier:

Originally Posted by BeaverState

My impression of the "personality" of Corvallis is that is wears its progressive attitude on its sleeve. It is probably the most liberal town in the state outside Portland, and it may not be that far behind. (Some will say, "what about Eugene?" Eugene still has the remnants of the logging industry so it has a conservative counterbalance that Corvallis is missing.)

In sum, I take it to mean that every place is a mixed bag and Corvallis is no different. This all helps to fill in the holes and get a richer picture. I'm very grateful for this wide variety of input.

[StealthRabbit]

I have (6) family that has run a commercial public retail business in Corvallis since early 1960's, as well as many coworkers who have made the quest to and fro; Corvallis / Vancouver WA / Bay area / San Diego / Colorado since 1970's . I spent last 2 weeks in Asia with (4) people from Corvallis. 2 of my SWWA neighbors came from 15+ yrs in Corvallis.

I can ask them direct questions if you like. I go to Corvallis as often as possible to swim (since we don't have local public 50m lap pools in SWWA)

We also worked with Homeschoolers, and Mennonite schoolers and public schoolers from there. A few of my coworkers moved from SWWA to Corvallis specifically for schools / raising family reasons. (Which is contrary to the current 250+ / month OR residents who immigrate from OR to SWWA specifically for schools (Usually for Middle and HS).

As you have perceived, there are differences in the communities and perceptions. You will just need to 'try-it-on'.

When researching locations, We always lodge with locals, (free guest homes / usually families of same age range w/ kids) and attend the events we would as a local, especially important to volunteer while researching a community to see how you 'fit' . Ask a lot of questions (I start asking at the hardware / feed stores / grocery / county planning / assessor / schools / libraries / veterinarians...). There are some good 'relocation lists' on C-D. I use a weighted spreadsheet with musts / wants, costs of durable goods and housing and energy (including home and transportation) + taxes / insurance / entertainment / medical. Often projected RE markets and liquidity have been the deal breakers in some of my choices (since I am nearing the age I may have medical needs that force me to relocate (again)). I do volunteer eldercare for rural families, so always consider liquidity BEFORE I buy.

My SIL is stuck with a Eugene area rural property for last 3 yrs, and has since moved to the coast. double payments / double work / double risk and liability = really painful finances and demands for single gal. (BTDT).

[eddie gein]

I am an outsider but have spent time in Corvallis and Eugene. Corvallis reminds me very much of a typical college town in the midwest or the plains. It is like a greener version of Ames, Iowa or Manhattan, KS and with all the OSU shirts and orange every where and the architecture of the campus buildings it is strikingly similar to Stillwater, OK.

Eugene is more size wise like a Lubbock, Tx or a Lincoln, Nebraska except for Eugene's downtown is smaller than those two places.

As someone said, Corvallis is probably more progressive than most land grant school college towns because it IS Oregon and it is true that Eugene has the conservative old timer logger types. But Eugene seems to have more old hippies and radical types. They seem to be pretty concentrated in some neighborhoods NW of downtown and west of the University.

I've never got that type of feel for anyplace in Corvallis but maybe there is and I just never saw it.

Corvallis is a very pleasant place IMO. Still has some feeling of "town" instead of "city". Eugene still has a bit of "town" feel but it is getting more "cityish" as the decades go by.

My grandparents lived in Eugene and I used to spend a lot of time there growing up and through my 20s until they passed. I miss going to Oregon. Haven't been in about 6 years.

[DKM]

I have a doctor friend who relocated there some years ago with his new family. They love it, but their perspective is from close to the 1% class. It definitely leans left of center (as does my friend) even if there is an "ag" tilt to the town. As for the students, they are probably more in the middle of the road...There is also some permissiveness to the drug culture and a growing homeless issue. There isn't much hostility to outsiders due to the transient nature of the resident students. There is a strange hostility to 'big box" stores, but this has relaxed a bit in recent years. Still, if you consider Costco a mark of civilization there is none there.

[NW4me]

Originally Posted by DKM

I have a doctor friend who relocated there some years ago with his new family. They love it, but their perspective is from close to the 1% class. It definitely leans left of center (as does my friend) even if there is an "ag" tilt to the town. As for the students, they are probably more in the middle of the road...There is also some permissiveness to the drug culture and a growing homeless issue. There isn't much hostility to outsiders due to the transient nature of the resident students. There is a strange hostility to 'big box" stores, but this has relaxed a bit in recent years. Still, if you consider Costco a mark of civilization there is none there.

The big boxes (Costco, Home Depot, Walmart) are "next door" in Albany.

[DKM]

Originally Posted by NW4me

The big boxes (Costco, Home Depot, Walmart) are "next door" in Albany.

That isn't too close, but my point was the local hostility to those stores is a big reason why they opened in Albany instead. Albany itself is growing because of the anti-growth movement in Corvallis.

Home Depot opened behind the KMart in Corvallis. Kmart will be closing so there are rumors what will go into that building. I hope for Corvallis residents its a Target.

[JumpHigh]

I agree with the previous poster, Corvallis is anti-growth. There is supposed to be a new sub-division for "families" going in--sorry I've forgotten the name it's been so long since they said they were going to build. It's been in the works FOREVER, and while the signs have been up for way more than 6 months, they haven't even broken ground on a single foundation. Meanwhile, multi-family apartments (read student housing) is going up everywhere. That's because OSU has all the money, all the land, and a say in everything. The next biggest employer, the hospital, is laying off left and right, and those who do work there can't even afford to live in Corvallis (old and overpriced homes--mostly student rental turn-overs that haven't been updated since the 1970's) so they commute from Albany, "Philometh", Monroe, Monmouth or Independence. I think it has a lot of nice outdoor stuff around the city (but not the river-walk which appears to have been taken over by skateboarders and homeless people) but over-crowding for trail use is an issue--read no parking at trailheads. There are no big-box stores and most people like that, because they can afford to shop the over-priced stores downtown and can more easily drive to Portland for higher end department stores. Sorry Albany, Kohls is as good as you got. Corvallis is not about growth. It's about protectionism and control.