Tell me about Corvallis Oregon...

[SchralphMacchio]

Congrats on the pending move Groomer boy. My fiancee's mom works at OSU, totally different dept though.

Re: biking as first thing on your list ...

3 pages of thread and no one mentioned a certain rad trail network 45 minutes north of Corvallis, even less if you end up living on the north end near Adair Village.
Not sure what you pedal, but does this look fun to you? (Not all trails have mandatory airs, even a mortal can have fun there)
https://www.google.com/search?q=blac...UIBigB&dpr=1.5

McDonald Forest is bikeable from town (out your back yard in some nicer neighborhoods), but many trails are closed to bikes in winter. Mary's Peak trails right outside of town for decent vert. Alsea Falls trail system also about 30 minutes south of town (new flowish trail system developing with plans to become 2x the size of Sandy Ridge). Look up Disciples of Dirt Forum (Central OR IMBA chapter). 1.5 hours to Oakridge, O' Leary, McKenzie, Ollalie trail networks (which all easily have multiple k-feet of vert potential on rides), 2.5 hours to Sandy Ridge, Ashland (5000' vert shuttles and cheap as hell) + Talent, and <3 hours to Hood River/Parkdale and Bend. Does that sound like enough riding options for you?

Of all the places in Oregon, I've concluded that Corvallis has the best quality of out-the-door trail riding access plus huge variety within a day-trippable drive, combined with solid local economy and/or school.

Also, compared to East Coast, the skiing is way way way better, despite the complaints from people in this thread. It's not Idaho, but I'll take it way over any in the East Coast. I regularly get my fair share of combat willow skiing on approaches and exits in the Sierra, and I have no love lost for that East coast 5-turn shrub elbowing "stash of goodness" that you guys call skiing out there. Flatchelor resort may be boring at times, but still worlds better size, consistency & quality than East Coast and a shorter drive than from most of the decent grad school towns on the East. Very short flights from EUG to SLC or SEA if either of those regions are getting pounded and you want some real steeps with winter snow (although you need airline status to cover added costs of flying w/ gear, not easy on grad school budget but possible with smart credit card strategies). Spring ski-mo missions on Hood, 3 Sisters and Adams also have extremely high radness potential, with lines about as steep and exposed as you're willing to pucker your bung. Sorry if I'm shitting on your home town, but the skiing does not suck from Corvallis.

Also, people talking about hot summer weather, again, compared to east coast, a freaking joke. Sure maybe some 95 degree days in Cowvallis but at a comfy 40-60% RH when hot and nights are almost always cool! Contrast that to being so damn humid on the east coast some days during the summer you can't even see across the street through the fog and your scroat is glued to your thighs. F that!

You'll be stoked. Bottom line, keep all your gear and buy a radar detector for when you do drive, and then you'll be extra stoked.

We're moving to Eugene in the summer. Local trail access in Eugene sucks (basically non-existent) right now, but Springfield just signed some land transfers with plans for multi-use trail networks, so there will be great trails about 15 minutes from town, in addition to all the trails I listed above. I'm bummed about the skiing quality compared to the Sierra Nevada, but building myself a winter hardtail as consolation.

[jm2e]

Corvallis is on our short list since the Vet School is there. There are basically only about 6 towns we could live in due to this constraint though. I'd be so psyched to ride into the Mac from my back porch. People East of the Great Plains have no idea how beautiful those mountains and forests can be.

[GeezerSteve]

I just signed up for the McDonald Forest 50K ultra, to be held in May. I'll be going for my 20-finish urn. (I'll be the 4th to earn the urn.) Hope the course is less muddy than usual. Maybe I'll meet up with one or more Cowvallis mags during our visit.

[Groomer Gambler]

Congrats on the pending move Groomer boy. My fiancee's mom works at OSU, totally different dept though.

Re: biking as first thing on your list ...

Wow great advice! Thanks for the feedback. Even more excited now after reading that!

Re - biking - Yes, probably my #1 choice for outdoor pursuits at the moment. Cross bike for lapping Forest Service roads and light weekend tours, and I'll probably get a mtb once I get out there (no reason for me to have one now where I'mm currently located) for single track, etc. Plus, I love being within biking distance from everything in town.

