Commute from Portland to Salem (Keizer, McMinnville: environment, budget, travel)

[radioheadCA]

Hello, i may be taking a job in salem (I live in sacramento now) and i've heard from someone else that he commutes from portland to salem and it takes him about 40mins. I'm sure it depends on where you live in portland but does this sound right? also, i'm curious: i am very liberal and i'm used to big cities (lived in manhattan for 5yrs, Cambridge/Boston for 6yrs, DC for 4yrs) and that's why i'm thinking i'd strongly prefer to live in portland vs. salem despite the commute - given my preference, does this make sense? - is salem a lot smaller and a lot less urban with less to do and less progressive thinking adults? Thirdly, i'm wondering what neighborhoods of portland would be good for a 30something single adult who likes good ethnic restaurants, live music, good indie movie theatre/s, decent park/s nearby, and stores for food and other stuff within walking distance preferably- etc on the South side of portland? since i'd be commuting to Salem i'm guessing northwest or northeast portland is too far - is that true? thanks a lot for any info

[Leisesturm]

I used to live in Salem and traveled to Portland several times per month. I was not commuting and even at off peak times found the traffic on I5 to be rather frustrating. Always there would be little difference between the speed of the passing lane and the right hand lane. I can only believe that with the reality of $4.00/gal. gasoline freeway speeds will only get slower as the misers attempt to retain some semblance of a budget. Is this really the time to consider a regular commute over that kind of distance? Maybe its me, but I don't think I spend a whole lot of time interacting with other progressive, professional adults besides the ones I work with. I have rarely been on even a surname basis with my neighbors in any area of the country I have lived in. Salem has a large park with a wetlands where you can see Osprey and Egrets and a Great Blue Heron from time to time. It has several smaller parks. It has seafood and music and anything PDX has except that instead of 8 venues to enjoy a particular vice there will be two or maybe just one. Life is too short to spend two hours every day sucking down exhaust fumes and fuming about the slowpoke cruising in the passing lane. Live where you work or work where you live. Make a few friends and call it good.

H

[bobmulk]

By "progressive thinking" are you talking about individuals who don't mind being challenged in their beliefs? Or perhaps individuals who associate with others with different beliefs and values? Or does your definition of "progressive" mean basically anthing that is anti-conservative? Just curious.

As Leis mentions above, the commute is something to seriously consider. Remember, forty minutes up here is forty miles unlike California where in forty minutes you can cover fifteen miles.

It's interested because I live in Salem and am planning to move to Wilsonville because I just got a job in Tualatin and the monthly gas bill has ballooned to over $400/month. You can expect the same thing unless you drive a gas-sipping Yarus.

As for amenities, pretty much any Portland neighborhood will have them. I would check out Sellwood, St. Johns, Hawthorne, Multnomah Village. Any of them will have what you're looking for or good access to the amenities you seek. Salem has never been a hotbed of culture--it's a state government town, hence it has never attracted much culture. Call me prejudiced but I think that an employment environment that fosters mediocrity results in a town of mediocrity. Salem is popular with families, something that cannot be said of Portland.

If you live in Portland, the drive will be longer than forty minutes. My current drive is forty minutes into the metro area, but then, I'm only going to South Metro, not into the belly of the beast. I would suggest about an hour commute going to Salem.

[Nell Plotts]

Oh yea, an hour from climb in the car to park. It wouldn't be my choice!

[McGowdog]

I wanted to give a shout out to the Portland forum and give my comment about the drive from the Portland airport to Salem and back.

I've been to Salem via Portland three times in the last year and each time the drive was as routine as clockwork (I got the Garmin GPS each time so I wouldn't have to worry about getting lost) and those are the most courteous drivers that I've seen anywhere in the US. The road systems are much better than I'm used to, people don't tailgate, and traffic wasn't bad around noon or during the afternoon/early evening (5:30pm) time.

If I'd had more time, I'd have taken pictures. It was a nice looking city to me.

How do you take good pics when you're driving? You can't and shouldn't. Oh, the last time I was there the Contractor picked me up at the airport and took me to McMinnville. So I did get a couple of pics. The one on the bridge didn't quite turn out the way I'd hoped. The second pic here kind of depicts how the trees on the license plates really do represent the state pretty well.

[squeezeboxgal]

I commuted between Portland and Salem for a school year and, well, it was OK -- but it made for a loooooong day. I lived in SE Portland, within a mile of I-205, and worked in Keizer -- just north of Salem proper. As I recall, it was about an hour each way, although it could sometimes take longer in the afternoon because of increased traffic. And, of course, there was the occasional accident which would completely shut down the highway.

This was, also, back in "the good old days" when gas was only $2.00/gallon. (Who'd a ever thunk that $2.00/gallon was good???) Now that it's $4.00+, you'll be paying out the wazoo to make this trip.

However, there are a number of van pools and even, I believe, daily bus service between various part of Portland and Salem (mostly downtown). None of these worked for me, because I had to be at school by 7:00, but if you have a starting time of 8:00 or thereabouts, they're definitely worth looking into.

Oh -- and yeah, Portland is WAAAAAAY better than Salem.