Dallas OR thumbs up or thumb down (Portland, Salem: real estate, houses)

[RKTC4]

We are thinking of moving back to Oregon, we use to live in Philomath until the early 80s and are now thinking of Dallas but want to know if it is a good town for kids. Does it have a drug problem? Has the bad side of Salem moved in? And on a brighter side are there still the nice old houses there to pick up at a fair price and renovate? Is there a part of Dallas to stay out of? Let me know.[/font]

[ladyflyfsh]

I'm currently living in Dallas and getting ready to head to Sutherlin and eventually buy in Roseburg area. I've looked for land to buy here and it is way more expensive. There are lots of wineries buying up land and planting grapes here. Being so close to Salem and Portland makes this area more expensive and certainly busy with traffic etc.

I think you may be surprised at the prices of real estate here now. Other than that, it seems like a nice enough town. My grievance is the headache getting to and from the interstate as you have to drive through Salem to get there and that is a pain in the neck as far as I am concerned. I'm not fond of having to drive all the way through Salem to get places.

[Silverfall]

I don't think the bad side of Salem has moved there. We've managed to hang on to our bad side...

I think Dallas is still quite cute. Compared to Salem, prices are reasonable, but I don't know what that means to you. There are many cute older homes still there, most of which circle the core of the city. I personally don't think there are any bad parts of Dallas, but I come from a bigger city perspective.

Dallas has grown a lot in just the 9 years I have lived in Salem. Many new subdivisions have gone in, new strip malls, etc. I still think it is a good smaller town. I don't think drugs are any worse there than anywhere else. Drugs are everywhere.

Due to the growth of West Salem and Monmouth/Independence traffic along the west and over the bridge has worsened.

As for kids, Dallas has the aquatic center...which rocks! (My kiddos are 8 and 6). I think Dallas is just large enough to have plenty of things going on for kids without having to travel into Salem for everything, but it does depend on their ages and what you like to do.