Entertainment/night life in Salem (meet people, meeting)

[quincy31504]

I came to this site for finding something to do in Salem,having been born and raised here (I have lived in San Diego,Hawaii,Bremerton Wa. and Quincy Ill.) I find not alot of things to do that don't involve going to a bar. Since I have given up drinking I would like to do things that are different than the bar scene.

[Silverfall]

Originally Posted by quincy31504

I came to this site for finding something to do in Salem,having been born and raised here (I have lived in San Diego,Hawaii,Bremerton Wa. and Quincy Ill.) I find not alot of things to do that don't involve going to a bar. Since I have given up drinking I would like to do things that are different than the bar scene.

Well there are a bunch of hobby clubs, sports teams, outdoor clubs around here...what is it that you like to do that you aren't finding?

[mmcguy]

I grew up in Salem from 1960 to 1972 and even went back there from '75-'79 to attend Willamette University. I find it funny that NOTHING has changed in this city in the last 30-40 years! Back in the 60's the big events were the burning down of the Salem Dodgers stadium and the construction of the K-Mart near the airport. In the early 70's, the BIG event was the opening of Lancaster Mall. The mid to late 70's added phase 2 to the mall with a multi-plex cinema (yee-hah!) and the city schools merged with Keizer to create the Salem-Keizer Unified School District.

I'm sure something of interest happened from the the 80's to the present, but overall, it seems like Salem is content to sit in the shadows of Portland and Eugene. Maybe it's not such a bad place to retire..... but certainly not a great place to be a teen or 20/30-something.

[Silverfall]

Originally Posted by mmcguy

I grew up in Salem from 1960 to 1972 and even went back there from '75-'79 to attend Willamette University. I find it funny that NOTHING has changed in this city in the last 30-40 years!

Actually this isn't true. I've lived here for 10 years, and the downtown is having some nice changes. The Boise Cascade plant along the river is being demolished right now and some of the initial plans for development there sound really nice. The convention center downtown is beautiful.

They just renovated the old railroad track bridge into a pedestrian/bike bridge so Wallace Marine Park in West Salem and Riverfront Park are now connected.

In 2001, part of downtown Salem got designated on the National Historic Register which opened up grant funds for preservation of those buildings. There have been some nice renovations to some of the very old buildings. It's getting there...has a ways to go, but on the right track.

[h8n]

Originally Posted by bman15470

Its called having a Job and raising a family. Its what you do when you grow up, your goal is not to satisfy your whims and desires, its to supply and nurture the needs of your family. When you have to get up at 6am you just dont feel like being out at 11pm "clubing" You see, you have to leave a pound of flesh and a bucket of sweat on the job site floor 5 days a week so you can give your kids a chance to grow up innocent and protected and have the joyful youth experience you had. And you do this because you love them and cherrish them and it gives you great joy and a sensen of pride being the provider, protector, teacher and nurturer. Unfortunatley some of these young people will enter adult hood self absorbed and unaware of what has been done for them and end up whining on some forum such as this one. But dont worry, our love for you is unconditional and we will continue to be long suffering as we wait for some of our "adult" kids to grow up a little. Wink..bman

How right you are. I use to be that kid staying out all night & now that I have kids of my own, I prefer to go to bed early vs stay up late. I lived in Portland & loved it. Moved to Austin for the job & now I long to move back to Oregon. With 3 kids, Lloyd district of Portland won't do it. So I'm looking @ Salem. Thanks for the great post Silverfall!!!

[h8n]

Originally Posted by DoulbeU

My fiancee is from Klamath Falls and I'm from Montana. We currently live in Montana but wish to move. My family has moved to Boise in the last 8 years and we love Boise. My fiancee loves Oregon, too. I'm not looking for the club scene as I'm near 30 and we'll be having kids before too long. But having kids doesn't mean you quit living. Sure, you don't go out every Friday and Saturday night. But the whole "leaving 5 gallons of sweat and a lb. of flesh at work" comment is ridiculous. Life is too short to stop living because you have kids. You never get a baby sitter and go out to dinner and a movie? You're happy that the restaurants are all closed at 7 pm?

Hmm....I grew up in Montana, way more rural than Salem and enjoyed an innocent, youthful childhood and my parents didn't give up living either. They took some vacations for themselves, put my sister and I through college and have enjoyed my sister, myself and life in general. Culture, concert, arts, etc. aren't bad things for kids. In fact, it tends to make them more intelligent when they're exposed to more stimulating attractions.

It sounds like you're miserable and so is Salem. Thanks for the heads up (we'll cross Salem off the list) and I'm sorry for you.

Says yet another person who has no kids but thinks they have a clue what it entails.

[quincy31504]

Well I just spent 20 minutes typing a great reply, sent it , and found out I had to be logged in so I logged in and now my quick repy is in cyber-space somewhere now maybe this one also sooooooo if anybody sees them please re-direct them to where they belong

[bman15470]

Yea, "when you have kids" your perspective will change, bank on it.

[IBMaxx]

Yeah, Salem is great, if you happen to be hispanic, like gang violence and graffiti. About the only safe place to raise a family is out south. The rest of it sucks! Salem is to Oregon what Stockton is to California, a trash heap full of people trapped in time. Trapped in a space they can't seem to find their way out of. If I could afford to move, I definitely would! If I hear one more mexican polka song blaring out of someones car window, I'm gonna scream!!!

[sarahkate_m]

Originally Posted by IBMaxx

Yeah, Salem is great, if you happen to be hispanic, like gang violence and graffiti. About the only safe place to raise a family is out south. The rest of it sucks! Salem is to Oregon what Stockton is to California, a trash heap full of people trapped in time. Trapped in a space they can't seem to find their way out of. If I could afford to move, I definitely would! If I hear one more mexican polka song blaring out of someones car window, I'm gonna scream!!!

Your description sounds like my life in the '70's in Huntington Park, CA - South East LA, not far from Whittier - Cheech & Chong territory.

You'll find your way out: where there's a will, there's a way Maybe some comedians will make a movie about your version of Salem & then it won't seem so bad... when you're 15 years older and living elsewhere.