Moving to Corvallis, Oregon
 

My husband and I are moving to from Clemson,SC to Corvallis, OR. He will be transferring to Oregon State University. I have been looking at apartments online, but the choices appear to be a bit overpriced and somewhat limited. We would like to stay in an affordable clean quiet neighborhood near campus, but are clueless where to start. We will be relocating from SC in July. Additionally, I am seeking full-time employment. I have a masters degree in social work and am currently licensed in my current state. I would like feedback regarding housing and job opportunities for me as a licensed social worker in the area. Also, please feel free to provide as much info about Corvallis in regards to diversity, crime, nightlife,community activities, etc.

Thanks in advance!!

Pp

I have family in Corvallis. It's a GREAT place to live!! There is not a lot of "diversity" if you are talking racial mix. There is not a lot of "crime" either. What kind of "nightlife" are you seeking? There're restaurants, music, stuff like that but basically it is a small town feel. Any diversity comes from the student body at OSU. There are all kinds of community activities, just depends your interests... churches, youth groups, soup kitchens, organizations helping the homeless and poor, etc. There's a movement in favor of small independent local farming and some fabulous farmers markets available.

If you want to stay near the campus, you are going to be looking at student rental apartments. I'm not sure what I'd call an "affordable clean quiet neighborhood" necessarily. There's the more run down student housing. Then it jumps up to some pretty nice (not inexpensive) houses.

It sounds like you have never been to Corvallis to visit?

You need to fly to Oregon and see the area for yourself instead of renting an apartment site unseen for 9-12 months. Ultimately, you're going to a college town with a large college as its centerpiece - it's not like you're going to Columbus, Ohio which has 730,000 people and 50-60K collegians and grad students so it's a good-sized city with a huge university. Instead, Corvallis is more like Charlottesville, VA where a small town (50K people in Corvallis) is the site of a sizable university (23K students, including grads).

You also need to check with the relevant Oregon licensing department(s) regarding how your South Carolina licensing ("licensed" as what, a counselor?) will transfer. Don't take information you get here as truth. Oregon's state government has online resources just like every other state and the department that controls "licensing" and therapists (I'm guessing) will be able to tell you how things will work.

Thanks for your responses. We currently live in a college town and really like the feel of a small town community. I have just been seeing so many different types of housing options and became a bit overwhelmed. Student family housing is cheap, but I have yet to locate a picture or video of the property which concerns me. I have called a couple of properties and have been quoted between 475-900 monthly for a one bedroom. That is a wide rage for one bedrooms. My husband is working on a doctoral degree, so we will defiantly be relocating-- I am hopeful that we will love it as much as we do here!! Overall, I just wanted an early start with housing and employment for me in the area. Thanks again for your feedback!

Pp

Why don't you do a short term rental? Even if you have to live in a motel for the first month.

I think it is impossible to move to a place you don't know at all and find the best housing by only looking online. You need to drive around the city, check out the different neighborhoods, go into the grocery stores, walk the parks, see how it feels to YOU.

Sorry absolutely no idea about job opportunities for a licensed social worker.

I lived in Corvallis years ago when I was a student at OSU and loved the town. DD is a student there now, so we are there quite a bit.

As for housing, student off campus housing really varies. There is a lot of very nice housing as well as some dumps. If you are looking for quiet, but close enough to campus to walk, then look roughly between Kings/NW 21st on down to around 6th. There are very few greek houses in that area, as well as fewer large rentals. The area between Kings and NW 26th is chuck full of greek houses as well as many 5 bedroom townhomes, and can be pretty busy. Housing is expensive and can be hard to find. When places open up, they go extremely fast. To give you an idea, those 5 bedroom places go for $2500/month and you have to be lucky to get one of those.

If you have any questions, just ask:)

Thanks so much for all of the information! We have actually moved three times without seeing the place (once to europe)--we've been lucky. I just hope that our luck continues in Corvallis. I am thankful that people here are giving concrete advice for the move!! I have seen some nice apartments affordable advertised in Albany, but would we would rather be in Corvallis. Thanks again for all of the info!

Cheers,
Pp

You really should not lean on your luck too much - but rather - as someone above - fly out and check out the places for yourself. You can easily fly into Portland and rent a car and be there in a couple of hours.

Good housing usually goes fast in most university towns, and some places get away with requiring a full year's lease. A lot has changed since I was at U of Ore - in nearby Eugene, and Corvallis has fewer options.

Having said that - you should love your time in Oregon - as it's such a beautiful state, from the Ocean to the Mountains to the high desert. Be sure to visit Crater Lake also, one of the 7 natural wonders of the world and the lakes/volcanoes outside of Bend. Newberry lakes is it?, which has a mountain of obsidian (volcanic lava/glass) which the Native Americans/Indians used for arrowheads.

BTW - they have cleaned it up quite a bit - but Albany was where you always held your nose when driving by on the Freeway - as the big paper pulb/lumber mills really smelled.

We too have moved many times without visiting first, and also lucked out. You seem to have a great attitude, and that will surely help:) I wouldn't worry about moving to Corvallis sight unseen. There are no bad areas.

I too would much prefer Corvallis over Albany. Albany is fine for what it is, but for a student Corvallis would be much better as everything is right there.

Many students use Craigslist to find apartments, so if you haven't checked there you might want to.

Albany is way too far to drive daily imo, plus nowhere near as nice! If you are willing to live a bit further from campus you could look at smaller towns that are close, Philomath is nice for example.

I agree there are no really "bad areas" of Corvallis but as far as judging rental properties (sight unseen), well I've noticed some pretty junky rundown student rental type looking buildings. I just think it might be hard to tell online if you were moving into a 'student dorm' or a normal family-friendly apartment building.

I've lived in Corvallis for over 20 years and LOVE it here!! I've lived all over the country and this is the best place ever. Do you really want to live near campus? Parking is a huge problem and noisy nights are another. Public transport is ok here so living further from campus isn't that big a deal. The only area of Corvallis I wouldn't live is near Lincoln School, or the Tunisin Street area of SW Corvallis. Rentals are hard to find right now, the student population of OSU has grown so much! you might have better luck with a townhouse or house further from campus.

If you can fly into Eugene it's only a 40 minute drive as opposed to a minimum of 90 minutes from PDX depending on traffic. If you have other questions I'd be glad to help!!

Thanks, KBoen!

What's one of the old sayings: Luck is the residue of thorough preparation? You might wing it and get lucky - but if housing is tight - as it sounds - a trip ahead of time does a lot for both you - and your future landlord - getting a look at you, knowing you are serious about moving, etc.

Anyhow - that's my best advice and I am sticking to it. :)

"Good Luck".

BTW - as far as a job hunt - all the more reason to shop up early to check out the "lay of the land".

Errr - "show" up early, be the early bird, you get the gist, righto?

I was just in Corvallis over Christmas. I read the local paper and homes seemed to be renting more in the $900-1500 range. I didn't see anything listed at $475 except single rooms that sounded like student housing.

pickles,

I'm a SW Supervisor. Be sure to create a profile on the NASW website, and see if there's a VA hospital nearby. They are hiring lots of Social Workers right now.