working in salem..living in corvallis? (Portland, Keizer: real estate, houses, transfer)

[gjay]

Hi everyone...my husband just got transferred to a new job in Salem...but we love the look of Corvallis...how is the commute? We will be moving in September from Sacramento......Yea! Out of this heat!!!!!!
Thank you......

[Larry Caldwell]

It's about 45 minutes from Corvallis to Salem, plus in-city travel at both ends. Call it an hour, door to door. That's a long commute by Oregon standards.

[SalemGuy]

As someone who commutes every day from Salem to Portland, I would strongly recommend moving to Salem. Real estate is generally cheaper in Salem, and no matter where you live, the drive to work should be easy--don't be dumb like me--live close to where you work . Salem is still a nice, quiet town with plenty of things to do.

[bobmulk]

The average cost of a home in Corvallis just eclipsed $300K according to the Corvallis paper. Salem is not nearly that expensive as an average.

[jjpop]

Salem is an interesting city. A few years ago if you asked me whether I would ever live in Salem, the answer would have been, "No way!" But over the years and with more frequent visits to Salem, I've found several areas of town that are really attractive.

Please don't take this wrong, Salemites (Salemers?) but I think Salem makes a bad first impression, and I think it's because the nicer areas are tucked away from public view. If your only interaction with Salem is the I-5 corridor and the hideous Lancaster Dr., you miss a lot.

So if I was taking a job in Salem, I'd focus my home search on Salem. Corvallis is nice, but I think you'll get more home in Salem.

[gjay]

Thank you all for your info on Salem....Where are the nicer areas tucked away? It sounds like the north can be scary....

[SalemGuy]

Originally Posted by gjay

Where are the nicer areas tucked away? It sounds like the north can be scary....

I would avoid anything in North or East Salem. Pretty much anything south of or just north of Kuebler and west of I-5 is a good place to look (Foxhaven, Creekside, Croisan Creek, Cambridge, Pringle Elementary area; North Keizer (Clear Lake area) is also worth a look; much of West Salem is probably nice (at least up on the hills, away from the flats), but I personally don't like the idea of being separated from the rest of town by the Marion Street Bridge. The Fairmount area (just south and west of downtown, where the Governor's house is) is a very nice older neighborhood with many well-kept (some quite grand) houses, as is the Candalaria area (a little newer but still quite nice).

Of course there are pockets in all of these areas that aren't the best, but I hope this might give you a starting point, without knowing any more details about your situation.

[CalculusE.]

Any opinions on battlecreek area just north of kuebler? I found a couple nice homes in there. Worried about traffic/noise from kuebler and I5. Benefit being is that the house is what, 1-2 lights from the I5 onramp.

[SalemGuy]

Originally Posted by CalculusE.

Any opinions on battlecreek area just north of kuebler? I found a couple nice homes in there. Worried about traffic/noise from kuebler and I5. Benefit being is that the house is what, 1-2 lights from the I5 onramp.

If you are talking about the new Centex development, I know some people that live there and they don't seem to think the Kuebler traffic is noisy. And I'm almost sure you'd be far enough from I-5 to hear it.

[CalculusE.]

Originally Posted by SalemGuy

If you are talking about the new Centex development, I know some people that live there and they don't seem to think the Kuebler traffic is noisy. And I'm almost sure you'd be far enough from I-5 to hear it.

Heh, that would be it. I mentioned it on the other thread but is that near the new retail center they're thinking of building?