Re- skiing - Totally agree Mt Hood/Bachelor sound 100x than EC and I don't mind you totally bashing the east as I agree. Totally fine with an occassional weekend trip (I'm not going to grad school to ski 5 days/wk)

Re- overall town and quality of life - All sounds good to me in Corvallis!

I just signed up for the McDonald Forest 50K ultra, to be held in May. I'll be going for my 20-finish urn. (I'll be the 4th to earn the urn.) Hope the course is less muddy than usual. Maybe I'll meet up with one or more Cowvallis mags during our visit.

Good luck man sounds fun! I'll be moving there over the summer

[Groomer Gambler]

Driving out this Monday. Beyond excited!

Lots of good feedback on the area from locals as well as a few coworkers at my current place who lived there in the past (I work in agriculture so lots of OSU <-> upstate New York exchange).

Girlfriend is driving out with me and will spend a few days in Corvallis. We're looking for some ideas on a 2-3 day mini trip along the coast maybe to northern CA with some car camping and shorter day hikes. Neither of us have ever been to this area so any input is appreciated. Thanks!

[wyeaster]

humboldt redwoods state park is beyond chill midweek right now.

luv me sum hammock tent.

[Toadman]

Go Beavs!

http://www.ncaa.com/news/baseball/ar...-stays-focused

[GeezerSteve]

Driving out this Monday. Beyond excited!

Best o' luck. Lemme know if you are are a trail runner and, if so, I'll hook you up with a local to show you Mac trails.

Oodles of road trip options in SW OR and N CA. Just look at the map and go.

[SchralphMacchio]

Driving out this Monday ...
Girlfriend is driving out with me and will spend a few days in Corvallis. We're looking for some ideas on a 2-3 day mini trip along the coast maybe to northern CA with some car camping and shorter day hikes. Neither of us have ever been to this area so any input is appreciated. Thanks!

Ha! I drive to Eugene 2 weeks from tomorrow!!!
My drive is a lot shorter, only about 10 hours in a big truck from Oakland to Eugene.

Be aware that driving up the coast is pretty slow. I think Google says like 7 or 8 hours from Eureka, CA to Newport, OR, but in reality you're going to make a million stops and get caught behind slow drivers or elk or something. So 2 days alone might not be enough to justify a detour to California. That said, Redwoods National Park and Prairie Creek State Park are really mind blowing. There is amazing overnight backpacking (a joke of a walk, really, I hate to say backpacking because it's so close to the car on flat groomed trails) along Redwood Creek in Andersen Grove that is kind of mind blowing, sleeping on a creek beneath 280+ foot tall redwoods. Crescent City is a classic surf spot. Parts of the Oregon coast are pretty impressive, rocky. If you can swing 3 days then I'd say you can get into the coast via Grants Pass to Crescent City, spend 1.5 days at least in the Redwoods, then drive home via the coast back through Newport.

A short road trip option is Crater Lake ... make a loop, go out via Santiam Pass to Bend, spend a day in Sisters & Bend and camp at an alpine lake near any of the passes there, then drive down 97 to Crater Lake, spend a day there, drive home via 138 via North Umpqua river. Of course, that's stuff that you'll be able to do in just a weekend once you are settled. Lots of other weekend adventures from Corvallis, like Cougar Hot Springs / Aufderheide Drive / Waldo Lake.

[SchralphMacchio]

Also, I recently got to sample the MTB riding just south of Corvallis in Alsea about 3 weeks ago, and that was a blast.

The MTBing right in north Corvallis - McDonald, is pretty mellow XC and fine for a hardtail. Alsea Falls is more flow style and also totally fine with a hardtail - it's a paved road climb uphill with finely manicured long downhill singletrack flow trails, very few rocks (compared to east coast or California) but just enough up top to keep things interesting. Mary's Peak is probably fine on a hard tail, just rooty with some steeper or sidehill exposed sections. However you might really want a full suspension to get the most out of riding Black Rock. Black Rock is full on MTB porn mag cover shots, crazy gap jumps and step ups, rock gardens, boulder drops, but also (steep but) mellow flow options as well with ridearounds for all the small to medium sized features. All within 45 minutes or less drive from Corvallis! Much better trail access there than Eugene/Springfield, at least until Thurston Hills Willamalane Park project gets completed in Springfield.

