moving from Portland to Salem (Keizer, Woodburn: crime, house, neighborhoods)

[daisylady]

My job is moving from Portland to Salem. We love Portland, but I don't want to have a horrible commute. I'm looking for suggestions for nice and safe places to live in the Salem area. From what I've heard so far, South and West Salem sound the most appealing.

I've heard mixed things about Keizer. Is it unsafe or becoming unsafe? It appeals to me because it's closer to Portland.

We don't have kids yet, but plan to in the near future. Our biggest priority is safety and we'd like to live in an area with nice parks and places to walk our dog.

Also, would the commute from Wilsonville to Salem be bad? My hours are typically 7AM-3:30PM-ish.

I'd greatly appreciate any input from people who know the area.

[Silverfall]

You may want to consider northern Keizer. The Clear Lake and Forest Ridge area is quite nice. Most folks shoot up River Rd and take the Brooklake exit. If you get traffic it will be at Wilsonville, so if you are getting off there, then you should be able to cruise fairly quickly.

Keizer is not becoming unsafe. It's pretty much the same way it has always been. Keizer does not have a quaint downtown area, so maybe that is what someone doesn't like about Keizer?

South and West are both nice, but I would not recommend West for someone communting North. It will take way too long to cross the bridge and get through town.

Down south is nice as well, but it will add 15-20 minutes to your commute. Honestly, I really think you should look at the north part of Keizer. Good schools, nice homes, easier commute.

[daisylady]

Thanks for the input. We'll have to check out north Keizer. My job will be in the southeastern part of Salem, near the airport and close to I-5. Would a commute from north Keizer be easy? Google Maps says 16 miles/25 min which sounds doable if it's correct. My hours are typically before rush hour (7AM)...if there is even a rush hour in Salem.

Also, are other areas of Keizer nice or just the northern part?

[Silverfall]

Oh gosh, I was thinking you were commuting up to Wilsonville...

Okay so you are off of Mission street somewhere...Now that I have my head screwed on straight...

In Keizer I would look in the Gubser area, Clear Lake, and Forest Ridge areas. Generally speaking, north of lockhaven and west of river road are the nicer areas, but that is not 100% true, just generally speaking...

In south Salem, there are plenty of good areas to choose from depending on what you like.

in West Salem the hills have less crime than the flats. The west Salem flats have a higher crime rate.

If you like older homes, then Englewood, Bush Park, and Fairmount have nice older homes.

Honestly where you look depends on what kind of house you want, and what you can afford.

[h8n]

OK, so I'm glad to see this post. I'm kinda in the same boat. Lived in Portland Irvington area & moving to Salem. I have 3 kids. Where in Salem should I live? I'm not worried about cost but I can't stand urban sprawl & would love to be able to walk/bike/bus everywhere. Thanks so much.

[Silverfall]

If you lived in Irvington then I would think you would like Bush Park, Fairmount Hills, and Englewood areas. They have similar character to that area.

Bush Park and Fairmount feed into McKinley, Leslie, and South High school districts. McKinley consistently gets strong ratings from the state. South has the international baccalaurate program and a great music program (actually most Salem schools have good music programs).

I think with wanting a combination of solid schools and walkability then Bush Park and Fairmount Hills would probably be what you want.

Heading into the Candalaria neighborhood might also work, but they homes are more mid century modern types in there since they were built in the 1950-1970 time frame. The farther south you head, the more "suburbia-ish" it feels.

Just be prepared...Salem is a lot more slower paced than Portland. I lived in the West Hills of Portland before moving to Salem and it took me a couple of years to slow down to the Salem pace. I have kids now, which I didn't in Portland, and I do appreciate Salem's slowness for them. Portland is close enough to head to the children's theater's up there, but the Elsinore productions for kids have been good down here.

They just opened the tressle bridge which now connects Wallace Marine Park and Riverfront Park. I think the Riverfront fountain (for kids to play in) is supposed to open soon or has opened. If you live in Bush Park or Fairmount Hills, then Bush Pasture Park is very close and walkable.

What I have learned to enjoy about this area is all of the small community festivals. My kids like the tulip festival in Woodburn (they have fun duck races), Bauman Farms Harvest Festival is a MUST for kids in October, there is always something going on at Silverfalls State Park. Silverton has a strawberry festival, there is the covered Bridge festival in Stayton, corn festival in Aumsville, Iris Festival in Keizer...

If you are in either of those neighborhoods (Bush Park/Fairmount) you can walk to the Saturday market or the Wednesday markets downtown...

Anyway, Salem is very different than Portland and it may take some getting used to.