moving to salem - questions (Portland, Beaverton: how much, houses, neighborhoods)

[h8n]

summery:
My wife & I lived in Portland by Lloyd Center on Weidler & loved it. We had kids & moved back to Austin for family. However, our hearts never left OR so we looked to move back. One major change: we now have 3 kids so living on a major traffic street like we did is not an option. I have received a really good job offer in Salem, so I have a few questions.

what we loved about Portland:
1) we could walk to everything (4 grocery stores, restaurants, etc)
2) we could take public transit anywhere we couldn't walk
3) festivals / markets / events we could get to via bus/max then walk
4) we were close to downtown so we could go to all events
5) we LOVE the houses in the Irvington area
6) lack of urban sprawl
7) everything about the beauty / nature of Oregon

what we didn't like:
1) hippies who protest without understanding all sides (I compare that to the bible thumpers in Louisiana who preach even though they have no clue what Buddhism, Taoism, etc means).
2) homeless people taking a dump in my front yard

I do understand the items I didn't like are a side effect of living in the city but felt I should list them anyway.

So my questions:
1) Is there anywhere in Salem I can live & walk like I did in Portland?
2) What is the public transit like in Salem?
3) What schools are good? (my oldest starts kindergarden in September).
4) Where can my 3 yr old (4 in October) find a good preschool? (He is in gymnastics preschool now & is VERY active)
5) Am I making a mistake moving to Salem?
6) Is Salem pretty compact or more spread out?

any help greatly appreciated.

[Silverfall]

I answered this question on the other thread but will post my response here in case you don't see it there.

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.

[Silverfall]

Also...all Oregon cities are compact because of the urban growth boundaries. That is a statewide thing.

[h8n]

Thank you all so much. I was worried because I don't like the Beaverton / Hillsboro area as it reminds me of Texas suburbs. This really helps me look forward to moving up there because I have kids & they will love the festivals.

Thanks again.

[mamh]

h8n
I must put a plug in for another fun place for the whole family including fur kids too thats Oregon Gardens in silverton..Our childrens garden has a lots of interesting things to do and its a great place for mom and dad sit while they play in the sand role on the lawn, snoop the tree house and visit our soon to be G scale train that is going in..Its close to Market Garden and all the vegies..
Its just neat..I volunteer out there and see how much the families enjoy it..Earth Day in april has lots going on for the whole family too..
Good luck with your move..

[Silverfall]

Yes the bullfrogs at the Oregon Gardens are a hit with the kiddos.

Since you have younger kids there is the NW Kids Club which is an indoor play area for kids 0-7 which is great for rainy days...The Gilbert House, which is called Discovery Village now I think, is also fun.

[mamh]

The kids and adult kids love the bull frogs you can hear them all over the garden..Did a tour with a bunch of 5 to 9 year olds last summer and they all wanted to go catch frogs..Also they love our little garter snakes that we do see...I caught one last week down in the Market Garden and played with it for a bit..There is even a hop scotch near the childrens garden too.
enough said
Have a happy week