Oregon (Albany area?)

Corgitails · #1 02/22/05, 05:24 PM

Anyone in that area got any thoughts about it, etc?

Little Quacker in OR · #2 02/22/05, 05:41 PM

Hi There! I don't live there, I am about a hour and 20 mins south dowon I-5. I have been there a number of times though and I think it's a pleasant town.

It's also a university town, so keep that in mind. Being that it's right in the middle of The Willamette Valley, it has a mild climate, and there is lots of agriculture and some very nice wineries too.

The Willamette River flows right through it and I am well aquainted with that as I almost drowned there a few years ago.

All in all, I Like the place. Not as well as I like where I am though. The river floods in Albany so you want to watch where you live.

Hope this helps a little...LQ

Little Quacker in OR · #3 02/22/05, 05:42 PM

Hi There! I don't live there, I am about a hour and 20 mins south dowon I-5. I have been there a number of times though and I think it's a pleasant town.

It's also a university town, so keep that in mind. Being that it's right in the middle of The Willamette Valley, it has a mild climate, and there is lots of agriculture and some very nice wineries too.

The beautiful Oregon coast is just an hour away.

The Willamette River flows right through it and I am well aquainted with that as I almost drowned there a few years ago.

All in all, I Like the place. Not as well as I like where I am though. The river floods in Albany so you want to watch where you live.

Hope this helps a little...LQ

Freeholder · #4 02/22/05, 06:12 PM

I lived in that area some years back, and one of my sisters lives nearby in Philomath (just west of Corvallis). I don't know what kind of place you are looking for, but that area has grown tremendously over the last few years. Property prices are very high -- much higher than here, on the east side of the mountains. There is still a lot of agriculture going on, but a lot of good land has been buried in developments, also. Watch out for water quality. We briefly rented a farm just north of town, and couldn't drink the water from the well, as it was nasty. Personally, I wouldn't go back there to live, as it's too overpopulated and expensive. But, depending on where you are from, it might seem the opposite to you!

Summers can get quite hot, winters are mostly pretty mild, and usually more rain than snow. Most any fruit tree other than citrus will grow there, and the growing season is long. Soils are good, too.

Kathleen

3carfan4ever · #5 03/02/05, 12:35 AM

Excuse me for being blunt but.....ALBANY STINKS!..(Literally). I live in southern Oregon and have been to Albany several times. There's a pulp mill in town and it causes that "fresh from the outhouse" smell that dominates most of the air within the city. If there's a job offer or something like that then I guess it would depend on how much it pays.....$75k/year would make Albany smell like...well...dandilions!

Cara · #6 03/02/05, 09:43 AM

Hi there! I am about 20 minutes south of Little Quacker. Husband and I were in Corvallis from 90-93, and that's about 10 miles from Albany. I really like the Willamette Valley as far as a place to live (been here all 34 years less two six months jaunts to other states) but Albany was always a little like the poor little brother to Corvallis. It has the permeating smell of the pulp mill, and is just not as well taken care of on the whole as Corvallis. However there are some really nice farms in the outlying areas, and the drive to Corvallis or Salem for shopping is very easy. What exactly are you looking at the area for?

bergere · #7 03/02/05, 10:01 AM

Ah... the pulp mill smell... glad you are not looking in the Rainier, St Helens area.

We have smelly days and non smelly days, depending on which way the wind is blowing.

Like Cara said the out skirts of Albany are ok,, just depends on where your job is, how far you want to drive? Knowing where the pulp mills are would be a good thing too,, that way you can try to advoid them as much as possible.

SilverVista · #8 03/02/05, 12:12 PM

If you are looking for country or homestead opportunities, the condition of the freeway is probably not your biggest worry, but... I-5 from just south of Albany to South Salem is poorly conceived, poorly executed, continually under construction and just plain dangerous. We are northeast of Salem between Silverton and Mount Angel, and have a daughter at OSU in Corvallis, so I've seen more of Albany than I would ever care to, during the last year! One positive thing -- There is a very good concentration of organic and sustainable-farming people in that area, probably due in large part to the intellectual influence of a combined college and university system.

Albany is home to Linn-Benton Community College, while OSU is just 10 miles away, and at both colleges, the Agriculture Departments are large and good. Students at LBCC can co-enroll at OSU. Most other community colleges in Oregon attract pretty much only local students, but LBCC draws Ag Science and Animal Science kids from all over the state. They have also fielded a very well-respected nationally-competitive livestock judging team.

Here's an interesting article about one of Albany's better-known progressive farmers --
http://www.newfarm.org/features/2005...gy/index.shtml

Wags · #9 03/02/05, 03:12 PM

Actually its not Albany that stinks its the little town of Millersberg to its immediate north. And things have changed a lot in the last few years, mainly it doesn't stink anymore - at least not like it used to.

Albany is a town of about 45,000 and Corvallis is about 50,000 pop. There are smaller communities such as Lebanon, Sweet Home, Tangent etc in the area.
Total pop for Benton County is 78,618 (Corvallis) and for Linn County it is 104,941 (Albany)

The weather is generally decent, although we do get a lot of fog in the winter. Linn County is the grass seed capital of the World, so lots of green grass fields and lots of sheep in the area. It is also home to a pretty large memonite poplulation.

Property values range from the exteremely high (Corvallis) to below western Oregon's average (Sweet Home).

You can read more about the area here: http://www.mvourtown.com/

deberosa · #10 03/02/05, 03:25 PM

Went to College at OSU, bought my first house there in 1975! Then lived in Monroe. Taught school in Blachley and Philomath. The area has changed drastically since then, but all of these posts bring back memories! Albany was stinky! Monroe hasn't changed much though - the brand new house I owned there is now quite a dump! The Philomath area is pretty and if you could deal with being a bit off the beaten path - their are fantastic places between Philomath and the coast. Go back the dirt roads! I have a friend who's family homesteaded back that way and she took me on a tour last summer. There was one place back there that I was ready to write a check for!

Along the Siletz river are also some great homesteads, some for sale when I was last there.