Silverton (Eugene, Salem, Grants Pass: relocating, house, rent)

[Amberyl]

A couple weeks ago, i decided i was going to (finally) leave Arizona. I have lived here for almost 10 years. And i STILL hate the weather here. Summers are WAY too hot. And since my blood has thinned from living here, winters are cold for me here, too. Cold, but no snow where i live (Mesa).

I am considering all quaint towns between Arizona and Washington, because WA is where my children's father lives. I don't want to move somewhere further from him than we already are now.

For some reason, OR, namely Silverton, has been "feeling" right to me. I really have no concrete evidance to back up why i feel this way. Also, it is not nearly a strong enough "feeling" to move there just based on the feeling alone. I would really love to have some data to base my opinion on.

Please tell me about Silverton. Don't stop till you hear me snore! What i mean is there is no such thing as too much information!

Please let me know if it is your opinion or a fact. And if what you say is a fact, please provide a link to where you obtained your information, so that i, too, may do further research on the matter.

I really want this to be my last move. I moved around a lot as a child, and even as an adult i have seen my fair share of moves. I hate them. I want to grow old in a house, that my children can always know as the house they grew up in.

I have lived in a couple dead-end small towns in my past, but never in a quaint, pleasant one, such as what i am looking desperatly to find. I hope such towns still exist. Please let me know if Silverton is one of them.

[Silverfall]

My opinions...
I think Silverton is like Mayberry. It is a town of around 9,000 people and is very quaint. I've never met anyone that didn't like living there, although I am sure they exist.

For such a small town, they have a lot going on. They have some event happening in the town of Silverton or at the Oregon Gardens (which are in Silverton) every month. They have a wine and jazz festival, art festival, strawberry festival, and many others. You can visit the city web site for more information on what they do. I think it's a lot for such a small town. City of Silverton, OR > Home

There is an organization called Silverton Together that puts together a lot of the events. It really is a supportive community that way. The have a very active chamber of commerce as well so you can check out their website for more details. Silverton Area Chamber of Commerce

I don't know what your tastes are, but there are some stunning Historic Homes in Silverton. Prices skyrocketed there in the past 5-10 years, but are slowly correcting, which is much needed. Silverton is mostly a bedroom community, meaning that most of the residents live there, but commute to work elsewhere.

Salem is about 20-30 minutes (depending on where you need to go).

There is a farmer's market there May-October, and they have a Safeway and a Roth's grocery store there.

Silverton Hospital has a really good reputation. I actually chose that hospital to deliver my kiddos there over Salem. I was very happy with the staff there.

The schools for the most part are considered good. It was a little hard for residents for a while, since Silverton was growing so much that class sizes got much bigger than they were used to. I think adjustments have been made, and I know one person who has her kids currently at Eugene Field Elementary and is very happy with what she sees there.

Hope this helps!

[mamh]

Hello
I live on the north east side of Salem and volunteer at Oregon gardens in silverton once a week and sometimes more...Everyone I've met who live in silverton really like it..Its a pretty town and close to lots of things..The weather is easy to take too..If like to garden that is the place to be..
come visit and see what silverfalls and I are talking about.
You'll like it

[Amberyl]

Thank you for that information! It really helps! And the schools are VERY good there. The best i have seen in my research for a city that size.

A big concern of mine is the weather. I enjoyed snow as a child, and i want my children to grow up with it too. I am really looking to live somewhere that is snows at least 3 months out of the year.

Does it snow in Silverton? If so, about when does it start and stop? And about how deep does it get?

Also, how much sun does it get there? I have heard rumors about WA that it is overcast always. I doubt this is true, but i figured i would check.

Thanks again so much for all your help!

[Silverfall]

No we don't get snow for 3 months out of the year. We get light dustings often. You can get more snow at a higher elevation, but in Silverton proper it's like Salem. We get snow usually 1-2 times a year and it doesn't stick very often. My son is 7 and has been able to play in the snow (at our house) twice. It stuck for a week when it did.

Most of us just drive to the Mountains to get our snow fix. Hoodoo has the AutoBahn which has some seriously fast sledding runs and there is downhill and cross country skiing, snoeshoeing, snowmobiling at Mt. Hood and Mt. Bachelor and also Hoodoo.

I think you would have to rule most of Oregon out if you want snow 3 months out of the year, or live at 1500'.

The reason we don't get a lot of snow is that it is overcast. The clouds trap the heat which means we have warmer winters, which means no snow. It is not always overcast, but from Nov-Jan it is pretty gray. In the Valley we start to get more sunny days from Feb on.

I grew up in Illinois with snow and I do love it when it snows here, but I don't miss having to bundle up like the michelin man to go outside. It just doesn't get super cold here. It's a tradeoff.

[BEKM3]

I think you should try looking at Grants Pass, oregon as they sometimes have snow in the winter and if they don't get enough for you your just 1/2 hour from getting all the snow would need for the winter months the City is a Great City to live in ..

[mahzeltoffee]

I think anyone relocating should subscribe to newspapers from places they are thinking of moving to THEN come and visit for a week or two.

[mamh]

I totally agree with mahzeltoffee about coming for a visit to really get the feel of the area..If you have acess to an rv there is a good park in silverton..we were full time rvers when came to salem and thats how we decided it was the place to retire to..
visit the grocery stores, the parks and more...Its just neat up here...The summer fruits and veggies are out of site, they are so good...talking to the locals is best way in the world to make that decesion...
good luck

[mrwumpus]

I'm looking to settle down so our children can grow up and attend school in one nice town. Grants Pass has relatives but Silverton has a far better reputation, at least on these forums, and we want what's best for our girls. I plan on visiting both towns this year.

A couple of years ago I learned from experience that having a "feeling" for a place does not necessarily make a good match. It's a good reason to check it out, but in my experience it takes about one month of living in a place to get a fair feel for it. Problem is not many of us can afford to do that once, much less several times in several places. Hopefully I'll get luckier this time (I'm certainly going to research a lot harder!). I hate moving too!

[Krystle]

I just started renting a small house in Silverton and am in the process of moving in. I've never lived in a small town before, so this is totally new to me. For one thing, everybody seems really nice. The only people who seem unhappy and aloof are the teenagers and...well, they're teenagers. And they're not obnoxious like teenagers elsewhere. =)

The town is lovely. I took a long walk tonight towards Mt. Angel until I reached the edge of Silverton, where it starts to get a little more country. Silverton reminds me a lot of Cloudcroft, NM--anyone ever been there? It seems like almost everything shuts down after 6pm; the only place to get a bottle of water tonight was Roth's, Safeway, a bar, or Subway. I can live with that, though. I'll be posting pictures soon...