Bad Areas (Salem: relocate, apartment complex, job)

[Imperial1904]

Originally Posted by elcapitan

You guys must have skipped your coffee this morning . Of course I was only being facetious! I guess sarcasm is hard to pull off on message boards. To those not from the area, L.O. is a beautiful, safe, affluent area with good schools.

There is no place in Oregon even close to what I described. I've never felt unsafe, even in the "rough" areas of Portland proper. The only real danger of living in Oregon is getting lost in the woods during the winter without any gear.

Yes, it's difficult to tell if someone is being serious or is only joking. The only way I can tell is the use of smilies.

I agree that there is no place in Oregon that one should feel unsafe.

[conovercourt]

The only place in Oregon I would not want to live is Klamath Falls.

[Imperial1904]

Originally Posted by conovercourt

The only place in Oregon I would not want to live is Klamath Falls.

Other than being an ugly looking town, why wouldn't you live in Klamath Falls? I don't like living in KF myself, but I'm curious to know what others think also. It's not like KF has alot of violent crime or gangs, it's just an ugly rural town in my opinion.

[conovercourt]

I didn't want to say anything bad about Klamath Falls, because it is a place that people call home, and many people love it there.

I think Oregon is one of the best and most beautiful places in the U.S. I would happily live anywhere in the state west of the Cascades. Poor Klamath Falls is so isolated and insular, and the climate on the Basin is a little extreme for my tastes. I love the little neighborhood north of downtown, and I love the mountain vistas, and the close availability to some gorgeous scenery.

But as you say, the town itself is not very pretty, and the political climate is too conservative for me.

My sister lives there though, and she thinks it's the greatest place on earth! Each to his/her own ...

[Silverfall]

The Portland Police Department has a crime mapper web site which shows local crime statistics. If you are specifically looking at Portland for this info. This is your best bet.

Portland Police Bureau (Portland, Oregon)

That way you don't have to worry about trying to decipher if someone is being sarcastic or not.

[RachealCostanzo]

Thanks everyone. I was looking toward the Eugene area. I heard it is beautiful and that there is good schooling there. I do not have kids but I am getting married in the near future and I would like to have children not long after . I'm a family oriented person and I just want to make sure that when my kid walks to a friend house he or she will be okay.

[mgforbes]

Eugene's fine; I grew up there and it isn't all *that* much different now. You'll find the politics to be more liberal there, with the U of O in town. Corvallis has the Ag/Engineering-oriented OSU, still fairly open minded. By contrast, the nearby cities of Springfield (near Eugene) and Albany (near Corvallis) are the more conservative, working class areas.

Depends on what you want; if you're a freethinking commie hippie pinko liberal, then Eugene would be appropriate. If you're a fundamentalist right-winger on a mission from George, Albany or Springfield might be more appropriate. And if you're a somewhat bemused engineer, Corvallis is just about perfect.

Crime-wise, the big thing to watch out for is drug related stuff, particularly in the smaller towns. Methamphetamine is a real problem out here, and notably in some of the smaller burgs where the economy was heavily timber-dependent. With the collapse of their economic base, some of those areas are really hurting.

Some of the smaller towns can be stultifying to someone who enjoys the arts and has a broader spectrum of interest than just TV. While there are plenty of regional theatre and music events, you need to watch out for places that are too remote; Tillamook comes to mind. College friend grew up there, and it was the sort of place that expected girls to marry and start popping out sprogs fresh out of high school...assuming they bothered to graduate at all. She was an anomaly, attending college. Education for women? Why bother?

Eugene has an active arts culture, as does Portland and to a lesser extent Corvallis. They're all close enough together that attending an event is not a major expedition. Back to the crime thing. It would be worth your while to review some of the local papers on-line.

Corvallis Gazette Times will get you Corvallis, and

Register-Guard covers Eugene. MGF

[RachealCostanzo]

Well Eugene definatly sounds like the place for me. I will have to keep looking into it, well any info that people have is appreciated

[jm21]

Stay as far away from Lafayette as you can. That one I can definitely vouch for as a bad area...

The post about LO was hilarious though. But I have no clue what the significance of them driving Audis and Volvos is, and a little curious as I drive a Volvo.

[bclark3434]

When I Read The Lo Comment..i Almost Fell Off The Chair. Crime In Portland And Its Outside Areas Are Not Like L.a,oakland,chicago,miami,houston,new Orleans,d.c,ny,dallas, Baltimore And Other Major Cities. If U Have Moneyand Single, Pearl Dist Or Lloyd Center Would Be Great. If U Have A Family, The Hollywood Dist And Happy Valley(clackamas) Are Great Areas. If U Have Low Income..sw Barbur( Burling Game Area) By Wilson High Or Tigard Would Be Good.