Corvallis, OR

I visited a friend here a few summers ago, and she was quick to say how boring Corvallis is. We had a fun time that day floating down the Willamette River, but it did seem pretty rural despite its size (60,000 people). Embarking on this project, I thought the oxymoronic nature of a rural city could be perfect.

We only spent half a day in Corvallis, but in that time we visited two bakery/cafes (one was far superior than the other), walked along the river front, moseyed around town, and checked out the Oregon State University campus. 

The Good

• It sits in a good in-between location. You’re less than two hours away from the mountains, the ocean, and a few larger cities (including Eugene and Portland), but it has everything we’d want for week-to-week living much closer. 
• It’s caterers to the university, so things around town are pretty affordable.
• OSU is a gorgeous campus! I doubt we’d visit it often, but there are perks to being near a desirable school. 

The Bad

• It seemed boring. When I searched for ideas of how to spend the day, very little piqued my interest. 
• The region has a lot of beer and wine production, and I think there are some related majors at OSU, which seems to translate to “going out drinking” as one of the top forms of entertainment. 
• The Riverfront Park was almost inaccessible because of all of the homeless encampments. 
• Maybe we were just unlucky, but the stank of weed seemed omni-present anytime we were outside.

The Verdict

No, thank you. I’d consider it if I were a high school student about to choose a college, but not as an adult looking for a rest-of-my-life location.

This above-dumpster ally art made an unusual, but promising, first impression. 

The bit of art around town was a little grittier, which I also liked. 

The first cafe we stopped at was a bust, but I enjoyed watching these two on a potential first date.

The second bakery, Bodhi Cafe, was popping. 

Wine bars and breweries abound. 

More beer. Truly it was on every block, which is a pro for some, but I don’t want that to be the only point of interest. 

There was stuff going on around town, but the majority of it revolved around alcohol consumption. 

Generally, downtown was cute enough, but not particularly special. 

The theater did seem to boast interesting cult favorites, including The Room.

Architecturally there was some character. I think this building is city hall. 

The riverside walkway was pretty drab this time of year, and largely taken over by pot smokers, even at 10am. 

I did love the OSU campus though. Look how majestic this building’s entrance is!

There were also these cute little food delivery robots on campus. 

Open ocean is only an hour’s drive.