[GeezerSteve]

Santiam Pass to Bend

More fun to do McKenzie Pass if it's open and you have ample time

[Groomer Gambler]

I've been here about a month!

Re housing - really lucked out and found a brand new studio (converted side room in a house) near campus without being in the heavy student zone and in my price range.

Re town - Seems pretty rad. Haven't been to any bars or many restaurants but the farmer's market is great. So many dogs!

Re location - 1hr from the coast, 2-3hrs from parts of the Cascades. I've done a few trips to both areas, coastal range will probably be the go to for day trips, Cascades would have to be long weekends. Bachelor ~3hrs, Hoodoo maybe 1.5hrs? Might try to get into some touring but skiing won't really be a priority once I start my program.

Re weather - Well...it hit 107 this week. However, most days have been in the 80s to low 90s then drop to the 50s around 9pm everynight. Hasn't rained once since I got here. Even with these triple digits, the nights still get down to the 50s. I ducked out to the coast yesterday and was greeted by upper 50s and light mist.

Re biking - Alsea Falls are a lot of fun (heading there this afternoon). Great out-the-door biking at Mac-Dunn. Lots of gravel roads in the Coastal Range.

Maybe I've lived in too many other shitty places, but so far I've been very happy with Corvallis.

[BFD]

my son will be there going to grad school this fall. look for the guy living in the astro van. He is pretty motivated pains me to see him spending the next two years in Corvallis.

[happytimefunbox]

Bump for job offer in Corvallis. This thread is gold. I would probably love it. Wife would probably hate it. Hmmmmm. Horny beavers you said? Maybe this could work out.

Hows it treating you groomer g?

[SchralphMacchio]

Where specifically is the Shadow of the Wasatch? I know the area reasonably well and can probably offer a more detailed compare and contrast.

Depending on where you're coming from e.g., Sugar house vs. Provo the housing could be on par with what you currently have or way way higher than you are used to. And possibly way less people than you are used to.

I'll take Corvallis weather over Salt Lake Valley any day.

No airport though, it's like 2.5 hours to PDX due to typical traffic (90 minutes at wee hours of the morning) and the parking at PDX sucks (expensive garage or very slow infrequent shuttles). Eugene Airport is 45 mins but all flights go basically through SLC! (or SEA or SFO depending on your airline). If I worked in sales I would for sure stay in SLC over Corvallis just for this factor alone (I used to fly over 100K miles per year domestic).

But the quality of living is great and the MTB access and scene is pretty dang good.

You'll for sure miss the quality of steep skiing if you make the move, but there are 6 AM flights from EUG to SEA or SLC for steep skiing that will put you at a resort or on skins at a reasonable hour. Hoodoo and Willamette actually have fun steepish terrain but soooo inconsistent coverage and conditions these days. Flatchelor is a fun mountain but tame terrain ...

[happytimefunbox]

Live sandy west of lcc mouth. I hate slc weather cept powder snow. My wife hates rainfulness. We will see what kinda money they are talking. OR is a good fit for me

[char_]

It rains all winter. Not pouring rain, just steady 35-45 degrees and rain.

Eugene is expanding it's flight offerings with direct flights to Chicago starting this summer. I think that is United's hub?

PNW skiing is probably going the way of the dodo bird at low elevation Cascade Pass resorts.

At some point we are going to have a big earthquake.

Are schools important because you probably want to carefully look at OR school ranks if so.

[SchralphMacchio]

Corvallis has some pretty good schools. Hewlett Packard used to have a major operation there, so back in the (edit) 80’s and (/edit) 90's through early 2000's there were a lot of high paid engineers and business people making good money expecting good public schooling for their kids, on top of the OSU-related families.

Corvallis housing prices are probably pretty comparable to Sandy, $300K for basic 1500 ft2 single family home going up to 500+K for modern nice 2500+ ft2 single family homes, super fancy homes at 600-800K. Oregon cost of living is probably on par with SLC, but I would suspect that pay is slightly better in SLC. No sales tax here, but high property taxes offset that, unless you're lucky to buy a nice house that was undervalued in 1996 when all the tax assessments were frozen and tax inflation fixed (see "Oregon Measure 50").

