What is it about Lebanon? (Portland, Eugene: squatters, houses, schools)

[oregonwoodsmoke]

.....There is nothing nearby and its not on the way to anywhere significant....

It's close to the mountains and all the mountain recreation, including a reasonable distance to downhill skiing.

There is boating, fishing, water skiing at Green Peter Dam. There is a really nice camp ground and a great swimming hole at Cascadia Park. There is fishing in the Calapooia River that runs right through town.

[CAjerseychick]

Oddly enough we tend to stop off there en route to Eugene (which we go to frequently)...

cheap gas, and the Burgerville....

[jjpop]

Originally Posted by CAjerseychick

Oddly enough we tend to stop off there en route to Eugene (which we go to frequently)...

cheap gas, and the Burgerville....

That's Albany, not Lebanon. No Burgerville in Lebanon.

[NW4me]

Originally Posted by oregonwoodsmoke

OP, every place in Oregon is conservative except for Portland and Eugene, and possibly Ashland.

Corvallis?

[jjpop]

Originally Posted by NW4me

Corvallis?

Very progressive. Corvallis has elected Green Party members to the city council. Not sure why it always falls off people's lists of liberal places.

[pnwguy2]

The Albany/Corvallis/Lebanon area is considered an MSA in Oregon, with a population of just over 200,000. The only problem with that, compared to most MSA's, there is a lot of undeveloped land between the three cities. It isn't big enough to be considered a tv market, as they are considered part of the Portland tv market, even though they are closer to Eugene/Springfield than Portland. (Eugene is its own tv market).

Corvallis may be progressive, but Albany and Lebanon tend to lean conservative.

When driving on I-5, you only see Albany. Corvallis is off to the west, and Lebanon is off to the east. Yes, all three cities offer shopping/restaurants/hotels as can be seen anywhere in the U.S.

Corvallis of course is anchored by Oregon State University, and perhaps is the main center of these three cities. But all three cities remain rather "small-town" in feel, with Lebanon being the smallest.

I don't think there is a tremendous amount of economic activity in this area, with the exception of the OSU orbit.

[Silverfall]

Originally Posted by pnwguy2

I don't think there is a tremendous amount of economic activity in this area, with the exception of the OSU orbit.

Corvallis has a lot of tech for the size of the city. HP is still there (even though much smaller than it used to be), Korvis, and Lucidyne. Then they have a lot of small tech firms there.

[oregonwoodsmoke]

Originally Posted by jjpop

......Corvallis ......... Not sure why it always falls off people's lists of liberal places.

Because Corvallis is rather conservative,. It is only "university liberal" and voting with the inexperience of youth. That is an agricultural college and those students are most likely to turn conservative as they grow up. It's just the students and the university professors who are "progressive" (socialist), not the whole town.

Yes, forestry students are very likely to be concerned about the ecology. That doesn't make them liberals. What is this misconception that conservatives can't take care of the planet? Oregon was doing just fine until the liberals took over and set out to destroy the forests with neglect.

[CAjerseychick]

Originally Posted by jjpop

That's Albany, not Lebanon. No Burgerville in Lebanon.

ahhh got it, have to remember that, I was always forget where the cheap and convenient gas station is....
(usually in a rush to get out of town, we have to refuel pretty quickly on our trips down south)..

It would be interesting to know more about Lebanon though, following this thread!

[Metlakatla]

Originally Posted by oregonwoodsmoke

Because Corvallis is rather conservative,. It is only "university liberal" and voting with the inexperience of youth. That is an agricultural college and those students are most likely to turn conservative as they grow up. It's just the students and the university professors who are "progressive" (socialist), not the whole town.

Out-of-area undergrads don't necessarily vote in Corvallis. They can, and often do, remain registered in their home precinct. Those who care enough to vote at their age are usually more emotionally invested in their home towns.

Corvallis seems to have a more mature brand of liberalism than Eugene. Patrons-of-the-arts and intellectual types as opposed to hippy-dippy happy and all up in the tie-dye.

Anyway, there's absolutely nothing wrong with Lebanon AFAIK. It's in a really beautiful area -- drive the back road through Holley to Sweet Home sometime.

Looks like it has public transit of sorts -- Dial-a-Bus -- primarily a senior service but it looks like anyone can use it. You call them 24 hours before you want a ride somewhere.

Transportation | City of Lebanon Oregon