Trying to pick a city in Oregon...

[wscottling]

Originally Posted by Silverfall

Safe is subjective. I'd feel totally safe in that area. You can go to crimereports.com and the Salem PD puts all of our crime stats on there. I think you will see mostly theft around the campus. Most of our assault/gang activity is on the east side but farther south towards McKay High School.

In the my last neighborhood in VA, we could not get pizza or chinese delivered after dark. The buses stopped running at 6:30 pm. No taxis would come to that area after 8pm. Gunshots (in the near distance) were not uncommon. And in the two years I lived there, we had drunk people try to just walk in our door (the first week we lived there two people actually *did* walk right in... we started using the deadbolt at all times after that). It was not a very safe neighborhood.

The only reasons I stayed there were: it was the only half-way decent apartment I could afford - $900 for a two bedroom (I had teenagers at the time). Plus the apartment complex itself was semi-safe because they had the city police as security. And as long as we stayed inside at night, people left us the hell alone -- except the drunks trying to wander into the wrong apartment.

So, yeah... safe means I'd like to be able to walk to the corner store after dark if I need something and not worry about being assaulted or shot. Plus, pizza would be nice if I'm so inclined.

[dusky_beauty]

W, I liked living in Salem and I had a friend that worked at Willamette U and she loved it. If you can get on there you have tons of housing options within walking distance that are also walking/cycling distance to a mall, parks, restaurants and a very nice safeway, even the hospital. I was on foot downtown for 4 years and never missed a car and never took a single bus and found it to be quite affordable.

Chemeketa is in a more recently developed wing of town and things are more spread out. You're less likley to find a walking distance apartment and grocer, but the bus service is reputed to be decent on that side.
We never had to be worried about any kind of neighborhood like you've put up with there!

The weather was also fantastic. Not the same crazy amount of rain like up in Portland.

[jjpop]

Originally Posted by dusky_beauty

The weather was also fantastic. Not the same crazy amount of rain like up in Portland.

Just to be clear, climatologically there's not much difference in rainfall between Salem and Portland. Perhaps your experience for the 4 years you were in Salem was anomalous, but most years the two cities receive about the same amount of rainfall.

[Silverfall]

Originally Posted by jjpop

Just to be clear, climatologically there's not much difference in rainfall between Salem and Portland. Perhaps your experience for the 4 years you were in Salem was anomalous, but most years the two cities receive about the same amount of rainfall.

I know that it shows that up that way on maps and such, but we get less rain and clouds than Portland does, IMO. Lived in PDX for 9 years and now Salem for 12. The weather is a bit milder here meaning more sun breaks. We also tend to miss some of the fronts that Corvallis gets. I think because it sits right behind Mary's Peak that it does weird things to their weather. My husband works in Corvallis and they get more fronts through there than we do.

It is still rainy and cloudy in Salem. Everything is relative though.

[jjpop]

Originally Posted by Silverfall

I know that it shows that up that way on maps and such, but we get less rain and clouds than Portland does, IMO. Lived in PDX for 9 years and now Salem for 12. The weather is a bit milder here meaning more sun breaks. We also tend to miss some of the fronts that Corvallis gets. I think because it sits right behind Mary's Peak that it does weird things to their weather. My husband works in Corvallis and they get more fronts through there than we do.

It is still rainy and cloudy in Salem. Everything is relative though.

It's funny with weather because in the battle between perception and experience vs. statistics, perception always wins. I lived in Corvallis for 11 years and have been in the Portland area for 3 years now, and I think the weather is better here. The atmosphere seems more "mixed" here--windier and slightly cooler in all seasons. With the wind there's definitely less of that fog that we experienced in Corvallis in winter.

Another funny thing--traveling between Corvallis and Portland, it seemed to never fail that it would not be raining in Corvallis, pouring in Salem (right around the airport), then not raining in Portland. So my limited impression, based on just passing through, was that it was always rainier in Salem.

[wscottling]

Aw, rain doesn't bother me much, neither does cloudy weather. I miss cloudy weather.

Here in Mississippi, it's sunny all the damned time. I hate it. Okay, it's nice and cool now so I'm good... But it's usually sunny and hot. Ugh! Next week it's supposed to get back up into the 80's. *sigh* At least the stupid humidity is gone. I can take the heat without the humidity (80's in the summer with humidity feels like sitting in a sauna). I can't wait to move away from the South.

Anyway, I'll start applying as soon as I get all my stuff together (have to put some things into electronic form and take a test). I'm scouting the websites of the community colleges and universities up there as we speak so I can get a feel of who needs what. Midterms are over, so I have a little time before all of my final papers are due, then I'll be strapped until the beginning of December.

[wscottling]

I guess I should have asked about this sooner, but I just saw something in another thread...

I absolutely cannot stand hot, sunny days. Too much sun gives me a headache. This is why I call this town Starkhell, MS. Now, nice spring days where the sun isn't out for twelve hours are cool, but summer days where the sun blazes on and on are too much -- esp if the temps top out at 90 and up. I can handle rain, I can handle snow, I can handle clouds, but keep that sun away from me.

Does that cut down my choices even further?