Crowds, traffic, and development are MUCH less in Corvallis than Sandy. Corvallis is on 99W, which is a really small 2-lane highway ... it's actually about 15 miles west of I5 and the industrial zone of Albany. Central Willamette Valley in general is not that dense (Portland Metro is the only dense area in the entire state of OR). Salem is about 30 mins from Corvallis, Eugene is about an hour, Portland is about 1.5 - 2 hours depending on traffic and what part you're going to. Eugene and Corvallis are university towns - so you have a semi-dense town center and once you drive 10 mins from downtown (in any direction) you get to light industrial zones, once 15 minutes out you are either in semi-rural farmland or undeveloped forests. Good news, even though people drive slower than SLC, the pace of life is also accordingly slower ... chill out, relax, be polite, enjoy the scenery and you'll fit right in. Or just buy a radar detector (gold here).

I'd say "escape" for recreation for Corvallis is probably on par with Sandy in terms of all the awesome things you can do in less than 3 hours drive, with the obvious exception that the Central OR Cascades skiing sucks goats compared to LCC. Like, Corvallis is 1 hour from the coast, 1+ hour from Santiam Pass, and the camping recreation (developed, dispersed, and backcountry) is really awesome. If you are into hunting, there is plenty of that, if not, no worry. Fishing appears superb, but I don't do it myself so I can only rely on word of mouth. MTB is world class IMO, if you are lucky enough to live near Mac Dunn forest trail access, and have flexibility to drive up to 1.5 hours to ride. Very good stuff in 40 minute drive, and amazing stuff 1.5 hours away.

The rain is what it is in the winter. You do get lots of micro breaks with 5-45 mins of blue skies between clouds. Some people think they will hate it but get used to it. Others never get used to it, but it's not quite as dark here in winters as it is up in Seattle/Bellingham 5-7 hours north. If your wife needs warm weather or sun in the winter, ironically you can drive to the coast which often has better weather in the winter than the valley does. Or you drive to Bend for sun (but temps on par or slightly warmer than Salt Lake Valley in the winter), or you drive 4 hours south to the Rogue Valley (Grants Pass / Ashland) which is actually much sunnier than most of Northern California, I'm talking almost 300 days a year of sun. I will say that the clouds and rain are MUCH nicer than the nasty winter inversion smog where you currently live - your wife might adjust better than you think based on that alone.

Corvallis summers are really nice, a thousand times better than SLC, high 80's most days, cools down to 55F at night, sunset at 9:30 PM during the summer, and recreation galore (but bug spray mandatory in the woods, lakes and creeks in June/July).

You might be surprised to see that Corvallis is MORE white than Sandy. Uh huh. Oregon doesn't have the growing latino community of SLC, and we have less imports from all over the world. Obviously LDS is not big here (bigger presence in the Eastern OR counties I think), there are a lot of faiths here but religion is just less prominent here overall. Oregonians are just as polite as Utah Mormons but without the conservative values and much more accepting of alternate value systems.

[Groomer Gambler]

.

[SchralphMacchio]

many of the IPAs here are pretty overrated, as well as the breweries themselves (I know I will get called out for this but it's true).

I assume you say “here” meaning Corvallis/Albany and not the greater South Willamette or Western Oregon Area? If so, then I agree!

[donutlynx]

^^^Block 15. What else do you need?

[SchralphMacchio]

The limited release stuff from Block 15 is good, and I like Mazama, but I agree the Corvallis/Albany beer is a bit hyped in comparison to PDX proper, Hood River, Eugene etc ... And I’ll take Caldera over any of the Corvallis breweries any day! It’s also unfair since we have about 14 breweries in town here, including Alesong, Coldfire, Oakshire ...

But to throw a bone to the Beavs, 2 Towns is probably the best retail distributed cider house in the state!

[Groomer Gambler]

I assume you say “here” meaning Corvallis/Albany and not the greater South Willamette or Western Oregon Area? If so, then I agree!

Yes, I agree.

And without naming and names....block 15.... was the culprit of the meatball sub.