Corvallis City Guide
So you’re considering moving to Corvallis, Oregon (home of the Oregon State Beavers)…
I commend you for your decision, but not knowing you, I will put together as unbiased an assessment of this town as possible.
Corvallis is a small (50,000 including students) town about an hour and a half south of Portland. It is a college town. A common sight on a Thursday/Friday/Saturday is seeing a group of stumbling co-eds wandering towards the hopes of another party, and a more blacking drunk. Also a common sight are the game day tailgates, gawking fans, hyped-up sports fanatics, and popped collared frat guys.
But Corvallis does have its charm. It IS a small town, with all the charm of one. The farther from campus you get (probably only 10 blocks before a noticeable change), the more personality the town has. It is a place I would raise a family. It feels safe- taking a walk after dark is no problem, guy or girl, alone or with others.
The town has solid amenities- but not a lot of them. You won’t find much boutique shopping, high fashion, pricey restaurants, or exotic nightclubs. You will find grocery stores (WinCo is bomb-diggity cheap with great selection), casual dining (bars, taverns, quasi nice sit-down chains (Ruby Tuesday, Qdoba, etc.), etc.), and a lot of college food/convenience stores.
Corvallis’s bars are fun, but they get old- if you let them. If you like casual spots with burgers + fries, the game playing, and a jukebox, you’re golden. If you’re looking for raucous drunken bars with dollar pints and dancing bodies, you’re platinum.
The town is fun, if you take it with a grain of salt. It really is what you make it. If you need to quietly sit at home and study with a glass of wine and Mozart playing- live a little ways from campus. If you want the college atmosphere, get in the thick of things.
You can walk most places (no more than a half mile to most anything you need), but its nice having a car. Portland isn’t too far, and a weekend in the big(ger) city is great occasionally.
